2008 Year in Review

Morrison City Council Meeting

The girls’ softball team, represented by Jordan Mann and Ashley Patten, were honored for placing 3rd in state in their class.

Steve Neighbor from B&W, talked about the street survey and database they created.

Water and sewer rates may finally be taking a step upwards based on the suggestions of the consulting firm Baxtor and Woodman. B&W gave presentations last Monday on the conditions or both the city streets and alleys and the water and sewer infrastructure and rates.

Steve Neighbor from B&W talked about the street survey and the database they created. They used this information to create a condition rating which shows where work is needed. The goal is to plan ahead for replacing every street, on average, every 20 years.

In order to accomplish this, the city will have to invest about $400,000 every year on street repair and projects, of which $50,000 will focus on alleys. The City of Morrison has around 25 miles of paved city streets, and three miles of alleys. Brick streets will be considered separately, since their repair/preservation is a matter of policy.

“Overall,” said Neighbor, “the streets are in pretty good condition due to preventative maintenance..” This plan can be scaled back if needed to a more manageable level considering city finances at the time of approval.

The water and sewer rate part of the presentation involved mostly finance. Water rates have not gone up in years, and costs have. The city is now one of the lowest priced providers of water in the area.

The idea of the rates is to cover the day-to-day expenses of providing service, and also to maintain the infrastructure.

What some of the council members found surprising, is that the city only bills for about half of the water that is pumped. B&W explained that some of this is due to leaks, but much of it is probably due to inaccurate water meters.

City administrator, Tim Long explained, “I would like to make clear the point that the water & sewer enterprise fund of the City of Morrison is self-supporting, without support from any general fund tax proceeds. Likewise, the general fund does not garner any of the proceeds of the water & sewer fund except for a pro-rata share of administrative expenses; ie, City Hall management personnel and operations costs. That pro-rata share of management expenses is presently 13% water, 13% sewer, with the remaining 74% of expenses charged to the general fund. The ratio is based upon the comparative annual operating expenses for the funds.” See charts for rates and comparisons provided by B&W.

The girls’ softball team, represented by Ashley Patten and Jordan Mann, were honored for placing 3rd in state in their class.

Tim Long informed during his report, that he will be providing information to the council a the next meeting about the search for a new police chief, as Chief Ernie Huling is retiring.

He also pointed out that the sports complex is now sporting light poles. He expects final grading of the area by July 28th. Key Construction should begin construction of the buildings on July 17 or 18th. Trails should be paved by starting August 25th. There will be a preliminary meeting about the trail to Jackson Street in the upcoming days.

There was a request from Fischer Excavating for payment for services. Public works superintendent Gary Tresenriter said that he had a list of things remaining for Fischer to remedy before payment should be made. The council followed his advice on this matter.

There was a letter from Pete Harkness, rescinding his request for a change in zoning for the property he owns at 303 West Lincolnway, adjacent to one of his car lots. This item died due to no one making a motion to take any action on the item.

Tim Long presented a proposal for an updated pay scale for city employees. The board chose to take no action until next meeting, when more information will be provided.

by Ben Wolf,
July 24, 2008