Mayor Loftin Updates Council on Generators, Wellhouse Repairs, and Other City Projects
by Michael Boyink / mike@douglascountyherald.com
On Tuesday, August 27th, the Ava Board of Aldermen convened for a business session at 5 p.m.
City Finances
City Treasurer Peggy Porter mentioned that the city will be audited starting the week of September 16th.
Memorial Bricks
Mayor Loftin reported that the initial memorial brick project is complete. The City will continue to take brick orders, and once a significant number of new orders are fulfilled the custom bricks will be laid in place of generic bricks. He said the City will be adding flags for the USA and all branches of the service. Loftin is also investigating getting a piece of military equipment for the memorial as well.
Wayfinding Signs
Mayor Loftin reported that the new wayfinding signs are now installed on popular routes into the city.
Grand Avenue Sewer
Loftin said the sewer work on Grand avenue continues as city workers find time to work on it. He estimates about 3/4 of the required pipe is laid.
TAC Update
Mayor Loftin had recently attended a Transportation Advisory Committee (TAC) meeting, which helps advise MoDot in their project planning process. He said it’s possible that Ava may get an updated traffic circle. There was also talk of redoing the Wildcat and Bryant Creek bridges on Highway 14 west of Ava.
Square Updates
Loftin said the project to update the Ava square may start sooner than expected, as the State decided that the work didn’t need an environmental study.
Wellhouse Repairs
Loftin said that coordinated some repairs to the wellhouse located by Givans Furniture to help keep the structure water-tight.
Existing Generator
Mayor Loftin reported that the City owns an underutilized Kohler generator that he’d like to get moved over to the Water and Sewer facility on Valley Avenue. The generator could be used to fill the water towers in the event of a power outage.
New Generators
The Council recently approved the purchase of additional backup generators for the city. Loftin reported that he would soon meet with a representative from the business that won the bid to talk about how to best implement a backup generator at the Wastewater Treatment Plant. Loftin indicated that the challenge at the plant is preventing any downtimes longer than 2-3 hours.
September 10th Meeting
Due to the expected absence of two aldermen during the next scheduled meeting on September 10th, the meeting was canceled.
Closed Session
During the closed portion of the meeting, the aldermen made some staffing changes as a result of a recent employee termination. A utilities employee was moved to billing and, along with the city collector, given a pay raise.
The alderman also voted to hire additional staff as a floater.
Attendance
Councilmen present were Billy Stewart, Noel Dye, Keith Jones, and Stan Lovan.
Video
Video from the Ava Board of Aldermen meeting will be posted to the Douglas County Herald’s website at douglascountyherald.com.
Next Meeting
City officials and aldermen will reconvene on September 24th at 5 p.m. at City Hall. Meetings are open to the public.
