City of Martinsville City Council met March 8.
Here are the minutes provided by the council:
*The meeting was called to order by Mayor Davidson. Alderman Lovell led us in Prayer. All in attendance recited the “Pledge of Allegiance.” Roll call was answered by the following council members and elected officials: Chris Davidson, Chris Perry, Melinda Lovell, Troy Propst, Jacob Hammond, and Ashley Wilhoit. Also, in attendance were Mayor Herman Davidson, Clerk Jana Spires, Treasurer Terri Connelly, and Attorney Richard Bernardoni. Employees and citizens in attendance are attached to the back of the minutes.
Public Comments:
--Rachel Wilson was here to address the council on some issues. Her first issue was she was wondering why the water wasn’t turned on at the ball park. She said that the softball team has been practicing on the fields and it wasn’t until recently that they didn’t know they had no water. Mayor Davidson let her know that He and Corey had let Steve know that they didn’t feel the weather had been permissible enough to let the water stay on in fear or it freezing. She said that the message hadn’t been relayed but she understood.
Her second concern was what was the protocol if a meter couldn’t be read. She said that in the past if there was an issue or a meter couldn’t be read that Marlene would call one of them. They have had a fence for two years and the dogs too. She said that no one had/has called her and her meter hasn’t been read the last 4 times. Chris reads her meter and her dog DOESN’T like Chris. She said that he told her that her meter was being way over estimated She wanted to know why she was never notified that her meter wasn’t being read. No one knew that she wasn’t being informed. She said she didn’t understand how her utility bill went from $125.00 to $150.00 a month to between $400.00 and $500.00. She said they even went through and removed almost all the gas appliances and her bill this year was higher than last year with more gas appliances. She asked who decided what number went in if a meter couldn’t be read it was stated the collector. She stated that when she came in to City Hall to ask about it that she was informed that she was called and she wasn’t home. Rachel said that she never received a call and neither did Kyle. She wanted to know how this happened. The council apologized to her because no one knew the issues that were going on and the mayor said that he would check into everything.
--Motion by M Lovell 2nd by A Wilhoit to approve the minutes from the 2/22/23 council meeting and Budget and Finance Committee meeting minutes from 2/8/23
Upon roll call vote all alderman present voted for the motion (6)
--Motion by M Lovell 2nd by A Wilhoit for approval of treasurer’s report as presented
Upon roll call vote all alderman present voted for the motion (6)
--Motion by A Wilhoit 2nd by C Davidson for February 2023 bills payable March 2023—C Davidson did question on seeing if we could lower the cost of the Verizon hotspot bill and the Cintas bill- Mayor Davidson said he would check into the hotspot and that was the last Cintas bill we should have
Upon roll call vote all alderman present voted for the motion (6)
--Linda Von Behren was present to address the council on seeing if they could help with the cost of flowers for around town this year. She stated that before Martinsville on the Move always just did it and they did appreciate the City employees helping watering them but with Changing Hands being closed they wanted to see if they city could help them out with a rough cost of $763.60
--Motion by C Davidson 2nd by C Perry that the city will pay for the flowers this year at the cost of $763.50
Upon roll call vote 5 alderman present voted for the motion (5)
--Alderman Lovell abstained
--Motion by C Davidson 2nd by J Hammond on the amended service agreement Upon roll call vote all alderman present voted for the motion (6)
--Attorney Bernardoni did explain to the council that they we don’t Pay for the service.
--The sealed bids for the side walk project at Cutting Edge Salon were opened, the city received two bids – One from Eskers in the amount of $39,600.00 and one from Dustin Hill in the amount of $8,156.25, after some discussion on who was being paid for the project the council decided to vote on the action.
--Motion by M Lovell 2nd by A Wilhoit to accept Dustin Hill’s bid in the amount of $8156.25.
Upon roll call vote 4 alderman present voted for the motion (4)
--Alderman T Propst and C Davidson abstained
--Motion Carried
--Mayor Davidson let the council know that he had spoken to the City Employees regarding the plow for the new truck. They stated that they “V” plow sounded good to them.
--Motion by A Wilhoit 2nd by C Perry for approval to purchase the 9’5” “V” plow in the amount of $10,000.00 for the new gas truck
Upon roll call vote all alderman present voted for the motion (6)
--Jordan Wilhoit was here to address the council on the burn ordinance. He stated a few weeks ago (around Feb. 26th) There was an incident with burning going on in the city. It was throwing out black smoke and smelt horrible. He said that when they reached out to local law enforcement by the non-emergency number, they were told nothing could be done. At that time, we didn’t have an officer on duty, and Officer Slater said that he wasn’t given any dispatch info on it when he returned from vacation. He wants to know why the ordinance wasn’t being enforced. C Davidson asked if there could be a witness statement and Officer Slater stated more than likely yes. County can’t enforce our ordinances. M Lovell asked what should happen on the weekends when no one is on duty and Officer Slater said that they took the right steps but usually it is forwarded to him but this wasn’t. He also stated the once Officer Washburn got on duty; he may have taken care of it also. C Davidson stated that when Officer Washburn got on duty and called him it was only a little fire. A Wilhoit stated that the way it was taken by her was that it wasn’t the only complaint. C Davidson also stated they needed to check into what is driving over the sidewalk because it is only 3 inches deep and may check to make sure it isn’t getting torn up.
--Mayor Davidson informed the council that they needed to start thinking about the garbage contract. Wallace Bros. would like to rebid as the cost of living has since raised. C Davidson mentioned getting separate bids for toters and for dumpsters and then for the city wide clean up.
--Motion by J Hammond 2nd by M Lovell to rebid the garbage contract for separate pricing.
Upon roll call vote all alderman present voted for the motion (6)
--Motion by C Perry 2nd by C Davidson to go into executive session at 8:23pm to discuss employee appointment, compensation, and discipline performance. Upon roll call vote all alderman present voted for the motion (6)
--Motion to end executive session by C Perry 2nd by A Wilhoit at 9:07pm Upon roll call vote all alderman present voted for the motion (6)
--Set a Budget and Finance Committee Meeting as a whole for March 20, 2023 at 7pm.
Council Comments:
C Davidson:
-asked about the gps locator
-asked when we got motor fuel tax and it was stated usually July to August
-asked about summer help: they are taking 3
--Motion by C Perry 2nd by A Wilhoit to adjourn at 9:22pm
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