Photo by Wanda Hanson
The Houston City Council approved participation in a program to purchase a John Deere skid steer with broom and a zero-turn commercial lawn mower for $41,735.93 at their October 11 meeting. This program is similar to the program in force for the city maintenance truck. After the initial purchase, the skid steer will be traded in for a replacement each year; if the program is ended, the city owns the skid steer. The mower will be traded every three years.
Approval was also given for the purchase of a police squad car. Police Chief Brett Hurley reported that a Dodge Ram could be purchased for $37,943, but it did not include a Ram Box for storage (additional $3,000 to $5,000) or a police center control ($950). Hurley recommended purchasing a Dodge Durango at $40,097, which would have room for storage in the cargo area and comes with a police center control. The Durango would be purchased with a V6 for full economy. The council approved ordering the Durango and allowed up to $43,000 in case there were any price increases.
Fire Chief Steve Skifton requested the $40,000 funding received from the county ARPA (American Rescue Plan Act of 2021) be used to purchase a replacement of a one ton brush truck. Skifton wanted the funds to be available as soon as he found a crew cab truck to purchase. He acknowledged that equipping the truck will add another $10,000 to the expense, but shared that the fire department had funds to cover that. The council agreed to the purchase.
Skifton reported that the new pumper truck is being built in Florida; delivery will be November 16 to coincide with the regular fire department meeting. The USDA funding will be lined up for payment for the truck on delivery.
Snow removal bids were opened. The lone bid from Ole’s Excavating was accepted. This snow removal is only used if the city workers need assistance. It has not been used the past several years.
A bid of $1,477 from Chester F. Pozanc was accepted for 36 yards of certified wood chips to revitalize the Mission 66 playground. Houston High School students will be moving and spreading the wood chips on their service day October 18. The chips will be paid for from funds still available from the Mission 66 fundraising effort. The chips are not intended to totally replace old chips, but rather to fill in areas. It was judged to be a reasonable amount for the students to handle.
The council decided to continue to have minutes published in a local paper and approved asking for bids from newspapers. The city does not have to publish minutes since it is below 1,000 in population, but the council decided the expense was worth it to have transparency in the local government.
Boulevard tree stump removal fees
Houston qualified for funding to cover part of the expense of removing tree stumps following the July storm. 75% of the expense will be paid by the funding; the remaining 25% of the expense will be shared equally by the city and the property owner with each paying 12.5% of the total expense. The city will pay for half of boulevard tree removal. The property owners will be responsible for cleanup, additional soil as needed, and reseeding the area.
When the trees in South Park were brought up, PWD Randy Thesing said they had addressed part of the tree hanging over the outhouse area, but the crew was not capable of taking care of the rest of it. Thesing said they would look into the area there. Some other trees on city property in South Park have been declared hazardous trees due to cankers, but were not the result of the storm. Thesing suggested having these trees laid down in place and left.
Other business
In other business the council:
•Approved a pay application of $288,729.36 for the wastewater treatment plant;
•Approved a flow easement variance requested by Solar Connections, Inc on behalf of Houston Schools contingent on its passing by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers section 408 review;
•Appointed Karen Todd, Andie Harveaux, and Jim Edwards to the tree board;
•Appointed Lee Edmiston election judge;
•Approved the hiring of Trish Nesler as a probationary fireman;
•Set the city election canvas board for Monday, November 14 at 5:45 p.m.;
•Approved a gambling permit for a fire department event;
•Approved posting two no parking signs near trail access to keep ambulance access for the trial;
•Learned the burn site is “plumb full and then some” so the site will be closed until it is wet enough to burn;
•Received a decision tree provided by the DNR for the OHV trail; board members will have a chance to go over the tree and ask questions for clarification. The decision tree is in the agenda posted on the city website.
The next Houston City Council meeting will be November 14 at 6 p.m. in the city hall council chambers. The public is welcome to attend.
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