The Ostrander City Council met on November 1, with all members present: Erin Volkart, Pam Kunert, Mayor Pat Nesler, Clerk Chris Hyrkas, Heidi Jones, and DJ Start. Police Chief Tom Mosher informed the council of an incident in which a person caused extensive damages to the city park on October 27, by driving through the park repeatedly. Chief Mosher said the vehicle’s tires tore up the sod, and several of the marks were over 100 feet long. He also explained that there were several eye witnesses to the incident, as well as photographic evidence of the suspect’s vehicle, including the license plate number. Chief Mosher said the suspect was reportedly upset about being terminated from employment, and that may have been the reason for the damages. Criminal charges will be coming.
Mosher said overall, “Things were pretty quiet in October, until Thursday,” (October 27). He said after looking into the city’s ordinances relating to winter parking and snow removal, there are three ordinances currently in effect, and all that really needs to be done is to purchase and put up signs. He suggested buying three high density reflective signs for $109. He said if the council agrees to this, he would order them, and they should be received in a week or two. The council unanimously voted to OK this plan.
Chief Mosher then discussed the clean-up progress on the Nate Cole property, saying that Cole has made good progress. There has been a temporary structure put up to store items, siding is being installed on the house, and a fence is being installed. Vehicles are licensed and operable, and have been moved further to the edge of the street, and are now considered to be legally parked. Mosher showed pictures of how the property looked in July, as well as the current situation. He stated, “It looks like to me, everything that’s laying there now is related to his siding project.”
Regarding the structure and fencing, Heidi Jones stated, “He’s made a lot of improvements…As long as it’s contained and I can’t see it, it doesn’t bother me.” She also thanked Chief Mosher for all of his time and effort to help get this situation addressed. Chief Mosher said one benefit of having this property cleaned up is that now he can address this with other property owners in town who have similar issues. There was discussion about establishing a city ordinance to address the allowable number of vehicles on a property. The council also discussed the idea of having citywide cleanup twice annually instead of once, to help citizens control any such issues. No formal action was taken on either of these ideas.
The council discussed the idea of having a “snowbird rate” for water and sewer charges to citizens who are gone for months at a time. After much discussion, the council voted to offer such “snowbirds” the option of 50% of the base rate for water and sewer, or a 50% rate for turning their water off and then on again later. The city will create an application for citizens to submit when requesting these snowbird rates. The council also voted to assess unpaid water/sewer bills and costs for properties the city mowed. These costs will be added to the appropriate property owners’ tax assessments.
The council considered damage to the ladder and lighting on the water tower. A letter from Shawn Mulhern of KLM Engineering explained that the rolling roof ladder has shifted and caused some separation of the conduit and wires for the lighting. He said the ladder should have been permanently mounted years ago, and is a dangerous situation that needs to be bolted or chained in place. The lighting will also need to be repaired. The council discussed whether or not lighting is required on the water tower, and Chief Mosher said his concern is that Mayo One (helicopters) may not come into Ostrander if the water tower isn’t lighted. The city will look into the cost of repairing the wiring and lighting system, as well as the cost of installing a solar-powered light with battery backup. The council OK’d whichever is more affordable, up to $1,000. The city will also get the ladder chained up so it stays in place.
The council OK’d purchasing propane from Kruegels at a price of $.879 per gallon. The council also approved the applications of five new medical responders, and approved two liquor license renewals. The council then conducted city employee reviews.
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