Council concerned with city utility bill

The bill has increased from the former average amount of $750, to the new amount of $1,171, according to City Clerk Mary Vaughn.

"The city has a contract with Ameren UE but Pemiscot Dunklin does not honor the contract," according to Vaughn.

Vaughn noted that she recently contacted the Jefferson City, Mo., representative over the Missouri Electric Cooperatives. The representative assured Vaughn that he has received several phone calls over the cooperative and for the city not to do anything drastic as of yet, according to Vaughn.

Currently the city is billed on three different rates with rate one at 8.94 cents per kilowatt plus 20 dollars, rate three at 9.56 cents per kilowatt plus 30 dollars, and rate four at 9.56 cents per kilowatt plus 44 dollars, Vaughn added.

Rate four is for three phase electrical currents more than 51 kilowatts and is found at the city lift stations, fire department, and water well pump.

"I know that Arbyrd and Hornersville have called about Pemiscot-Dunklin as well," Vaughn said. "Arbyrd wrote a letter to have them attend the next council meeting and explain the rates to them."

The city will continue to monitor expenses and search for a resolution to the issue.

This update was given to the Cardwell City Council at a meeting on Thursday, May 14.

Also during the meeting, Cardwell Chief of Police, Anthony Parker, informed the council that Ed Wood has recently checked the brakes, changed the oil, and fixed the starter problem on the fire truck. Wood also tested the tank pressure and the tank passed inspection for another year, according to Parker. He added, although it passed the inspection, the stainless steel tank has a crack and slowly leaks.

"We can fix this ourselves or have it fixed," Parker said. "I have talked to someone who said they could fix it, but the Fire Department might be able to fix it."

Parker's son is a certified welder and has volunteered to weld the tank's crack if it is needed, according to Parker.

"If the crack is a pinhole it can be repaired without welding, but if it is a hairline or star shaped crack it will have to be welded to be sealed," Parker said.

If the city officials repair the tank then the only money the city will be out is for supplies, Parker noted.

He added that the pump on the green truck the Fire Department uses also needs to be replaced. The current pump on the truck is of the Honda brand, but the city can go with a different brand of pump if it chooses, according to Parker.

The council approved the city employees attempting to repair the tank and the purchase of a new pump for the Fire Department truck.

During the Water and Sewer Report, given by Charles Moore, it was noted that the a lift station was recently pumped by Roto-rooter.

"The water has tested safe, but we need to get some of these lines cleaned out," Moore said.

Moore continued adding that lines had been ordered for the mosquito sprayer and it will be working as soon as they arrive.

The city collected approximately $129 in taxes and sold eight city stickers during the Month of April, which was noted during Vaughn's report to the council.

She added that 18 properties remain on the delinquent tax list and further action may need to be taken by the city.

Vaughn noted that the city's net income was in good shape, but the budget will have to be revised.

"I want to wait until after the FEMA money comes in to revise the budget to see where we are," Vaughn said. "It seems we have had more repair this year than we anticipated, but they are probably needed repairs at this time."

The biggest expense for the city during the month was the $4,600 spent on the Sewer Jetter repair, second to this expense was $2,850 for Roto-rooter, according to Vaughn. She explained that now that the sewer jetter was repaired the city will be able to clean out the sewer without Roto-rooter, which will save the city money.

The city will be purchasing more "no dumping" signs for the Railroad property, which will see no dumping of any kind, according to Mayor John Prince.

"I don't know what we would do with another big pile out there," Prince said.

Some FEMA funds have arrived reimbursing the costs of supplies and forced labor, according to Vaughn. The reimbursement for the well pump motor, circuit board, and new surge protector have not yet been received.

She added that the city also received its 25 percent match from donated resources, which was high enough to reach its 100 percent match.

The council approved that the city employees be paid overtime for the amount of work put in during the recent ice storm. Usually city employees receive compensation time in exchange for overtime, but this was a special situation, according to council members. The expenses will be paid out of the FEMA reimbursement funds.

Also, the council voted to approve the city flags being displayed on five specific holidays including Memorial Day, Labor Day, Flag Day, Veteran's Day, and Independence Day. The flags will be placed on the Friday before the holiday and removed the Tuesday following. Veteran's Day and Flag Day are the two exceptions to this rule. On these two holidays the flags will be placed one day before the holiday and removed one day after, according to the city council.

Other matters that came before the council included

* The council approving the purchase of five new belt swings with coated chains and one baby seat swing with coated chains;

* The approval of Anthony Parker working through the week of his scheduled vacation;

* The approval of receiving bids on the repairing of the pavilion roof;

* The approval of buying one bundle of shingles to repair the roof on the Community Building;

* Being informed that the City Building Inspector had concerns about asbestos in some of the buildings and Prince had contacted Terry McVey about proper procedure with these buildings.

The next Cardwell City Council meeting is scheduled to take place at 6 p.m., on June 11, 2009.