City discusses water line replacement, disruptions beginning in the summer
April Lynne was sworn in by City Clerk Lisa Goodnight for the Gainesville center alderman seat during Thursday night’s regular monthly meeting. Lynne accepted the seat after resident Donald Amyx declined to accept the seat.
Water improvements
Water specialist Jessi Price reported that the city’s water loss showed very little improvement during the past month.
“The only improvement we’ve had is the east side,” she said. “The west side has went back to its previous standing. We think the valves on the west by the well might be leaking again. The center has not improved either.”
Price told the council that they have been waiting for the new employee from the Missouri Rural Water Association to come for about a month. However, since he doesn’t come when he schedules, Price said they are going to try to get help from someone else.
“The new water improvements that are getting ready to start happening this summer, this spring, will help a lot with our water loss,” she said. “So we’re kind of at a standstill. We don’t really want to dig something up, just to have to dig it up again.”
Price told the council that she had a meeting about the plans concerning the new water improvements. “It is going to start soon, and it is going to be very disruptive,” she warned.
“It is mostly the center of town that we’re working on, and the center of town is where all of our food is, all of our restaurants, and it’s going to suck for awhile.”
Price said the water line from Well 1 will be replaced from the center to the brand new tower that will be constructed. After that the west side will be connected to the center.
“So we’re going to have a lot of disruptions, a lot of boil advisories just because we’re cutting lines, severing connections and rehooking them back up,” Price told the council. “There’s no way to avoid it. We talked to the contractor today as to the best way to do it so that people aren’t without water…even if it’s not drinkable. And we still have some water from the last FEMA incident that we can always share.
“And we’re going to try and get the word out, with the newspaper, get it online, get it in peoples invoices, however we can, because it is going to be disruptive. And it will be about a year process. But it’s looking good so far.”
Fire department report
Mayor Gail Reich read the fire department report from fire chief Kevin Piland. Piland reported that the department had answered 24 calls: 11 medical, two structure fires, seven brush fires, two traffic accidents and two vehicle fires.
According to the report, the firefighters will continue training and attending certification classes.
“We are proud of our firefighters as they have given their very best,” said the report. “We are always in need of firefighters and first responders. We will be accepting applications, if anyone would like to apply…There was a dump truck fire in the city and we didn’t have any volunteer firefighters available at the time. We asked for mutual aid from other departments which takes extra time to get help.”
Piland wrote that he spoke with some of the city employees who would be willing to train to help on the fire department if the mayor and city council approved.
Later in the meeting, the council unanimously approved allowing city employees to help fight fires within the city if there are no firefighters available. The employees will also attend training.
Mayor Gail Reich told the council that she put something on Facebook about needing more volunteers. “Our firefighters are aging out and that equipment is heavy,” she said. “When people call the fire department they expect a fire department to show up, but it’s all volunteers, so we’re trying to shame some people into maybe helping. I don’t know if that will work or not.”
Goodnight asked if putting up a banner in front of the Gainesville fire department would be a good idea.
“That’s a very good idea,” said Alderman Dana Crisp.
“Wasola tried it,” said Reich. “We could borrow theirs. It didn’t even have Wasola on it.”
Reich also said Piland wrote that the fire department radios from the county grants were delivered last week, and he wanted to thank the county for the radios.
Maintenance department and treatment facility reports
City Maintenance Supervisor Mike Davis reported that regular maintenance was being performed, a few ditches were being cleaned out and a lot of “locates” for the new fiber lines were conducted.
Davis also reported that two sewer pump stations had failed last week, including the station at the Gainesville Health Care Center.
“The one at the nursing home, both motors went down the same weekend,” said Davis. “Nothing ran over because Dan Smucker (with White River Valley Electric Cooperative) happened to call me early Monday morning and said…[their equipment] showed [we] used no electricity.”
Because the new pumps had not been delivered, Davis said the employees had to “rob” an old one that had been used at another pump station.
“We got it going,” he said. “But both pumps went down so I don’t know if the city will have to buy another new pump or if [a grant recently received by the city] will let us get two of them to go in there.”
Reich asked if Davis had found out what caused the problem at the nursing home pump stations.
“They had rags in them,” he told her.
“Don’t we have a grinder up there?”
“We put two new ones up there, and one wasn’t even two years old.”
“I thought the nursing home was going to start doing the upkeep,” said Alderman Treva Warrick.
“They do on the septic tank,” said Price.
“They pay $500 a month to pump that thing out,” added Davis.
“It should catch [things] before they get to the grinder but it doesn’t always,” said Price.
“But if they keep it pumped out then it shouldn’t get to the grinder station,” said Warrick.
Davis told the council that the tank is pumped out once a month, usually around the 15th. However, sometimes the tank is pumped out early because of the pump company’s schedule. That makes it longer until the next time it’s pumped.
Davis said there were problems with the pump tanks before because rubber gloves and other things that were being thrown away and ending up in the tanks, causing the tanks to run over. Davis said he went to the nursing home over a year ago and told them that if the tanks continued to run over, that the council would require that the nursing home install an $80,000 grinder.
“I don’t know if the city is going to have to buy another pump [because of the two pumps going out] but I know the grants are covering one of them.”
“We’ll just have to see near the end how much money is left with what we do replace,” said Price.
Davis then told the council that the footing had been dug for the new building for the water treatment facility, new concrete poured, rebar installed and new generator pad poured. He also reported that three-quarters of the new fence was also installed
“We’re moving right along down there.”
Gainesville Saddle Club
The council also discussed the lease agreement with the Gainesville Saddle Club.
Goodnight told the council that the president of the saddle club said that he had read the agreement and was OK with everything on the agreement. However, he questioned what would happen to the building and the bleachers at the grounds because those permanent structures actually belong to the saddle club.
“I talked to Jessica [Blackburn, Gainesville’s city attorney] about it and she would be willing to add wording in [the lease] that if the lease ceases to be that [the Saddle Club] would be expected to move their property including the stationary building and bring the property back to what it was before,” said Goodnight.
The council unanimously approved a motion to have Blackburn amend the lease so that if the Saddle Club gives up the lease they will be required to remove any permanent structures or allow the city give them an offer to buy them.
Nuisance ordinance violation
Goodnight informed the council that Blackburn needed their input as to what the council is going to insist on concerning a property in the city limits that is considered in violation of the city’s nuisance ordinance.
“Are we talking about the trash, the water holding things within the fencing, are you going to ask her to put a front back on her house?” asked Goodnight. “What specifically are you asking for? She’s asking what you want to happen for you to consider this property in compliance.”
“All the trash cleaned up that can hold water and rodents on the outside,” said Warrick. “And the front of the house can’t be a danger to go in.”
“What about all the doors that are being used as fencing, can we do something about that?” asked Reich. “Do we have an ordinance on fencing?”
“We do,” answered Price. “But there’s nothing about it looking pretty. It’s pretty vague on that.”
“We’ll have to specifically say no doors for fencing,” said Warrick.
“Well I know the trash inside the fence is a problem,” said Goodnight. “You can’t see it from Main Street, but you can see it from 6th Street.”
“There’s a lot of it,” said Reich.
‘There’s a vehicle in there, too,” added Davis.
“So add vehicle, vehicle parts, scrap metal, trash,” said Reich.
“OK,” said Goodnight. “So it will have to be cleared out and you’re talking about in the front and in the back.”
“Yes, the whole property,” said Alderman Lana Bushong.
“The front windows are busted and there’s clothing stacked halfway up the windows,” added Reich.
“Do we have anything about the inside of the house [in the ordinance]?” asked Warrick.
“No,” said Goodnight. “But you do have the visual aesthetic in the ordinance, so if you’re adding that the windows need to be free of clutter then I’ll add that.”
“The building needs to be sound,” said Bushong.
“The ordinance said [the home] has to be habitable,” said Price.
Goodnight told the council that the neighbors have been good about helping with the vermin infestation coming from the property. “It’s not just rats, there’s a groundhog problem, too.
“So you want to add vermin, dilapidated buildings and are you going to ask that she put some other entrance to her home?”
“It’s got a porch and steps but the top of the porch fell off and they pulled it down and they just put it in the yard,” said Reich.
“OK, so the second part of this is what are you willing to do if [the homeowner] doesn’t comply?” asked Goodnight. “Do you want to move forward and do the clean up yourself and charge her for it?”
“Well, how’s she going to pay for it?” asked Bushong.
“You would put a lien on the property,” answered Goodnight. “That means that the property can not be sold unless [the city is] reimbursed.”
Goodnight told the council that the homeowner doesn’t owe anything on the property and is current with her bills. However, according to the court and tax records she is not the sole owner, even though the other “owner” said he doesn’t own it.
Bushong told the council that she knows the other “owner” and he had told her that he didn’t own the property, that it had all been signed over to the current homeowner. She said she would speak with him and see what he had to say about the situation.
“So what I’m hearing is that if this [property] isn’t brought up to livable standards that you would want to live by based on our ordinance, which is pretty strict, then you are willing and want to move forward with a clean up that you may have to pay for but there would be a lien on the property,” said Goodnight. “And remember when this [the citation] happens, she is only going to have 7 days to comply.”
The council also discussed a company that previously approached the city about domestic utility refund on behalf of Bel Oak, the owner of Gainesville Health Care Center. Goodnight informed the council that the man was told the business would need to go through the state for a refund, not the city. Goodnight said the only thing the city will have to do is come up with the invoices on the nursing home’s bills. However, the time it takes to find and send the bills to the company can possibly be billed.
The council also approved an ordinance be written that will deal with future similar requests. The ordinance will be presented at the April meeting.
Price reported that a city resident who had been behind on her water bill had been paying $200 a month. Because the resident had been paying on time and had requested to be connected to the city water system, Davis went to her residence and dug the city’s portion of the line and soon the citizens will have water again. The connection to their current well will be severed.
“They will have their own regulator and their own shut off,” said Price. “So they will not be using ours which is what we require now with any new installs. Everything is going about as smooth as it can, we just have to get the last bit done.”
The council also approved switching from the current internet and phone companies to White River Connect, the new fiber currently being installed in the county.
Price told the council that city hall continues to have problems with the current internet and phones. Although the wifi is being given to the city in exchange for allowing the company to be on the city towers, the phone bill is normally between $177 and $185 per month.
However, the new bill, which will be the internet and phone together, and will include two lines, the fastest available internet and phone transfer, will be $199.
Davis was also given permission to come up with the specifications of the new roofs needed on wellhouse 2 and wellhouse 4 and advertise for bids in the Ozark County Times.
He was also given permission to hire summer help for cutting grass at the airport and park.
The council agreed to advertise for flower bed maintenance with the same terms as 2024.
Davis also informed the council that he needed two rims for the new tires on the city’s dump truck.