LINN — Linn Park Board President Neil Loethen addressed concerns that have been raised about the proposed splash pad to be built at the City Park at the board’s March 24 meeting.

“There are some concerns that even though the money for the splash pad is being privately donated, it could put added strain on the water system and possibly cause harm to the water pumps,” Loethen said. “To me, the concern isn’t about the splash pad, but making sure that we aren’t putting our infrastructure in a situation that comes back on us later.”

Mayor Dwight Massey noted that he had looked at the water needs for the system that Loethen was proposing, and he did not think it would be too much for the city’s system.

“I appreciate the concern for the infrastructure, but it’s basically just one more day per month,” Massey said. “It’s a lot of water but only for a few months, and for the kids to have one more thing and bringing more families to our parks instead of going somewhere else — I think it would be worth it.”

Loethen noted that he and Massey had looked at the maximum gallons of water that could be used for the splash pad.

“I don’t think that’s going to kill our wells or the water system,” Massey said. “When we had a pretty major fire in town, we pumped almost 300,000 gallons of water in a few hours, and we were able to maintain pressure and flow.”

Loethen explained that the splash pad would be set up to only run when there are people using it, and it could be programmed to run at certain times of the day.

“You can customize a time plan, and you can set it for whatever you want,” Loethen explained. “We can watch the times and monitor the usage. The normal run time is three minutes. It does not run constantly.”

“I think it is a good thing,” Massey said. “I appreciate you trying to bring more things to the park to encourage more kids and families to use our parks. Ultimately, I’m tickled the city is considering this.”

Alderman Dustin Flamm asked how long the installation would take.

“I haven’t gotten a full bid back yet, but I think it could be done pretty quickly,” Loethen said. “I think we can get it done before summer.”

Alderman Bill Turner asked if there would be a fence around the splash pad.

Loethen noted there would not be a fence, but there would be a five-foot dry area around the splash pad that would be sloped towards the drain. He said that the area could be made a little bigger if that was a concern.

Turner suggested using benches or a seating area around the splash pad to box in the area.

Loethen said that the area could use a bench, but he was concerned about using them to box the area in since it would limit access.

Aldermen agreed to continue moving forward on the splash pad for the City Park.

In other park news, aldermen approved an estimate from Mid Country Tree Services to remove a combined 12 trees from the City Park and Maguire Park for a total of $6,550. R&K Tree Service bid for the same number of trees for $14,000.

City Treasurer Jeanna Monroe-Lansford explained that she had reached out to Hentges Tree Services and Feeler Tree Services and had not received bids from either.

“I looked at the trees that were marked, and there are only four that we need someone else to help us with,” Turner said. “The others we can do ourselves.”

Loethen noted that he had talked to City Parks employee KP Nilges, who did not feel comfortable cutting down any of the trees.

After Aldermen approved the estimate with Mid Country Tree Service, Massey asked that the work be done as soon as possible.

Loethen also reported that area baseball and t-ball teams are having sign-ups and that residents will see players practicing on the ball fields at both parks almost every night of the week. State Tech will be using the soccer fields at Maguire Park for its flag football league. Loethen reported that he has mulched most of the flowerbeds and cut back the rose bushes. He has also repaired the steps on the bleachers so that they don’t pose a hazard. Nilges will begin seasonal work again on April 1.

Loethen noted that he and Nilges plan to seed and straw the City Park again this spring.

“I know we approved spending on grass-seeding last fall when we did it, and I tried to go as cheap as I could,” Loethen said. “I was under what was approved then and should still be under the total amount with this reseeding.”

Loethen was a little concerned that the Bikers Against Child Abuse Rally plans to hold a concert in the City Park ball field.

“We want to make sure we don’t have anyone driving in the outfield,” Loethen said. “If there are ruts in the outfield, they are very difficult to repair. I want to make sure nothing gets torn up, but it is a great cause.”

The Happy Helpers 4-H group has received a $500 grant to start a community garden and would like to have the city’s permission to begin.

“We’ve looked at these several times; at the beginning, everyone is excited about it, and then no one wants to follow through, and it becomes a bunch of weeds,” Massey said.

Resident Bill Wirtel, whose son is in the group, said that he will talk to the group and come back to the board with a more detailed plan.

• Aldermen approved Bill #2026-002 to allow the mayor to sign a new five-year contract with Republic Services, which will go into effect on Aug. 1. Republic Services will increase rates by 5% at the start of the second year, and for every year after.

New rates reflect a single cart cost of $21 per month and an additional cart for $7 per month. Additional services can be purchased at the following rates: container delivery, container exchange, container relocation, container removal, each priced at $60, extra yards ($46), and container lock ($16).

• Aldermen approved a three-year contract with Flynn Maintenance to inspect the city’s wells and equipment annually for $375 each. Three wells would be part of the agreement. The company also offers a 10% discount on any repairs.

“That sounds like a no-brainer to me,” Turner said.

“Flynn Maintenance is a reputable company, and they’ve done some great services for us through the years,” Massey said. “I worked side by side with them when we pulled one of the wells and had to reset it. They were great. They were very professional and did a great job.”

• The board also approved a year-long contract with Brightly Software, Inc., for $5,348.29. The city has been using a trial version to track work orders for the maintenance crew and the police department.

“Has it been working?” Flamm asked.

City Clerk Carrie Grellner noted that everyone seems to be utilizing the system and that she likes using it.

“I think we are just scratching the surface on what Brightly Software can do for this city,” Massey said. “The people I’ve talked to have said this is a great tool.”

• Aldermen approved the payment of an invoice totaling $9,400 to R&K Roofing for the new roof on the pavilion at the City Park. Grellner reported that originally, R&K Roofing said that the pavilion was included in the price.

“I even called, and they said that was the price,” Grellner said. “Apparently, he forgot to write in the price for the pavilion. He sent me the invoice on how much the pavilion should have cost.”

Grellner noted that even with the added $9,400, R&K’s bid would have still been the cheapest bid by over $10,000, and that the project still came in under budget.

“While it was a miscommunication or oversight, we have a contract to perform the services, and they are out of the material,” Massey said. “I would say we need to pay them.”

• Aldermen agreed to run a full-page ad for the Osage County Community guide that is being published by the Unterrified Democrat. The cost of the ad will be $315.

“I would support us getting our face and name out in front of people,” Massey said.

The board opted for the full-page ad so that the city would be featured prominently.

• There was no update on the Lee Mar Hills Project from  Bartlett & West Engineering, although Massey said that he knows they have been working on the project.

Bartlett & West engineers are also working on an estimate for next year’s street repairs. The following are being considered for repairs: Lee Street, Twin Ridge Road, where the road meets the county road, and Samson Drive.

“That’s going to stretch the budget pretty hard,” Massey said. “We would love to tackle Benton Street and West Main Street, but they will be over a million dollars, and we’d like to try to finish some of the smaller streets. We are at about $560,000 right now. With fuel going up, I don’t know if the estimate will hold.”

• Grellner asked aldermen if they would like to have cybersecurity insurance for the city. Grellner has quotes from between $1,930 and $5,000 per year.

Massey asked if they would fix everything if the city were hacked.

“We are probably just paying them for nothing,” Grellner said. “I really don’t know.”

She added that in previous years, cybersecurity was included in the city’s insurance policy through the Missouri Public Entity Risk Management Fund (MOPERM), but it is now a separate coverage item.

Aldermen were unsure what was covered by the policy and whether the city needed it.

Grellner will find out additional information and report back at the next meeting.

• The renewal contract for the Linn License Fee Office has been approved through September 2031.

“Personally, I think they do a heck of a job over there,” Massey said. “When we took that on years ago, it was a gamble, and it’s paid off. They do a great job, and we appreciate their efforts.”

• Aldermen did not take Grellner and Monroe-Lansford up on their offer to refinish the City Pool before it was open for business.

Grellner and Monroe-Lansford offered to handle the pool themselves using epoxy paint.

“In the past, we have done some spot repair that way, but I think the budget for next year should be set up for a complete pool repainting,” Massey said. “If you guys want to do some touch-ups, that would be great, but if it is getting to the point where we need spot repairs within a year, we are going to need a pretty major paint job.”

Monroe-Lansford noted that some big sections of paint have come up, and tiles are coming off.

“Once there is a crack in it, the moisture gets in, and there is only so much we can do,” Massey said. “We can probably get by this year with only the spot repairs, but it’s probably something you should put in the budget for the upcoming year.”

• City Attorney Annie Willis will send a letter to Hometown Lumber so that they finish the work on the garage door for the wash bay at the city’s maintenance shed. If they do not respond, the city will look for someone else to finish the project.

Grellner reported that the garage door doesn’t close all the way, and the trim work isn’t complete. The flashing hasn’t been installed, and the door only opens and closes sometimes.

“Sometimes it doesn’t close at all,” Monroe-Lansford added.

Grellner would like to hire another contractor to complete the job, but the estimate approved by the board specified the local hardware store.

• Linn City Police Chief Sam Ford would like to reopen a doorway into City Hall from the department’s garage bay.

“The only way for officers to get from the garage bay to the City Hall office is walking through my office or walking outside,” Ford said. “It’s an inconvenience.”

“I’m going to say no because there are already a lot of openings in this room; I don’t know if we need another one,” said Massey, who was not opposed to looking at other options.

Ford argued that the situation has interrupted meetings and phone calls.

“I know that the officers have a reason to be in City Hall,’ Massey said. “I’m not saying they don’t.”

He agreed to discuss options with Ford.

• Wirtel reported that someone had painted a sun shape around the pothole on Lee Street and asked if it could be repaired.

Massey explained that it was not a pothole but a hole cut in the asphalt to access a manhole.

“When we tried to order risers for the manholes, we realized they are not a standard size,” Massey said. “They have to be custom-built. We are at the mercy of the company that makes them.”

• Massey noted that this will be his last full meeting as the Mayor of Linn after 22 years of service.

“I would like to say that not one minute of it has been wasted,” Massey said. “I’ve tried to do the very best I could for the citizens of the city of Linn, and it was for the love of the town.”

• Spring clean-up day is set for May 6.

• Aldermen approved outstanding bills for $168,641.54.

• Linn had the following ending account balances in its governmental fund accounts: general ($525,738.89), pool (-$46,542.99), park ($67,796.81), police training ($1,211.66), general fund-improvement ($14,125.02), park-improvement (-$11,562.38), and pool-improvement ($1,948.24).

• The city had the following business-type ending account balances: water ($530,073.95), water replacement ($163,498.36), sewer ($495,683.73), sewer replacement ($59,838.93), and grants (-$93,534.26).

• Linn holds nine certificates of deposit totaling $1,420,079.92.

• A budget meeting will be held on April 14 at 5:30 p.m., and the next regular meeting is slated for April 21 at 5:30 p.m.