The Minonk City Council approved a bid of $1,052,679 submitted by Hein Construction of East Peoria for the Storm Water Drainage Improvement project at their normal Monday night meeting. Farnsworth engineer Bob Kohlhase said the bids came in higher than anticipated but felt the bids were fair and competitive and reflect current economic conditions. Approximately 20% of the bid included contingency costs of $213,550. Therefore, the expected base cost is $839,129, and final costs will be determined after construction is complete and the utility conflicts are known. Contingency items were included due to the 2008 Project encounters with utility conflicts.
Kohlhase had originally estimated the bids to come in around $700,000 by comparing the lineal footage of pipe from the 2008 sewer project to the current project and adjusting for inflation. However, he said the 2008 project was bid during the start of the economic recession when firms were eager for work. Also, he stated that petroleum prices are much higher now and asphalt prices have doubled since 2008. In addition workers compensation cost have greatly increased for contractors since 2008.
Kohlhase said Hein Construction has good recommendations from a job they recently completed at El Paso. Alderman Sean Cunningham made a motion to transfer funds from the City's sewer fund and general fund to this year's budget for the proposed storm sewer project to cover the discrepancy between the estimated cost and the actual bid.
Water Bill Adjusted
The Council adjusted a water bill for Randy Uphoff of 519 E. Fourth Street. Uphoff's water bill showed a usage of 3000 cubic feet of water while the usage for the past several months had never exceeded 200 cubic feet. Public Works Supervisor Charles McGuire said Uphoff's manual-read water meter was recently replaced with a new radio-read meter. However, the old meter was not saved so the readings could not be confirmed. The Council voted to adjust Uphoff's bill to reflect a usage of 500 cubic feet(the "catch up" difference between the final meter and register readings) added to the average usage for the last six months.
Alderman Sean Cunningham's Parting Comments
Outgoing councilman Sean Cunningham thanked the citizens of Minonk for their support during his 12 years on the City Council. Cunningham said he had some regrets during his tenure in the fact that the City lost some businesses and also by the failure of the City to buy the old Young's Garage building next to City Hall. On the positive side he noted that new businesses did come into the City and the City did not raise taxes. He said the City undertook three large sewer projects without raising taxes. He concluded with, "The city now has money in the bank which cannot be claimed by most other cities. I think it is important now to step back and let others help run the show."
In other business, the Council approved the appointment of Joshua Halley to the Parks & Recreation Committee.
Council Comments
Alderwoman Julie Redenius said volunteers are needed for the Fourth of July Committee. Anyone interested in joining should contact Stephanie Fuchs.
City Administrator Comments
City Administrator Doug Elder said the City will be hiring four part-time summer workers to help in sidewalk work and painting.
Mayor's Comments
Mayor Bill Koos thanked Sean Cunningham for his service as alderman. He said the first time he met Sean was when Sean sold him some Cutco knives while going door to door. The Mayor said the City was nearly broke when Sean and he were on the City Council in 2001. He said when he became Mayor he asked the Council to allow five years to improve the City's infrastructure. The Mayor added, "Sean helped us keep that course and the city is in an enviable position financially compared to most other cities.
Public Comments
Dave Uphoff asked the Mayor why there was such a high cost for insurance for a city employee. Uphoff said from reading the budget report, he noticed that a full time employee was making over $25,000 a year but the health insurance paid by the city was over $21,000. In addition, another $1300 was spent for life insurance and disability insurance which means almost 98% of the salary was spent on benefits. Uphoff said he paid for his own health insurance all his life and his coverage never exceeded 10% of his salary. The Mayor said that is the way the City's health insurance policy is structured and there is nothing the City can do about it. Alderman Cunningham said trying to change it now would invite discrimination issues.
Swearing in of New Council Members
At the end of the regular Council session, another session was started in which the new council members were sworn in to replace outgoing members Sean Cunningham and Corey Ruestman. First, City Clerk James Liner was sworn in by Mayor Koos. Then City Clerk Liner swore in newly elected councilmen Russell Ruestman and Justin Faulk and re-elected council members Julie Redenius and Nick Fiorini.