Local News – Wednesday, April 28th, 2021

The City of Salem held a special Board of Aldermen meeting on Monday at the Salem Community Center@ the Armory. Mayor Brad Nash appointed, and the Aldermen approved new members to the utility committee that included Alderman Shawn Bolerjack as Chairman, Kim Shelton, John Hambacker, Catherine Dent, Kevin James, and Gary Brown. The board then approved Resolution No. 7-2021 authorizing the Mayor to execute a lease agreement with Global Rental Company for a digger truck at a cost of $3,900 per month for 24 months. The meeting was then adjourned. Utility Committee Chairman Bolerjack then opened the Utility Committee meeting. Public Works Director Mark Nash gave an update on the AMI/utility billing. The new water meters are in and installation will be done soon. All bills are now on a 30-day cycle with the next bill going out this week for usage through January 9th thru February 8th. City Administrator Ray Walden discussed a proposal for a prepay option called MyUsage. This software would enable customers to view and monitor their usage and pay their bill. This system would have a one-time setup charge of $15,000 with a $2,000 monthly recurring charge for up to 333 accounts with fees for additional customers being added.The committee approved sending this proposal to the Alderman for approval. The committee discussed resuming disconnects that have been on hold since the beginning of the pandemic. Walden estimated there are around 300 accounts that are more than 4 months behind on their bill with some customers not paying for over a year. The committee approved recommending to the Alderman to restart disconnects on July 1st. This would give several months’ notice to customers that are in arrears. A list of area agencies that can help customers with past due bills will be included with the next month’s utility bill. The committee discussed options to bill for more recent consumption that would enable everyone to get caught up on usage and enable the city to invoice for the previous month. Giving customers options on how to become current was very important. Customers will be billed for usage dated February 9th to May 31st and can pay in full, pay in two to six installments and have the option to set up a payment plan will be recommended that the Aldermen approve. The committee then discussed options to pay for the February 2021 extreme weather costs. The city has been billed $1.3 million by their electric provider and will pay $54,909.86 each month for 24 months. Options discussed were to add a $25 fee to residential customers and up to $85 for large commercial customers, or to invoice customers based on the kilowatts they used during this time broken up into monthly installments. The committee asked for more information regarding the number of residential and commercial customers and will discuss this issue at the next committee meeting. Bolerjack allowed citizens that were present to ask questions and get clarification on all topics and suggested that the Utility Committee meet monthly for the next several months. Tammy Walker, a representative with Heartland Metal, made a request to have the committee review the current 3.47 cents per 1,000-gallon rate that has been set for high water consumption. The committee will discuss this at their next meeting.

A boating accident happened Sunday morning at 10:00 at 1.8 mile marker on the Glaize Arm of the Lake Of The Ozarks. The report from the highway patrol states that a 2007 Skeeter Fishing Boat being operated by 67-year-old Mark Puzach of Rolla was motoring east and was overtaken by a Stratus fishing boat and struck from behind. The year of the Stratus and the operator of the boat is unknown because they left the scene of the accident. Neither Puzach or a passenger in the Skeeter, 61-year-old Walter Bowe, also of Rolla, were wearing safety devices at the time of the accident. Bowe suffered minor injuries but refused medical treatment at the scene. The Skeeter had moderate damage was towed to Public Beach number 2. The investigation is still ongoing.