News – Thursday, July 25th, 2024

The City of Salem Board of Aldermen held their regular meeting at the Old City Hall Auditorium Tuesday night. Before the start of the regular meeting, Mayor Parker opened a public hearing to discuss the proposed increase in sewer rates for the city of Salem. He stated the main reason for the increase was the rising costs associated with operations and maintenance of our sewer system. Additionally, the development of an updated Capacity Management Operations and Maintenance (CMOM) plan is a significant factor. The plan outlines essential improvements and best practices for the maintenance and monitoring of the sewer collection system. As well, the plan calls for increasing the number of staff in the sewer department. The proposed increases are as follows: the base rate will increase from $6.00 to $12.00; the volume rate per thousand gallons will increase from $8.48 to $9.85; and for customers outside of city limits (both residential and commercial), the base rates will increase from $12.00 to $24.00, and the volume rate per thousand gallons will increase from $10.64 to $12.35. For the properties without a water meter, the monthly sewer rates will increase from $79.19 to $91.94, and each additional unit will increase from $52.84 to $61.35. Mayor Parker then opened the hearing to hear any public comments for the sewer rate increases. A citizen approached the podium and asked if the board would be answering questions on this topic, to which the board clarified that this was just a hearing to hear concerns and no questions would be answered at this time. With no other citizen comments, the public hearing was concluded, and the regular meeting was called to order. During public comments, a citizen stated having witnessed a city employee smoking a cigarette on a city property just that morning. The citizen cited Salem’s smoke free ordinance section 240.040 that prohibits smoking on all outdoor property owned, leased, or operated by the City of Salem. He went on to cite section 240.070 that states enforcement by the city administrator, code enforcement officer, or police department. He was concerned that if the city is enforcing this ordinance at the city park during baseball games and other activities held at the park, it should be enforced at all city properties. The board then moved on to bids for the Salem TAP 9901 Downtown Project which includes downtown sidewalk improvements. TAP funding was approved by the city on June 1st, 2021, in the amount of $346,780.37. On March 26th, 2024, the board approved additional funding from MoDOT in the amount of $129,837.63, for a total grant amount of $476,618.00. Sally Burbridge explained during this recent round of bids, the lowest bidder, UDT Construction for $508,944.00, was disqualified for not meeting all of the bid requirements. After conferring with MoDOT, it was recommended that the city move forward with the second lowest bid by Maggi Construction at $582,944.00. The Board then voted 3-0 to approve the bid from Maggi Construction. In New and Miscellaneous Business, Resolution #16-2024 which authorizes the mayor to execute an agreement between City of Salem and Meramec Regional Planning Commission for floodplain technical assistance at a cost of $4,000.00 (which is the same as last year’s contract), was passed in a 3-0 vote. Resolutions #17-2024 and #18-2024 were approved for construction and utility easements for a new water line feeding from the new city water well and tower northwest of town, as well as a utility easement after construction between the city and Mr. & Mrs. Moser and Kenneth Tyler Sherrell. The Board heard the first readings of Bill #3617, an ordinance establishing rates for electric services provided by the City of Salem; Bill #3618, an ordinance establishing new rates for sewer services provided by the City of Salem; Bill #3620, an ordinance amending the annual budget for the City of Salem beginning July 1st, 2023; and Bill #3622, an ordinance of the City of Salem and the MO Highway and Transportation commission for the city to provide funds to aid in the shoulder resurfacing at Route J and MacArthur street locations. The board read the first and second reading of Bill #3619 authorizing the mayor to sign an MPUA Mutual Aide Agreement, and Bill #3622, an ordinance authorizing the mayor to execute a contract with Donald Maggi Inc. for downtown sidewalk improvements for the TAP 9901 Downtown Project. During the reports of city officials, Sally Burbridge acknowledged that 6% of the 4,870 new meters are not reading accurately. The city is aware and has a man working to read these manually. Utility Director Steve Paine reported the city’s wastewater treatment plant is continuing to conduct smoke tests to look for problem areas within the main line. Testing is expected to be completed this week. The trunk line extends from Schwarz Auto to the Sewer plant. The results of the smoke tests will be compiled and presented at a later date. There will be interviews to fill two open positions at the sewer plant. The pump and wiring that was damaged by lightning will be repaired near the hospital. Stacy Houston gave an update on the end of fiscal year report. The city is below budget due to several ongoing projects that have yet to be completed or reimbursed. The board then went into closed session.