Westphalia aldermen last week approved $64,400 in street repairs with the work to be done by Verslues Construction Company, Inc. The city had received two other bids for the same scope of work from Raithel Brothers Construction ($72,585.45) and Advanced Concrete ($159,085). Price and timing were the two main factors in determining which company to use, with Verslues Construction agreeing to finalize part of the project before the school year started.

“It’s a pretty easy choice, isn’t it?” Alderman Delbert Wieberg asked.

“They are pretty much a shoo-in,” Mayor Tammy Massman agreed.

Verslues will make concrete repairs in three areas of the city. The first will stretch from the corner of Maries Avenue to the front of Randy Wieberg’s residence and to the entrance at Joe’s Market and include repairs to off-street parking, curbing, a sidewalk, and one driveway entrance. The second area slated for repairs will be the off-street parking and curb and sidewalk in between the two entrances to St. Joseph Catholic Church on Main Street. The third area of repairs will be from the corner of Bridge Avenue in front of the city salt shed to the front of Steve Holterman’s property. This area will include repairs to off-street parking, curbing, and three driveway entrances. A small area will also be included in the bid to make repairs near the intersection of East Main Street, Bridge Avenue, and Mill Lane. All driveway entrances will have a grate system. 

Verslues was the only company that included the grate systems for driveways in their bid and the only company that could complete the project in front of St. Joseph before school started in August. The other two companies did not believe they could begin working until the fall.

In other business, residents of the Devin Lane Subdivision asked aldermen what could be done to get the city to take over maintenance for their street.

“I’m probably one of the first residents of Devin Lane,” George Capler said. “The road was supposed to be paved and then taken over by the Special Road District once it met certain criteria. What we are wanting to know is what we need for the city to take it over and handle it?”

Capler went on to explain that he has paperwork that says the developer was supposed to pave the road after five properties were sold and that that has never happened. 

“I think the original conversation, when the subdivision went in, was for the city to take it over. It had to meet curb and guttering, and at that time, it was just for maintenance of the road, and then that never happened,” Mayor Massman said. 

“The developer backed out on them and backed out on us,” Wieberg said.

Massman asked who owned the street, noting that in the City View Subdivision, property owners own the road, and the city performs maintenance only.

“I know my property line stakes go to the edge of the ditch and don’t include the road,” Capler said.

“That would draw concerns for the city because then that roadway essentially would belong to the developer,” Massman said.

“In what we have, once the sixth property is built, then at that point the property of the road moves to the Homeowners Association (HOA), and I’m pretty sure that’s what is set,” subdivision resident Chris Hillen said.

“What does the Homeowners Association want?” Wieberg asked. “Apparently, you guys would just be happy to get it paved.”

“Whatever we need to do to get the city to take it over,” Hillen answered.

Hillen and Capler noted that they would have no problem handing over the street to the city. Massman said that the city would have to request legal counsel on the matter.

“There would have to be something formally drawn up between the Homeowners Association and the city,” Massman said.

“You are proposing paying for the asphalt out of the HOA and the city taking over maintenance after that?” Alderman Ben Holterman asked.

“We are open to the idea,” Hillen answered. 

He noted that they had gotten a price from Jefferson Asphalt for an asphalt drive in four-inch, five-inch, and six-inch increments, and that would include a little turnaround area.

“I know for longevity, it would be much easier for replacement and stuff if there was some type of concrete edge for the asphalt,” Massman said.

“Yes, but now you go from a $60,000 project to a $220,000 project,” Wieberg argued.

Subdivision resident Theresa Patterson noted that the HOA has spent money in the past three or four years to haul in additional rock on the road and have it packed down, but in heavy rains, the gravel is washing away.

“We’re just watching our money wash down the hill,” Patterson said.

“They (roads) are always something to maintain,” Wieberg said. “Asphalt will need to be maintained too.”

Hillen asked if swails would be acceptable to the city instead of the more expensive curb and guttering. 

“Did you say City View has swails currently?” Holterman asked.

“Yes, in all of City View, there is no curb and guttering,” Wieberg said. “It varies. You go through town, and you’ll see a curb and gutter, and then you’ll see a sidewalk. There is no consistency.”

“We thought that as steep as the road is, there is no way water can stop anywhere,” Hillen said. “We have a corrugated pipe under all the driveways. It’s all there, ready to be concreted.”

“So, if you guys retained ownership of it and we took over the maintenance of it, what does that add to the city’s cost?” Holterman asked.

“I think the extra annual cost for maintenance, just to do the blading and salting, would be very nominal,” Massman said. “In five to seven years, it would probably need to be repaved. It would just need to be added into the rotation.”

“What I see is, you have to keep fixing the infrastructure of this town,” Wieberg said. “Keep the town looking good. We can’t just let it fall to pieces, and if we don’t step up, how can we ask the homeowners to?

“I would say that if we can come to terms, you just asphalt it,” Wieberg continued. “I hate to tell you this, but your developer left you hanging. We were promised curb and guttering.”

“We’re tired of our road washing away every time it rains,” Hillen said. “We are hoping for solutions.”

“We don’t want to do any more band-aids,” Patterson said. 

“Speaking for myself, I think we’re both kinda in the same predicament. You guys were left hanging; the city was left hanging; we’ve got to find middle ground,” Holterman said. “I would say that we could take it over for a little less than what was previously agreed upon, and you guys put in a little more than you originally thought. I would think there could be a compromise on both sides. As far as exactly what that is, I can’t speak to that.”

Massman explained that since the property is not the city’s, the HOA needs to present different options to aldermen, which could be taken to the city’s attorney for consideration.

“I don’t think it is going to be purposeful for (the city) to be driving the train as opposed to the owners or the HOA saying that this is what you guys are able to do,” Massman explained.

She proposed that residents come up with two or three proposals that include cost estimates and present them to the city.

“Does everyone in your HOA agree with what you are doing?” Alderman Lori Asel asked.

“We have one or two holdouts,” said subdivision resident Nicole Hillen.

Massman stressed that details of who has the power to make the decisions over the road would need to be worked out before proposals are brought to the city for consideration.

• Aldermen tabled a request for approval for a car show until the July meeting and requested the car show sponsor provide more details. The tentative date for consideration is Sept. 16. Massman asked aldermen to consider if the car show would need special event insurance as has been requested by the city attorney.

“That’s not something that has been requested of the car show in the past,” Massman said. “The attorney has highly recommended it, and it’s to everyone’s advantage.”

“For the Christmas parade, we made it a city event. Can’t we bill it as the Westphalia Car Show?” Asel asked. “We’ll bring people in from everywhere. The businesses will be profiting.”

Massman noted that after the board had agreed to pay the event insurance for the Christmas Parade, they discovered that the city could not be listed as the policyholder and the insurance had to be purchased under the committee’s name. She also noted that the premium the city had paid was twice the amount that was initially put forward by event planners. Westphalia also accepts more legal liability for the event if the city pays for event insurance. Massman cited the parish picnic as an example of an event that is held, and the insurance is taken care of by the parish itself.

“Isn’t that different?” Asel said. “Other cities have city events.”

Massman noted that in those cases, the event insurance is paid for by the event organizers, businesses, groups, and individuals that sponsor it.

Massman said that in the past, a lot of the leg work for the car show had fallen on the city clerk, mayor, and the aldermen. 

“It is more than just setting a date and sending out a Facebook post,” Massman said.

• About half of the liquor licenses due in July have been paid. Massman will send out the second notices next week.

• Curtis Wheat with Mid MO Operations reported that all the wastewater plant and lift stations look good. He noted that all the required samples sent off had come back well within the set parameters. Sludge hauling was slated for July 1, and Wheat said that had been pushed off so the property owner could get hay out of the field. Mid MO Operations is coordinating with the landowner on time frames. The sludge samples all looked good for land application, and Mid MO Operations will plan to take soil samples before the end of the year.

Wheat reported that the filters for the blowers at the wastewater plant have been blown out and should make it through the year. Last month, the power surge damaged the motor start for the blower, and it has been replaced. Lift station alarms have been installed and are all in working order. The cost of the lift station alarms, the clarifier scraper arms, the coil for the blower, a new ph probe, and chemicals for the new ph probe totaled $807.17 and has been billed. Labor for those items will cost $400 and will be billed once the last of the work is done. 

Mid MO Operations has still not been able to find seals for the manhole covers, but they continue to finish inspections and make repairs as needed.

The display on the UV light is not working, but the e. coli samples are still low, indicating that they are still working.

“The Missouri Department of Natural Resources (DNR) will want us to replace those when they come down for an inspection,” Wheat warned. “It will cost several thousand dollars for a replacement.”

“Let’s wait until they ding us on that,” Wieberg said. “They’re going to find something anyway.”

“Or until the numbers go outside of the parameters,” Massman said.

“Overall, things look really, really good,” Wheat said.

• Aldermen approved the expenses for the following accounts: city fund ($12,893.73), sewer system ($8,108.71), and special road district ($369.40).

• Westphalia had the following receipts for the month: city ($9,019.36), sewer ($9,675.21), and special road district ($3,823.15).

• The city has the following account balances: city checking ($171,891.54), sewer system checking ($37,042.88), special road district checking ($50,576.77), and special road district savings ($5,112.51).

• Westphalia holds the following certificates of deposit: city ($439,319.85), sewer system ($521,589.35), and special road district ($521,822.73).

• The next meeting is scheduled for July 26 at 6 p.m.