The City of Stanley is moving forward with the library addition. Now in progress on Fourth Avenue, the new addition saw the main floor and steel beams put up last week.
In the meantime, the city is also addressing its water plant issues, and part of that is ensuring staff.
To that end, the council moved to pay extra for on call work at the water plant, following discussion in committee of the whole.
“I will state the motion,” Alderperson and President Pro Tempore Mark Fitzsimmons said upon leaving closed session during committee of the whole Monday, Dec. 1. “I will make a motion to pay on call for water plant operators $250 per scheduled on call week.”
“I’ll second,” Alderperson Keith Samuelson said, the committee of the whole passing it in turn to bring to council, which approved the measure.
The news of extra pay for on call water operators came after a closed session on wages recent hiring of two additional public works employees with special emphasis in the water treatment plant, now being trained in at the northwest water treatment plant. Invited in to closed session to advise the council on current water operations at the plant were longtime public works employees Joe Schmitt and Jacob Lukes, who stayed on later for a discussion on EMOR submittal, a three month city contract with Jon Strand of CBS Squared expiring Dec. 18.
Schmitt gave the update
“So currently you guys voted Jon Strand,” Schmitt said. “Jon Strand, his three month contract is up on the 18th of this month I believe. So your biggest problem is you need a Grade 1 operator’s license to do the EMOR Report the first of the month when all the numbers get put in.
“In addition to that all the weekly testing for the DNR. Bactis, bromates, all that stuff, someone has to be doing that. They’re going to be taking the test, they’re going to have their name on it for the DNR so they’re responsible for those tests. So those are you’re two things which criteria suggests.” To date the city has been relying on Strand for such services, but with the contract up the city needed someone certified to make state reports. With the new city hires currently learning the plant but not certified to make state reports, someone with a grade 1 operator’s license was needed for the interim.
Alderperson Jason Meyer sought clarification.
“And that testing you’re describing, that’s typically done by one person?” he asked.
“It would be the water operator,” Schmitt said. “Both people could do the weekly testing, it would just be one person that signs off on it.”
Samuelson had a question.
“Is there anybody working for the city that has that license?” he asked.
“One guy sitting here,” Fitzsimmons said of the meeting attendees. “And it ain’t me.”
“It’s not me,” Schmitt said. It was unclear who was meant.
City Administrator/Clerk-Treasurer Nicole Pilgrim brought up the possibility of Donohue and Associates.
“I did ask Donohue if they would be able to do it,” she said. “They’re supposed to be here with a proposal.” The next meeting is Dec. 15, which left the matter of the present and completing the current contract.
“The problem is we also need to have the November ones entered in and Jon Strand is trying to get out of it because he wanted Maggie to get her Wisconsin ID and enter it in, and I told her she was not going to because we have no knowledge about what we’re entering,” Pilgrim said.
Schmitt said the council needed to hold Strand to the three month agreement.
“I don’t know why that’s even an argument because you guys passed a three month thing through December,” he said. “So therefore he should be forced. You guys need to hold him to that.”
The three month agreement was for $700 per submittal.
“Are the numbers available for him to enter in,” Alderperson Jason Meyer asked.
“Absolutely,” Schmitt said. “Everything is up there. It’s well organized.”
“Ok,” Meyer said. “Because I know in the past he expressed that it was not his job to do the testing and take the numbers.”
“If he’s being paid $700 then he should do the six hours of work that it takes to do it,” Schmitt said.
“Absolutely,” Alderperson Aaron Dickson said.
Discussion touched on the need to reach out to Strand before returning to Donohue and reaching out for a quote for submittals moving forward.
“Well I guess then that has to be the thing to reach out and get this taken care of,” Fitzsimmons said for EMOR submittal. “I would like to see a proposal from Donohue...and ask whether it would be considered.”
Donohue is currently contracted with the city for plant operator training runs through February, with more time required before new city staff will be able to get an operator’s license of their own.
Meyer had a question for Pilgrim on Donohue.
“When you talked to them Nicole they seemed to be where they would be available enough to do all that?” he asked.
“Donohue’s the one that came and trained everybody to take the samples last week,” she said.
Schmitt clarified with additional information.
“Susan from Donohue came up and showed me and Jake and Ben how these samples were supposed to be taken,” he said. “But those tests are just the ones where they’d be taking samples to send them in. Your EMOR numbers are going to be your biggest ones right now. That you have to have a grade one operator for.”
Consenus was to reach out to Strand for the immediate present.
“I can inform Jon that he’s going to be entering them by the eighth,” Pilgrim said of EMOR submittal. “And then I’ll get Donohue’s proposal for the next meeting.”
In other city news, the council approved a whitetail deer bowhunting permit for Cody Anderson at 698 McKenzie Street, the site described in the permit application as “wooded land on the outskirts of town.”
Also approved Monday were several agenda items, including the bimonthly administrator’s report and a payment of $86,356.04 for library work to Hoeft Builders, as recommended by River Architects. Also approved for the library was a payment of $70,500 to Lane Brothers for asbestos abatement, as recommended by CBS Squared.
The council also approved accounts payable checks for Dec. 1 in the amount of $814,436.46, with $135,544.44 from the general fund, $156,951.03 for the library (largely related to construction work), $444,190.01 from the water fund, and $77,750.98 from Wastewater.
The council tabled action on an updated plan from Stanley Truck Sales and City Personnel Manual, the former not discussed earlier in committee of the whole and the latter awaiting further revisions before approval.
Council meetings are held the first and third Monday of each month in city hall at 7:00 p.m. The public is invited to attend.