Calion’s city council met on Thursday, July 8 for their monthly regular meeting.
The meeting began with approval of the previous meeting’s minutes, financial report and paying of monthly bills.
Calion Mayor Bill Yutzy opened old business by offering the council an update on the city’s attempt to obtain a credit card machine through Simmons Bank to allow residents to pay their water bill with a credit or debit card.
In the June meeting, the council voted unanimously to rent a card machine for $10 per month and charge customers paying with credit or debit cards a $3 fee. However, Yutzy later discovered when delivering this information to the bank that this exact set-up was not possible.
“I called and said we were ready to go… But because I said we wanted to charge a fee and put it on the bill, they said we can’t do that, or if we did would have to go in a whole different direction. Now, the machine will cost $50 with no rental, and they will charge a 3% fee automatically. We will have to have signage to let [residents] know that 3% will be added on, which will actually be way cheaper for them than the $3,” Yutzy said.
Yutzy said the city has now put in the request with the bank and following approval, the machine will be installed and ready for use in Calion.
“It’s actually cheaper for us. We won’t make any money I guess… There’s no monthly charge,” Yutzy said.
Council member Kristi Purifoy reiterated a question she asked during the June meeting, questioning if the plan will still allow residents to make online payments.
“That is a possibility. We want to get this done… And then set that up later,” Yutzy said.
In other old business, Yutzy updated the council on attempts to repair the roof at the town’s community center.
Yutzy initially discussed the matter in a March regular council meeting, telling council members that the insurance claim for the building was hindered by the fact that an engineer found the building was not originally built to code. In the council’s June meeting, Yutzy said the city’s insurance adjuster asked for an itemized list of repairs and changes and a contractor bid to clarify the project to the insurance company and allow the city of receive funds for the damage and repairs.
This month, Yutzy asked the council to motion to enable him to present the sole existing bid to the insurance company as an estimate on work at the community center. The bid for the work totaled $298,885. Yutzy said it will still be possible for the council to accept other potential bids in the future; the motion would just allow the city to move forward with the insurance company pay-out.
Yutzy said the estimate included initial roof repairs totalling $285,034.89, with additions including insulation ($6,800), flooring in the community room and bathroom ($6,300) and a tankless water heater ($750), bringing the total to $298,885.
A motion to approve the estimate’s presentation to the insurance company passed unanimously.
In new business, Yutzy asked the council to approve Juneteenth as a federal holiday for city employees. Council members discussed the list of holidays for employees before passing a motion unanimously to add Juneteenth.
The next Calion council meeting will be on Thursday, August 12.