Skidmore council reviews winter damage to streets

Skidmore Mayor Tracy Shewey presented Alderman Karen Kepka a certificate to honor the six years Kepka has spent on the city council. March 14 was her last meeting as alderman.

The Skidmore City Council reviewed winter damage to the city streets and tried to determine a plan of action for repair during the March 14 meeting.

One of the first steps will be to line up a company to chip and seal the streets when the weather improves. The council believes the cost of replacing asphalt will be prohibitive, so will look at chip and seal instead.

Discussion was held on finding someone local to crown several streets to allow water runoff to go into ditches instead of the middle of the street. When the streets dry up, gravel will be put in the worst places.

Maintenance Operator Marvin Sumy said the city currently has two loads of gravel to use. Discussion was held on the availability of grants to help with the cost and Mayor Tracy Shewey will look into.

City cleanup will be Monday, May 6 through Monday, May 13. One to two dumpsters will be acquired for trash, but no dumpster specifically for metal as has been in the past.

Alderman Karen Kepka was presented with a certificate to honor the six years she has spent on the city council. Kepka did not seek re-election and the March meeting was her last.

A bid was presented to replace the ceiling at Newton Hall. After discussion, it was decided to seek additional bids for both a metal ceiling and traditional acoustical tile.

Sumy received permission to have the city tractor looked at because of antifreeze and oil leaks.

A resident had requested his property be turned into a truck parking lot. Shewey had requested he attend a council meeting to explain his plans, which has not happened. The council agreed to drop the item from the agenda until the resident attends a meeting.

The city will discuss an ordinance to have the city eligible for non-election status at the April 11 meeting. This allows the city, if there are no other ballot issues and the exact number of candidates have filed for the existing positions, to not have to pay for an election. After the ordinance is approved, the city will put it on the ballot for residents to vote on.

Resident Rick Stanton has requested the city help pay for the survey on one of his properties. Discussion was held and the item was tabled until more information on costs could be obtained.

Sumy reported the sewer plant is having a lot of water going through it. It is thought that recent rains and snow melt is causing the excess. The water bills have been estimated due to the severity of the weather. Sumy and Shewey are hoping to get meter readings in March.

The Missouri Department of Natural Resources postponed an earlier March inspection of the water discharge system. The inspection has not been rescheduled.

The city has switched to using Quickbooks and Excel for financial records and bookkeeping. In April, Treasurer Doris Diggs is planning to take an Excel course at Northwest Technical School to help her get full benefit from the transition.

No motions or votes were taken in closed session. The topic was litigation.