LINN — Linn aldermen gave rental property owner Tony Delong a break with a $2,500 deduction from the sewer bill for his property at their meeting on Monday, May 18. Delong had an outstanding balance of over $8,000, accrued over the last several months by a tenant who would not allow Delong or his plumber into the apartment to fix a leak. Delong had first approached aldermen at their April meeting, and the board tabled the issue until they had more information.

“We are always fighting tenants that let their toilets run,” Delong said. “A lot of them are tech kids, and I have to train them. This last tenant is the one that really spiked the bill. He wouldn’t let us in his unit and did not inform me that there were any issues.”

Delong said that he understood that the bill is ultimately his responsibility and that the city has bills that need to be paid as well.

“I was hoping there could be some compromise,” Delong said. “I come here almost every day to check on stuff, and I’ve put a clamp on the water intake that is linked to my phone, and it tells me if the apartments are using abnormally high amounts of water. I didn’t know that was an option. I had that installed, so this won’t happen again.”

Alderman Bill Turner asked if there had been any similar situations in the past and how the board handled them.

“The only thing we’ve had in the past is when people have had leaks and the water didn’t go through the sewer system,” said Mayor Dwight Massey. “We have made sewer adjustments in the past. If the water has run through the sewer lines, we’ve always charged for that.”

The other aldermen agreed that is how things are typically handled.

“I understand it’s my responsibility; they are my tenants, but as I said at the last meeting, I busted my tail personally to turn these buildings around,” Delong said. “I care about the community. It’s not just the money for me. It’s about getting good tenants. I’ve busted my (explicit deleted) over the last three years, making sure the buildings looked better, the quality of the tenants is better, and that I’m not putting people in there that are using up resources for law enforcement.”

Delong said that law enforcement calls to his buildings had dropped to zero until this latest incident.

“My recommendation to you guys would be this: everybody that has ever come to us, whether it is a private citizen, a landlord, or a renter, we’ve allowed them one mistake,” Massey said. “I would say for myself, if we could give an allowance, because allowing clean water to run through the system is not as expensive as actually treating it. If we could give him an allowance, I would appreciate it, but this is not something we normally do.

“He has taken steps to alleviate the problem, and he is working to make a better situation for the city, utilities, and law enforcement,” Massey continued.

“It has been a horrible situation,” Delong added.

Linn Police Chief Sam Ford spoke up for Delong, acknowledging that he was aware the tenant had been problematic, and that Delong was denied entry to see if there was a water leak.

“We can’t do a lot about the water because there is a direct expense for that, but the treatment of the water for the sewer system is different,” Massey said.

After aldermen approved the $2,500 credit to the account, Delong was thankful for the allowance.

“When we find people willing to invest and have an interest in our community to make it better, we are going to work with them,” Massey said.

“I appreciate you guys recognizing the hard work I put in,” Delong said.

In other business, aldermen agreed to move forward with obtaining estimates to repair the leak in the kiddie pool at the City Pool.

“We have a possible location of the leak,” Turner said. “The scope of work will be to dig up the concrete, dig down, and find out why the leak is there. It will need to be tested, and then it will need to be determined if there are other leaks. We have been advised to replace the skimmer; there are tiles coming up, caulk is coming out of the seams, and it needs to be repainted.”

“The big pool has some issues too and will need to be repainted,” City Treasurer Jeanna Monroe-Lansford said.

Massey reminded aldermen that the last time the large pool was painted, the city budgeted $20,000. He recommended budgeting to paint the big pool next year.

“I think we need to get the kiddie pool fixed,” said Alderman Steve Boeckmann.

Massey agreed, noting that he believes that it is an asset to the city.

Turner added the grate in the pump house that services both pools needs to be reworked since it is heavy and hard to open.

“We need to modify the grate, whether we cut it in half and use hinges to flip part of it over, or make a different type of grate,” Turner said. “As it is now, one person can’t move it.”

Massey advised aldermen to concentrate on the kiddie pool repairs first, and make changes to the grate as a next step that could be done before the fall.

City Clerk Carrie Grellner reported that the City Pool is filled and ready to open, adding that lifeguards have completed all necessary training and are ready for opening day.

• Bartlett & West Project Engineer Hope Drennan announced that the cultural resource study has been completed for the Lee Mar Hills Regionalization Project.

“That was a long process, but now we are hitting the ground running,” Drennan said.

According to Drennan, Bartlett & West is working on the plans and specifications for the project and setting up the public hearing. Drennan hopes to start advertising before the June meeting and have the public hearing at 4:30 p.m. before the July board meeting.

Drennan noted that they are having an issue with the easements, which is one of the next steps of the process.

“We are having an issue with a boundary survey between two properties,” Drennan explained. “Prior to 1940, one property says it ends here, and one property says it ends there, and there is a 10-foot gap. Someone seems to have done their math wrong in 1940.”

Drennan assured aldermen that Bartlett & West is working through the issue.

Aldermen agreed that they would be asking for a 20-foot permanent easement and a 40-foot construction easement, the same as requested with the Jaegers Regionalization project.

Boeckmann signed a Cost Effectiveness Certification Form for the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (DNR) that was required to move the project forward.

“We needed one for the Jaegers Regionalization project as well,” Drennan said. “It’s just saying you looked at all of the cost options, and this is the most effective way to regionalize the subdivision.”

• Aldermen approved an updated Personnel Handbook for the city of Linn with no major changes.

• The board will interview two candidates to replace City Attorney Annie Willis. The two firms/lawyers that submitted proposals included Nathan Nickolaus with the Lauber Municipal Law Firm and Erin Wiseman with Brydon, Swearengen & England. Aldermen had numerous questions about rates, responsibilities, and availability, but will discuss that with the candidates in person once the meeting is held.

• Turner would like Park Board President Neil Loethen to pursue bids for the removal of additional dead trees in the City Park. There are three or four trees that need to be cut down.

• Turner reported that the automatic doors to the family bathrooms at the All-Inclusive Playground have not yet been installed.

“They are still on order,” Turner said, clearly frustrated. “I don’t know what we can do to motivate (Hometown Lumber). The wash bay doors are also not working correctly. We spent a lot of money on the doors and door-openers; we need to have them working.”

Massey said that he would talk to Hometown Lumber as soon as he had a chance.

• Utilities Supervisor Aleks Rowinski reported that the city had fixed the culvert on 11th Street and is waiting for the ground to settle to cap it off.

Rowinski said that he and his crew are working on filling potholes.

There was also a problem with the manhole behind St. George Catholic Church, but they were able to clear the sewer line.

Aldermen approved the purchase of a locator for the Utilities Department that is well under the $10,000 budget for the purchase. Rowinski will get more information on the locator to the Aldermen before he purchases it.

“We are just trying to get things done and stay on top of everything as much as possible,” Rowinski added.

• Police Chief Ford reported that everything is going well in the department.

“It was a peaceful transition for Tech School graduation,” he said. “We had one major call that was about 60 to 75 people partying and fighting, but it was minimal intervention. “

Ford said that firearms training and qualification had been moved to June 4.

He will also know more about the grant money for the Blue Shield grant after June 1.

• Resident Viki Huckstep complained that her neighbor has several vehicles that are falling apart on their property.

“It is beginning to look like a junk yard,” Huckstep said. “There is a Bronco in the driveway that is falling apart. There is a car on the back patio wrapped in a tarp and another one in the backyard.”

Huckstep said that every time she talks to the neighbor, he says that they are project cars he is working on.

She asked if there was an ordinance regarding derelict cars within the city limits.

Massey and Ford confirmed there is such an ordinance.

Ford said that he would have one of his officers investigate the situation right away.

• Aldermen tabled any decision on the new HVAC system until the next meeting.

• Massey noted that he was sure that this would be his last full meeting, noting the special election schedule.

“I cannot begin to voice the respect I have for the community, the Board of Aldermen, and the people who make the community what it is,” Massey said. “I have a lot of pride in the people and community in which I live. Thank you for the opportunity to serve you for all these years. I hope you continue to work hard to make it a better town.”

• Aldermen approved outstanding bills totaling $91,233.75.

• Linn had the following ending account balances: general ($219,245.91), pool ($25,117.10), park ($61,735.21), police training ($1,281.66), general fund improvement ($248,762.09), park improvement (-$20,970.67), pool improvement ($1,948.24), water ($530,994.28), water replacement ($172,328.36), sewer ($523,596.37), sewer replacement ($63,368.73), and grants (-$97,931.66).

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

• The next meeting is scheduled for Monday, June 15, at 5:30 p.m.