House sale, loans on light council agenda
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The sale of the city-owned property, approval of two loans, and the purchase of a trencher were among action items at the Monday, August 2 regular meeting of the Mount Ayr city council.
Property
The council approved the sale of the property located at 103 S. Webster Street to for a price of $73,000.
The Webster Street lot, which was donated to the city, includes a house that was also donated to the city.
The city had paid to move, set, and renovate the house before putting it out for bids.
Loans
The council approved two Downtown Revolving Loans to Still Smokin’ BBQ and Timberline for replacement windows, tuckpointing, and other structural improvements.
The $15,000 loans may be paid back over five years at no interest.
Trencher
The council approved city administrator Brent Wise’s recommendation to purchase a trencher at a cost of $12,000 from Tanner Rinehart and Burton Murphy.
Wise said the machine would be used to install a sewer line to the new industrial park area south of town, to extend a water line on W. Columbus Street, and install water lines on city property along Highway 2 near Judge Lewis Park.
At the conclusion of those projects, the city could choose to retain the trencher for future use or sell it to recoup part of the $12,000 cost.
Other business
In other business, the council:
• approved a 50 cent per hour salary increase for Sam Stewart and Kylian Wise beginning August 7 to serve as acting manager and acting assistant manager, respectively, of the municipal swimming pool.
Current manager Blair Glendenning and assistant manager Myles Greene are returning to college and are unable to finish out the swimming season.
Wise also reported Saturday, August 14 would be the last day the Judge Lewis pool would be open to the public.
• renewed the agreement with Access Systems to furnish and maintain the city’s printer and copier.
• approved a 25-year franchise agreement with ITC-Midwest to maintain and operate a transmission system for electric power.
ITC-Midwest constructed the new power station on Columbus Street.
The agreement requires a change in the existing city ordinance to reflect the new name of the company, formerly known as Interstate.
• discussed the potential purchase of a portable generator to operate the sewer lift stations in the event of a prolonged power outage.
• reviewed quotes to repair or replace a variety of pumps at the wastewater treatment plant.
• heard a report from Wise that a new roof had been installed on the building located on the north side of the 100 block of W. Madison Street.
The former I.O.OF. building had come under some scrutiny due to its general disrepair.
• learned of a sewer main leak affecting the Bill French property at the corner of Taylor and Madison streets and the south side of the 100 block of W. Madison.
Wise said city crews will begin digging in that area in an effort to locate and repair the leak.
• learned the city has used 884,000 gallons of water in the Judge Lewis pool as of July 12. Wise estimated total water usage would be close to 1.2 million gallons by the end of the season.
An estimated 176,000 gallons of water is needed to fill the pool once.
The water loss is due to leakage, evaporation, and maintenance procedures to flush the pumps.
Wise said the water usage is similar to the 1.3 million gallons used in the recent past.
