A special meeting, open to the public, is being arranged for 9:00 a.m. on Tuesday, October 20 at City Hall regarding the gas turbine electrical generators at the Business Park.

The Fredericktown City Council held their work session and Full Council meeting Monday evening. During the work session, the agenda was amended to allow concerned citizens to speak to the aldermen regarding the ‘swamp-wetland’ area along Lincoln Dr at North Mine La Motte. Jerry Umfleet presented the concerns to the council. They pointed out the ‘swamp’ back then was cleaned up about 25 years ago.  Umfleet’s presentation went on to say it looks a lot better cleaned up. He said he was not aware of any problem with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) back then either. The citizens were responding to a news article in the Democrat News (September 30, 2009) regarding a potential fine of $75,000 the city may be required to pay if they do not comply with the Army Corps of Engineers and the EPA in returning the area to  its previous condition. The city  discussed creating a ‘wetland’ park of some type as one response to the EPA. The initial complaint was lodged by the Army Corps of Engineers according to city officials and the EPA is the enforcement agency for this situation. The Corps claim the waters along the ‘wetland’ are connected to waters of the United States and therefore regulated by the Corps. Any changes to the landscape and native plants in those regulated areas must be done only after a permit is granted. (#404). The Corps argued in their Cease and Desist letter that the city had failed to obtain the permit and flagrantly disregarded the requirement for the permit. The aldermen said they had always thought of the area as a swamp and not a ‘wetland’. The swamp  had been cleaned up  in response to citizen’s complaints. The city had cleaned up the swamp several times on previous occasions over the years as well according to city officials. The clean-up  in 2008 caused the dispute. Most residents who have commented agree the area is much better off being cleaned up and that the risk of diseases from mosquito bites (and West Nile Virus) has been reduced. The city said they have tried to work with the EPA on the permit issue, but ‘mis-understandings’ have prevailed. The concerned citizens said they think the city and the EPA should be “working together” cleaning up the area and the EPA should not be imposing undue expenses. They also said the area should be tested for possible lead contamination since the dam break at Mines Lake years ago that flooded the area.

In other work session agenda items:

Fredericktown Fire Chief John Clark presented two bids to the aldermen at the work session regarding warning sirens. The bid from Outdoor Warning Consulting, LLC based in Jefferson City, Missouri included the inspection of the current warning siren in Fredericktown. According to the company, it appeared the system had been hit with an electrical surge or lightning strike (probably from the May 8 storm) caused damages to the system that were unrepairable for two reasons; one due to the age of the system (installed sometime in 1963) and the company that installed the siren is now out of business. Replacing the siren with one that is similar would cost about $11,530 plus poles, materials and labor and travel expenses. (Total $14,080 with the city installing the pole). The second bid from Safety Com, Inc. included an upgrade to a siren system that has voice capable speaker cells (which could tell the public the siren is only being tested at any given time). The total cost for their installation is $41,600.20 for two sirens. The sirens also cover a wider area (4800 feet compared to 2800 feet now). Aldermen passed by motion and vote to accept the upgraded sirens so that all sirens in the city (total of 4) will be the same.

The Madison County Public Water Supply District #1 has submitted a bill for $2,483.88 to the city. The bill was generated when the City needed some utilities moved at roundabout construction area. The utilities had to be moved due to the construction according to City Engineer Tim Baer. The water district did move the utilities in question.  However,  who pays the cost to lower a two inch line is in some dispute between the city and the water district.

City Administrator Jim Dismuke said the repairs for the airport are still in process. Dismuke said the consultant trimmed about 30 percent off the bill, but it still remains high-but do-able. Dismuke said he is waiting for state approval for the work.

The aldermen approved  an appraisal to be done on some land needed for the warehouse sub-station electrical transformer installation. The land is owned by Highland Mfg in Illinois. Dismuke said previous attempts to buy the land have failed. The Council is now considering Eminent Domain as one course of action to obtain the land. An abatement order had been issued for the overgrowth on the property. The City said they intend to pursue the abatement order in court.

City Marshal John Wright received a verbal apology from Ward II Alderman Sie Merriman Sr. and Mayor Danny Kemp regarding an altercation the Marshal had recently at a local gas station that was not initiated by the Marshal, although Merriman had said it was. Merriman said he apologizes for the mistake, but not for presenting the problem to the Council. Some procedural issues had not been followed according to Merriman and that still needs to be addressed.

The city is planning to sell or remove some old vehicles from their inventory, including an air compressor. If interested, contact City Hall.

At Full Council;

Mayor Danny Kemp thanked city employees for their work. Kemp also reported a visit (not commonplace) from Missouri Public Utility Alliance while he was at Madison Medical Center. Kemp said the Alliance complimented him on the job he was doing.

City Administrator Jim Dismuke said the city’s insurance adjusters, Missouri Intergovernmental Risk Management (MIRMA), completed their evaluation of the damage at the  Fredericktown Regional Airport. The costs to replace the hangars and the terminal building were discussed and request for bids ad will be arranged.  The airport has 20 hangars total, all damaged by the May 8 storm.

The Council passed an ordinance between the City and the State of Missouri Department of Social Serices-Family Services regarding the Low Income Home Energy Assistance program. This agreement is scheduled to run for four years instead of just one.

The City passed an agreement between the City and Van de Ven, LLC out of Cape Girardeau for  Audit services.

An ordinance correcting the worker’s compensation ordinance policy was approved.

In remarks from the public, Sandy LaPlant thanked the city and the mayor for responding to the complaints of the high energy bills the Senior Center was paying. Several areas of weatherization were identified and will be worked on as time and money allow.

McDowell said he appreciated the help received from Jeff Farmer and Issac Johnson.

Ward II Alderman Sie Merriman Sr. thanked the residents for appearing at council to voice their concerns about the swamp-wetland. He encourages more people to attend the meetings.