Skidmore council listens to water meter presentation

The Skidmore City Council listened to a presentation by Dan Pasternak, Zenner USA regional sales director, about the water meters in the USA Bluebook bid at the March 2 meeting.

The bid is for 145 units and totals $61,601.92. Skidmore started the search for replacement water meters in 2019. At that time, the city had 144 water services. Now the city is down to 135 services which would allow the purchase of at least five fewer units. There will be an extra $30 charge for keys to lock shutoffs.

City Clerk Meagan Morrow will be able to monitor water use on an hourly basis. There is not a customer portal but Morrow can print off a usage report for residents if desired. The city will also need to determine the size for at least two larger water meters.

The council retroactively approved the emergency declaration concerning the sewer leak at the creek crossing on February 28. Strueby Plumbing made a temporary fix so the sewer pipe is no longer leaking. The city is waiting for parts to make a permanent fix.

An emergency authorization policy will be added to the Thursday, March 10 city council meeting agenda.

Skidmore is expecting $47,343 in ARPA funds and additional funds from Nodaway County. A first draft was submitted for the City of Skidmore ARPA proposal. The American Rescue Plan Act’s first reporting is due Saturday, April 30. The proposal will include the original paperwork, meeting minutes, the three original quotes and the new quote from USA Bluebook.

If additional funds are available, $500 will be used to update the EasyBill, the current water and sewer billing software, $1,166.40 for a new computer and  $4,378.30 for updating and providing security in the city hall office.

The purchase of a city pickup was discussed, but council members discussed how putting the money into street repairs would be better received by the residents. The subject will be brought up at the March 10 meeting.

The training for Martin Charles, the new maintenance operator, was discussed. It will take place for two days a week, May through June, in two different locations in the Kansas City area. The council agreed to pay him for the time spent in travel plus time in class, up to $12 for lunch each day and reimburse him for gasoline for the city truck which he will use for transportation.

Discussion was held on the council members learning to take the mandatory daily sewer tests to help fill in when the maintenance operator is unable to complete them.