The Madison City Council met on Jan. 23 (rescheduled from Jan. 22), where the inspection report on the Madison City Lake Dam was reviewed.
The inspection found that the embankments upstream and downstream are both full of trees. Mayor Paul Dean asked City Clerk Alice Grimm to get bids prioritizing the embankments being cleaned up, having the spillway trash rack cleaned out and smoothing out the burrows. Dean stated he did not want the city’s backhoe to attempt to do the work, to prevent wear and tear.
In other business, the council discussed the need for a zoning committee and an update on the new community announcement sign at the city island.
The council would like monitoring of city code violations to resume. Grimm advised that the last violation issued was in June.
Dean updated the board on the financial accounting situation and the vacant treasurer position. He stated that the accounting firm of Colangelo & Taber, Accountants of Eureka, will handle the city accounting. The city has reached out to Shana Rains for the city monthly bookkeeping and she is considering the position. Mike Peroo, CPA will handle the budget and continue to do the audit for the city moving forward.
Council member Tony Fankhauser accepted the position of immediate contact for maintenance staff, which was previously held by Councilman Earl Murphy. Fankhauser would like to see the water tower signal system made a priority. He suggested an alternative to purchasing a generator for the water tower, which has been delayed due to supply chain reasons. He would like the city to look into using a solar panel to provide power to the system which sends the signal to the water treatment plant. Fankhauser stated that this is the power supply that Panhandle Eastern Pipe Line Company uses to send signals. The council also talked about possible future improvements to McKinley Street.
In open forum, the council heard from a potential applicant who had questions on the City Lake Camp Host position. The council also heard from Kim Gaines concerning the city sewer line to her house that recently had issues. Council member Jenn Boles asked if these lines are ones that still need to be lined. Grimm confirmed that they are. Council member Bekah Leach commented that this is why the city has the maintenance fund for these types of issues. Fankhauser stated that it cannot be flushed out or lined right now due to the weather, but it needs to be done as soon as the weather allows.
The council went into executive session for legal consultation for 5 minutes, no decisions were made following the session.
The next Madison City Council meeting will be Monday, Feb. 5 at 7 p.m.
