Mabel Fire Chief Orel Tollefson addressed the Mabel City Council at its October meeting, asking for a pay increase for his firefighters. Currently the fire department gets $10 per hour and Tollefson is asking for $20 an hour. “We don’t expect to get the $20. Our guys don’t do it for the money, but we’re asking to negotiate an increase to show that we are valued.”
According to City Clerk Karen Larson, it’s been a long time since they’ve had an increase. The city contributes to the fire department’s pension and that contribution has increased over the years. Last year, the city paid out $11,375 for 27 fire runs and hourly wages for meetings and trainings. So far this year, there have been 20 runs.
“I understand money is tight,” Tollefson said, “But we serve the community in a very important way. We know the city can’t afford to add more to our retirement fund, but we thought an hourly raise for fighting fires was something that you could consider. Our guys are getting $10 an hour for doing dangerous work. You can go to McDonald’s and get $15 an hour. That doesn’t seem right.”
Councilman Gary Morken inquired about what the ambulance crew is paid per hour. City Clerk Larson said they get $10 an hour for both trainings and ambulance runs, but they do not receive any other compensation for a retirement pension.
Mayor Jim Westby said he looked into a couple of other cities and what they pay their volunteer fire departments. He found that Decorah pays $10 an hour and so does Harmony. Tollefson reiterated that they don’t expect to get $20, but thought they’d start high to begin negotiations. “Again, we know we’re a ‘volunteer’ department, but these 19 guys go into dangerous situations and would like to hear, ‘Hey, you’re doing a good job. Here’s a raise to show our appreciation!’”
The general consensus was that an increase may be in order, but how much depends on the budget. Councilman Morken suggested the matter be tabled until the November council meeting to give Larson time to look at the numbers and see what we have in the budget. It was agreed that she would bring the information to the next meeting and the council would decide about a pay raise before the budget has to be finalized at the December meeting.
In other business, bids will open Wednesday, October 18 at 11 a.m. for the Sanitary Sewer Rehabilitation Project. This project includes new linings and selected manholes to be replaced. The money to fund the project comes from a Rural Development grant and needs to be used by the city by the end of the year. Approximately $350,000 in grant money is available.
It was brought to the city’s attention that cars are speeding through certain areas of Mabel and exceeding the posted speed limits. There was a discussion about installing radar signs, but they are too expensive at $5,000 per sign. It was suggested that the sheriff’s department be contacted in hopes they can help crack down on speeders.
Public Works Director, Bob Mierau, reported that Horizontal Boring & Tunneling Co. of Nebraska started work on the culvert drainage project for Melby Drive. This company was the lowest bid at $37,983 to install an 18” steel casing under the road and drainage across the road. Heavy rain over the last few days delayed the work, but they are hoping to finish up in a few days.
Water towers were drained and inspected last week. They were found to be good condition on the inside and in need of a little painting on the outside. Hydrant flushing will be October 23-27. The city’s snow ordinance goes into effect November 1 and means that on even-numbered calendar nights, park your vehicle on the even-numbered side of street and on odd-numbered calendar nights, park on the odd-numbered side.
Economic Development Authority (EDA) President, Kirsten Wyffels, reported that bids will open October 13 at 10 a.m. for the construction of the proposed child care center to be built in Mabel. After bids are reviewed by the EDA and the city attorney, the EDA will make a recommendation to the city council. The final selection will be the council’s decision.
With the increase in the number of rentals at the Mabel Community Center, City Clerk Larson inquired about hiring a cleaning person/service. Larson was asked to gather information about costs and possible companies and bring it to the next meeting.
The next City of Mabel Council meeting will be held at City Hall on Wednesday, November 8 at 7 p.m.
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