CHAMOIS — At their meeting on Wednesday, Dec. 17, Chamois aldermen approved a $170,000 payment to Archer-Elgin Engineering Surveying and Architecture for the design and engineering work for the city’s drinking water project. The total bill was $270,617.25 and goes back several years.

“A lot of this started in 2018, with the planning starting in 2016, but none of the bills were paid,” said Mayor Marie Slusser.

City Clerk Megan Birmingham added that Archer-Elgin Engineering Surveying and Architecture has been working on the project without payment from the beginning. Birmingham noted that, according to Archer-Elgin, the firm is within the original budget approved by the city.

“$170,000 of the bill will be covered by our agreement through SRF,” said Birmingham of the State Revolving Fund.

Meanwhile, the Community Block Development Grant (CBDG) grant helping Chamois complete the project is restricted to construction purposes, according to the Meramec Regional Planning Commission (MRPC).

Mayor Slusser read through the invoice, noting that items labeled drinking water system construction and construction inspections should be eligible for the grant since they seem to be construction expenses.

“I can see if that would work, but it has to be within what is allowed for the grant,” Birmingham said, adding she believed that the bill from Archer-Elgin would not be covered, regardless of the wording on the billing.

“I don’t understand why there were no bills sent as we went along with the project,” Slusser said.

“If I remember right, it was all supposed to be billed at one time, when the project was finished,” Birmingham said. “What happens if the remaining amount is not covered by grant money?”

“We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it,” Slusser answered.

“They are asking when they are going to get paid,” Birmingham said.

City Treasurer Theresa Walter reminded the board that repayment of the loan will begin in 2028, with payments of $55,000 due in January and July.

“We have enough money to cover that from our water account, right?” Slusser asked.

“As long as we don’t have any massive changes, and if we don’t have to pay the rest of the Archer-Elgin bill out of the water account,” Walter said.

In other business, aldermen are considering snow-removal options after advertisements for bids did not yield any results. The city of Chamois does not currently have a plan for how to clear the city streets in case of a winter weather event.

“I reached out to Westphalia and Argyle, and they sent me a list of people they went with, but they are expensive,” Birmingham said.

The city also reached out to the city of Gasconade, which has not hired anyone for snow removal, and the individual removing snow for the city of Morrison is doing so with a tractor and does not want to travel to Chamois.

“We have the equipment, a truck with a plow and a salt spreader,” Slusser said. “We have everything ready to go, and we have plenty of salt. We need to look at all affordable options. At some point, the snow will be here. We need someone with experience who knows what they are doing.”

Aldermen agreed to run another ad in the Unterrified Democrat for bids and reach out to former employees and other individuals who may be interested in running the city’s snowplow.

• Mayor Slusser reported that she could not meet with the Chamois Day Committee before the meeting and was unprepared to report any financial information to the board.

Unterrified Democrat Reporter Theresa Brandt said that she was confused following the November meeting when Slusser had said that Chamois Day was run by a committee, not the city.

“The committee is the one who decides on everything for Chamois Day, and the money was spent out of the Chamois Day account, not the city’s,” Slusser said.

“But through the year, you said that it was a city event, you even said you were going to run for mayor this next term in order to keep it a city event,” Brandt said.

“It’s a community event and something everyone participates in,” Slusser said.

Brandt asked if Slusser had misspoken earlier when she had called it a city event.

“I’m not saying that I misspoke,” Slusser said.

“If it is a community event, should the city employees be working on it on the clock?” Brandt asked, noting that both Birmingham and Walters had reported in meetings before Chamois Day that they weren’t able to get all of their city work done because they were so busy with Chamois Day.

“It’s hard to reframe the event after you’ve said it was a city event for eight months,” Brandt said.

Slusser said she would not be able to comment more until she had spoken with the Chamois Day Committee.

• The city plans to investigate additional options for its internet provider. According to Birmingham and Walter, it is difficult for them to even do their jobs because the internet is slow or not working at all.

The city currently uses Bright Speed and cannot use the TV or laptops for aldermen during a meeting because the internet is not functional.

“We’re paying over $200 a month, and we can’t even use it,” Walter said.

“We need to know why the bill is so high, and the service is so bad,” Slusser said. “We can’t even use the phones half the time because the internet is so horrible.”

Walter said that Jerry’s Stop & Go is also having problems with Bright Speed.

Slusser said that she will call Bright Speed and look into other options for internet service for the city.

• Brandt asked if there was an update on repairs to the park from the storm damage several years ago.

“The storm damage that wasn’t repaired was before our time,” Slusser said.

Brandt reminded Slusser that she was on the board when the issue was first discussed.

“I wasn’t the mayor,” Slusser replied.

“But you were on the Board of Aldermen when it happened,” Brandt answered.

“Yes, and I talked to the contractor that gave us the original bid, and he said that he will honor the original bid, but we haven’t done anything with that yet,” Slusser said. “We can address that at the beginning of the new year.”

• The city hired Lillian Wright as a part-time filing clerk in closed session. She was hired for $13.75 per hour and is limited to 20 hours per week.

According to Slusser, this position was not included in the budget for the year, and the money would be covered by the general account.

• Aldermen are discussing painting the emergency helicopter landing site at the City Park with the Chamois Fire Department and how to add signs to identify the site.

• Birmingham reported that City Marshal Riley Lewis has written a total of 31 tickets, most of them being traffic violations. According to Birmingham, most of the traffic tickets went through, as did one citation for a grass-cutting ordinance violation.

• Aldermen committed to being a part of a flag-raising ceremony at the City Park, sponsored by the Lions Club, coinciding with the 250th anniversary of the country and Flag Day.

• Slusser announced that the city may need to hold a special meeting before the first of the year to discuss the amended budget and the audit, since QuickBooks is not currently working correctly.

• Aldermen approved the removal of a water meter from a property that has not had a resident for the last 10 to 11 years.

“She has been paying the minimum, but she hasn’t had the water or sewer turned on,” Birmingham explained.

The resident is requesting to have the water meter removed for no additional cost.

Aldermen instructed Walter to send a letter to any other residents paying the minimum without residing at the property to ask if they want the meters removed.

• Alderman Shawn Mitchem worked with a resident who built a ramp that goes over the city sidewalk.

“The resident has someone who is going to have someone help him move the ramp to the side of the house,” Mitchem said. “The issue should be resolved this month.”

Mitchem also worked with a resident who had a vehicle that extended onto the street and was impeding traffic.

“I had several complaints about how the vehicle was hard to see. I talked to the individuals, and it was moved within the hour,” Mitchem said.

• Aldermen approved a 24-month payment plan for Mandy Meyer, whose balance of $1,360, including the current monthly bill estimated at $207. Meyer’s monthly bill usually averages $110 to $140.

Meyer has been struggling to pay for car repairs so she can keep her job.

Aldermen renegotiated her payment plan for 24 months with a monthly payment of $56.67 in addition to her current bill. Slusser asked Birmingham to have the meter read and not estimated moving forward.

• Aldermen approved a 12-month payment plan for Mary Minor for $37.43 monthly plus her usual bill. She owes a total of $449.18.

• The board approved an extension to Charlie Minor for $177.50, which he will pay in full on Jan. 3.

• Aldermen approved outstanding expenses of $23,459.94 for November.

• The city of Chamois had the following ending balances in its accounts: cemetery fund ($10,376.52), general fund ($18,898.76), water fund ($444,544.89), sewer fund ($134,038.55), city Community Block Development Grant (CBDG) in and out ($10), city park ($11,609.65), American Rescue Plan Act Fund (ARPA) ($71,169.95), sewer bond reserve ($26,884.53), meter deposits, ($17,176.64), water repair ($30,192.82), street ($34,311.92), online bill pay ($3,680.28), city police ($1,116.25), and business checking ($8,091.83).

• Chamois has five certificates of deposit totaling $12,290.69.

• The city’s water loss was estimated at 20% for November. The city pumped 785,800 gallons of water, with 631,800 gallons billed or flushed. The city has 240 total water connections.

• The next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, Jan. 28, at 6:30 p.m.