City's general fund down, endures expenses relating to storm recovery

The Cardwell City Council heard a report from City Clerk Mary Vaughn, analyzing the lack of funds in the general funds account. The lack of funds is due to extra expenses and not receiving as many annual funds. Staff photo by Joshua Payne

CARDWELL, Mo. -- The city announced at a council meeting on Thursday that the general fund is down from last year's comparison, due to not collecting as many taxes, and Buffalo Township not giving its annual $3,400 for maintenance on the Community Building. In order to build the general fund, the Police Department checks will currently be written out of the Street Department fund.

The city endured a lot of expenses in the month of February, because of the power outage and the ice storm, according to City Clerk Mary Vaughn.

"We are working on collecting information for FEMA reimbursements, and as soon as the invoices and receipts have all been gathered, we will submit them," Vaughn said.

The city is waiting on an invoice for the pump at the well house, which received damage to the pump, motor, and circuit board, with the circuit board being the only covered item under the insurance. The circuit board insurance has a $250 deductible that will be applied to the funds submitted to FEMA for reimbursement, according to Vaughn.

Along with this extra expense, the city was also charged an extra $125 by its trash hauling company, due to the extra trash accumulated by the shelter. Also, the city had to make two emergency purchases, Vaughn noted. The first was for an air cooled housing for the engine of the lagoon boat. This housing was necessary for the engine, according to Hornersville Mayor, Richard Mara. The new engine housing cost the city $1,000, after taking 4 bids on the equipment, Vaughn added.

The other emergency purchase was for repair of a sewer jetter that the city has owned for several years. Troy Waddell, of Cardwell, has been working on the repair of the machine that estimates costing the city $2,200, with no other problems. If the machine repair costs $3,500 or more, Mara informed the city that the repair would not be worth the amount, Vaughn noted.

"Everything runs perfectly, the machine is just leaking," Danny Hall, pastor of the Upper Room of Jesus Christ Church, and representative for Troy Waddell said.

The FEMA reimbursement information is being collected and organized, Vaughn noted. When calculating all of the volunteer hours from the aftermath of the storm, the city should recap all of the 25 percent portion that FEMA does not reimburse.

"We should end up regaining 100 percent of our expenses, counting reimbursements for all of the volunteer hours," Vaughn said.

The city council voted to approve Vaughn as the contact person for the FEMA officials, because of her current work with the program.

Also in the meeting, the city discussed an application for a competitive grant program to increase police force in the community through the city's grant writer, Mitzi Dell. The grant will allow the city to hire a full-time officer for three years with the grant paying 100 percent of the officer's salary and benefits. The salary and benefits will be based on the city's average entry level officer positions, according to Mayor John Prince. This grant can also be used for existing officers, who are scheduled to be laid off, or officers who have previously been laid off due to the economy.

The city debris clean up will continue for another 10 to 14 days, and the mayor urges all residents to move debris to the right of way on streets for the pick up.

Following the clean-up, the city will review the nuisance ordinance procedure and policy for individuals with heavy debris remaining in their yards.

The city council continued by discussing the possible hiring of a part-time building inspector. The inspector is needed in the city due to an ordinance approved in 1981, requiring the position. The city will be searching for someone with qualifications to enforce the ordinance, but the hired individual can not work on any of the building or structures in the city, according to the ordinance.

Another item reviewed was the roof of the pavilion at the park. The roof was not secured and moved around on windy days, according to Prince.

"The roof looks durable it just needs to be secured," Prince said.

Hall recommended the city use steel strips to secure the roof during the wind, and paint the steel to prevent rusting. The council decided to collect prices on the materials that would be needed for repairing.

The band stand in Cardwell is also in need of repair, according to Prince. The structure is not beyond saving but will soon be unsafe for use for residents.

"There are holes in the floor and 2X4's rotted away , but the structure still seems sound," Prince said.

The Upper Room of Jesus Christ Church would be willing to complete all of the required labor, as long as the city purchases the needed supplies, according to Hall.

The supplies needed include approximately 10 sheets of plywood and 2X4's, Prince noted. The council approved the purchase of the materials and allowing the church to complete all of the required labor.

Following these discussions, the council decided to complete mosquito spraying once per week, instead of once per month, which was last year's amount.

The chemical sprayed to control the mosquitos is very expensive, according to Prince.

Richard Mara recommended the city spray every three days, Vaughn noted. St. Louis, on the other hand, sprays the chemicals once per week, Vaughn added.

The city will currently use the spray once per week and review the effectiveness of the frequency.

In other matters brought before the council, Anthony Parker, Cardwell Chief of Police, requested the city council raise the current $125 payment for an officer's weekend work in the city, to $200.

"We are unable to get extra help in the city for the current $125 rate," Parker said.

The county officers help, but if something important happens in the county, the officers have to leave the city.

The extra amount would cost the city an extra $3,900 per month from the general fund. Without the townships annual funds the general fund would be down $7,300 with both expenses.

"We can't do it, the general fund will go into the red," Vaughn said.

The council approved tabling the request for review of city funds and capability of the city to provide the extra money.

Prince followed this request with his own request that gained approval from the council, recommending that the city send thank you letters to the agencies and organizations involved in aid, during and following the recent storm.