Meeting Minutes for January 22, 2008

OFFICIAL COUNCIL PROCEEDINGS
JANUARY 22, 2008

A regular meeting of the City Council of the City of Harbor Beach was held on Tuesday, January 22, 2008 at City Hall. The meeting was called to order at 2:30 p.m. by Mayor Swartz.

Present: Burkhard, Goniewicha, Kleinknecht, Wood and Mayor Swartz
Finance Officer Youatt

Also Present: DPW Foreman Shedd, Police Chief Schock, WWTP Superintendent Cregeur, Water Plant Manager Harder and Zoning Administrator Lermont

Absent: Recreation Director Wruble (with notice)

It was moved by Kleinknecht, seconded by Burkhard to approve the agenda with the addition of a Fire Alarm proposal and also adding an Executive Session for property purchase negotiations. Motion carried. 5 yeas.

It was moved by Burkhard, seconded by Goniewicha to approve minutes of the January 7, 2008 Council meeting as presented. Motion carried. 5 yeas.

It was moved by Burkhard, seconded by Kleinknecht to approve minutes of the January 16, 2008 Negotiating Committee meeting as presented. Motion carried. 5 yeas.

It was moved by Wood, seconded by Kleinknecht to approve Pay Certificate # 7 to RCL Construction in the amount of $ 112,268.74 for the Sanitary Sewer Retention Basin construction project. Motion carried. 5 yeas.

It was moved by Wood, seconded by Goniewicha to approve payment of the Wade-Trim SRF bill for $ 33,652.00 and also to Wade-Trim for Water Plant operation for December 2007 for $ 28,146.00. Motion carried. 5 yeas.

Citizen Comment: Mayor Swartz noted receipt of a letter from Megan Decker who recently resigned as a reporter for the “Huron Daily Tribune.”

Department Head Reports: DPW Foreman Shedd reported projects completed last fall and this winter so far. Sanitary Sewers were cleaned, leaves picked up, streets plowed, planted 12 trees, repaired 2 water main breaks, cleaned downtown streets, put up and took down banners and flags, and trimmed trees. Also reported use of about 50 tons of salt on the streets so far.

Council noted the written report provided by Recreation Director Wruble.

Police Chief Schock reported the property room has been cleaned out. An intake gasket was replaced on one of the patrol cars. Officers have been checking on the streetlights and are reporting any that are out. Two Circuit Court trials were held with one defendant pleading guilty. There have been many bad check complaints recently. A Police Committee meeting will need to be scheduled to discuss the approximate $ 1,600 damage done to the Dodge patrol car.

Wastewater Plant Superintendent Cregeur reported 328,000 gallons of sludge were hauled out and land applied this fall, which is about 100,000 gallons less than usual. The rooftop unit on the pretreatment room failed. There has been trouble with 2 rotor drives and the belts were found in bad condition. The Dow AgroScience Optimization Plan is about 75 % completed and is working well so far. There were no overflow problems with the almost 2 inches of rain received on January 6th.

Water Plant Manager Harder reported on recommended capital improvements to the Plant. There has been difficulty in bringing in water from the intake pipe due to low lake level conditions. A meeting should be scheduled to review needed improvements to the plant.

Zoning Administrator Lermont reported 26 permits have been issued this past year. A committee is working on a proposed blight ordinance as part of the International Property Maintenance Code. The Planning Commission is reviewing a possible wind ordinance. There have been many recent issues regarding the sign ordinance. For safety training, employees have been trained recently in CPR, back safety (lifting techniques), and hazardous chemicals. The Fire Department has had 55 fire runs, pumped 1 million gallons of water in December and now has 23 members.

OLD BUSINESS: It was moved by Burkhard, seconded by Goniewicha to approve a tentative employment agreement with the AFSCME Union as presented. Motion carried. 5 yeas.

Resolution # 2008-02, “BC/BS Flexible Blue Medical Insurance,” was presented to Council. The Resolution would approve a new health insurance plan for City employees which includes a BC/BS Flexible Blue health insurance plan, including a Caremark drug prescription rider and dental and vision coverage, with all benefits being equal to or better than existing health insurance coverage. It was moved by Wood, seconded by Burkhard to adopt Resolution # 2008-02 as presented. Motion carried. 5 yeas.

Resolution # 2008-03, “Michigan Employee Benefit Services (MEBS) Administrative Services Agreement,” was presented to Council. The Resolution would approve a contract with MEBS to serve as the City’s third party insurance billing and administrative representative. It was moved by Kleinknecht, seconded by Burkhard to adopt Resolution # 2008-03 as presented. Motion carried. 5 yeas.

Council reviewed two proposals for a fire alarm system for City Hall, the Water Treatment Plant and the Wastewater Treatment Plant. Safety Officer Lermont stated the MML Risk Management group has recommended installation of a fire alarm system for these facilities. Council inquired about the possibility of receiving grants to help pay for the cost of the system. Following discussion, it was moved by Wood, seconded by Kleinknecht to table the proposal until the next Council meeting. Motion carried. 5 yeas.

NEW BUSINESS: None

Engineer Report: Youatt referred to the Engineer Report from Wade-Trim dated January 21, 2008. The next construction progress meeting with RCL Construction is January 29th at 3 p.m.

Finance Officer Report: Introduced Kate Hessling, the new reporter from the “Huron Daily Tribune.” A Negotiating Committee meeting is set for January 29th at 4 p.m. with the Police Union. The recent Presidential Primary election went well. Kincardine has provided additional dates for a visit this summer, being the weekend of August 2nd and 3rd or August 22nd or 23rd.

Council Reports: Mayor Pro-Tem Kleinknecht reported the Family Ties event at the Community House last Sunday was successful with a great turnout. Mayor Swartz reported on a recent plant tour held at Dow AgroScience, which was very informative. Dow Plant Manager Ryan McGill will provide a brief presentation at the next Council meeting. Winter Festival is set for February 2nd.

There being no further business, the meeting was adjourned at 3:30 p.m.

Tom Youatt, City Clerk