Abby city council moves forward on budget items
The Abbotsford city council approved a number of expenditures and budget items during its Wednesday, Jan. 19, council meeting.
The council also learned they’ll be facing several other new, unfortunate expenses after DPW Craig Stuttgen informed them the city will need to replace its plow truck after its rear end frame was cracked during snow removal earlier this month.
Abbotsford mayor Jim Weix said the city will look to pursue a used plow truck, along with looking to replace the city’s road grater.
“They got it repaired so it’s going to last for awhile yet,” Weix said in followup comments. “We’re going to look into purchasing a different used one. Hopefully we can get through the winter with this one, and then the road grater . . . all the shims have been removed, and they tightened the bolts as tight as they can get them.”
Abbotsford interim administrator Josh Soyk said they have yet to set a budget for the plow truck and road grater.
“The problem is there really isn’t anything used out there right now. We haven’t spent a lot of time researching the cost of a used plow truck or grader as the cracked frame just happened.”
Thankfully, the council learned that the district will have more funds coming via the America Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). Soyk said the district received nearly $117,000 in ARPA funds last year, with the city of Abbotsford set to receive an additional $117,000, bringing their total to just under $234,000.
Soyk said how the Abbotsford chooses to spend the ARPA funds has also undergone some changes.
“They’ve opened it up in a big way,” Soyk said via additional comments in a follow-up interview. “It used to be just for water, wastewater and broadband, but now we can use it for roads and maintenance.”
Soyk is hoping the city can use some of the ARPA funds for the grader and the plow, but won’t know until the Department of Treasury makes a decision.
“I have an e-mail in with the department of treasury asking if ARPA funds can be used for equipment, but so far I have not heard back from them yet.”
The city is also in the process of getting the electric sign off of Hwy. 13 next to Taylor Credit Union repaired. Weix noted it was bought used from Graphic House back in 2017 for $15,000.
The council discussed the idea of going to electric signage on the signs on the east end and north end of Abbotsford, but Weix said it depends on how much money is left over at the end of the year.
“We’re thinking about going electrical on both of those. I don’t know if we’ll be able to do them both at the same time. We’ll know better after we get farther into the year, then we’ll maybe get one done, and do one next year. We don’t want to overspend ourselves.”
Other business
_ The council approved Kendra Ratcliff for an operator’s license for Fat Boys/Jack’s Cantina.
_ A motion was approved to give the Abbotsford School District a credit in the amount of $957 for refilling the district’s pool after its repair project was completed.
_ The district approved the sewer project for the alleyway between Butternut St. and Sycamore St. in the amount of $50,000.
Weix said the city will be contacting property owners in the vicinity to let them know once the project is done the city will be putting granite down and possibly drainage tile.
_ The council approved a contract with KLM Engineering to rehab the city’s 400,000 gallon water tower. The project is expected take eleven weeks to complete, and the total cost is $563,643.
The proposal is for KLM to provide inspection services during the structural repairs, surface preparation, and coating application for the interior wet, interior dry, and exterior coatings on the abovementioned water tower.
KLM will also provide one final walkthrough inspection to ensure the work has been completed per the specifications.
_ The council made a motion to approve a bid with Crane Engineering for $13,400 for a lift station on Elderberry St.
_ The board approved paying out PTO Bank for John Smith’s retirement. Smith will be retiring later this year after fourteen and a half years. However, the city’s ordinance stated that an employee had to have 15 years.
“We’re not going to create a problem and tell him he has to work another six months ,” Weix said. “We’re not going do that. It’s not how you want to treat people. He’s a good employee.”
_ A motion was approved by the council to approve the city’s current bills in the amount of $557,731.89.
_ The city of Abbotsford received a donation for $18,500 for renovations and improvements to be made to Shortner Park.
_ The board’s next meetings are scheduled for Feb. 7, 2022, and Feb. 16, 2022.
