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Friday, May 3, 2019
TRENTON
REPUBLICAN-TIMES Established Sept. 4, 1864 - 155th Year - No. 69
Trenton, MO 64683
TRENTON CITY COUNCIL
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Twelve Pages & I Insert
Utility, Administrative, Economic Development, Finance Committees Meet
Continued Winter Rates Recommended The Utility Committee of the Trenton City Council will be recommending to the full council membership that winter rates for electric usage remain in place throughout the summer months, resulting in what City Administrator Ron Urton says will be an approximate 20 percent reduction for Trenton Municipal Utilities customers in the charge for kilowatts per hour. The committee made its decision in response to discussion held during a meeting on Tuesday night regarding the amount of cash in the electric department fund. Information presented showed that as of March 31 there was a cash balance of $4.922 million, with just over $281,000 of that total being “restricted.” The city council had previously voted that cash reserves in the electric department should be around $2.2 million and to meet that figure, several options were discussed before members finally voted to ask that the winter rates be kept in place. Summer
TRENTON PARK BOARD
rates, which are used in June, July, August and September, are higher than the winter rates assessed during the other eight months of the year. Urton said that keeping the winter rates will mean a reduction in revenues for the electric department of around 7.5 percent, or between $500,000 to $600,000. Combined with a 5 percent rate decrease approved by the council last fall, customers will see a 12-plus percent in rate reduction over the past year. In the meantime, Urton said the committee will also ask the council to have an electric rate study performed, with a professional company reviewing the city’s residential, commercial and industrial rates. The study would help the city determine where rates need to be while also looking at upcoming major electric department expenses, including the purchase of a new main transformer (listed at a cost of $1 million) and the rebuilding of two others. The last study was done
five to seven years ago and it is anticipated the cost would be between $15,000 and $18,000. The committee also reviewed monthly utility financials, which showed balances in the electric and water funds above what was recommended by the council, but that the wastewater fund was well below the minimum amount. The water department has $2,590,529 in total cash, of which $229,260 is restricted (the council-recommended minimum is $1.5 million), while the wastewater fund has cash of $4,317,030 (the council-recommended minimum is $5.5 million). There was also discussion about the headworks project at the wastewater plant, including possible funding scenarios. No decision was made, however, Urton told the committee he has met with Charlie Zitnik of DA Davidson about the city obtaining a loan to finance the project, which has been estimated at nearly $4 million.
said public employers are exempt from the new law, however, the board did take action to increase the pay rate of pool employees. New employees will be paid $8 an hour while returning staff members who were making less than $8 an hour last year will receive $8.25 this year. Returning lifeguards who were earning more than $8 an hour last season will receive a 25-cent per hour increase over the rate they were earning. Mrs. Allen said two assistant managers who will act as manager trainees have been hired and one of them will be selected to serve as manager next year, replacing Alexis Whitney, who has told the board this will be her last year as manager. In discussing the pool and the cost to keep it going, Board President Duane Helmandollar said that while the pool is still a service to the community, everything has gone up in cost – from chemicals, something he said most people don’t think about, to utilities and wages. Board members all agreed the increases were necessary to help maintain the pool and pay for labor associated with its operation. In two other issues involving the aquatic center, Mrs. Allen said she had a request for the fee to be waived for swimming during 4-H camps, but said she had offered what is the normal fee for non-profit groups who want to bring groups to the pool during regular hours, which is a 50 percent discount, $2.50 per swimmer. Park Superintendent Jason Shuler also told the board that one of the lifeguard chairs needs to be replaced, with an approximate cost of $1,000. Helmandollar asked the board to give some thought to whether or not a new mower should be purchased or if the
board should try to use the three that are already in use for a while longer. Bids were recently sought for a mower, with the bids later revised to be less specific. Helmandollar said a commercial mower should last up to about 5,000 hours and it was noted that the two 2015 models being used by the department have around 600 hours and a 2011 model has around 800 hours. “It seems like we might be leaving some money on the table by trading them in earlier,” he said. The board also talked about the fact that all three mowers are the Dixie Chopper brand, which Shuler said is high quality and is the type of mower needed to mow the 110 acres the department mows every week, including some rough terrain. It was noted that Dixie Chopper is going out of business and although parts will still be manufactured, it might make more sense to find a different brand. Helmandollar suggested that Shuler use this summer to “demo” other mowers that would be a good replacement for Dixie Chopper. No decisions were made, with Helmandollar asking that board members give the issue some thought in light of the change with Dixie Chopper and the board’s deficit budget for this year. The board had budgeted $11,500 for the purchase of a mower. In his report, Shuler told the board the Trenton Municipal Utilities electric department had checked the light poles on Johnson and Griffin fields at his request and found two needing to be replaced. He told the board Grundy Electric Cooperative was able to get the poles and transport them to Trenton at a cost of $800 per pole and TMU will install the See Park, Page 7
National Weather Service The sun reappears this weekend with a chance of rain returning on Sunday night and Monday. Highs will be in the mid 70s, with lows in the upper 40s to mid 50s. The high at Trenton on Monday, April 29 was 62, Tuesday’s high was 57, Wednesday’s high was 64 and the low was 53. The rain total for that time period was 1.94 inches. There is no report from the Government Weather Station near Spickard.
NCMC GRADUATION May 11 Ceremonies
FFA Banquet On Friday
484 To Receive Degrees
TMS, THS Band Concerts
Commencement exercises at North Central Missouri College will be held on Saturday, May 11 with two ceremonies planned. The morning ceremony begins at 9 o’clock and honors all associate degree and certificate recipients who are non-nursing. The afternoon ceremony begins at 1 o’clock and honors nursing certificate and degree recipients. Both commencements will be held in the Ketcham Community Center on the main campus. The 2019 ceremony marks the 92nd NCMC commencement and will be the largest in the history of the college with 515 degrees and certificates awarded to 484 individual graduates. There are 159 associate in arts degrees, 12 associate in arts in teaching degrees, 172 associate in applied science degrees, nine associate in general studies degrees and 163 certificates. The average graduate age is 25.7 years with the oldest graduate being 63 and the youngest 17. Graduates come from Alabama, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Rhode Island, Texas and Wisconsin and the countries of Curacao, England, Honduras, Netherlands, Scotland and United States. Vice Chairman for the Coordinating Board for Higher Education Mike Thomson will give the morning address and Chief Executive Officer for the Critical Access Region of the Saint Luke’s Health System Steve Schieber is speaker for the afternoon ceremony. NCMC Student Senate President Jamee Scearce will give the welcome and evocation for both ceremonies, Vice President of Academic Affairs Dr.
The Trenton High School FFA will honor its members during the annual banquet tonight (Friday) in the THS commons. The meal will be served at 6 p.m., followed by an awards ceremony. All FFA members, families and program supporters are invited to attend.
The Trenton Middle School and Trenton High School bands will hold spring concerts next week in the high school gym. The TMS concert will be at 7 p.m. on Monday, May 6 and will feature the fifth grade, sixth grade and combined seventh and eighth grade bands. The THS concert will be at 7 p.m. on Thursday, May 9 and include recognition of senior band members as well as special award recipients. Both concerts are open to the public.
Commission Agenda Set The Grundy County Commission will meet in regular session on Tuesday at the courthouse. The only item listed on the announced agenda is a 10 a.m. meeting with Ambulance Director Steve Tracy. The courthouse will be closed on Wednesday, May 8 due to the Truman’s Birthday state holiday.
R-5 Board To Meet
The Grundy R-5 Board of Education will hold its regular monthly meeting at 5 p.m. on Wednesday, May 8 at the school in Galt. Items on the announced agenda include discussion of student transportation for 2019-20, a review of the 201920 preliminary budget, discussion of salaries for the 201920 school year, a review of bids and reports from the elementary and secondary principals and the special education director. An executive session for personnel and personnel records is also planned.
Spickard OKs Sewer Hike
The Spickard Board of Aldermen held a special meeting on Wednesday, April 24 at Spickard City Hall. According to information provided by City Clerk Kristie Martin, the council voted to approve an ordinance increasing sewer rates. Alderman Ken Neill also submitted his resignation, effective April 24. A scheduled executive session for employment matters and legal matters was not held, according to Mrs. Martin. The new sewer rates are scheduled to go into effect with the May 25 billing, according to a letter sent to utility customers to inform them of a public meeting on April 17 to address the rates. In addition to sewer rates, the aldermen previously had approved increases in water fees, late fees for water/sewer/trash accounts, late fees for sewer-only accounts, hand tag fees and reconnect fees. The Spickard Board of Aldermen hold their regularly monthly meeting at 6 p.m. on the second Monday of each month at Spickard City Hall. The next meeting is scheduled for Monday, May 13. ********** HOWIE LYNCH BENEFIT Saturday, May 4 - Riverside Country Club BBQ Meal at 5 p.m. - Auction at 6 p.m.
What’s Inside... The Grand River Conference Track Meet was held on Wednesday with the Trenton girls and Princeton boys taking the team titles. See page 2 of today’s Republican-Times for a recap and photos from the event.
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voted to keep the city’s sidewalk program ordinance as is regarding requirements to purchase a building permit. During a council meeting on April 22, a member of the public had asked the city to consider waiving the $35 permit fee as a way to encourage residents to construct new or replace old sidewalks. At that meeting, Code Enforcement Officer Donnie Vandevender indicated the permit is used to assure that sidewalks are constructed to code. The city allocates $3,500 in its budget to reimburse citizens for concrete when sidewalks are constructed or replaced. Urton said the committee discussed a proposed ordinance, prepared by the city attorney, regarding the use of emergency lights by utility and street department vehicles and voted to present the ordinance to the full council for approval. The council is scheduled to meet on Monday, May 13.
Briefs...
Private Party Charges Go Up
Season Pass, Private Party Costs Increased With the rising cost of supplies, utilities and labor, the Trenton Park Board has made the decision to increase the cost of season passes and private parties at the Trenton Family Aquatic Center while leaving daily admission prices the same as last year. During a meeting held on Wednesday at city hall, park board members agreed to leave the daily admission prices the same as in the 2018 season: free for children under age 2; $5 for swimmers age 2 through 54; $2.50 for ages 55 and over; and $1 for non-swimmers. The price of a pool pass for a family of four with at least one adult will increase $10 to $200 while a single pass will increase from $70 to $85. Season passes for those 55 and over will increase from $20 to $25 with the price of a pass for lap swimming seeing the same increase to $25 Private pool parties will increase from $225 to $250 for a two-hour (6:30 to 8:30 p.m.) event. The cost of swimming lessons will also increase this summer, with Level 1 lessons (four days) increasing from $25 to $30 and the cost of Levels 2 through 6 (eight days) going from $40 to $50. Preschool lessons, which are eight days, will see a $10 bump, increasing from $30 to $40. The aquatic center is scheduled to open on Friday, May 31, later than usual due to the delay of the summer break in the Trenton R-9 School District. That time will be needed to allow for time to get the pool ready and train staff members, most of whom are high school students, for the season. In another TFAC-related issue, board members addressed the increase in minimum wage as it relates to lifeguards and other pool employees. Sarah Allen, a member of the pool committee,
He said Zitnik discussed a $3 million loan, which could be combined with certificates of participation the utility has available and make a total loan of $5.1 million. Zitnik believes the city could see the interest rate of 4.9 percent currently being paid on borrowed funds dropping by as much as 1 percent with the increase in borrowed funds, saving the city about $150,000 in interest.The city’s upgraded bond rating would also be key in helping get a better rate. The committee also elected Larry Crawford to serve as chairman. Crawford, serves on the utility committee as chairman of the finance committee along with the chairman of the administrative committee, David Mlika, and chairman of the economic development committee, Cathie Smith. Mlika and Mrs. Smith were elected to those positions during meetings held prior to the utility committee meeting. The administrative committee also
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What’s Inside Sports.............................page 2 Local News.............page 3 & 7 Opinion/Editorial .........page 4 Community ...................page 5 Calendars ......................page 5 Agriculture....................page 6 Comics ...........................page 8 Dear Annie ....................page 9 Crosswords....................page 9