CHAMOIS — Chamois Alderman Shawn Mitchem addressed concerns with the number of complaints he’s received regarding the condition of the City Park ballfield at the board’s June 27 meeting.

“I know that Jake (Utilities Worker Jake Shockley) is trying to keep up with the grass everywhere but there are tons of citizens complaining,” Mitchem said. “I’ve got people calling and saying it looks like it hasn’t been mowed in two weeks.”

Mayor Marie Slusser said that she has been cleaning the bathrooms at the City Park.

“But you shouldn’t have to do that,” Mitchem said. “We have someone paid to do that.”

Mitchem explained that he and a lot of other residents had played softball at the City Park for years.

“I played on that field and now the grass is a foot or two deep and that’s ridiculous,” Mitchem said. “People don’t even want to play there anymore. I know Jake is trying, but there is no way he can keep up.

“We’ve got someone right now renting a campsite,” Mitchem continued. “The grass is high. They’ve got dogs and kids. I feel sorry for them down there renting that place and us not cutting the grass. The actual ballfield is not getting mowed like it should be.”

Mitchem said he talked to Shockley about the grass at the park and the state of the ballfield, and Shockley said that he was going to get to it. Mitchem volunteered to cut the grass at the park and in the field. He asked Shockley who took care of the sand in the infield and was told the Lions Club took care of it.

Mayor Slusser said that was not correct.

“But that’s what he told me,” Mitchem said. “I told him that the sand needs to be chopped up so that people can play ball.”

Mitchem volunteered to rake the infield and mow the ballfield a second time.

“People are complaining, and they are not even letting their kids play down there,” Mitchem said.

Slusser explained that Shockley is trying to keep the cemetery mowed and trimmed, along with checking water meters, cleaning the bathrooms, and numerous water leaks.

“I’m trying to get the bathrooms taken care of for the campers,” Slusser said. “It didn’t get taken care of completely so my husband and I have been trying to take care of it. My husband also went down and took care of the outside of the lagoon. He (Shockley) only gets 31 hours. Only 31. He has to try to do everything, and I get it — sometimes things are going to fall to the wayside — he is trying but he is way behind.”

Mitchem had asked City Treasurer Theresa Walter to see if a part-time employee who would be paid minimum wage and with restricted hours could fit into the city’s budget.

“The guy needs help, and I keep getting these complaints about the grass,” Mitchem said. “He just can’t do it all by himself.”

Walter said that if they hired a part-time employee to work for $12.50 per hour for 10 hours per week it would cost the city $250 per pay period.

“Would that mean Jake can keep going over his hours?” City Clerk Megan Birmingham asked.

Slusser said that if another part-time employee were hired, Shockley would have to stick to his 31 hours per week.

“Jake is normally doing 35 to 36 hours per week to get his work done; if we don’t allow him to go over 31 hours per week that could save us money because we would be taking the extra time away from Jake,” Walter said.

She suggested that the part-time helper, if hired, could be limited to the park and the cemetery and his salary could come out of the cemetery and park funds and not affect general revenue. Walter insisted that the new employee would have to keep a log of the hours in order for her to take the money out of those accounts.

Unterrified Democrat Reporter Theresa Brandt asked if Shockley was working more than 31 hours per week.

“No,” Slusser said.

Brandt repeated what Walter had just said.

“Theresa (Walter) told me he went over on his time to 35-36 hours, and I had to have a talk with him (and tell him) that he was not allowed to do that,” Slusser said.

“He’s only going to be part-time until he gets his certificate,” Mitchem said.

“But that’s only one of the ones he needs,” Walter said. “Once he gets past the water certification, he still has to do the sewer certification. The issue we have is even after he gets certified, we must keep Mid Mo Operations because we have a contract with them.”

Aldermen discussed the fact that the city has had a full-time employee and a part-time employee in the past and even hired a mowing service to keep up with everything.

Brandt pointed out that the water loss has been high for several months.

“We’re trying to fix it,” Slusser said. “The women’s bathroom has been puking water out and we don’t know for how long. I don’t know how long these things have been problems. I’m trying to fix things as they come up to get the water loss down. It just seems like no matter what I do, it keeps coming up.”

Brandt repeated that there always seems to be a lot of issues and excuses.

“I need a guy who can pass the test,” Slusser said. “When he can get that done for me, maybe there are full-time hours in his future; as of right now, if we have to have someone come in just to cut grass, that’s what we have to do because I cannot give him full-time hours if he isn’t certified.”

Mitchem said he agreed and that he did not mind pitching in to help.

“The only problem is that the one time when I went down there and I volunteered to help him mow the ballfield he asked me what I was doing down there,” Mitchem said. “When I told him I was coming down to mow the ballfield and around the Lions Club, he said he had it under control and that people sometimes overreact.

“The next time I came up here to weed-eat,” Mitchem continued. “There was a maple tree growing and just stuff everywhere. He asked me what I was doing. I volunteered to help, and I didn’t get paid for it, so Jake and I had to have a little discussion. We have an understanding now and he apologized. We know it’s 100 degrees outside, but things are getting out of control. How is Riley (City Marshal Riley Lewis) supposed to write tickets for someone not mowing their grass when we can’t weed-eat and mow ourselves?”

“Everyone needs to be respectful to one another,” said Alderman Lacey Garret. “You can’t be jumping on people when they are trying to help.”

“I’m going to help as much as I can, but I’d love to get him some help,” Mitchem said. “I know he’s overwhelmed.”

Earlier in the meeting, aldermen were discussing the budget for the 2025-26 fiscal year. Treasurer Walter said that if Shockley were to go full-time, the city would have to increase the budget for his hours but also for Workers’ Compensation and money to reimburse for healthcare expenses.

“As long as we keep him to 130 hours per month, he’s considered part-time,” Walter explained. “Anything over 130 and he’s considered a full-time employee, and we have to pay him benefits.”

Walter went on to explain that any hours that Shockley worked over 80 hours per pay period were automatically considered overtime.

“Even if he’s told he’s not allowed to have that many hours, we have to pay overtime whether he likes it or not,” Walter said.

Brandt asked if Shockley had been working overtime.

“No,” Slusser answered.

Brandt asked again how many hours per week Shockley was working, noting that the Board of Aldermen had approved him for up to 31 hours per week.

Slusser said that he was only working 31 hours per week but was asking for more hours.

Brandt asked why Walter was discussing overtime if Shockley was staying within the 31 hours per week.

“Has he been going over that number of hours on his own?” Brandt asked.

“No, but at the same time he wants to be full-time,” Slusser said. “He wants the insurance. He wants to work 40 hours per week.”

Brandt asked if Shockley had retaken the drinking water certification test.

“He has a full year to go to take it but that has not been scheduled, and we can’t afford to put him on full-time right now,” Slusser said. “We just can’t afford it.”

“The original plan was to get Shockley certified and then eliminate Mid Mo Operations and be able to hire him full-time,” Brandt said. “Is that still the plan?”

“Yes, but since he hasn’t taken the test and he’s not certified yet, that’s all null and void,” Slusser said.

When asked, Slusser did not know what Shockley’s score was on the first drinking water certification test.

“The plan is for Jake to pass the test, and we get rid of Mid Mo Operations and all the money we are spending for Mid Mo Operations can go towards Workers’ Compensation, health insurance, and full-time employment,” Slusser said. “Right now, I can’t say what is going to happen.”

After the meeting, Brandt sent the city of Chamois a formal Sunshine Law request for employee payroll records and logs.  The payroll records show that Shockley worked more than the approved 31 hours per week between January 1 and June 30 — eight pay periods. The pay period from April 22 to May 5 shows Shockley working 84.48 hours for that pay period and the city paying him 4.48 hours of overtime. It is unclear why Mayor Slusser was adamant throughout the meeting that Shockley was not working over the approved 31 hours per week. Slusser was unable to discuss the discrepancy due to a family emergency.

Shockley has not made an entry in the public works daily log since Feb.19.

Remaining business will be presented next week.