Local News – Monday, October 19, 2020

The Salem R-80 Board of Education held regular meeting Thursday evening at the district administrative offices. After the board approved the consent agenda, Brad Wegman from Larry Hart and Associates talked with the board about considering the refinancing of the current school bonds by authorizing the issuance and sale of Series 2020 General Obligation Refunding Bonds. These bonds would have a short call feature of 2024 and with the lower interest rate, the school could save over $106,141. The school already refinanced their initial Series 2013 bonds with Series 2016 bonds that saved the school over $511,000 in interest savings. With these savings, the total interest saved from the initial bond issue could come to over $641,000. The board approved signing a Resolution that authorizes the issuance of $3,245,000 General Obligation Bonds, Series 2020 for the purpose of providing funds to refund the $3,245,000 Series 2016 General Obligation Bonds that can become callable March 1, 2021. Superintendent Lynne Reed said the September membership count was 1,413 while the average daily attendance for the month was 1,314 students with 173 virtual students. She said she and Mr. Anderson made a presentation at the Salem Chamber of Commerce on the tax credits available for the new Construction Trades Building. She said they would be making personal appearances to continue to find investors for the project. Reed also said the school continues to monitor the amount of cases of COVID-19 at the school and quarantine where needed while the hybrid system is in place. High School Principal Marty Anderson said that 252 students are “A” students and 257 are “B” day students. He said 63 students are completely virtual while 42 additional students are attending four days a week due to learning needs or Internet needs. Upper Elementary School Principal Melanie Wisdom said picture retake day would be October 20th. This is important as there were students quarantined when pictures were first taken. She also said there would be a Virtual Night where students who are learning virtually will come to the school from 6:00 to 7:00 on October 22nd to check in, answer questions and get a treat. Wisdom said parent/teacher conferences will be held October 26th and teachers have the option of meeting with parents in person, zoom, phone or other alternative method. Chairman of the Committee to name the football stadium, Andrew Wynn said their committee recommended naming the football stadium the Bill Schuchardt Football Stadium. There will be a formal ceremony held at a later date. The board approved effective Monday to raise the substitute teacher pay to $100 per day. The board will discuss at the next meeting the need to address the bus driver shortage. The board approved a number of policy updates except for one that discussed unbudgeted purchases before going into closed session.

The City of Salem Utility Committee held a meeting on Thursday evening at the Salem Community Center@The Armory. The committee heard presentations from Paymentus and Exceleron regarding an online customer billing portal. This would allow customers to view their usage and view and pay their bill online. This software program would be a voluntary use program and give customers more information and options regarding their utility service. The committee also heard a draft report from BHMG, the consulting firm hired to evaluate the AMI meter installation and billing schedule. Verbal Blakey with BHMG stated that the entire problem with the billing delays and errors can be traced back to the InCode accounting system that the city uses. InCode is a flat file system and does not integrate with other software programs, such as the AMI system. She made it clear that the issues that the city has experienced were of no fault of the city personnel and that the employees have been working with InCode to correct the issues. The committee also discussed a pre-pay option that would allow customers to prepay their account with money that pays for the electricity before it is used. This option could benefit customers that have received a high bill that they cannot pay all at one time, avoid disconnect, and allow them to pay over time and prepay future electric consumption, thereby not getting behind on their future bill. City Administrator Ray Walden reported that August bills are going out now and September bills will be out by the end of October.

The City of Salem Board of Aldermen will meet tonight at 7:00 at the City Hall Council Chambers. After the consent agenda, City Administrator Ray Walden will update the board on city projects. In the introduction and reading of bills and resolutions, the board will hear Bill #3464 that would amend the city’s code of ordinances Chapter 111 pertaining to city officials, Article IX for the Director of Engineering qualifications. The board will then go into closed session to discuss personnel and contracts. The meeting is open to the public.