Continental Village Council met in regular session in Council Chambers on November 9, 2021 with Mayor Miller presiding. Members present were Bartley, Varner, Armey, Streicher and Sullivan. Also, present were Fiscal Officer Darby, Administrator Prowant, Solicitor Welch. Knipp was absent. Visitor: None. The meeting opened with the pledge of allegiance.
Council reviewed and passed a motion approving the minutes of previous regular session meeting, bills as presented, receipts since the last meeting, and a Then & Now Purchase Order over $3000 for Gerding Ditching for crack sealing for $6102. Management Reports presented, approved by signature.
OLD BUSINESS
Third Readings of Ordinances: Council approved the third readings of Ordinance 734-2021 Water Ordinance and Ordinance 735-2021 Sewer Ordinance.
Well Rehab: Moody’s tried to pull the abandoned pump that had been dropped in the well shaft years ago but the attachment broke within 100 feet of the top. It is now deeper in the shaft and will just have to stay there. They took the pump back to their shop to reman and found that some of the replacement parts will cost more than a new pump. Mayor approved the $5604 purchase of a new pump, motor and cables as an emergency so the Well can be back online as soon as possible. They are hoping to have it installed by Monday, Nov. 15. Otherwise the well cleaning went very well.
Water Tower Update: Since the Village has Well 6 and one of the high service pumps offline, the filling of the new water tower has been delayed to keep from putting too much pressure on the system. The driveway is paved and the security fence will be installed soon as well as the spray foam insulation inside the inside of the tower.
Cleaning of the Clearwell: Liquid Engineering is here to clean the clearwell. A new PVC pipe will be run to feed the chlorine in a different place in the system as approved by the EPA.
Park Benches: Four new park benches arrived this week and will be put together and installed soon in the business district on Main Street.
Paving: The paving of the subdivision has been completed. Sealing the street to the curb was not approved in the bid so the Mayor approved this for $1275.
Police Impala: Mayor Miller has been in contact with H&K Motors about putting the Impala on their lot to sell it. Council made a motion to list on govdeals.com as well.
NEW BUSINESS
Building Permits: NONE
Election Day: Mayor Miller congratulated the four council members on retaining their seats after the election. He also thanked the electors of the Village for their approval of the levy renewals.
Sandblasting Quote: A quote to sandblast the greensand filter tanks was reviewed and approved by council. This will prolong the life of the tanks for approximately 10 years. The quote is for $7600 per tank and they hope to get two of them done yet this year.
Property Lease: The village received a letter about the railroad property it leases. Darby called and found that the original lease was signed in 1980 for the village to lease the abandoned railroad bed in the Southwest quadrant of the village for $25/year. Norfolk & Southern would like to write a new lease with the Village for $100/year with an annual 3% increase each year. After some research by Admin. Prowant as to why the village leased it in the first place, the council sees no benefit to leasing it any longer. Council moved to have Welch draft a letter to break the lease at the renewal date.
Leak Adjustments: The Village has received quite a few requests on water/sewer bills for adjustments because of leaks that were found and repaired on this last billing period. A resident on Sugar Street had a large leak and requested a one-time reduction to a recommended normal bill of $168. Council approved
A Rice Street resident asked to reduce the sewer portion of the bill because the leaking water did not go through the sewer, to a recommended amount of $311. Council approved the recommendation.
A resident at the Trailer Court had two high bills, he paid the first one but now the bill is quite high. The trailer has since sold and she has advised the new owner to check the bathrooms for leaking toilets. Prowant recommended a one -time reduction to a normal bill of $280. Miller asked her to follow up with the new owners to make sure repairs are being done. Council approved the request.
Because of all the rain the village received, the excess water in the small pond was being pumped into the large pond by trash pumps. The Village hired Van Ham Dairy to use their big pump to move the water quicker.
Next meeting will be Tuesday, November 23, 2021 in Council Chambers.
With no other business, Council moved to adjourn.
Susan Darby,
Fiscal Officer
Village of Continental
