Fountain’s special council meeting May 24 was initially scheduled to discuss road maintenance needs, but the recent break-in of city hall garnered the bulk of the conversation.
According to Mayor Jim Schott, the break-in occurred late Monday May 17 or early Tuesday May 18. At this time, it is unclear who was responsible. City Clerk Mary Tjepkes confirmed items taken, which included a money bag containing the city credit card, safety deposit key, savings book, Trail Days checkbook, $25 in petty cash, and $100 in fire department petty cash, and a new hammer drill.
While the door lock isn’t being changed, Schott indicated that a new lock is being added to the entry door on city hall. In addition, Public Works Director John Hanson is working to determine if plates can be put on the door for further strength. Schott, Tjepkes, and Hanson did some digging into various security systems for the building as well.
Two Hartland Security bids were considered. The first was for $1,495 with keypad door entry, motion sensors, and door alarms, but no cameras. The second was for $5,130 with cameras. Both included an additional $20.95 per month for security response center subscription. Should the door alarms be triggered, Hartland would contact one number first, likely city hall or the fire department phone, then call a second number, likely the sheriff’s department, if no one can be reached at the first.
Councilor Ron Reisner spoke to experience with the company, and noted it would be nice to have cameras.
“If the door locks work, do we really need this?” asked Councilor Terry Hanson. “They left all the stuff on the fire trucks alone. For getting in, they didn’t really get [expletive].”
Tjekpes and Hanson provided details of a Blink outdoor system available through Amazon for $379.99 with no monthly subscription charge. The wireless high-definition system comes with five cameras, all motion activated, and utilizes an app that can be accessed by smartphone. In order to make the system work best, it was recommended that the city install a wireless booster, due to the steel of the building limiting wireless signal, for an estimated $200 more.
It was decided that Tjepkes will order the system through her personal Amazon Prime account, for faster and free shipping, and be reimbursed. The city’s contract with Frontier is almost up and it was noted they will look into getting service from Mediacom.
The council also approved going forward with a street repair project estimated at $150,000. A bid of $129,360 was provided by Rochester Sand & Gravel. It includes a complete 1.5-inch mill and overlay of five streets: Second Street (from Highway 52 to Cedar Street), First Street (from Cedar Street to the dead end), Cedar Street (from County Road 8 to First Street), Lilac Street (from County Road 8 to the dead end), and Oak Street (from First Street to the dead end). It also includes a complete reconstruction option for the City of Fountain Shop. It was amended to add the last block of First Street for an additional $15,000-$20,000.
Tjepkes noted that according to the Smith Schafer auditing, the city has $180,000 in funds for street repair. The work is to be done in 2021, but no timeline was given.
Lastly, the council approved the installation of a 220-volt outlet by the rear entry door of the community center. They had discussed both interior and exterior options, but ultimately decided to have an electrician install it inside the building, just off the circuit breaker box. The city electrician will install the outlet while there conducting other work.
The next regularly scheduled city council meeting is Wednesday, June 2, at 7 p.m. With COVID restrictions now beginning to lift, all meetings will now be held again at city hall. They are open to the public.