Sheldon alderman hear water update, press park board for key

Tuesday, August 17, 2010

In an update on another ongoing issue, Gene Spears, Algieier, Martin, and Associates gave the Sheldon Board of Aldermen a report on the water system, during a regular meeting Thursday night. The main problem, Spears indicated, involved the fact many of the lines ended in dead ends instead of looping the line back to the source.

"Those lines that end in dead ends are a problem," Spears said. "Since the water at the far end may sit there for quite awhile it can go stagnant."

Another problem is the need for the city to hold water for a time after chlorine is administered so the particles in the water will precipitate out and then be filtered, eliminating both the bad taste and discoloration.

Spears said he categorized the problems into four priorities.

"I listed the treatment of the water to be the highest priority," Spears said. "Primarily for this; under the drinking water rules and the new ground water rule they want a community that chlorinates their water to provide some amount of what they call contact time. I refer to it as detention time so the contact can take place. I estimate the cost for that facility to be $650,000.

"Second, I gave priority to the distribution system improvements. Dead-end looping improvements, I estimated that to be $350,000. Third, I placed the replacement of the AC (asbestos/cement) piping at that level and gave it an estimated cost of $900,000, which is probably the highest of the whole group. Fourth, I listed fencing around the elevated tower for about $50,000."

Sheldon Mayor Rob Sewell told Spears the board needed to study the report further and that a special meeting would probably be needed to go over what options the city would consider.

In other business, he Sheldon park board's refusal to provide a calendar of events and a key to the concession stand to the city sparked heated conversation. Sheldon Park board president Lloyd Hall and member Danny Laning were present and said that it was difficult to provide an accurate calendar in advance because of additions and cancellations. Sewell suggested that a phone call to city clerk Becky Morgan would suffice, indicating she could keep track of when the ball field would be available.

The key was the major sticking point with the park board. Several times Laning brought up the fact that a lot of inventory was stored in the concession stand and parks officials were concerned that too many people would have access to the key. Laning said that the city didn't have the key to other buildings in town.

"I mean, Chiggers doesn't give you a key," Laning said.

Alderman Jerod Lamb responded with, "Chiggers isn't city property."

"It's in the city, though," Laning said.

"It isn't city property, Chiggers isn't city property -- that building is, it's apples and oranges," Lamb said. "We get a key or we don't and that's it, period. We'll stop funding it and there won't be anymore, I don't care."

Lamb said the key for every other city-owned property was in a lock box in city hall along with a key for every city-owned vehicle. He assured Laning the key would not be accessible to the public, only to city personnel and then only in an emergency.

"The public does not have access to the concession stand, does not," Lamb said. "The key to the volunteer fire department hangs in here along with a key for all the vehicles. That's a master key box for the city of Sheldon for all city property --- all locks, all ignition keys hang there. That's it, no more -- no less."

Lamb said the city had requested both the calendar and the key during a board of aldermen meeting in June, and was still waiting for either.

"All we're asking for, as we asked and made a motion for back in June, that the park board furnish a schedule of all events through the remainder of summer and a key to be placed in the master lock box," Lamb said. "I personally don't think that's asking too much."

The issue ended inconclusively, Lamb stated that the park board needed to provide the key and the park board members left without making it clear whether they would provide it.

While discussing street repair bids the board heard from Derald Stanley, maintenance worker, who said that he was experienced in working with concrete and could save the city some money by making some of the smaller repairs covered by the bids the board received. Sewell instructed Stanley to look over the streets to see which areas he could repair and which would need to be bid on and be ready to let the board know what he found at the next meeting.

The board tabled discussion of the bids submitted for sealing Main Street until a more detailed request for bids could be hammered out.

Thursday's meeting had already been adjourned to closed session when --after a meeting that had already seen some contention -- Dorothy Walker, apparently upset over a personnel issue concerning her daughter, started loudly berating Sewell.

Following a brief but heated exchange, Walker left the meeting.

In other business the board:

* Set 7 p.m. Aug. 24 as the date for a tax levy hearing and special meeting.

* Approved mail notices, by regular first-class mail, to those property owners whose properties had been marked as out of compliance the date a hearing would be held.

* Accepted a bid from Blake Harper for $1,000 for the city's used John Deere 850 tractor.

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