Ayres Associates updates city on street projects as house at 624 North Franklin also addressed, resident brings up Franklin Street jake breaking

by Joseph Back

Meeting Monday Sept. 6 at the Stanley Fire Hall, the Stanley City Council covered many items. Ranging from an update by Ayres on work out by Sawmill Road to comment by Garth Johnson relating to Franklin Street and engine braking along with a dumpster removal and property line dispute, things were interesting.

Starting out the updates from Sept. 6, Ayres Associate engineer Lisa Fleming told the Council that contractors were putting in well points on South Broadway, with dirt flying days later for a manhole on Sawmill.

Next appearing in the once a year insurance renewal was Casey Woodcock from Forward Financial, with the return of an old question from one council member: What was Inland Marine”?

A misleading terms, it was restated from the year prior, being a catchall category not necessarily tied to water.

In the meantime, Wopodcockinformed the council that it’s present insurer wasn’t renewing due to a series of current and pending claims totaling roughly $877,000, or 13 total in four years. Six of the claims were related to workmen’s compensation, with council members bringing up the city had since hired a safety training company, asking if this would bring the rates down.

Not for the present, in a nutshell. While safety was certainly good and could impact the future, the offer on hand Sept. 6 had a new insurance provider with higher rates, on account of the large payouts in the past. With time and care, those premiums, could come down.

Listed on the Sept. 6 agenda for property dispute resolution in item eight, meanwhile, north side resident Garth Johnson also shared a statement with the Council in which he called attention to engine braking by semi trucks in violation of city ordinance, per a sign at 10th Avenue as one came into town. But while the Council showed skepticism in relation to the dispute details and opted to allow for due process on the matter to give the other party time to answer said dispute, Johnson also had other things to talk about.

More specifically, he critiqued the Council for re moving a dumpster he was using to do tornado cleanup and said the Council owed him one, not having given proper notice, he claimed.

Following Johnson’s comments in Council deliberation, police chief Lance Weiland said that he had told the dumpster company to “move” the dumpster but had no say over what they did beyond that. Johnson was using the dumpster to clean up from the tornado.

With ash trees due to come down and with regard to general cleanup, moreover, there was some good news, as the council approved a stump grinder for public works operator in charge John Hoel, although the machine is not yet here.

In other Franklin Street news, meanwhile, it was related that the property owner and insurance company for 624 North Franklin were within their rights on the time scale for removing debris from a house fire last spring, while a followup update September 19 had much of the same.

The prospect of cleanup on the city’s part of the area on North Franklin could mean $30,000 to $40,000 in taxpayer funding, along with setting precedent for future incidents.

The Council showed reluctance to use taxpayer funds in cleaning up 624 North Franklin, while the County would only be involved if someone was living there, which they aren’t at present.

In the meantime the property owner at 624 North Franklin is expected to keep up with rodent control as the investigation drags out, with the statute of limitations raising the possibility of a two to three year wait for mitigation. In the meantime any damages or other fallout is on the property owner, as Council member Mark Fitzsimmons was told the insurance on the property had been suspended, following a call to the property’s insurance carrier and a few phone transfer detours.

But as to the outlook more generally? Look around! The autumn equinox is here as of Thursday September 22, and with leaves beginning to turn, the Don’t forget the Fall Festival this Saturday September 24! The fun starts at 9 a.m.