The Spring Valley City Council meeting on March 11. Members in attendance included Mayor Tony Archer, Luan Ruesink, Chris Danielson, John Dols, and City Administrator Deb Zimmer. Mike Hadland was absent.
The council discussed the proposed update to the city’s Snow and Ice Control Policy. It states, in part, “Normal removal of snow will occur between the hours of 10 p.m. and 6 a.m. when vehicles are off the streets and after accumulation of over two inches of snow. However, accumulation of over five inches of snow during the daytime hours will result in one snow removal vehicle being used to keep a minimum of one lane of the street open, with priority being given to heavily traveled streets.” Zimmer explained that the reason for just one snow removal vehicle being assigned to this occasional “day duty” is to allow the majority of the crew to sleep in the daytime and work at night, when snow removal can be done much more efficiently, due to less traffic and fewer cars parked on streets. She added that there is leeway to make exceptions based on specific conditions. She also reminded all citizens that it’s illegal to shovel snow onto city streets, and it makes it harder for the city crew to keep streets cleared.
The proposed policy also has a “priority list” for snow plowing and de-icing, as follows, in descending order: fire hall and ambulance facility; arterial and collector streets; commercial streets; residential streets; cul-de-sacs and parking lots; alleys and sidewalks. The council unanimously voted to approve the updated policy as submitted. Zimmer pointed out that the policy should be considered “fluid,” meaning that the city council can continue to change it, if needed.
The council heard from Jason Boynton of the accounting firm of Smith Schafer & Associates, as he gave a summary of the recent financial audit done for the city of Spring Valley. Overall, Boynton explained, the audit resulted in an unmodified “clean” opinion for 2018. He mentioned one area in which Spring Valley public utilities were under-collateralized, but said this has been remedied.
Boynton shared that Spring Valley’s General Property Tax Levy represented 44% of total governmental revenues in 2018, with tax collections totaling $1,275,619. Local Government Aid accounted for 31% of governmental revenues.
General Fund expenditures were noted to be $337,875 under budget, but Deb Zimmer stated, “Public Works, just so you’re aware of that, is under budget just because we did not finish all of the work from last year, (because of) some of the add-on stuff… So it’s not that we truly were under budget.”
Overall, Boynton summarized that Spring Valley’s General Fund unassigned fund balance is 115% of the annual general fund expenditures, and the city has just over $830,000 in the Capital Improvement fund balance for future capital needs. He also added that all debt service funds are being adequately funded, and all outstanding bonds are being paid on a timely basis. The council voted to accept the audit as submitted.
John Dols suggested using some donated funds to replace the lighting at the community center, at a cost of $2,218.63. The council voted to approve this.
Deb Zimmer said the city needs to set a public hearing regarding some of the easements regarding the Industrial Park project. She said some of the easements need to be vacated and corrected. The council set the public hearing for 6 p.m. on March 25, during the next regular council meeting.
Mayor Archer appointed Janelle Rowe to fill a vacancy on the Library Board, and the city council concurred. He also thanked all staff who have been working hard on snow removal for the city, and he encouraged citizens to drive carefully, since visibility at intersections continues to be a challenge. The meeting adjourned at 6:35 p.m.
Photo by Rich Wicks