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City Council meeting, June 1, 2009. Report In action last night, June 1, 2009 at the Columbia City Council
By Ed Waggener In last night's Columbia City Council meeting, the Council moved to making basic city services a priority. Acting on a motion by Councillor June Parson, the Council voted unanimously to authorize Mayor Pat Bell to hire a consulting firm to accelerate finding the solution to the problems Columbia's water system now faces, including bad taste and high turbidity levels. Councillor Parson's motion, reads as follows: "That we amend the contract with Kenvirons, Inc. to identify all dead end lines throughtout the city's water distribution system and that they make recommendations to this body on how to correct the problems we are experiencing, if they can be corrected. And additionally, that they be asked to review, research and analyze those areas that are exp. problems with their water such as high turbidity levels, high iron levels, taste problems, etc. . . "The Council vote on the matter was unanimous. The action came after Councillor Edwin Taylor and Parson had led a move to wean organizations who had grown dependent on City handouts as part of their budgets. "All the organizations greatly benefit the community," Parson said, "But we are faced with the choice between basic services and helping them, and I think we need to emphasize basic city services." The council at first went Cold Turkey on the handouts, eliminating stipends for the Chamber of Commerce, the Columbia-Adair County Economic Development Authority, and Renaissance Columbia, which had asked for $10,000 to pay for a Free Concert at Downtown Days. Toward the end of last night's meeting, however, acting on a motion by Councillor Charles Grimsley, seconded by Linda Waggener, one-half the requests were restored to the proposed budget starting July 1, 2009, for what Councillor Grimsley called a 'middle of the road' approach. The vote on this proposal was a 3-3 tie, with Councillor's Parson, Joe Moore, and Edwin Taylor voting against the move, Councillor's Grimsley, Waggener and Craig Dean voting to restore. Mayor Pat Bell broke the tie in favor of the stipends. Of the three Council members voting for the restoration, Councillor Dean expressed support for giving the organizations full support, while Councillors Grimsley and Waggener supported the reduced City handouts as a way to allow the organizations to adjust to the impact. Councillor Edwin Taylor, who had partially carried the day, said he believed the City should return to concentrating on basic city services, rather than support of what he called 'Dancing in the Streets,' and asked again what Renaissance Columbia learned from it's '$40,000 loss' on last fall's Diamond Rio concert. Appeals for continued city support for the Chamber were made by Columbia-Adair County Chamber of Commerce President Donna Stotts and by Columbia Adair County Economic Development Board member Doug McCammish. Employees get 2% pay raise; full benefits restored The proposed budget presented by the administration of Mayor Pat Bell and City Clerk Carolyn Edwards was revised to re-instate employee benefits. The written budget included a health insurance policy with slightly lower benefits which would have saved the CIty $21,000 per year. Councillor June Parsons moved to have the reduction reinstated. The vote was 6-0 to approve the revision. The city pays full health insurance costs for employees, the city council and the mayor; however, Mayor Bell said that he does not participate in the program nor does Councillor Joe Moore. The budget includes a 2% raise for City Employees, down from last year's 5% increase. However, the 2% raise is higher than the national average, according to Councillor Edwin Taylor. Speed bumps coming Mayor Bell told Mitchell Street residents that one speed bump is on the way for their neighborhood, whose residents have been to City Hall two months in a row asking for relief from the dangers of speeding vehicles crossing the residential area. Mayor Bell said the bump could be started as early as this week. "If more are needed," he said, "we'll address that later." Planning & Zoning Gets New Commissioner Roy Rademacher will replace Lloyd French on the City of Columbia Planning and Zoning Commission. Rademacher was approved, unanimously, following Mayor Pat Bell's recommendation. Chairman Joe Flowers and member George Kolbenschlag were approved for new four year terms running from May 5, 2009 to May 5, 2013. CJE Ann Melton asks city participation on Senior Parking Lot Adair County Judge Ann Melton appeared before the Council to request City Participation to build a Parking Lot for the Senior Citizens Center on Carrie Bolin Drive at a cost of $9,600. The funding would come from $3,600 in new support from Lake Cumberland Area Development District, with $3,000 each being paid by the City, and a matching amount coming from Adair County Fiscal Court. Move to expedite stopped by one vote In the Council Comments segment of the meeting, Councillor Linda Waggener moved to suspend Council Rules and vote to approve the $3,000 City contribution. The vote on the motion was 5-1, with Councillors Parson, Taylor, Grimsley, and Dean joining Councillor Waggener. But Councillor Joe Moore voted "No." A vote to suspend the rules must receive a unanimous vote, and the motion failed. The Council is expected to approve the action at a later meeting. City retains same auditor it has had for 28 years The City voted to rehire the auditing firm of Hendermann & Jessee for another year. Mayor Bell and City Clerk Carolyn Edwards favored retention of the firm, while Councillor Edwin Taylor questioned whether it is good practice to have the same firm have the contract. Taylor said he thought that it would be better for new firms to be considered, as they might uncover problems which a firm which has become close to the city might not. About your Columbia City Council The Columbia City Council meets each first Monday in the Council Meeting Room, City Hall, 115 Campbellsville ST, Columbia, KY.The meetings are open to the public. Mayor Patrick R. Bell. Councillors June Parson, Linda Waggener, Craig Dean, Charles Grimsley, Joe Moore, Edwin Taylor. City Clerk Carolyn Edwards. City Attorney Marshall Loy. Assistant City Clerk Sonya Roy. City Police Chief Mark Harris. City Gas Superintendent Joe Hare. City Sewer Superintendent Bo Murphy. City Water Superintendent Dana Rogers. City Sanitation Department Superintendent Kenneth Dulin. City Street Department Superintendent Donnie Rowe. City Events Planner Rhonda Loy. This story was posted on 2009-06-02 07:03:50
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