By Scott Bidroski The Rushville City Council met for their regular monthly meeting on Monday, February 26. The meeting began at 6:00 p.m.
Mayor Amanda Haller, Curt Gilchrist, Mark Loosvelt,, and Shelby Milliken were all present for the meeting. Clint Anderson was marked as absent.
The Pledge of Allegiance was recited by all in attendance and the meeting began.
The minutes from the January meeting along with the Treasurer’s Report for January were approved by the Council first.
Public Comment was then opened. Mayor Haller brought up a few topics.
They included a scheduled date for the first Health Board meeting which was scheduled for February 27 at 6 p.m., summer help advertising, and the ordinance to annex Dollar General.
Councilman Gilchrist brought up some questions from the Chamber of Commerce Sign Committee. They are asking the Council about a possible utility lease to secure the land that the signs sit on for years to come and the city employees help with moving some dirt to fill around the signs.
Some answers were delivered to Gilchrist and he relayed he would let the Sign Committee know.
A proposal from Fuller Construction for the steps at the Rushville Library was reviewed by the Council.
Upon installation, the steps were done incorrectly. Water is pooling on them, creating a hazard for patrons who enter the building.
Fuller Construction offered a solution of capping the concrete to alleviate the water problem.
The Council brought up concerns that moisture will get under the caps and create damage to the concrete much quicker than if they were not capped.
Members of the Council wondered why Fuller Construction would not just rectify the situation and replace the steps.
Mayor Haller informed them that Fuller Construction said that this was their only offer to fix the problem, they would not be redoing the steps.
Some questions were noted by Mayor Haller and she is going to try to find answers to those questions before the next meeting.
The Council finalized the loan and authorized a payment for the construction work because there was a lot more done than just the steps. More information on contracts and the steps was requested as well and will be delivered at the next meeting.
A yearly update came for the Rushville Library next and Dela DeSersa was present to speak to the Council.
She noted that the Library has around 300 people using the facility each month.
Some landscaping is also on the docket to go along with a new sign that needs to be installed in the front of the building.
The Library Board also discussed elevator inspections and possible repairs with the Council. It was suggested that more legwork be done prior to any movement on this topic.
The Council moved onto the next topic and City Clerk Shauna Smith stated that local businesses donate to purchase the gold coins for the Chamber Easter Egg Hunt. But it was suggested that a donation for free admission to the city pool might be a better option.
The Council agreed on that and will donate some passes for the Chamber’s Easter Egg Hunt.
The work week pay dates has been an ongoing discussion and it continued again in this meeting.
A long discussion ensued on how to best streamline this process for the City Clerk and all the employees.
A motion was approved to change that paychecks for employees from the pay period would be available on the following Wednesday at 2:00 p.m.
City Clerk Smith has requested the addition of a credit card machine for the City Office.
A discussion occurred about what it would cost and some of the benefits led by Mayor Haller.
Fees and who would be charged those monies was also discussed. A 3.5% fee would be passed on to the customers to run their card.
No contract was required as well so the City can make a change at anytime.
A motion was made and approved for the new machine and then reevaluate if the cost is worth it for the City in 6 months.
City employee Kirk Beguin then spoke to the Council about possible armor coating streets this summer and if funding would be available.
Beguin thought the estimated cost would be around the $100,000 mark but it could fluctuate due to the cost of materials.
The Council agreed that this project is worthwhile and decided to place at least $5,000 into a savings account each month to help with the costs.
Drug testing policies for the City of Rushville was discussed next. Attorney Simmons said that she would need to do some research on how a policy like that could be enacted.
Another discussion began about valid drivers licenses for City employees.
The Council feels that someone who operates city equipment, whether it be lawn mowers or larger equipment, does need to have a valid license.
Mayor Haller will look to add a policy to the city handbook to be approved at the next meeting.
The next agenda item was City Leases and the timelines for those procedures.
Attorney Simmons went over the timelines with the Council on when they would have to notify about a lease termination.
No action was taken on this item as it was more of an informative agenda item.
The bills were presented and after a short discussion, the Council approved the bills.
With no further business, the Council adjourned the meeting at 7:34 p.m.
The next regular meeting is scheduled for Monday, March 28 beginning at 6:00 p.m. at Rushville City Hall.