By James B. Bartle
The Sullivan City Council held their first meeting in the month of August moving forward with bid specifications for private firms to perform lawn service on city property, tabling a parking ordinance and discussions on other issues.
City administrator Mark Falloon presented his report to the council after there were no requests or petitions before the council.
Falloon reported that specifications have been completed for board approval for advertising for bids on lawn care for city property.
The council is seeking bids from qualified firms to perform lawn service on some 180 acres of city property. The council is working on the fiscal year budget for 2010 and is attempting to determine if doing the work with city staff is cost-effective versus private firms.
The contract term for lawn care would be from Apr. 1, 2010 through Sept. 30, 2012. A pre-bid meeting on the lawn care will be held on Wed., Aug. 26 at 1:30 p.m.
Falloon stated that the contract could be terminated with a 30-day notice by a contractor or the city.
Alderman Mike Ryan questioned fellow council members on whether this was going to be uneconomical for the city to contract these services.
Mayor J.T. Hardy stated that the city is seeking bids to determine if this will be more cost effective using the private sector versus city employees.
Alderman Tom Leasor presented a motion to approve this advertisement for bids, which was seconded by alderman Dennis Watz and approved 5-1 with Alderman Ryan voting no.
The council briefly discussed reinstating a Park Board Committee, but took no action on the matter.
Mayor Hardy felt the Parks Board could be used to help determine rates for park fees and other items similar to the Airport Board.
Ordinance 3352, sponsored by Alderman Watz, would make it a misdemeanor to park a motor vehicle on a private parking lot or a private street without the consent of the owner. The owner would have to properly post an 18×24 sign referencing city code regarding the ordinance.
Prior to any action on this ordinance, alderman Jarrett Dace expressed some concerns on how effective this ordinance would be.
The ordinance was drafted due to concerns from local businesses and churches regarding tractor-trailers parking on private parking lots and the damage they cause from their large weight loads.
Alderman Dace felt that the ordinance may not be effective at stopping this activity and believed the only way to curb this would be the large structures installed by Wal-Mart and Bank of Sullivan, which provide aerial blockage from large vehicles entering these parking lots.
There was also some discussions on the 18×24 sign that would have to be installed by each business and whether this would violate the city’s own ordinance regarding signs.
Following some additional discussions, the aldermen voted unanimously to table this ordinance and conduct further investigation.
Several aldermen commented that they had been in contact with city resident, Joe Ferguson, George St., and the continued drainage issues that face his property. City staff was directed to investigate possible funding for this project, which is estimated at $1 million.
City Administrator Falloon reported that the city Storm Water Master Plan identified several problem areas and half of these projects have been completed; however, funding has dwindled in the grant areas.
Alderman Tom Leasor reported that he attended the Franklin County Transportation Committee meeting and the City of Sullivan is expected to receive a $100,000 grant from the county for the upcoming North Service Rd./East overpass project. The city cost for the project is expected to be $815,000.
Mayor Hardy announced that he would like to appoint another alternate to the city Board of Adjustment, due to the fact, that the board is having trouble with reaching a quorum. Hardy appointed Paul Schierhoff, Grigsby St., to serve on the board through November 2010. The appointment was approved unanimously.
Hardy stated that if a Park Board is reestablished it would most likely be a five-person board and encouraged aldermen to make recommendations for people to serve on the board.
Hardy reported that there was some vacancy on the Ad Hoc Utility committee and volunteers are being sought to serve. He stated that the committee is working on rates and should present findings to the council.
He also felt that city residents needed to be informed that the city absorbed a 4.9 percent electric increase from their electric supplier, Sho-Me Power, in April 2009. This increase has cost the city between $400,000 and $800,000 which has not been passed on to utility customers. Hardy is expecting another increase from Sho-Me in 2010.
The council then adjourned going into closed session with one matter of real estate and one matter of litigation, with no action taken.