LINN  — Linn aldermen approved a tax levy of $.7112 per $100 assessed valuation upon non-exempt real estate and personal property for the general revenue fund and $.0487 per $100 assessed valuation for the parks and recreation fund at their regular meeting on Aug. 15.  The approved tax levy is down from 2022 when aldermen approved a levy of $.7303 for the general revenue fund and $.50 for the parks and recreation fund.

Real estate and personal property valuation have increased from $18,492,046 last year to $20,177,515 for 2023, an increase of $1,685,469. City Treasurer Janelle Jaegers expects tax revenues to increase for the next fiscal year by $6,752.50 for the general fund and $463.84 for the park and recreation fund due to increased assessed valuation. Total revenue expected are general fund ($141,799.91) and parks and recreation ($9,709.86).

Jaegers noted that the tax revenue had been collected at a rate of 95% last year and that she expects similar results for the upcoming fiscal year.

In other business, aldermen approved a change order totaling $6,072 for the Jaegers Wastewater Regionalization Project. Bartlett & West Engineer Hope Drennan explained the change order was necessary because one of the lines was deeper than anticipated, and the manhole had to be deeper to accommodate the lines.

“We did find it appropriate to award the contractor for that extra depth, and this should be the final change order,” Drennan said.

The Missouri Department of Natural Resources (DNR) grant funding the project will cover the change order, so it will not cost the city any additional money.

Drennan added that contractor Brulez Trenching was finishing up with the electrical for the pumps, and she believes everything will be installed soon, with the project finishing in September.

Alderman approved the first payment to Brulez Trenching for $251,401.35; the total project cost, including two change orders, is $362,379.

“This is kinda a large payment, but two-thirds of the work is done,” Drennan said. 

Bartlett & West will keep a 5% retainage until the project’s final walk-through.

• Resident Dieter Palmer addressed aldermen about people speeding on Jefferson Street.

“Yesterday, there was a lady that drove down the road, and she was going at least 70 miles per hour,” Palmer said. “There was also a kid hit on Jefferson yesterday. Now granted, it was the kid’s fault, but if this lady had hit him, there wouldn’t have been enough to bury him. We need something done on Jefferson Street.”

Palmer said that high school and college students use the street to cut through when the traffic on Main Street is backed up.

“Half of the people use Jefferson Street because they know it is not patrolled,” Palmer insisted. “Granted, the police drive up and down the street twice a day, I admit that, but anyone who sees a police car is going to slow down.”

Palmer asked if the city could add speed bumps if they couldn’t have the area patrolled more frequently.

“Unfortunately, there is a law that says we cannot put in an intentional bump in the street,” Mayor Dwight Massey said. “There is a law against it.”

Palmer insisted that other cities have speed bumps, citing the city of Owensville as an example.

“The ones I’m familiar with in Owensville are big dips,” Massey said. “They put those in there for drainage, but they also slow traffic down.”

Massey said that he could have the city police patrol the street more frequently but that the police department is short-staffed.

“In the morning, when there are college students and even high school students, they speed ungodly down that road, and the next time a kid gets hit, it’s going to be a lot worse,” Palmer warned.

While Palmer exited the meeting, Chief Sam Ford addressed the issue of speeders on Jefferson Street. He noted the father of the boy who was hit by a car while riding his bike was furious about the speed at which people drive on the street.

“I know that I worked Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, and I didn’t observe cars at the high speeds they are talking about, but people do drive too fast,” Ford said. “There are crests and dips in the road, and they can’t see kids that are out in the street.”

Ford explained to the father that bikes must follow the same rules as cars in Missouri.

“The accident yesterday occurred due to a juvenile failing to stop at a posted stop sign on Jefferson Street,” Ford explained.

He checked in with the family of the child from the accident and noted that the child had minor abrasions.

“I need everyone’s help trying to keep everyone safe,” Ford said. “Officers can’t do it by themselves. We all have to take some responsibility for our own actions and our driving. We just have to be aware all of the time.”

Ford asked that additional signs be put up, posting the speed limit on Jefferson Street at 20 miles per hour.

“I’ve driven that street at 20 miles per hour, and it feels fast,” Ford said. “I’m not recommending that we change the speed limit. I’m just making an observation.”

In other police department news, Ford noted he had lost the two officers he had hired last month.

“Just the dollars and cents mattered, and it was a lot of dollars and cents difference,” Ford explained of one officer’s departure. “We would have loved to keep him, but there was absolutely no way to compete with the other department.”

The other officer had personal issues that forced him to take a different job.

Aldermen agreed to pay for some additional hours that one of the officers had worked, not reflected on their last pay stub.

“If we owe the man some money, I would like to pay him,” Massey said.

“Work done is work done,” Aldermen Chris Jaegers agreed.

Ford said he is advertising on Indeed and Facebook for additional help.

He has also reconsidered having the city of Linn sponsor a local resident to go through the police academy after the man abruptly stopped showing up at his other job and quit when questioned about it.

“I don’t think that is how we want to start a relationship,” Ford said.

Ford has found a grant that would help the city pay for a police academy for an eligible student. Anyone interested should contact the city.

The chief asked aldermen to consider hiring a part-time compliance officer so the police department could issue ordinance violation citations. Ford believes quite a few violations need to be addressed, especially regarding property upkeep.

The position would be trained in-house, the individual would not be required to carry a badge or a gun and could use an existing vehicle.

“The cost to the city would be minimal,” Ford promised.

• Aldermen approved an $18,000 estimate for aeration maintenance and $26,650 for a complete membrane change, supply, and installation with Environmental Dynamics International. 

“Our lagoon system has a series of mechanical equipment, and some of that has needed repairs for a while,” Massey said.

He noted that if maintenance to the aeration system could be completed now, the work could be done from a boat versus the workers having to use diving equipment.

“I think the equipment was installed in 2009,” Massey said. “Membranes are not permanent. It is something that has to be maintained and replaced.”

Aeration maintenance will be scheduled immediately, and membrane replacement will be scheduled for later this fall.

Massey has Jeffries Electrical Service working on a bid to solve electrical issues that have been happening at the lagoons. They would like to replace the soft starts on the blower engines with variable frequency drives and build a box to house all of the climate-controlled electrical components. Massey hopes he can present this estimate to the aldermen soon.

The city experienced a recent water line break that made a split about seven feet long in a 10-inch main. Massey noted the water went around five houses that could have been completely flooded. “We were extremely fortunate,” he added, noting that it was an all-night job to get everything back up and running.

• The city consulted with Aplex owner Ron Helmig to find options to repair the area of Fifth Street that recent hard rains have washed out. Helmig suggested filling it with a flowable fill to shore up the street. The city is also looking at ways to slow the water down so this does not happen again.

Linn has been contacted regarding several washed-out areas where water run-off continues to be a problem.

Aldermen Jaegers was contacted by a resident on Samson Drive who was wondering when that street was slated to be repaved. Massey noted he had no timeline for Samson Street. Jaegers noted the resident said a tree was growing out of one of the potholes in the middle of the street.

“That’s something we need to look at,” Massey said. “We are going to have to go in and do some patching, and there are a lot of places we need to patch.”

• Aldermen approved Bill #2023-019 suspending Section 4-8 of the city code that does not allow open alcohol containers in public places for the Taste of Osage County at the City Park on Sept. 9 from 10 a.m. until midnight.

• Aldermen approved a reduction of $159.30 in the sewer bill for resident Dianee Farrel, who used soaker hoses during the summer drought.

• Aldermen approved pre-buying roughly the same number of gallons of propane last year from Lock’s Mill Propane for $1.95 per gallon.

• Shades are up at the City Pool, and everyone commented they look great. Aldermen Bill Turner, who spearheaded pool improvements,  ordered the shade, but the company made a mistake and sent a shade of the wrong size. The correct size was sent, but Turner was told to keep the additional shade at no cost. Aldermen authorized Turner to offer $300 for the shade sent by mistake, and the city would look for a place to use it at one of the parks.

In other park news, City Clerk Carrie Grellner sent the only estimate Linn received for the All-Inclusive Playground to DNR for approval.

“There was a part of the bid stuff that said you can’t have more than five percent of the materials from foreign or unknown origins or materials, and the estimate we have stipulates 10 percent,” Grellner explained. “I have to get clarification on it, or the bid will not qualify with DNR.”

• Aldermen approved outstanding bills totaling $153,106.75.

• Linn had the following ending balance in their governmental fund accounts: general ($559,908.12), pool (-$20,283.46), park ($107,471.34), police training ($2,472.58), park-improvement and equipment ($19,320.09), and pool-improvement and equipment ($2,673.74).

• The city had the following ending balance in their business-type fund accounts: water ($502,745.91), water replacement ($66,368.36), sewer ($471,644.29), sewer replacement ($21,454.81), and grants (-$76,733.39).

• Linn has nine certificates of deposit totaling $1,277,838.92.

• The next regular meeting is scheduled for Sept. 12 at 5 p.m.