The Collinwood City Commission met in regular session on Monday, September 14th, 2020 at 7:00 p.m. in the conference/courtroom of Collinwood City Hall.
The meeting was called to order by Mayor Glenn Brown. All commissioners were in attendance, including Vice Mayor Danny Sandusky, Commissioner Jeremiah Stults, Commissioner Debie Pigg, and Commissioner Butch Kephart. City Manager Gary Victory and City Recorder Cindy Kephart were in attendance as well.
Mayor Brown called the meeting to order, and the invocation was offered by Commissioner Kephart. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited by all.
First was approval of the agenda. A motion was made by Commissioner Stults and seconded by Commissioner Pigg to approve the agenda as presented, and the motion carried.
The next item on the agenda was the approval of the minutes from the regular meeting held on August 10th, 2020. Vice Mayor Sandusky made a motion and Commissioner Kephart seconded to approve the minutes, and they were unanimously approved.
Department reports were distributed to the commissioners for their review, and the commission had no questions or discussion regarding the reports. Mayor Brown expressed appreciation to the Police Department and the Utility Department for all their work at the recent tractor pull and Old Timers’ Day. City Manager Victory said that hopefully the circumstances for next year’s tractor pull will be different, and if Broadway must be shut down again, all the businesses will be notified.
Next on the agenda was the Safety and Health Plan Resolution, which is required by the state to be updated every seven years. Commissioner Stults made a motion to approve the resolution, and Commissioner Pigg seconded the motion. The resolution was unanimously approved.
The Hazard Pay Resolution was next. City Manager Victory explained that grant funds will be used to pay all essential city employees $1 per hour extra on their hourly pay from March 17, 2020 to May 11, 2020. Vice Mayor Sandusky made a motion to approve the hazard pay. Commissioner Kephart seconded, and the resolution was unanimously approved on roll call vote.
Next on the agenda was an update on the 4th Avenue paving project. City Manager Victory said that the paving has been completed, but all the yellow striping has not been done. He said that the contractor would be paid once the project is completely finished.
An update on the C-Wood project was next. City Manager Victory said that there was not much to report, other than a concrete pad has been poured at C-Wood Lumber.
City Manager Victory then gave a brief update on the internet and phone service upgrade. He reminded everyone that the Bevis Education Center internet service would run off of City Hall’s, and that the upgrade should be completed within the next couple of days. He went on to say that the new internet service will be better and faster, and will also cost $30 per month less than what the city is currently paying.
Clean-up letters were next on the agenda. City Manager Victory said that 16 letters have been sent out explaining what residents need to do, and there are three to five more letters to be sent.
Next, Mr. Johnny Russ Daniel addressed the commission regarding Daniel Circle, the street adjacent to his home. Mr. Daniel offered to deed the property that Daniel Circle is on over to the city in order to get it paved. The commission agreed that deeding the property over would not be necessary, and that Daniel Circle will be put on the Collinwood City Streets list so that it can be maintained. Utilities Director Ricky Bratton confirmed that the city has always taken care of Daniel Circle, and will continue to do so.
The Wayne County Welcome Center report for August was next on the agenda. Mayor Brown first extended condolences to the family of Shawn Atchley, a long-time volunteer at the Welcome Center who recently passed away. The Welcome Center was only open from August 19th through August 25th, but still had 151 visitors from 17 states. Volunteer of the Month was Jasper Brewer.
Under “other” on the agenda, City Manager Victory first discussed grants that the city has received this year, along with grants that they may want to consider applying for or re-applying for next year. He said that there is currently $14,100.00 available to the city through the CARES Act, but it must be used for COVID-related reasons. A couple of possibilities were discussed, including covering the cost of mowing, landscaping, etc. that the city has had to do since there has been little or no inmate labor available.
Victory also told the commission that they may want to consider using some of the funds from the Local Government Grant to make more upgrades to the recreation building, including air conditioning and new tables & chairs. Mayor Brown said that he had been approached by someone who is interested in renting the recreation building one Saturday night per month for music. It was confirmed that the charge for rental to someone who lives in the city is $125, while rental to anyone outside the city is $175. Anyone who rents the building will get $50 back if the building is cleaned up properly afterward.
Mayor Brown also mentioned that he had heard complaints about the garbage collectors leaving the empty garbage cans in the street. City Manager Victory said that the problem would be addressed.
Commissioner Pigg said that she recently received a phone call from Tyler Taylor, CEO of Wayne Medical Center, confirming that the CDBG grant for the construction of the new Collinwood Medical Clinic had been received. She said that the plans are already drawn up, and the project is set to begin soon.
Commissioner Pigg then said that she had received complaints about people driving faster on the newly paved streets in the city. Police Chief David Martin said that his department is already watching for speeders.
Commissioner Stults commented that the tennis court next to the recreation building looks awful. City Manager Victory agreed, and said that the loss of inmate labor has affected a lot of areas around town.
Vice Mayor Sandusky next asked what the maximum amount would be that the city could spend on a bucket truck. He said that he had discussed specs and prices with someone, and that there is nothing available on govdeals.com. After some discussion, the commission agreed to see what kind of bucket truck could be bought for $25,000.00.
With no further business to come before the commission, Vice Mayor Sandusky made a motion to adjourn. Commissioner Pigg seconded the motion, and the meeting was adjourned.
