CHAMOIS — Chamois aldermen held a special meeting on May 1 to discuss terms with attorney Rob Schollmeyer, who agreed to become the city’s new prosecuting attorney following the resignation of Amanda Grellner.

Schollmeyer, who joined the meeting by phone, outlined a fee structure of $75 per court date (typically one Tuesday per month), regardless of how many tickets are on that docket, and $250 per hour for contested cases. If no court appearance is necessary, Schollmeyer would still receive the monthly fee to cover consultations with Police Chief Riley Lewis regarding enforcement matters.

If a defendant pleads not guilty, Schollmeyer said he would charge $250 per hour to handle the case, a reduced rate from his standard $350 per hour.

“I can’t imagine that I would put in over an hour per case,” he said. “And, I’m not going to charge anything for all this prep. Like I said, I need to give back to my town.”

Alderman Mercedes Durham said she thought it was worth the investment.

“In order to for Riley to even write tickets, get it prosecuted, for it to create any revenue — right now, even if we decided that we didn’t want to go this route right now, then we’re still at square one again. It doesn’t do us any good,” she said.

After further discussion and clarification of expectations, the board voted to hire Schollmeyer as the city’s prosecuting attorney.

In other business, Jeffrey Korman presented a proposed agreement between the city of Chamois and the Friends of Chamois Cemeteries (FCC), a group operating under the Chamois Industrial Development Corporation, regarding the operation and maintenance of local cemeteries.

Under the terms described in the document, the city would retain ownership of the cemeteries, which include City Cemetery, Oakland Cemetery, Stonner Cemetery, and Black Cemetery. Church-owned cemeteries, including Most Pure Heart of Mary Catholic Church and St. Johns UCC Church, would remain under respective ownership.

The document states that FCC would be granted authority to oversee operations and maintenance. Responsibilities outlined for FCC include mapping and documenting grave sites, maintaining records using cemetery management software, setting and collecting plot prices, and managing funds from plot sales.

FCC would also be responsible for ongoing maintenance such as cutting grass, tree-trimming, brush removal, tombstone restoration, and upkeep of features like fences and benches. The group could conduct fundraising efforts and pursue improvements, including signage, fencing, gateways, benches, and memorial trees, depending on available funds.

Additionally, FCC would coordinate a calendar of events at the cemeteries, such as Memorial Day programs, cemetery walks, and tours.

The city of Chamois would retain responsibility for maintaining roads or streets providing access to the cemeteries.

The document further states that any issues not covered would be addressed jointly by FCC leadership and city officials.

“Would the FCC want access to the city cemetery Funds?” City Clerk Meghan Birmingham asked. “Because it’s not in here.”

“I guess it was kind of assumed that fund would — anything that was available for our use acting on the city’s behalf — would already be transferred over, but it does not say,” Korman responded.

The city has approximately $25,000 in two cemetery accounts and two related CDs. Much discussion followed about whether the board would turn the funds over directly or keep the accounts and oversee the funds, and what those options would look like.

“Beside the ownership, what would you expect out of the city?” Alderman Justin Bathke asked. “If we were to hand over the funds now, would we still have access to those funds to keep up maintenance for that road?”

“If this agreement addressed that, and it was going to be the city’s responsibility to maintain, I guess we need to give you the tools to do it,” Korman responded.

“My only concern is, like, if we’re expected to maintain certain things up there and we just hand over the funds, then we’re going to have to pull out of our pocket somewhere else to maintain that, instead of out of the cemetery (account),” Bathke added.

The board voted to table the issue and discuss it after the city’s attorney has had a chance to review the agreement.

Aldermen also voted to approve up to $200 for two new street signs, officially naming the cemetery access road “Crescent Road.”

• Aldermen approved the purchase of a new mower for the sewage lagoons and other areas the zero-turn mower can’t safely access. The mower was leaking transmission fluid from the hydrostat transmission, and was taken to A&G Small Engines for assessment.

“The mower is pretty much shot,” Mitchem told the board. “That’s what it is. And Chris Brandt, pretty well, has a mower from a year ago that’s brand new, that wasn’t sold, and it’s got the commercial deck on it.”

Mitchem said Brandt offered $200 trade-in on the city’s current mower, as he was not sure yet if it was even repairable.

Walter presented pricing options with and without the trade-in, as well as pricing options for a new sprayer, stating that most of the funds could come from the city’s Sewer Bond Reserve account, which could only be used for items related to maintenance of the lagoons.

Bathke said the city had a sprayer, although several wheels had been removed from its trailer last time he’d seen it. Walter expressed concern that it would be too heavy for the new mower to pull.

The board voted to purchase the new mower for $2,675 after trade-in, but decided to table the sprayer issue until Bathke and Barnes had a chance to look at the city’s existing sprayer.

• A discussion of the softball team’s request to play on the baseball field at the city park led to a verbal agreement. Birmingham said the team planned to return to the field and had already begun making repairs and preparing it for use. She added that team members had signed a liability form to obtain a key to the concession stand, but still needed official approval to proceed.

Birmingham noted team had been repairing the lights, which Mayor Sean Mitchem confirmed are all in working order now.

Under the verbal agreement, the softball team would maintain the baseball field in exchange for use of the facility.

• The board reviewed two quotes to repair the grandstand roof damaged in a late 2022 storm, but voted to table the issue to allow for further research after estimates to replace the roof exceeded the insurance payout received in early 2023. Treasurer Theresa Walter asked what happened to the insurance check, and Birmingham said she believed it had been deposited into the general fund. Birmingham and Walter were asked to confirm before any action is taken.

• Mitchem appointed Durham as the city’s floodplain administrator. Because Durham was required to abstain, Alderman Darrell Chrisenberry, who was not present, was contacted by phone to establish a quorum. The board then approved the appointment.

• The next meeting is scheduled for May 27 at 6:30 p.m. at City Hall.