Overall sour mood at Hamilton City Council meeting

Hamilton City Council met on Oct. 11. Those present were Alderman Danny Alexander, Sherria Kavanaugh, and Cameron Fast. Alderman Travis Trosper was absent. Also present were Mayor Winfred Gilliam, City Attorney, Robert Cowherd, City Administrator, Jean Van Iperen, City Clerk Deb Allen and Police Chief April Locke.

Highlights of the public works department were the replacement of a section of 4” water main at Uphill Lane. At the water plant there was a leak at an 8” high pressure water main. A clamp was installed but it is not holding. The city will have to have someone else come in to repair it. Cost is estimated to be around a $10,000. The crew replaced four meter pits, hauled dirt out to the northeast lagoon for a project the city is working on to make them DNR compliant. They installed a tube extension on West Samuel to replace the old walking bridge, cleaned up the recycle area, and repaired the dump truck and skid steer.

This year the Zoning Dept. has issued 36 building permits and 27 nuisance violations were issued since June 1; 23 of those have been resolved.

People Services installed a high service pump at the water plant and lead and copper samples were sent to DNR. The city is getting bids on the sludge pit clean out which will cost approximately $15-20,000. On the wastewater side, a plug valve at the southwest lift station was replaced, samples were taken and weeds were sprayed at the lagoons.

City Administrator Jean Van Iperen reported that a grant from Game & Parks was approved to build a walking trail. The original plan was to use concrete on the trail. The total cost would be $280,449 and the city’s share would be $82,000. A cheaper alternative would be to use chap (ground compressed rock). The city’s share for that option would be $35,000. Van Iperen said she is working on getting reports required by DNR which are due by Oct. 28.

A resident complained about a leak that occurred after the city had made repairs to the water line and is requesting the city forego the cost of water loss. She claims she did not have a leak until the city worked on the line. It is unsure if it is related or not.

Council agreed to write off personal property taxes for 2014 of $1,060.54 and for 2015 for $840.63. This amount is not worth the city’s time and cost to pursue. 

For the rest of this article, see this week's issue of the Caldwell County News!