ARGYLE — Argyle trustees were shocked by the snow removal bill that they received from Struemph Lawn at their meeting on Thursday, March 20. Struemph Lawn billed the village $6,600 for snow removal and another $1,488 for salt. Both bills were paid and will be included in the April expense report. Another $300 was paid to Larry Weidinger for help with snow removal.

“I talked to Dominic (Struemph), and I told him I should have sat down when I got his bill,” said Mayor Colby Davis.

In 2024, the Village of Argyle paid $3,760 for snow removal with Deeken Excavating. That total did not include salt, which the village purchased themselves. The Village of Argyle had contracted with Deeken Excavating for this year, but they had equipment problems and were not able to clear or treat the streets.

“He charged us $28 per bag for salt,” Treasurer Kym Brunnert said of Struemph Lawn owner Dominic Struemph, noting that last year, the village bought salt for $4.99 per 50-pound bag.

“Yeah, it was five times the price,” Davis said. “We bought the salt again this year.”

Brunnert asked why the village was charged for the salt by Struemph if they had already purchased it.

“The first time, they said our salt bags were too solid,” Davis said. “I know there are holes in the roof of the salt shed. I moved the pallet to make room for a new one that (the village) purchased. We got a great deal on the salt, and I didn’t think there was anything wrong with it. Dominic said he had tried to use our salt, but they couldn’t.”

“We paid Struemph for the salt, and we bought salt, too?” Trustee Felicia Wieberg asked.

Davis confirmed that the village bought salt that went unused.

“I told him he can’t do that and that he had to use our salt,” Davis said. “We can’t sustain this.”

Davis said he discussed with Struemph that the village planned to ask for bids for snow removal next year and that if we wanted to be considered, he would have to do something to lower his price.

“He told me he pays his employees well,” Davis said. “I understand that he has to run his business the way he wants to run his business, but it is too high for us.”

“I want to know why he didn’t use our salt,” Wieberg asked. “It would have saved us over a thousand dollars. I think it is something that needs to be discussed.”

“We were basically at their mercy,” Davis said. “The first storm with the ice, I think everyone was struggling, everywhere. It was just a shaky situation from the beginning.”

Davis acknowledged it was a bad winter with more snow and ice than usual.

“Did (Struemph) know that we had a pallet of salt in the shed?” Wieberg asked.

“I was very transparent with text messages and calls to him,” Davis said, adding he plans to seal the salt shed’s roof. For the short term, the salt is on a pallet, and he will put a tarp over it to protect it. He also plans to clean up the salt shed by throwing away the empty bags left behind.

The village of Argyle will request bids for snow removal in October 2025.

Davis added that he was very proud of the community, especially many of the kids who were out of school for the snowstorm.

“There were kids all over town, shoveling walks and cleaning off stairs,” Davis said. “We really want to thank them for all of their hard work.”

In other business, Davis said he is concerned that lately, there seems to be an abundance of loose dogs in the village.

“They (the dogs) don’t seem to be hurting anything, but we do have an ordinance preventing dogs from running loose in Argyle,” Davis said. “People need to try to keep their pets on a leash or in their house and on their own property. This is just a friendly reminder.”

• The village had a problem with the grinder pump in one of the lift stations.

“I called and got that fixed,” Davis said.

He was not sure exactly what they did to make the repairs or how much it would cost.

Before the repairs, every time Davis tried to flush the toilets in his house, they set off an alarm in the lift station.

“Mid Mo Operations fixed it,” Davis said. “They were super helpful.”

• The village is currently handling the billing for trash services with Republic Services but as of May 1, residents with trash service will be billed directly.

Argyle is under a three-year contract with Republic Services.

• Trustees tabled paying Dylan Huhn for his labor mowing grass. Huhn cut the overgrown grass for the village in exchange for the property owner donating a lawn mower to the village.

Huhn cut village-owned properties as needed for $40 for labor per cutting last year. The village provided the lawn mower and gas. Huhn also weed-eats the village’s properties.

Wieberg questioned why the city was paying to mow private property.

Brunnert said that there would not be a problem with billing the property owner for the mowing service.

“I don’t think we should pay someone to cut someone’s grass,” Wieberg said.

Davis agreed but also wanted to make sure Huhn was paid for the work he had already completed.

Brunnert will find out how many hours Huhn has put in and look up what the village has paid for similar services in the past before the next meeting.

• Trustees are still researching the cost of hiring a new village attorney. They have been in contact with Attorney Nathan Nickolaus with Lauber Municipal Law.

• The board approved financial reports for February and March.

The financial report for February shows receipts for general ($6,912.36) and sewer ($3,476.35) and expenses for general ($2,870.57) and sewer ($3,806.79).

Argyle had the following February ending balances: general ($23,833.33), general money market ($59,126.62), sewer ($5,264.06), sewer money market ($30,371.70), and sewer debt service ($31,834.21).

The financial report for March shows receipts for general ($2,019.91) and sewer ($4,088.44) and expenses for general ($2,457.57) and sewer ($3,776.01).

The village had the following ending March balances: general ($23,395.67), general money market ($59,151.56), sewer ($5,576.49), sewer money market ($30,384.52), and sewer debt service ($31,842.76).

• The next meeting will be on Thursday, April 17, at 7 p.m.