Lapel Town Council

November 19, 2020

Virtual Meeting

Call to order (everyone attending meeting virtually due to COVID-19): Chad Blake, Tom Marvel, Lindsay Washmuth, Jason Kleinbub, Teresa Retherford, Paula Lee, Kourtney Krabbe, and Jeff Graham, Town Attorney.

Blake opened the meeting to public comments. Jalana Judd at 214 W 9^th Street wanted to express her concern with the hazards at 210 W 9^th Street. She stated there is a mouse infestation at the property, which is now causing a mouse problem in her home. Erin Rushton at 217 W 9^th Street stated she has the same concerns with the property at 210 W 9^th Street. She is also experiencing mouse problems due to the property, and states there is no way the property is structurally safe; the roof as huge holes in it.  Rushton asked what is currently being done to hold the homeowners accountable while the Town is going through the legal process to secure the building. Gary Shuck, Planning Commission President stated he has a meeting with the Town’s legal staff on 12/2/2020 to discuss this property, as well as other issues around town. Blake stated there will be an update on this property at the Planning Commission meeting on December 10^th. Being no further public comment was made, Blake closed the public comment section of the meeting and proceed with the agenda.

A motion to approve the 10/15/2020 meeting minutes was made by Kleinbub, 2^nd by Retherford; all were in favor.

A motion to approve the memorandum for the executive sessions held on 10/28/2020 & 10/29/2020 was made by Retherford, 2^nd by Washmuth; all were in favor.

A motion to approve the November Docket claims was made by Washmuth, 2^nd by Retherford; all were in favor.

2021 Salary Ordinance: Lee stated that all council members should have received the salary ordinance as well as a spreadsheet with projected employee raises. She asks that all council members mark their selections, and be ready to vote on it at the December 17 meeting. Lee also stated that if the council members are considering changing job descriptions, now would be the time to get them done.

Between last month’s meeting, and this meeting, Blake needed to declare an emergency declaration to purchase two new fluoride pumps. One of the pumps broke, and the other one is not running the greatest. If both pumps go down it would cause a lot of problems for the Town. A motion to ratify Blake’s purchase of two fluoride pumps for $1395.67 was made by Retherford, 2^nd by Blake; all were in favor.

Kimley Horn Engineers has submitted our next Community Crossings Grant Application which was due on October 23^rd. Drew Wolfred from Kimley Horn stated that the Council has already approved the Agreement for Professional Services: 2020 Pavement Management Plan back in October, however there are an additional three services offered that the Council needs to decide if they would like Kimley Horn to do. The optional services are the following: 1) LTAP submittal assistance $1,700, 2) Pavement Cores $4,700, and 3) GIS mapping $5,700. A motion to approve all three additional services for a total of $12,100.00 was made by Blake, 2^nd by Kleinbub; all were in favor.

Police Update: Chief Kelly Naselroad stated the windows at the Police Department need replaced due to one window being slightly cracked, and the other window is getting moisture in between the two window panes. Moss Glass gave a quote to replace both windows for $1417.76. A motion to accept Moss Glass quote was made by Kleinbub, 2^nd by Retherford; all were in favor. Naselroad stated he would get with the insurance company, and Moss Glass to get the process started.

Utility Update: Mary Armacost, Utility Superintendent stated she has still not received a quote from Gaylor Electric to fix the street lights on Main Street. She has attempted to make contact three separate occasions this week alone.

According to the Town of Lapel handbook, town employees with the exception of police officers, are not allowed to take home town vehicles for any reason. Armacost is asking if we can change the handbook to allow employees to take home a town vehicle if they are on-call. The Council stated they would look into changing the handbook.

501 S Walnut Street had a water leak over the weekend. The homeowner called in a plumber to fix the leak, but did not call our utility crew to come turn off the water meter. The plumber ended up taking off the water meter and installing jumper (which is a pipe to connecting the homeowners line to the Town’s main water line), and then told the homeowner to call the Town on Monday because her water meter wires are crossed. Armacost would like to know how to handle this situation since the plumber accessed the water pit without Town approval, and damaged the water meter when removing it. It was stated that the homeowner hired the plumber, so it is the homeowner’s responsibility to pay the fines and try to recoup the money from the plumber.

Motion to charge the homeowner of 501 S Walnut Street a meter tamper fee, the cost of the Sensus meter, and labor to reinstall a new meter was made by Blake, 2^nd by Washmuth; all were in favor.

Planning Update: Motion to approve the re-plat of Scott & Tammy Hersberger’s property on Ford Street contingent on receiving the proper document was made by Blake, 2^nd by Washmuth; all were in favor.

The Steering Committee had their first kick off meeting on 11/12/2020 to start the process of updating the town’s comprehensive plan. There is a public engagement meeting on 12/3/2020 @ 7pm. Krabbe will check with the Eagle’s to see if the meeting can be held there. There are additional public engagement meetings on 1/7/21 & 2/4/21. Krabbe will also check with the Lapel Post Office to see if Kimley Horn can set up boards there for anyone not comfortable attending the public meeting on 12/3/2020.

Park Update: Katie Hutchison stated Memorial Park playground is now ADA compliant with mulch instead of pea gravel, and the park board is looking at the cost to remove the gravel from Central Park to make it ADA compliant. Also at least one of the people who vandalized the concession stand at the Memorial Park ballfields has been identified, and arrangements are being made for the repairs. Due to the vandalism, the park board is looking at getting internet service to the parks so security cameras can be set up.

Office Update: Motion to have the year-end special pay completed on the first payroll in December was made by Marvel, 2^nd by Blake; all were in favor.

Due to recent illness, and the rise in COVID-19 cases Lee & Krabbe are asking to close Town Hall to the public, and operate by using drive-thru, drop box, telephone, or appointment.

Motion to close Town Hall to the public, and operate by using drive-thru, drop box, telephone, or appointment was made by Blake, 2^nd by Retherford; all were in favor.

A conflict of interest statement will be signed by Retherford so she can sew the patches onto the new police uniforms. Marvel stated that he believes all council members should have a conflict of interest form on file.

Old Business/New Business: Motion to accept CommonWealth amendment was made by Blake, 2^nd by Marvel; all were in favor.

Blake would like to purchase laptops for the office, and tablets for council members so everyone is able to work from home and attend meetings virtually.

Motion to purchase 2 laptops for the office, and 5 tablets for the council for a total of $7,725 was made by Kleinbub, 2^nd by Marvel; all were in favor. 

Being there was no further business to discuss, meeting was adjourned.

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