LINN — At their July 21 meeting, Linn aldermen approved Bill #2026-013, which “amends Ordinance #1369, which amended Ordinance #1320 relating to the annexation of certain territory into the city of Linn, for the purpose of correcting clerical errors,” and Bill #2026-014, which is “consolidating and correcting clerical errors in Ordinance #1371 by clarifying that the ordinance was intended to amend Ordinance #1347, not Ordinance #1348.”

Unterrified Democrat Reporter Theresa Brandt asked if everyone was sure that these two amendments would solve the problems with the annexation.

City Clerk Carrie Grellner explained that the county clerk had come up to City Hall and met with her, City Treasurer Jeanna Monroe-Lansford and Mayor Michael Troesser after the last ordinances were approved that amended the annexation.

“They had Eugene Hamburg go over it, and there were a couple of things that were missed,” Grellner explained. “This should fix that.”

“Are we confident this fixes everything?” Brandt asked. “Last month, the ordinances passed to amend the ordinances were supposed to fix everything with the annexation as well.”

“Eugene has been the mapper for Osage County for decades,” said Monroe-Lansford.

“There were slivers of properties excluded,” Grellner added. “They brought me a list, and we went through it. I am confident this is all correct.”

In other business, the Parks Department has been awarded two grants from the Member Impact Fund Grants sponsored by Legends Bank in partnership with the Federal Home Loan Bank of Des Moines, Iowa. The city received $15,000 to build a t-ball field at Maguire Park and $45,200 to build a walking trail at the City Park.

“We will receive both of these grants in the fall,” said Park Board President Neil Loethen. “These grants have to be used for their intended purpose, and the money will be received up front.”

While Loethen has reached out to contractors for initial estimates to know how much money to ask for, he will put specifications together and send the projects out for bids as soon as possible.

• Utilities Department Supervisor Aleks Rowinski has resigned.

Grellner presented the Utilities Department report, noting that on Sunday, July 12, one of the pumps failed at the Hwy. 100 Lift station.

“We couldn’t just reset the alarm, and the pump had water in it,” Grellner said.

Grellner reached out to retired Utilities Supervisor Larry Fredrich, who looked at it but recommended the city contact Vandevanter Engineering to pull the pump.

“It was pump #2, which is the oldest pump in there, and was due to be replaced,” Grellner explained.

The cost of a new pump and installation is $22,570, which would come out of the Sewer Replacement Fund.

“The Highway 100 Lift Station is currently working on two pumps; we need to make a decision on this right away,” Grellner said.

Aldermen approved the cost of the new pump and installation.

• A high-water alarm was tripped on the pump at Hwy. 89 Lift Station on July 14, Grellner reported.

“The guys tried to get it working, but it was having electrical issues,” Grellner explained.

The city called Jeffries Electric, which patched the pump together and got the lift station running for the time being.

“That lift station is only working with one pump right now,” Grellner said. “I’m still trying to figure out what needs to be done with that one.”

She will report back to the board as she finds out more information.

Vandevanter Engineering also noted that the discharge stands need attention. The discharge stands are original to the system and can be replaced for $4,800. Aldermen approved the replacement to be done at the same time the pump is replaced at the Hwy. 100 Lift Station. Vandevanter Engineering will also inspect the city’s lift stations annually. The first year would cost $4,450 for all four lift stations, and in the next two years the cost would increase to $4,780.

“If that would save us one pump, it would be worth it,” said Alderman Steve Boeckmann. “We’ve never done anything like that before.”

Aldermen approved the three-year maintenance agreement with Vandevanter Engineering for the pump station inspections.

• Manhole covers for Lee Street arrived but are the wrong size. “My understanding is they came, and they were wrong, so they sent them to a machine shop to be cut down, and now they are 1 ½” to 2” too tall,” Troesser explained. “I think they need to go back to the machine shop. We are getting ready to go into winter, and those manholes were not protected at all last year. This issue has been ongoing for some time and needs to get done.”

Grellner will call and see if the machine shop will cut them off again.

• The city clerk called to see when the water tower cleanouts were scheduled to be completed and has not heard back from anyone yet. She will continue to try to figure out the schedule.

• Fredrich was able to help talk the utilities staff through issues with the chlorine levels on Well #4 and get it fixed. Grellner would like to reach out to the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (DNR) and Missouri Rural Water Association (MRWA) to make sure that the city is in compliance.

• Grellner asked aldermen how they wanted to proceed with repairs to the hole that is on Ninth Street. Rowinski originally reached out to Brian Patterson for an estimate to make the repairs, but the amount is large enough that it needs to be advertised for bids.

Alderman Dustin Flamm noted that Rowinski had initially reached out to get an idea of the cost for the repair only.

“The hole has been there since 2024,” Grellner said.

“There has been a steel plate over it for years,” Flamm agreed.

Grellner will advertise for repair bids.

• Grellner reported that culvert pipe had been delivered for repairs on Benson Street.

“Court Street behind the bank needs to be capped, and the crew has a plan,” Grellner said. “They are going to get that done.”

Crew members planned to work with Troesser on issues on Twin Ridge Road.

“The guys did put some rock down on Eleventh Street, but it will need more,” Grellner said. “They are planning to cap it with concrete.”

The Utilities Department will also look at a big pothole near El Carnaval on the Square.

• Grellner reported that during the recent electrical outage, Rowinski reached out to Jeffries Electric for a bid to put a receptacle in for a generator. Aldermen would like to investigate all the options available before any work is done.

• The board approved the purchase of two toolboxes from Harbor Freight for the Utilities Department for up to $1,000.

“They have several thousand dollars of tools just hanging on the wall, and they would like to be better organized,” Flamm said.

Employees have been working hard cleaning and organizing the shop. “After the amount of work they have put in, I think they deserve it,” Boeckmann said.

• Troesser ordered six shirts for each Utilities Department employee for $72 each, plus shipping.

“They are high visibility with reflective stripping, and they should be here by the end of the week,” Troesser said.

• Grellner asked if there was any update on the repair to the garage doors in the wash bay or the bathroom doors at City Park.

Troesser noted that he has spoken with another company about making the repairs for the wash bay garage doors since the city is not getting a response from Hometown Lumber.

The city has refused to pay for the garage doors until the repairs are completed.

While aldermen and the mayor have spoken with Hometown Lumber numerous times, City Attorney Catherine Zacharias of Lauber Municipal Law explained that verbal communication may not be sufficient. She plans to write a letter to Hometown Lumber and set up a timeline for repairs.

Turner suggested talking to the contractor for the door repairs for the City Park bathrooms to see if they could pressure Hometown to complete the repairs needed for the sensors.

• Bartlett & West Engineering of Jefferson City is progressing as scheduled on the Lee Mar Hill Regionalization Project.

Bartlett & West also met with Troesser to determine what streets would be on the list for repairs for this year.

Troesser noted that former Mayor Dwight Massey wanted city employees to mill several of the streets to save money.

“Some of the streets are steep, and our equipment is too small to handle some of the grades,” Troesser said. “We would have to grind so many inches off the edges and bring it to the center and roll all the millings down. Our machine just can’t mill some of these streets.”

Aldermen noted that the Utilities Department milled the street around the City Park.

“It barely pulled the hill from the park up to the school,” Boeckmann said. “It just won’t pull the hill.”

“If it takes two days to mill down the street before they asphalt it, how do we know how to get the grade right since we are inexperienced?” Troesser asked. “What if the timing doesn’t work out, or what if we run the water the wrong way? I don’t think we should be responsible for cutting the grade on new asphalt.”

“I don’t know; I thought we did a pretty good job around the park,” Turner said.

“I think so too,” Troesser said.

“But we couldn’t do a bigger grade than that,” said Boeckmann.

“Asphalt right now is at $617 per ton, and they hope it will come down,” Troesser said. “The Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) has all the asphalt companies lined up right now, so we couldn’t get anything down right now if we wanted to. Hopefully, by the end of the season, we can do something.”

Troesser asked for additional aldermen to meet with Bartlett & West and review what streets should be on the list for repairs and new asphalt this year.

• Resident Carrie Markley, who lives on Old Mill Road, asked aldermen for help with her street, explaining the culvert fills her yard with asphalt and rocks.

“The mailman will not deliver my mail anymore because the hole is too big and his tire will fall in,” Markley said. “I have cleaned it for 10 years. We need Clay Street and Old Mill Road fixed. The road is just in terrible condition, and they are putting in new apartments, and there will be even more traffic.”

Markley said that she cannot get to and from her house without hitting a pothole. Markley said that she is currently disabled and cannot get all the rocks and asphalt out of her yard.

Troesser promised to go to the property the following day.

Markley said that she may try to move her mailbox so she can start getting her mail delivered again.

“I don’t want you to have to move your mailbox,” Troesser said. “Let me look at it tomorrow.”

The mayor explained that he did not know what he could do about the street right away, but he hoped to have a solution for Markley’s mailbox.

Markley thanked the board and Grellner for helping her.

• Aldermen approved Bill #2026-015 granting “a water line easement to the Public Water District #3” for the installation of a water line.

• The city of Linn received a letter from Attorney Rick J. Muenks representing the St. George Cemetery. The letter outlined a plan from the St George Cemetery to purchase a “land sliver that follows the existing fence line and would allow unobstructed right-of-way along the cemetery roadway,” with a proposed acquisition fee of $500.

In addition, the letter requested that the city make repairs to the fence around the city’s maintenance facility.

“I think that is something we could fix,” Troesser said.

“That fence has been in terrible shape since MoDOT had it,” Flamm said.

Turner said that he had done a rough estimate and thought that a new fence would cost between $15,000 and $20,000. Turner was skeptical that the old fence could be repaired.

Troesser said that he would look at the fence when he had time and see what could be done.

“If we can’t do anything, we might have to come back in August and make different decisions,” Troesser said. “If we can at least get the poles straightened out, it would look better.”

“I don’t know how to repair or replace it without digging the concrete all out,” Turner said. “I don’t know, it’s a mess.”

“That might be the best place to start,” Troesser said. “Let’s clean it up and see what we can do. If we can’t do anything, we will reevaluate it in August and make a plan.”

Turner noted that maybe temporary repairs could be made immediately and the city could budget for a new fence in the new fiscal year.

• Aldermen approved an additional $5,000 to $7,500 to Hood & Associates for the city’s audits for the fiscal years 2023-24, 2024-25, and 2025-26.

“There are a lot of different things they are finding,” said Monroe-Lansford. “I told him if there is something we are not doing correctly, please correct me as soon as possible so there is no snowball effect. They are adjusting journal entries. He gets in touch with me one to three times a week. He’s been very thorough, in my opinion.”

Turner asked if any of the changes being made will impact the 2025-26 budget.

“I don’t have any hard numbers for any of the funds,” Monroe-Lansford said. “I am very confident that we are going to land exactly where he needs based on his numbers in the end. I just don’t know what those numbers are.”

Hood & Associates currently hopes to be done with all three audits by the end of the 2026-27 fiscal year.

“They have asked me to hold off on transfers until he gets further on the audits,” Monroe-Lansford said. “I’m going to move forward with some of the transfers I would do at the end of the quarter.”

Loethen asked if it was possible to get done with the audits any sooner than the end of the fiscal year.

“When we are making decisions on the budget, we won’t know if we are working with hard numbers or not,” Loethen explained.

Monroe-Lansford did not believe she could speed up the auditors’ timeline towards completion.

• The new HVAC units have been installed in the License Fee Office and City Hall.

• Grellner noted that she has had to reschedule finalizing codification of all the city ordinances to be placed online.

“I’m confident we’ll have it done before the next meeting,” Grellner reported.

• “As you know, I made YouTube,” Grellner said, referring to a resident who had recently videotaped an encounter with her and placed the video on social media.

Grellner noted that she has been looking into ways to secure her desk and area in a better way following the incident.

“Things need to be a little more secure,” Troesser agreed.

He asked both Grellner and Monroe-Lansford to look at some options and report back to the board.

“We need to make it look nice, but you need to feel secure and comfortable,’ Troesser said.

Brandt asked if the concerns that were brought up in the social media post about ordinances and the budget not being readily available to residents were true.

Grellner said that any residents are welcome to look through the ordinance book, which includes the city’s budget.

“She didn’t tell the whole truth,” Troesser said. “She wasn’t honest about what she put out to the public. We are doing the right thing, but we don’t need harassment. I understand everyone has a right to be on public property, but there was a lot of vulgarity that no one saw.”

• Loethen noted he reached out to several different tree-cutting services to remove the three additional dead trees from the City Park at the request of the board. Only one company chose to submit a bid to remove the three trees for a total of $5,400.

Loethen has voiced concern about the money coming out of the Park Department budget and hopes aldermen can find the money to remove the trees in another fund.

“There is a large tree hanging over the shelter, very close to Lee Street,” Loethen explained. “There is a large tree that has a lot of branches hanging over the playground and a dead tree just north of the pavilion. They are three large trees with varying degrees of difficulty to bring down without damaging other stuff.”

Monroe-Lansford advised that there was $12,500 available in the Park Improvement Fund for park maintenance.

Loethen asked if the funds had been transferred recently.

“We have not; those are adjustments that are potentially going to be done through the audit,” Monroe Lansford said.

“I’m not sure there is enough money in that account, truly,” Loethen said.

“The auditor has asked me to hold off on all transfers right now until he has hard numbers,” Monroe-Lansford said. “I know what the solid numbers are in the bank and the solid numbers for the certificates of deposit. At this point, I would tell you to hold off if it is possible.”

Aldermen tabled the tree removal until the next meeting.

• Loethen noted that the organization funding the splash pad in the City Park has decided now is not the right time for the project.

“They would like to place the project on hold for the time being,” Loethen said. “We appreciate the continued interest, and we hope to revisit it in the future. I believe this project is very much achievable, and once things have settled down to their liking, we’ll let you guys know, but for now, it is on hold.”

In other park news, Loethen said that there is continued vandalism at the parks and the city is working with the Linn Police Department to try to resolve the issue. Loethen urges anyone who sees vandalism or destruction on city property to call the Linn Police Department and report it.

All youth teams are done with the fields for the year. Adult slow pitch will continue through August. State Technical College students will start playing kickball and softball in September. Loethen plans to complete dugout renovations soon, and the dangerous soccer goals at Maguire Park have been taken down and will be sold for scrap.

• The City Pool shades were damaged in the recent storm, and Turner is not sure they can be repaired. He will work with Utilities Department staff to see if they can be reinstalled.

Turner asked for five different bids to make the repairs to the kiddie pool and only received one response. The cost was $3,540 just to repair the leak.

“I think that is too much,” Turner said. “Should we move forward or just wait until the off-season?”

Aldermen asked Turner to reach out for additional bids and information from area pool companies.

The bathrooms at the pool have been repaired and are currently being used. Backes Plumbing reported that they would like to do additional work on the bathrooms after the pool is closed. They estimate the cost won’t exceed $1,200, and Grellner will reach out for an itemized bill of what they plan to do.

• Linn Police Chief Sam Ford sent information to aldermen about purchasing three Flock cameras for the city at a cost of $19,000, plus a yearly membership fee. Ford was not at the meeting, and aldermen tabled the item until they had additional information.

• Turner spoke with Ameren Missouri about receptacles for Christmas lights on electrical poles on Main Street.

Turner believes the next step is to do a walkthrough and inspect the electrical poles. Ameren is currently looking at the options for the city as well.

“We are looking at new decorations, too,” Turner said. “But we need to figure out exactly what we need to do first.”

• Flamm and Alderman Chris Jaegers noted that after the recent electrical outage and storms, the city needs to review its emergency management plan.

“We probably need to make sure everything is up to date,” Turner agreed.

• Aldermen approved outstanding bills totaling $230,092.85.

• Linn had the following ending account balances: general ($577,949.96), pool ($13,654.67), park ($81,800.17), police training ($4,429.66), general fund-improvement and equipment ($501,972.41), park-improvement and equipment (-$20,970.67), pool-improvement and equipment (-$1,117.01), water ($779,139.41), water replacement ($509,498), sewer ($876,247.26), sewer replacement ($456,733.32), operating funds ($2,235,289.47), capital improvement ($1,446,116.05), and grants (-$97,931.66).

• The next regular meeting will be held on Aug. 18 at 5:30 p.m.