META —Meta aldermen continue to search for leaks in an effort to control water loss, which has plagued the town for years. Toward that end, Bartlett & West asked the city to participate in a test run before the engineering firm purchased a thermal drone.

Results of that test were shared at the board’s Aug. 13 meeting, with aerial thermal photos indicating potential water underground shown by blue colors.

“It didn’t necessarily show anything of huge significance,” said City Clerk Deidra Buechter, noting that Alderman Otto Wankum accompanied Bartlett & West.

“We were actually over by the cemetery when the drone flew over that hydrant,” said Wankum. “It’s got a minor dribble, and it picked it up.  I was kind of amazed at how well it did. You can see the differences.”

Images were uploaded to a computer and later printed to showcase how the drone’s thermal system captures where water is located.

“We didn’t cover the whole town, obviously,” said Wankum. “We basically stayed on top of the hill, and to prove the differences, I opened the test station up there by the water tower, and within a couple of minutes, he zipped that thing back around and flew over. And, it showed the water. I still couldn’t see the damn drone flying. I could hear it, but I didn’t know where it was. It was pretty neat.”

It remains unclear whether the moisture detected by the thermal drone comes from the city’s system or something else.

Utilizing the technology in the future may be costly, though aldermen are unsure of the exact expenditure. “I’m sure it’s not cheap,” said Wankum. “In the long run, if you’re searching for a damn leak, just because the water is coming out of the ground and one spot doesn’t mean that’s where the leak is located. If we could identify a specific area that we were having trouble with, or something like that, and limit it to something specific, then at some point, it may be worth the money to do it.”

In other business, aldermen agreed to spruce up the city park ahead of the annual Schroeder Memorial volleyball tournament on Aug. 23, but did not believe masonry sand was a necessary addition.

Clerk Buechter explained that Treasurer Karla Buechter looked into the cost. “She called Wieberg Red-E-Mix, and they said they don’t keep masonry sand on hand,” said Clerk Buechter. “It’s very hard to get a hold of, and it’s very, very expensive.”

Wankum agreed, noting that if volleyball tournaments were held every week, the situation would be different.

A tandem load of regular sand is $350, she added, but said no dollar amount was provided for a load of masonry sand.

Treasurer Buechter noted that the person she spoke to noted they didn’t carry it, or where the city could find it. “She just said it’s very expensive,” she added.

Aldermen agreed that the Schroeder family has contributed to various projects with the city, including park improvements. “We appreciate that very much, but I agree with Otto,” said Mayor Ivie Helton. “If we had something like this every weekend, that would be one thing, but this is a once-a-year kind of thing, and we’re already spending other money to get this up to par for the tournament.”

Aside from the annual tourney, aldermen questioned how much the court is used.

Clerk Buechter noted the Schroeder family indicated they believe no sand has been added in at least the last five years.

Treasurer Buechter said that, based on conversations with others who run volleyball tournaments, masonry sand is much harder to walk in, let alone play on. One person she spoke to said “she didn’t know why anybody would want that for volleyball,” said Treasurer Buechter.

Aldermen agreed to purchase a half-load of regular sand to top off the court and make sure the park was clean.

* Meta will celebrate its 125th anniversary in 2027, and plans need to be made to make it special. The city is considering a parade, food, and involving local businesses. Clerk Buechter noted she will keep track of ideas for the celebration and encouraged aldermen to let her know what they want.

* Regarding the Fourth Street culvert, which was installed sometime after the water pipes were put in the ground in 1959 when the water system came online, the water pipe is 10 inches too high for that culvert to fit.

Clerk Buechter noted the city has options. “One is to lower the water line,” she said, adding that the process would involve using what she described as something like  repair clamps to allow the pipe to be lowered. “The second option would be to do a smaller culvert.”

After speaking with Chief Water Operator Trevor Plemmons, Buechter said his recommendation is to go with a smaller culvert. “He said not to touch that water line,” said Buechter. “Trevor explained that’s our only line to the downtown area. That’s a six-inch main. If that is shut off, everybody’s going to be out of water for at least a day if we don’t run into problems.”

Ruben Wieberg gave the same recommendation.

“That’s the general consensus between the three of us,” said Buechter. “We all highly advise you not to allow anyone to touch those water lines, to lower them, or to move them in any way, unless we are to the point where we’re going to replace an entire line.”

Wieberg suggested using two 12-inch culverts side-by-side instead of one larger culvert.

Aldermen agreed with that idea, and Buechter indicated she would let the engineers know.

* Mayor Helton suggested the city purchase humidifiers and larger fans for City Hall due to heightened moisture from flooding. She recommended buying at least two humidifiers, with one for the storage area to preserve files. “We could have one in there all the time, and another in the main room or between the two rooms,” she added.

Clerk Buechter suggested to buy the safe that the aldermen approved several years ago. “It’s already been approved; we just need to get one,” said Clerk Buechter.

* Aldermen voted to switch to Synergy for cybersecurity with anticipated savings of about $200 per year for the same coverage.

* A tax-levy hearing is planned for Thursday, Aug. 28. Clerk Buechter explained that the county notified her that the levy information used the wrong formula. The levy hearing is necessary and must be completed before the end of the month.

* Lauber Municipal Law attorney James Klahr covered the meeting for City Attorney Nathan Nickolaus. Klahr noted that he has been catching up with legal actions undertaken by the firm.

He provided an update regarding property previously owned by Travis and Ryan Werdehausen, who sold it to Hayden Hurst at an auction. Because of the sale, the petition against the Werdehausens was dismissed without prejudice by Lauber Municipal Law.

Tom Hurst called the firm on behalf of his son, Hayden, and said that they would get it up to speed.

Aldermen agreed that the grass had been mowed at the time of the meeting, but noted there are several other issues in play. The house doesn’t have any doors that stay shut, and Wankum said perhaps 70% of the windows are gone.

“The bottom line is, the damn thing just needs to be torn down and gotten rid of,” said Wankum. “The building ain’t fixable, in my opinion. I’m no contractor, but I sure as hell wouldn’t want to live in it after you fixed it.”

“I don’t like the idea of going through the whole process again with a new owner,” said Klahr. “I don’t know if there are any other measures under your ordinances that we could look at to do something faster as a city with respect to this property, but if it’s really in the shape that Otto was talking about, then it would be good to see if there’s any other measures we could take, other than going through the whole process. Again, I’ve not talked to Mr. Hurst, the owner. I don’t know what his intentions are. Nathan has had communication with (Tom), but I am more than happy to communicate with Hayden.”

Klahr planned to speak with Hayden Hurst about his intentions for the property before making a plan.

Lauber Municipal Law continues to process nuisance complaints on behalf of the city.