The Wells City Council also had a discussion about this broken slide at Half Moon Park.
It will be replaced
in the near future.
Discussion on how to go forward in dealing with the new cannabis laws was one of the topics which came up during a relatively short Wells City Council meeting on Monday, March 25.
Attorney Libby Kantner was at the meeting in place of regular city attorney Pam Whitmore and reminded the council that Whitmore felt holding a work session might be the best idea going forward.
“It would give the council a chance to discuss zoning changes and also to consider possibly limiting the number of retail licenses as it pertains to the new cannabis laws,” Kantner said. “Your current cannabis moratorium expires on Aug. 14.”
City administrator Tiffany Schrader suggested holding the work session before the next regularly scheduled meeting on April 8, and the board agreed to that date.
“It sounds like we have a lot of options to consider,” council member John Herman said.
Kantner asked the council members if any progress had been made regarding the house located at 203 First Ave. SE.
“They have been busy trimming and cleaning the yard,” council member Brenda Weber answered. “I think they have made it so the critters are prevented from getting in.”
Kantner also updated the council on the ongoing talks with TMI Coatings regarding the work that company did on the baby pool last year.
“Pam is still trying to be able to talk to the right person,” Kantner explained. “But, apparently that person was not going to be available until April.”
The final subject on Kantner’s list was the creation of a new purchasing policy for the city.
“Pam has been working on a draft of the new policy and she hopes to be able to present it to council members at the next meeting,” Kantner commented.
Also on the agenda were some bids to consider from the Street Department and Parks Board.
“At the last meeting, Street foreman Mike Pyzick was asked to get quotes for replacement of several trees,” Schrader said. “He has given us two quotes. The first quote is from Schrader Enterprises for $2,200 and includes a total of 10 trees which would be a mix of maple and crab. The bid includes the planting and watering for the first few months. The second bid is from Drummer’s and was for $1,300 for the trees only, which were five maple and five crab.”
After some discussion, the council decided not to take any action at this time.
Next, the council discussed replacing a broken slide at Half Moon Park.
“Mike received a bid from Miracle Recreation Equipment Company for $4,460 which includes the slide, freight and installation,” Schrader commented.
Asked if there was a breakdown of how much the installation would cost, Schrader replied it was over $1,000.
“Can we find out if the city could install the slide?” council member Crystal Dulas asked.
Questions were also raised wondering if the city could get bids from other companies. After some discussion, the council declined to order the new slide in order to see if there were any other companies who could provide the slide for a less expensive cost.
“The guys have put plywood up to keep kids from going down the broken slide but the kids keep taking it down,” Schrader explained.
Schrader was then asked by council members to have the city workers try and put up something the kids could not remove.
The council also took no action on a bid to replace the roof on the city’s salt shed.
“I think we need to wait and look at our comprehensive plan that is being prepared before we spend any money on a building we might end up not using,” mayor David Braun said.
“At the last meeting, the board approved a quote of $990 to install a crankcase heater for a compressor used as part of the ventilation system for City Hall and the Flame Theatre,” Schrader said. “Since then, the compressor broke and needs to be replaced. The quote for that is $1,655.”
The City Council approved the quote to repair the compressor but did not take any action on another quote, in the amount of $6,995, which would have replaced the AHU (Air Handling Unit) controls.
City engineer Ben Rosol was at the meeting and reported that the city has received permission to remove a spur railroad crossing at the north end of Broadway Avenue.
“We have also determined there are 22 ash trees which are in the right-of-way for our projects so I am looking for permission to remove them,” Rosol stated.
The council voted to approve the removal of the ash trees in the right-of-way.
The council also approved the request of Schrader to purchase a new laptop for the city administrator’s office.
“The one we have is very old and goes back quite a few city administrators,” Schrader said. “I have a quote from Bevcomm for $1,672. That price includes setup, the installation of programs and moving data over from the old computer. I got the quote from Bevcomm because they are local and they include all of the set up that is necessary to get us up and running.”
The council also:
• Approved a gambling permit for the Wells Fire Department to hold a raffle on July 27.
• Passed Resolutions 2024-13 and 2024-14 allowing the city to apply for loans from the Clean Water Revolving Fund for an estimated $50,000 and from the Drinking Water Revolving Fund for an estimated $245,000.
• Approved the request of Nathan Hander, owner of Hander Build LLC., to block off the street in front of his business at 52 Second Street SE, from Broadway to First Avenue SE, on May 18. There will be a car show on that date from 6-10 p.m. to celebrate the fifth anniversary of his business.
• The board declined the request of the Wells Chamber of Commerce for a monetary donation in 2024 but pledged to budget for a donation to the Chamber for fiscal year 2025.
