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City of Concord Holds Regular Meeting – April 14, 2015

CONCORD - Mayor Pro tem John Strickland asked if it was ok with him to continue leading the meeting tonight since we don’t have a mayor here tonight. The answer was yes from council members Kim Griffin, Doug Neath, and Subrenna Weathers.

Public Comment: Simon Henley said that there is a beautiful walking track and a pavilion and people are asking whether it is possible to get a restroom here. He suggested getting one out here because it would be a benefit to the community and the county as a whole.

Discussion: The city doesn’t have sewage there so they will have to figure out how to do this and have some sort of placement. He also wants to talk to the City of Williamson about theirs and how they deal with possible vandalism and possible broken pipes in the winter. A suggestion was made to look into prices for a port o potty and possibly having someone service it. There is some money that comes in from the Concord Jubilee that could possibly be used for a port o potty. The city is going to research this and maybe bring something to the next meeting. They thanked Simon for his comments. A side note was added that The Nelson Memorial wants to do some work here around the playground.

Mike Cox came representing Kiwanis of Pike County. He thanked them on the behalf of the entire club for their support with the Tour de Pike. March 19, 2015 will be the ride next year. They will also have a meeting on Thursday to ask what they can do to make this the #1 bike rider’s event. He asked for suggestions.

Pro tem Strickland said that they really need to block off a section for parking for the restaurant here so that the breakfast crowd can get in for breakfast. Maybe having someone out there to help direct parking around the airport too so that the inside of the lot was used to. The bank, Linda’s, and the Post Office need to have parking places blocked off so people can get to those locations throughout the day. Mike asked the City to draw up where people should park and Kiwanis will make it happen. Strickland said that he rode 30 miles of this ride.

5. Reports from Council and Committees:

Financials – Strickland said that the county has spent some money on buying a dump truck out of the special funds account that will show up next month.

The Strickland Building is doing well with weddings and events scheduled there. He praised the Kiwanis Club for bringing good publicity here and for others who have held events here and let people know about their experience. The city had a lump sum budget for the Strickland Building this year, and they discussed some of the expenses. The next budget will be better with utilities and expenses. They’ve brought in $20,000 and spent out $16,900. There were roof repairs done and an ice machine was purchased as well. This will be a bonus as they rent out the building.

The City is over budget with Workman’s Comp. This was out of the City’s control because of inflation. The Zoning Committee went to a conference along with Sharon and Strickland said that this is going to show on the budget but expects good results from it.

The addition of the part-time employee is a little more than budgeted, but Strickland said that Sharon is keeping an eye on everything and he is very comfortable with where the City is at right now.

Strickland said that the Capital Improvement fund has had some expenditures, but that they are building it back up. The truck from last time is doing good things for the City. The City has been also doing some patching but has had to stop until the rain is over. There is an intergovernmental agreement with the county that is being addressed right now. One of the discussions is about the Zipper machine that can do some of the patching much cheaper than the City can do. Nothing is in writing as of yet, but this is being discussed.

Water Department: Water/Wastewater Director Stephanie Richardson said that everything is going well with it. Spring Road around the City Limits sign looked a little wet, but it’s just rain water. There has been a problem at the Duplex that needs to be addressed. Stephanie is going to address this. They are keeping an eye on water leaks.

6. Old Unfinished Business:

A. Motion to accept the minutes from last month. Approved.

B. Trucks: There will be a www.govdeals.com ad for excess equipment at some point soon. The used dump truck looks good and will have signs on it soon. It is working well. The City needs to put some bodies on it. He wants removable side bodies on it so they can haul gravel or sand. Blount Sheet Metal was right at $2,000. Mike Sanders $900-$1000. Marty Perkins $820. Strickland asked them to approve the lower bid. Motion to accept the Perkins bid. Approved.

C. 8 trees have been identified that need to be removed. $2,800 was a local bid as well as $3,800 from a Griffin business. Ricky Lynn was the low bid at $2,000. Motion to approve. Approved. The City wants these down so they are not a hazard to motorists.

D. Kim Griffin and Subrenna Weathers said that they went to a conference about playground safety and that the merry go round needs to go. Strickland asked them to be a part of the committee to figure out what equipment we need. Liability is a big concern for the City. The seesaws are in pretty bad shape and they need to fix the ones that are here. The City has some money from the Jubilee that can be used to fix this up. The City needs to have signage out there to help protect the City from liability. They want quality play equipment because it will last longer. A bench at the other end of the walking path was suggested too.

Strickland is supposed to meet with the Nelson Memorial Committee so they can look at areas owned by the City and come up with ideas for planting. The cutting around the gazebo looks really nice. Valera Carroll did some work out here for the City this weekend. They told her thank you. The walking path garden needs to be worked. She has gone over things to be done with Nick. She invited everyone to the Lunch and Learn on Thursday with the Concord Garden Club.

A house on Roberts Quarters Road has had some complaints and the City is dealing with it.

E. Animal Control hasn’t had complaints lately, but Strickland asked if the problems are better than before. There is one dog on Roberts Quarters Road that is chasing cars which is better than in months past. Strickland said that he has been talking with the county about vicious dogs. The county is going to hire someone to be the Animal Control officer who will go out and investigate and make a determination about whether a dog is a vicious dog or not. The county will require the city to pay for expenses if a vicious dog comes from here. It’s a long process. The city has someone who could be paid as a dog catcher as needed including transport if needed. This is not a dog pound, but it is a step in the right direction.

7. New Business There is a problem with duct work underneath that has collapsed. $500 would fix this and it needs to be fixed so the City is not heating and cooling underneath the building. This will pay for itself pretty quick. Question about trouble because there is only one bid. This company is servicing the heating and air. This was bid out for this company to do the work for this year. That vent hasn’t worked for a couple of years. Motion to accept this bid. Approved.

There is still an electrical problem that needs to be addressed with the alarm system. The city will get a bid on doing the work that is needed. This will be addressed at a later point. They are going to get a second opinion before any work is done.

Council Comments: Kim Griffin was contacted by Mayor Jim Roberts through email and asked to bring his official resignation to the City Council tonight. He resigned as Mayor of Concord as of April 14, 2015. Click here to read more about this.

Strickland is going to follow up on this and get Roberts’ signature on the email so everything will be official. Roberts said in his email that he is sorry that events have happened and hopes that the City will continue to move forward. Motion to accept this resignation. Unanimously accepted. Mayor Pro tem Strickland will continue acting in this capacity with the ok of the Council until an election can be held.

May 12th is the next meeting.

Motion to adjourn. 8:02 p.m.

4.15.15
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