During the regular meeting of the Spring Valley City Council on November 14, the council appointed John Dols to fill the council vacancy caused by the resignation of Jessy Betts, effective immediately. Council members stated that since the recent election resulted in two new council members (Chris Danielson and Luan Ruesink) being chosen by voters, it made sense to appoint the candidate with the third-most votes to fill this council vacancy, and that was John Dols. The council also approved Resolution 2018-35, canvassing the election results, which included Tony Archer being elected mayor for a two-year term, and Danielson and Ruesink elected to four-year terms on the council.
Prior to the regular meeting, a public hearing was held regarding the proposed transfer of four pieces of property. No citizens spoke up to oppose the transfer, so the public hearing was closed. During the regular council meeting, Deb Zimmer explained, “We’ll be acting on four resolutions. If you remember, the elementary property, we had to clear up that title. In the process, the three lots on the northern end of the street, three lots on the east side of the road,…basically, we’re giving them 20 feet of property, as part of clearing this up.” The council voted unanimously to approve the four resolutions for these transfers.
The council next considered, and approved the sale of four parcels in the industrial park area. Lots 116 and 95 were approved for sale to KFI, and Lots 115 and 114 to AMD. All four lots will be available at the price of 21 cents per square foot.
Deb Zimmer informed the council of a request from Matt Lastine. She said, “He requested that we consider allowing four-by-fours, the ride-ons, to be approved with a permit.” She explained that these have never been allowed on Spring Valley streets. Todd Jones asked what roads these vehicles are currently allowed on, and Mike Hadland answered, “They can’t ride them on any county roads. The only ones they can ride them on is township (roads).” There was discussion about some citizens who would like to use the vehicles for snow removal, and Hadland pointed out that such usage would be on private property (generally, the owner’s driveway) so no change is needed. The council chose to make no change.
A five-year contract with Sunshine Sanitation for solid waste and recycling was agreed upon. Zimmer said the rates were unchanged, and the new contract will run until December 1, 2023.
Zimmer summarized a few proposed changes regarding the Public Employees Insurance Program, for health insurance. She stated that all applicable employees are aware of the proposed changes, which she said include a $600 increase in deductible, but a $600 increase in HRA to balance that out. She said the change would result in an annual savings of $26,000 for the city. These changes were approved by the council. The council also approved the option for city employees to use PTO for a day off on December 24.
The Washington/High Street Improvement Pay Estimate #6, in the amount of roughly $761,000 was approved. The council also approved a “Lucas” purchase of just under $17,000 using the Ambulance Donation Fund. The city’s annual financial audit will be in the third week of January, performed by the firm of Smith, Schafer and Associates. The council also voted to administer a lien of $594 for unpaid utilities on a property in the city.
Mike Hadland pointed out that there is graffiti on a portion of the bike trail in town, and asked if it can be removed; the city crew will do this. The meeting adjourned at 6:30 p.m. The next regular meeting of the council will be Monday, November 26 at 6 p.m. As always, the public is welcome.
Leave a Reply