Police, recycling top city agenda
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The future of law enforcement and city recycling topped a long meeting of the Mount Ayr city council Monday, January 19.
Law enforcement
Discussion of county-wide law enforcement involved county supervisors Ron Landphair, Colby Holmes and Steve Knapp; county auditor Amanda Waske; and county attorney Clint Spurrier, along with sheriff Rob Haley who attended the meeting via Zoom.
Council members reviewed a proposal for continued county-wide law enforcement from Sheriff Haley.
In a departure from past contracts with the city, Haley offered a single-fee proposal rather than the current agreement via which the city purchases and outfits two vehicles, covers the salary for the equivalent of two deputies, and pays for various other necessities for 80 hours of law enforcement within the city limits per week.
Under the proposal, the sheriff’s office would be responsible for the hiring, training, and outfitting all deputies, assigning supervision duties, covering all operational expenses related to law enforcement duties.
The proposal also called for no joint acquisition or ownership of property.
In turn, Haley proposed the city pay a flat fee of $180,000 per year to his department.
Councilman Brent Ricker asked how much other towns in the county paid the sheriff’s department to provide law enforcement services.
“We, the citizens of Mount Ayr, already pay taxes to the county,” he said. “And then we have to take more tax dollars and pay the county again. I don’t think it’s fair to our residents in town.”
Ricker asked the supervisors to go back and research how much city residents already pay to the county and then come back with a reasonable proposal to provide additional law enforcement duties.
Both the council and supervisors agreed to continue negotiations on the flat-fee proposal.
In a side note, Bo Greene wrote a letter to mayor Steve Fetty proposing the re-establishment of a city-run police force.
The proposal called for salary, benefits and supplies for one officer along with accompanying communication, vehicle and dispatching expenses.
Greene, who recently served as a Ringgold County Sheriff’s deputy, estimated a start-up cost of nearly $118,000 depending on equipment already owned by the city.
Mayor Fetty stated he was mayor the last time the city ran its own police force.
“Way back then we had two forces [county and city],” he said. “It did not work. It was a fiasco.”
Getting no favorable response to Greene’s proposal, the council decided instead to continue negotiations to maintain county-wide law enforcement.
Recycling
A proposal to revive curbside recycling in the city was presented by city administrator Brent Wise, who has been in discussion with Waste Management out of Creston.
Ammon Taylor, public sector manager with Waste Management, joined the meeting via Zoom to explain his company’s proposal.
Taylor said Waste Management would collect recycling twice a month for an initial residential fee of $3.78 per month.
After July 1, the fee would increase to $4.50 per month, with a 3.5 percent annual increase in years 2-5 of the five-year contract.
The length of the contract caused council members to balk at the proposal. Several had questions regarding what would happen if fees suddenly skyrocketed due to the instability of the recycling marketplace.
The contract also included a clause that would allow excess fees in the event of uncontrollable circumstances.
The council also questioned why the city would want to contract with an outside agency to handle work it could do on its own.
Wise explained the costs of the Waste Management proposal were nearly identical to what the city would need to charge to continue the service on its own.
Moreover, two city crew workers would be freed up to work on other needs in the city.
Wise asked Taylor to consider other options to his original proposal.
First, could the city collect recycling and delivery it to the Creston facility?
Second, could the city collect recycling to fill a dumpster that would be transported by Waste Management to its facility in Creston?
Third, would Waste Management consider adding an escape clause to its five-year contract in the event of an excessive fee increase.
Taylor said he would consult with his associates and continue his discussion with Wise.
Cunning property
David Cunning joined the meeting via phone to discuss efforts to provide water service to properties on South Fillmore Street.
Wise offered a proposal that would include a survey of an extension of South Fillmore and an appraisal of the resulting parcel.
The city would then negotiate with Cunning to arrive at a fair value for the property.
Cunning agreed to allow the city to survey and appraise the property.
Other business
In other business the council:
• approved an amendment adding $15,000 to the contract with Garden and Associates for engineering services on the Cleveland Street project.
• received a draft copy of a proposed ordinance related to the operation of golf carts, ATVs and UTVs on city streets. Wise asked the council to review the proposal and return with suggestions for improvements.
• discussed notice received from Seth Delutri that he would no longer be available to serve as the city’s legal counsel due to a change in his employment.
Delutri offered the names of two replacements who would be willing to assume his former duties.
After a short discussion, the council decided to open a search for new legal counsel beyond the names offered by Delutri.
• approved a tax abatement application for mayor Steve Fetty.
