The Minonk City Council received 3 bids for a new ambulance at its normal Monday night meeting. Alderman Nick Caverra said the 3 bids were $178,788,$173,835 and $176,750. The 3 bids are going to be reviewed and compared for specs before a decision is made on which ambulance to purchase.
Alderman Mark McNamara said the city's salt truck needs to be replaced. He said there is an offer for the truck and he suggested it would be best to get rid of it now. Alderman Trent Ruestman said he would like to keep the truck until a new one can be purchased in case a salt truck would be needed. Mayor Bill Koos said the decision on what to do with the truck will be decided at the next meeting so as to give time to see how long it would take to get a new truck.
The council approved $36,000 to be allocated for the MFT Oil and Chip program this year. Farnsworth engineer Shawn Maurer said it has been two years since the city did any seal coating on the roads and recommended it be done this year. He said the city can get better bids on seal coating if is done every two years since a better price can be obtained for larger quantities. Mr. Maurer added that Oak Street is the street in most need of repair.
The council approved the purchase of a sewer camera and locator made by Rigid for $13,739. The base price of the camera was $12,900 but the council elected to add on a better transmitter.
The council approved the purchase of a PACO pump for $3078 for the water treatment plant. There is a lead time of 3 to 4 weeks to get the pump.
The council agreed to have another clean-up day for the city sometime in May. Mayor Koos said he will provide a list of possible dates for the council to choose from at the next council meeting.
The council approved a WTP payment of $98,921.66 to Mid-Illinois Mechanical for their work at the sewer treatment plant. Fransworth engineer Shawn Maurer said the upgrade to the plant is about 60% complete. He said they are waiting for dry weather in order to get a crane into the area to move the heavy equipment. He mentioned that some extra work is involved in replacing some faulty wiring at the plant.
The council approved a $2500 bid by Ryan Barth for maintenance of the ball parks at Veterans Park.
In public comments, Minonk resident James Liner said he noticed on MinonkTalk and in the Pantagraph that the city was advertising for an Adminstrative Manager instead of a City Administrator. Mr. Liner said he assumed the title was changed so as not to require the person who is hired for the job to live in the city since there is no residency requirement for this job description. Mr. Liner asked why the council doesn't eliminate the residency requirement for all management positions in the city so that more qualified persons will apply, especially if the new Administrative Manager will have jurisdiction over some employees who are under the residency clause.
Mayor Koos said he understood Mr. Liner's point and will let the council decide if it wants to change the residency requirement for city personnel.
Note: This article has been corrected in paragraph one to the purchase of a new ambulance instead of a used one.