The Hancock-Henderson Quill, Inc.
By: Shirley Linder, Quill Editor
At the regular meeting of the Village of Stronghurst on March 2nd, trustees on a 4-1 vote, Randy Jarvis casting the only no vote, approved the purchase of a new F-150 Ford truck to replace the '07 truck now being used. The '07 truck has over 100,000 miles on it and is in need of an estimated $2,443.95 worth of repairs. The truck will be purchased from Carson Motors in Carthage at a cost of $21,976.
The meeting was called to order at 6:00 p.m by Mayor Pro Tem Shane Reed, in the absence of Mayor Brendan, with the Pledge of Allegiance.
Mike Bohnenkamp gave the monthly financial report, reporting they were $17,000 down this month due to paying out more for the WIRC grant than was brought in. He also reported the fuel tax account is growing.
David Knutstrom was present to discuss with the board the issue of profanity and unacceptable behavior that is being done in the city park. He also has an issue with a tile in his basement that allows water to back up. Discussion was held on both issues but no decisions were made.
Ronnie Gittings reported 6 trees had been cut down last month and there are 15 more dead ash trees to be removed.
Automatic Systems had finally shown up at the pump house and the meter has been repaired to record correctly.
Two bids for a new garage door at city hall had been received, one from Kevin Hetrick and the other from Southeast Iowa Garage Door Specialists. The door will be manually opened with 2 windows and tall enough for the back hoe to go in. The board accepted the bid of Hetrick for an 18.4R value at a price of $1,955.
The board is having difficulty getting the title for the Hummer, which they wish to sell. They will continue to work on the problem.
An agreement was signed with Mediacom for the next three years at a cost of $159.90 per month, which will be less when they discontinue the phone in the police department that is costing $29 per month. Instead of two phone lines the police department and city hall will share one line.
Mike Swisher suggested the construction of a new shelter house at the park be put on the agenda for next month. He also suggested the curly cue slide and swings be painted. City employees will take care of this item.
Jerry Nortrup asked that the gentleman representing the new water meters that was discussed at a previous meeting be put on the agenda for next month as he would like to hear his presentation.
A discussion was held on replacement of sidewalks. The uptown sidewalk especially at the post office is in need of repair, which will be a costly project and there is no grants out there for this. They will continue to study this problem. It was also brought to light that the proper salt and way too much of it was being used on some of the new walks that have been poured and this is damaging the concrete.
Attorney Mariah Wallace announced the board would need to hold a special meeting (approximately 10 minutes) to sign the papers that will deed a small portion of land to the village from the school.
The police report by Police Chief Arbry Vancil for February included: 75.5 hours worked; 562 squad car miles; 1 traffic stop with verbal warning; 6 service calls; 22 business courtesy checks
Present: Trustees, Mike Bohnenkamp, Randy Jarvis, Jerry Nortrup, Shane Reed, Mike Swisher, David Vancil; Employees, Ronnie Gittings, Hollie Allen, Arbry Vancil, Attorney Mariah Wallace; Guests Virginia Ross, David Knutstrom, Shirley Linder. Mayor Brendan Schaley absent.
Next meeting will be Monday, April 6, at 6:00 p.m. at the city hall.