CHAMOIS — Chamois aldermen adopted a surplus budget last Wednesday that was similar to the previous year, with estimated revenues of $262,277 and expenses of $260,389.50, giving the city a projected surplus of $1,887.50.

Anticipated revenues include cemetery donations ($330), business licenses ($1,320), park income ($340), sewer income ($85,556.49), fuel taxes ($15,971.37), property tax ($19,355.81), sales taxes ($17,530.85), trash income ($28,753.28), utility late fees ($1,932.62), and water ($68,768.35).

Expenses include audit/accounting ($5,920), advertising ($250), equipment maintenance ($800), oil and gas ($2,373.76), fines/penalties ($34.99), insurance ($15,434), legal fees ($1,200), locate fees ($37.50), membership dues/subscriptions ($981.75), election expenses ($1,250), city lights ($9,704.02), office supplies ($7,113.17), postage ($1,500), park electric ($718.95), park maintenance ($1,080), aldermen salary ($2,444.32), city clerk salary ($15,600), city marshal ($14,040), mayor salary ($1,845), part-time maintenance ($8,000), water operator ($70,099.98), sewer electric ($7,037.45), sewer loan repayment ($15,010.24), sewer maintenance ($8,400), sewer operations ($2,093.50), streets ($18,300), training ($600), trash ($27,600), water electric ($44,063.22), water maintenance ($12,000), and water operations ($1,400).

Alderman Marie Slusser believes the city needs an accountant to review the books and ensure everything is in order. She said that she was looking over the accounts with City Clerk Megan Birmingham and was concerned about some of them.

“There were these bank accounts set up in 1997 and 1998 and 2003, and there is money sitting in them, but no one knows why,” Slusser said. “(Birmingham) showed me the accounts, but if it was one deposit made in 1997, what was it for? What was the account opened for?”

Alderman Jim Wright noted that those sounded like maintenance accounts for the sewer pump, but he couldn’t be sure.

“I guess someone could always go up and dig through the boxes upstairs,” Slusser said.

Wright suggested someone look through the old computer as well since it might contain additional information.

“Some of this just doesn’t make any sense,” Wright agreed. “We may just need to look at what we have.”

Birmingham noted the budget had to be done by a specific date for the state and to meet the deadline for some of the grants. However, she was not sure of those dates.

The 2023-24 budget was approved with the understanding that it could be amended if more information comes to light.

Slusser repeated that she thought getting an independent auditor to look through the financial accounts would be a good idea.

In other business, the city approved the tax levy to remain at $.5774 per $100 assessed valuation, which the state auditor set at $3,579,566, slightly higher than last year’s valuation of $3,565,034. Included in the 2023 valuation was real estate ($1,672,554), personal property ($709,205), state-assessed railroad and utilities real estate ($967,317), and state-assessed railroad and utilities personal property ($230,490).

• Alderman Sara Mengwasser announced that B&H Well Drilling planned to move equipment into town by the end of last week.

“They will hopefully start within the next week or two,” Mengwasser said.

Birmingham asked when she should put an ad for a contractor in the paper to do the trenching required for the water project.

“At this point, they are starting within the next two weeks,” Mengwasser said. “That should have been done two months ago.”

Birmingham said she was never given a schedule for when the work was to be done.

Utilities Supervisor Justin Bathke said that he and Utilities Employee Rusty McCoy would dig the trenches.

Chamois resident Aleks Rowinski, a utility employee for the city of Linn, offered to help Bathke with the trenching.

“You are not covered by the insurance,” Bathke said.

“I could help teach you how to do it,” Rowinski insisted.

Mengwasser explained that the open trenches would run from the drill site — behind the current well house — down to Market Street, and the water would be directed into a storm drain.

Wright expressed concern there would be open trenches in front of some residences.

“We are going to have to put a pipe in for them,” Wright insisted.

“Part of them we can,” Mengwasser said. “Part of the reason they want the trench to be so wide is to slow down the water as it comes off the hill.”

No one had contacted Dig Rite to mark all the utility lines to dig the trenches.

“We will have to, but no one has approved anything, so I haven’t been told to do anything,” Birmingham said. “I can’t just magically do it all.”

Bathke said he would call Dig Rite the following day.

• Aldermen approved hiring new Police Chief Riley Lewis, with Mengwasser casting the lone nay vote. Lewis will work 15 hours per week at $20 per hour. Aldermen would have liked Lewis to work additional hours, but they also wanted to stay within the newly approved budget that set aside $14,040 for the position. Lewis plans to vary the hours and days he is in town to avoid developing a pattern.

Lewis explained that since he is semi-retired, he can be flexible with the times he is on duty and how many hours he works.

Bathke hoped that Lewis could spend some time helping with ordinance enforcement.

“If you want to improve the community, some of that stuff needs to be attended to,” Bathke said.

“It would be nice if we could get people to clean up their yards,” Slusser said.

“That’s what I’ve been working on mainly in Gasconade,” Lewis said, “making sure people keep their grass mowed and derelict vehicles and junk cars aren’t setting around.”

Aldermen Lance Gerloff suggested the city contact Meramec Regional Planning Commission (MRPC) because the agency had mentioned there was a grant available for law enforcement. Gerloff hopes that if the grant comes through, the city could increase the number of hours Riley works without affecting the budget.

Lewis noted that he has already been contacted by the Missouri Attorney General’s Office as to whether the city had sexual assault kits on hand. Lewis said that in the event of a sexual assault, the Osage County Sheriff’s Office would be called, and deputies would have sexual assault kits readily available. Lewis noted that he would sign the appropriate paperwork with the AG’s office to let them know that the city of Chamois does not have sexual assault kits available.

• American Legion Post #506 at Chamois hopes to place a 40-foot flagpole, with an eight-inch by 12-inch American flag with a dusk-to-dawn light at the Chamois City Park.

“The flagpole is going to be beautiful if you allow us to do it,” American Legion member Don Howard explained. “We want to make a statement for the city of Chamois.”

American Legion Post #506 had 44 charter members and was formed when young men came back from World War II.

“At its peak, there were 174 members,” Howard said. “There is a rich history in this town of what the Legion has done over the years. Now, we are all dying off, and we’re down on numbers.”

Howard said that the organization wants to do something to honor veterans and the history of the Lewis & Clark expedition.

“The Chamois City Park is a classic,” Howard explained. “We want the flag to be visible as people come up and down the river. If we put a light on this thing and put it 40 feet in the air, it is going to be known.”

The entire project will cost between $6,000 and $7,000, with expenses paid by American Legion Post #506. The American Legion also has workers in line to complete the project: electricians, pouring concrete, raising the flagpole, and setting it in place.

Howard said the city’s only obligation would be to pay the electricity for the dusk-to-dawn light. Howard said it might be possible to have a fundraiser to pay for that as well. American Legion will also be responsible for replacing the flag and rope as needed.

“The big determination is finding out where the community wants to place it,” American Legion Financial Officer Dave Steffen said. “We’ve had the suggestion of maybe on the riverbank, and another suggestion was centerfield of the ballpark.”

Mayor Michael Edwards suggested that the flagpole be placed by the scoreboard for the ball field since there is already electricity there.

Steffen agreed that might be the best place for it.

The American Legion also hopes to put up a metal sign to upgrade the existing sign that designates the area as a Lewis & Clark historical site. Howard suggested a sign that reads “Chamois Veterans Memorial and Lewis & Clark Corp of Discovery Landmark. 2024. American Legion Post No 506,” with the inscription, “Laus Deo …Praise be to God!”

• Aldermen approved paying Bathke $500 monthly for health insurance and an additional $5,000 for the months he has been working without the benefit. The city will pay the additional $500 per month in backpay until the $5,000 is paid.

Slusser could not find a different health insurance option and suggested aldermen do the same thing they did with former utilities Supervisor Danny Kirsch, which was to offer $500 per month for him to put towards health insurance that he purchased himself.

• Volunteers are needed on Sept. 10 for the city cleanup sponsored by the Chamois Lions Club. Edwards noted that all citizens are welcome to help clean up the city.

• Edwards asked that Bathke purchase additional Round Up weed killer for the city.

“We already have some,” Bathke said.

“We need to keep spraying down Main Street,” Edwards said. “We need to keep up on it because what I sprayed is growing back.”

Gerloff again raised a concern that the ditches need to be cleaned out for better drainage, and potholes need to be filled to maintain the streets.

Bathke said that he knows of two people looking for 20 hours of community service and that they could help hand-dig the ditches out.

Bathke was hesitant to fill potholes on the streets, noting that when the well-drilling equipment is brought to town, it will cause more damage to the roads.

Gerloff explained that he knows residents snaking through the streets’ potholes to try to avoid damaging their vehicles.

“I dodge them in the work truck,” Bathke agreed. “At some point, if we get another grant, we can start fixing some streets the right way. The biggest problem is the roads are too high and the need to get fixed the right way, but that’s a lot of money.”

Gerloff suggested that when Bathke needs to use the skid steer somewhere around town, he could take a scoop of asphalt and fill a pothole in the street.

Bathke said that he would rather make repairs utilizing the dump truck.

“That dump truck is too far gone,” Wright said. “It ain’t got no brakes. It ain’t got no clutch. It’s been sitting too long. It would cost thousands of dollars to fix that thing.”

Bathke said he thought the dump truck would be something the city could utilize in the future and had no idea it wasn’t repairable.

Gerloff again suggested that Bathke could fix a pothole as he was working on another project around town.

“I need to work on the potholes; I get it,” Bathke said. “But we don’t have a dump trailer. Maybe we need to start looking into renting a dump trailer every so often to do it. To travel one bucket load at a time when you have multiple potholes, you are going to use a lot of diesel going back and forth.”

“I understand where you are coming from,” Gerloff said. “I’m just saying if the skid steer is sitting in the shed and there’s a pile of asphalt sitting by the shed, and you have to use (the skid steer) at the park — go get a shovel and a scoop, and on the way to the park, patch one hole and the next time, do a pothole on a different street — just to show people you are wanting to do it, and getting it done; they just might see that you are trying.”

Gerloff noted that everyone who has talked to him, what people are talking about at the gas station, and all of the posts he has seen on Facebook have been about potholes and drainage ditches.

“And that’s what I see, too,” Gerloff said. “Those are my concerns.”

“We’ll do a little bit at a time,” Bathke said.

Gerloff noted that Bathke just needed to show people he was trying.

Wright noted that the far end of the city cemetery needs to have weeds cut down.

Bathke and Birmingham said several water meters needed to be replaced, and the city should order additional water meters in case of an emergency.

Bathke explained that the city used two different sizes of water meters. Gerloff said that Bathke should always keep three of each water meter on the shelf.

“Every time you use one, order another one,” Gerloff said. “You never know when there might be a back-order issue.”

Bathke had no idea what the cost of the water meters might be.

Aldermen approved $1,190.68 from USA Blue Book for an oxygen sensor for Bathke to use for DNR tests. They also approved six loads of creek gravel from Deer Creek Trucking and Excavation for $900 for the road around the lagoon.

“The road is deteriorating,’ Bathke said. “It’s letting animals in and ruining the blades on the lawnmowers.”

Mengwasser said she noticed the weeds around the lagoons were getting pretty tall.

Bathke said he had been told not to freak out too much about his first year and that next year would be better.

Gerloff said that he thought aldermen shouldn’t even need to vote on what Bathke needed for sewer and water maintenance.

Slusser agreed that things Bathke needed, especially tools, should not have to be brought before the board.

“Anything that has to do with money has to be voted on,” Wright cautioned.

Bathke will be taking the test for his water and sewer license this month.

• Chamois has received a request from Vicky Huckstep of Linn for a copy of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (DNR) water permit and public announcements about an E.coli contamination.

“So, since you are on the water project, do you have all that?” Slusser asked Mengwasser.

“I don’t,” Mengwasser said.

Birmingham said she spoke to DNR, which is sending her copies of the permit paperwork.

Birmingham said, according to the Sunshine Law, she responded to the request within 72 hours and let Huckstep know that she is working with DNR to get the paperwork.

“I asked them (DNR) about the E.coli violation, and they have no idea what I was talking about,” Birmingham said. “Per Sunshine Law, (Huckstep) will be charged my hourly rate plus $.10 per page, which must be paid in advance, according to our attorney.”

Wright asked if anyone knew who Huckstep was and why she requested the permit and violation notice.

“I work with her at the (Linn License Fee Office),” Mengwasser said, noting that everything Huckstep requested was public record.

“It’s very odd someone who lives in Linn is requesting this information,” Slusser said.

“Maybe she is planning on moving here,” Gerloff suggested.

• Ameren Missouri had sent out an email to the city of Chamois asking aldermen to support their application for federal funding under the Energy Improvement in Rural or Remote Areas (ERA) opportunity program administered by the Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Clean Energy Demonstrations (OCED). The letter noted that Ameren hopes to upgrade 18 substation sites across rural Missouri in traditionally underserved areas. The power company is requesting $27.5 million from the federal government. Ameren asked aldermen to sign a letter declaring their support for the project. The letter would accompany the federal application. A sample letter was attached to the email.

“If they want our help, they should be here,” Wright said.

His colleagues agreed.

Birmingham asked aldermen if they would like her to ask Ameren to come to the next meeting and make a presentation.

“Yes,” Slusser said. “I’d like them to explain how this is going to benefit us.”

Birmingham promised to email Ameren the board’s request.

• Birmingham explained that she had been in contact with several companies that were recommended to her by the Missouri Municipal League that could digitalize the city’s codes and ordinances. She has not received any estimates.

• Aldermen approved unpaid bills totaling $9,665.27.

• Chamois had the following account balances: cemetery ($10,437.77), general fund ($48,232.74), water fund ($198.185.35), sewer fund ($91,279.47), Community Block Development Grants (CBDG) in-and-out ($1,250), city park ($4,026.59), sewer bond reserve ($26,733.63), sewer repair ($6,933.74), city cemetery ($20,635.87), meter deposits ($423,125.88), and water repair ($29,014.42).

• The next meeting is scheduled for Sept. 20 at 7 p.m.