Skidmore City Hall changes telephone service

At the January 16 Skidmore City Council meeting, City Clerk Sadie McHughes reported the telephone lines had been out-of-service for two weeks.

The service is provided by FastWyre. The company has not been returning phone calls. The council decided to switch telephone providers and will now use United Fiber.

The immunization policy for the city maintenance position was approved after “immunizations are not required” was added to the policy.

City Maintenance Mike Reasoner has been clearing snow. He also found signs for jake brakes which he has installed; plus he has found playground signs which he is going to put up.

Alderman Dennis Gladman pushed snow from 12:30 to 7 pm, January 13. He’s had calls on clearing alleys. Discussion was held about whether the city was responsible for snow removal in alleys. Resident Kenny Shewey said he had cleared alleys when called. Reasoner said he knew of four alleys which were used as driveways.

Alleys are more confined. If the city is called to clear, the city will not be liable for damage. It currently takes the city two to three days to clear the city streets. A question was asked if the cemetery had been plowed. Reasoner planned to clear Hillcrest Cemetery January 17.

Mayor Teresa Carter had received one bid on the needed city shop wall repair. She is unhappy with the response she has received from the insurance company.

PeopleService, Inc. sent a report for October, November and December 2023. The report didn’t have any new findings.

In closed session, the council discussed Reasoner’s 90-day evaluation. The evaluation questions were presented by the mayor for his job performance.

Reasoner asked about his responsibility with ordinance violations and citations. The council stated his job is maintenance and citations should be done by someone else.

Reasoner was excused. The council then raised his hourly wage to $19 an hour with emergency or after hours being paid for a minimum of two hours for each call-out.

The cost-of-living raise will be annually in December for the city clerk and the city maintenance.