Raymond council handle a variety of housekeeping measures at June meetings

RAYMOND (Heartland Newsfeed) — In the meeting of the Raymond Village Board that took place on June 5, the board voted to approve the prevailing wage ordinance, discussed a citizen’s project regarding a ditch, mosquito spraying is underway and the water tower is looking at a cleaning of the exterior among other items of discussion.

Following approval of the meeting minutes from May 15 and prior minutes from April 30, the board voted to approve Ordinance 421, the prevailing wage agreement, for the next fiscal year with four voting in favor with trustee Bruce Poggenpohl being the sole dissenting vote.

Allen Poggenpohl was present as a visitor who discussed a ditch project to allow for easier water flow from the gutters he’s recently replaced to the ditch. Poggenpohl also noted there would also need to be some additional sidewalk work because of the project. Some preparation work will need to take place before the project begins, including sediment removal.

In the streets, alley and building committee report, some culvert work will be taking place soon, two full dumpsters were filled during their junk week, preparations are being made for the village’s Independence Day celebration and mosquito spraying will be taking place twice a week on Tuesdays and Thursday, which began this past Tuesday, June 6.

In the water and sewer committee report, there is a well that is not producing due to a fungus infestation. Testing has been ongoing, but plans are likely to abandon that well and follow the water table survey to drill another well to supply the city with water. It was also noted that the water tower needs to be cleaned on the outside, which was a concern dating back to last fall. Quotes were received at the time, but a decision was tabled at the time, but due to the current condition of the exterior of the tower, a cleaning is desperately needed. A decision was tabled contingent on some additional information involving a lift.

There were some items that would have been discussed during the finance committee report, but that was tabled until the next meeting.

There was nothing new to add from the police department report, except that there are 11 permitted golf carts in the village at the time of the meeting.

With no additional business to discuss, the meeting adjourned at 8:05 PM, set to reconvene on June 19 for their financial meeting. Present at the meeting were Village President Denny Held, Treasurer Sally Broaddus, Clerk Susan Greenwalt, trustees Bob Pennock, Scott Pinkston, Joe Martin, Bruce Poggenpohl and Greg Barnhardt, water superintendent Rick Broaddus, police chief Valerie Sheldon and streets superintendent Mike Masten.

Financial Meeting
The board reconvened on Monday to discuss their bills and finances. Following approval of the financial statement for May and meeting minutes from the June 5 meeting, the board voted to adopt the revised motor fuel tax resolution in the amount of $150.73 for maintenance and $1.51 for maintenance/engineering.

Brian Crawford wants to close a street off for a 25th anniversary business celebration, which will have a band, food and drinks, but no alcohol. With no objections, the board moved to approve that request.

Trustee Bruce Poggenpohl noted in the Streets & Alley report on the results from their junk cleanup. They’ve had their containers filled and dumped five times at the rate of $350 each time for a total bill of $1,750.

Trustee Joe Martin had nothing new to introduce in a Water & Sewer committee report, but asked for an update on the problem well. Water superintendent Rick Broaddus explained that things are on hold until they receive testing results from a group out of California. Broaddus also mentioned some water line breaks that were repaired.

Trustee Greg Bernhardt noted in the Finance committee report that the certificate of deposit is due. Village Clerk Susan Greenwalt broke down the specific details on the offers, but the board agreed to go with First National Bank for a 24-month term at a rate of 1.62%.

Police Chief Valerie Sheldon noted in her Police committee report that the storage unit that was the subject of a prior investigation has been cleared for content removal with the next step being who to contact to get access to the unit so paperwork can be sent off that it was the subject of a case to satisfy any requirements needed to gain access to the unit.

With limited discussion on the Golf Course and Economic Development committees and no new business to discuss, the board adjourned at 7:40 PM, set to reconvene for their regular meeting on July 3.

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The above article was published in the June 21 issue of the Nokomis Free Press-Progress & The Morrisonville Times and has been reposted by the author.