City Council meeting
During the first public participation of the City Council meeting on Monday November 6 Robbie Rosenaugh, who lives on old 36 Highway was before the Council to address them about an easement which he mows and was torn up when MGE Aspire ran a gas line to the Wastewater Treatment Plant. Rosenaugh came before the City Council to simply make them aware of the problem and said he does not want it to come back on him at some point for not keeping the portion mowed, because the damage done to the easement has made it impossible for him to do so. City Manager Mark Gaugh said he would check with Aspire and see what can get done.
Heidi Sloan also stepped forward to address the council about comments made in front of them by John Breckenridge at the previous council meeting. Sloan said she sat in shock at the attack on the character of both her husband, Councilman L. Corey Sloan and Fire Chief Mike O’Donnell. She encouraged everyone to put the councils of the past behind them and move forward for the good of the city. Sloan’s comments in their entirety can be read in the Letters to the Editor section of this newspaper.
During the City Manager report, Manager Mark Gaugh said DeKalb County is no longer interested in pursuing the combined dispatch. Gaugh said he believes one of the sticking points was the amount of dispatchers needed, but said Police Chief Rick Bashor wants to be sure the city can staff appropriately and said if something changes, the council will be informed.
Gaugh said the city is working toward the sale of vacant residential lots owned by the city and are working on a mechanism to be put into place to have a time requirement to have something built on the properties so it will benefit the city. Approximately 14 homes have been demolished in the city, including some of which were added to the original list, there may be time to do even a couple more since they are going so well. Gaugh said he has received reports of how well the demolitions are going from other citizens who are impressed by the work of the contractors.
Terry Rumrey of Rumrey and Associates provided his monthly report on economic development efforts in the city. Two of the projects Rumrey had previously told the Council about the city has been eliminated from. Three of the projects previously reported on are requesting more information. One project is still a go, working with a real estate agent to resolve some issues, another project is in the process of working with a developer. Rumrey and city staff will have a planning meeting for the industrial park soon and Rumrey will be meeting again soon with the ongoing CID project on Highway 36.
Dr. Mark Carr was before the City Council to speak to them about the progress being made by the volunteer group formed to advise the council about the animal shelter. Carr told the council the group is looking for more direction about how to proceed. Feighert asked about the chances of rehabbing the current facility to make it work and keep it up to state requirements. Carr told Feighert, the current shelter is at the state minimum requirements and it can continue to be patched up, but it will remain what it is. Carr said the group would like to see a shelter where animals can be adopted out of and has an office space where a city employee could be contacted at least a few hours of the week. Ultimately after discussion and debate, the council voted to give the shelter group a $350,000 budget to see what kind shelter they could design. The final decisions will still come back to the council for approval.
Other business before the council included a service agreement between the city and the rural fire protection district – which encompasses the Cameron School District, an electric rate study, a conditional use permit, the purchase of a new truck for the waste water treatment plant, and the purchase of an ammonia monochloramine analyzer for the water treatment plant – all of which passed unanimously.
During the closing comments, City Clerk Barbara O’Connor informed those assembled there are now cards available at City Hall, to be filled out and turned in on Wednesday before a City Council meeting to be placed on the agenda to address the council and be able to have interaction with the Council. The public is always welcome to attend and speak during the public participation portion of the meetings without filling out a card, but filling out a card and being put on the agenda will allow the Council to address the speaker.
The next meeting of the City Council will be Monday November 20 at 6 p.m. The video of the most recent city council meeting and several past council meetings are available on our website at mycameronnews.com.
