 Engineering contract for Singleton Project delayedAlderman
Orville "Buzz" Busby said that he has received the contract from
Donohue & Associates for the engineering and design of the Singleton
project.
This is a sewer project that takes the Kmart lift station
equipment out of its location to the Singleton site. It also
includes the new construction at Malerich Drive for Castle Manor and
the new hospital complex.
Bill Bates, city attorney, said that as always, he is concerned
about the terms of the contract, which includes an indemnity clause
that would hold the engineers only partially responsible for damage
to private property should the design be flawed.
He said that typically contractor agreements do not protect the
city well enough in issues of liability.
Bates said that in the worst of cases, if the design doesn't
work, it could result in sewerage backup in homes and or businesses.
The end result would be not only a new design and reconstruction,
but also the cost of damage to those who were affected. He added
that most insurance companies would not cover claims due to faulty
planning on the part of a hired contractor.
Busby said that he would go back to Donohue and ask them to take
the indemnification clause out of the contract, but he really
doesn't expect them to go along with it.
It was also noted that the last time the city used Donohue, the
same issue came up, the city made a similar request, Donohue denied
the request, and the city decided to live with it.
More than likely the same thing will happen this time, according
to Busby, but he added it was worth a try to see if they would
remove the clause.
Bond coverage of city officials
Alderwoman Melody Anderson has been investigating the bonds on
city officials for a while now and offered the council a list of
discrepancies in the bond coverage versus ordinance requirements.
The city is required to bond all elected and appointed officials.
Anderson said that there were discrepancies between the ordinance
amounts and the actual bond amounts.
The most crucial of these was in the bond of the city clerk.
While the ordinance says the bond shall be only $5,000, the current
bond is for $100,000. Anderson suggested that the city clerk's bond
should be equal to that of the city treasurer, which is $250,000.
The council agreed.
Anderson said that as employees, city police officers were to be
bonded. She didn't find any reference as to why, but police Chief
Stuart Erlenbush said he thought that was a requirement. He will
investigate it further and let Anderson know what he finds out.
A few of the bond issues will require new city ordinances, such
as for the clerk's coverage. The new ordinances will be voted on at
a later date.
Too many storms, too much brush
According to Tracy Jackson, street and alley superintendent,
there is an 18-month backlog on brush burning at the city landfill.
He says that the city is burning waste every day that it doesn't
rain, but they cannot possibly get caught up.
Part of the reason for the backlog is the amount of damage caused
by storms over the past two winters, and part of it is due to an
eight-month delay in getting the city's burn permits.
Jackson explained that there is a service from Argenta, R & R
Services, that takes this type of waste and recycles it into salable
mulch. They have agreed to take the city's excess for a cost not to
exceed $9,000.
Bates said he had read the contract that the service sent to
Jackson, and it is very unclear about what the charges are. First of
all, it itemizes the cost of the project, then lists a minimum cost
of $6,500 and a "not to exceed" amount of $9,000. Bates says that
the way it is written, it is not clear what the city's total
obligation is.
Bates said that it looks to him like the contract is $6,500 plus
the itemized costs.
Jackson assured him that was not the case, but said he would send
the contract back to R & R for clarification.
Jackson also said that once R & R takes the excess, city crews
will be able to keep up with the burning.
Commission sets dates for police officer testing
Erlenbush said that the police and fire commission has set the
dates for police officer testing for three days in June.
Application packets for police officers will be available at City
Hall on June 3, with officer orientation scheduled for June 13.
Physical agility testing will be at 8 a.m. on June 20 at the
Lincoln Rural Fire Department complex, and the written exam will
begin at 1 p.m. that same day at the Logan County Safety Complex.
Erlenbush said these dates would be advertised publicly and added
to the police department's Web site.
[to top of second column]
 |
No ghosts in the attic
Prior to the Tuesday night city council meeting, the building and
grounds committee met to take a tour of the City Hall attic.
Alderwoman Joni Tibbs said there is going to be a big cleanup
upstairs.
The council and other attendees were taken up in two groups and
allowed to look around. The attic is typical of what you would see
in most old buildings -- no ghosts, but a lot of ductwork, pipes and
"excess inventory."
The council discussed the feasibility of selling some of the
electronic equipment they saw. Alderman David Wilmert said that the
old computers that he saw weren't worth a great deal of money.
Evidence vault to be cleaned out
For the past month, the police department has been conducting a
complete audit of the evidence vault.
Erlenbush said he had thought they were going to have a space
issue for storage of evidence in the near future, but during the
audit they have determined that there are approximately 1,500 cases
with multiple exhibits, where that the evidence can now be disposed
of.
All the information regarding these exhibits will have to be
taken to the state's attorney's office for approval of disposal.
Erlenbush said that many of these cases were very old, and he
felt there would be no problem with disposing of the evidence.
Resolution for motor fuel tax added to consent agenda
For a resolution or any other normally voted upon matter of
business to be placed on the consent agenda, it must be addressed in
detail at the committee of the whole and agreed upon that there is
no need for further discussion or investigation prior to the vote.
Alderman Dean Henrichsmeyer asked that the motor fuel tax
resolution be read by the city clerk and, if unopposed, be added to
the consent agenda.
The appropriation for the 2009 calendar year will be $545,919.10.
The council agreed to add the vote to the consent agenda.
June 13 cruise-in bigger
The Railsplitter Antique Auto Club has requested that Kickapoo
and Broadway around the courthouse downtown be closed on June 13.
Originally they had asked that the parking spaces along the
inside of the square be reserved for their use. However, the club is
anticipating a much larger participation of vehicles and wants to
use both sides of both streets for show vehicles.
Concerns about actually closing Broadway were voiced, as it could
cause delays in response to police or fire calls. Jackson said that
a 12-foot passageway through Broadway would remain for fire or
police to traverse.
This item was added to the city's new consent agenda format.
Delays on City Hall roof
City engineer Mark Mathon said that the contractors for the City
Hall roof project have not yet been able to move their materials and
equipment into town, but they hope to early next week.
Relay for Life to paint the town purple
The Logan County Relay for Life will have its annual relay event
June 19-20 at Lincoln Community High School. The group has asked
that they be allowed to whitewash Wyatt Avenue, add purple bows to
trees and put up signs for the event.
The request will be added to the consent agenda for Monday
night's meeting.
Turner will be absent for the next three weeks
Alderman Nathan Turner told the council that he is being sent to
South Africa on business and will be absent from meetings for the
next three weeks.
[By NILA SMITH]
Past related articles
|
