The City of Fairfax Board of Aldermen held a regular meeting May 15, 2019. The meeting was called to order by Ryan Kingery, Mayor. Also in attendance were: Kristi Duering, Tabitha Wintz, Michael Oswald, and Beth Graves, Aldermen; John Brown, Water Superintendent; Kristy McDonald, City Clerk; Danny Kemerling, Treasurer; and Luke Roberson, employee.

Kristy McDonald, City Clerk, swore in the newly elected official Beth Graves, Alderman-at-large (elected).

The aldermen voted to approve the tentative agenda. They also approved the minutes of the regular meeting April 17, 2019, and accounts payable.

Bill # 2019-03 titled: A Resolution Certifying the Results of the April 2nd, 2019, Election was presented to the council and approved unanimously.

There was discussion about opening up a new savings account with Farmers State Bank titled “Replacement and Extension Water Savings Account.” This is per USDA guidelines. Money will be added to that account each month and can only be used for water projects that are approved through the USDA. Authorized signatures will be Kristy McDonald, Danny Kemerling, Ryan Kingery, and Kristi Duering. As per the current banking resolution there will be two signatures required with the exception of internal transfers which only require one signature. The aldermen voted unanimously to open the new savings account.

There was a brief discussion about adding another crosswalk across Hwy. 59 on the west side of the park. Kristy spoke with someone from MoDOT and the concern is that there are no sidewalks located where the city would want the new crosswalk. They will continue communication with MoDOT about the crosswalk or possibly signs warning drivers to slow down for children.

The council reviewed the city’s procurement policy and compared it to the policies of surrounding towns. The council made some suggestions and Kristy will come up with a resolution draft at the next meeting for the council to review.

Jerri Dearmont from Northwest Missouri Regional Council of Governments entered the meeting at 6:55 p.m. to start the process of reviewing the Statements of Qualifications that were turned in for engineering and inspection services. Score sheets were filled out by the council members with Schulte Engineering receiving the highest score. Michael Oswald will call his references. The aldermen voted to approve hiring Schulte Engineering pending a reference check.

Staff Reports

Danny Kemerling presented his Treasurer’s report showing that all accounts are in balance. Danny also attended a meeting presented by Amber Barnes with USDA to discuss grant and loan opportunities. The city is not eligible for any grants from USDA but there was information provided for low-income and senior citizens for grants and loans for buying new homes and home improvements.

John Brown introduced Luke Roberson, who has been hired for summer help. He started working last week doing some weed eating and mowing.

John mentioned that there were some issues with the meter reading system last month. The city has had it for many years and they are no longer able to receive software support. It is currently working as it should be but they might have to look into upgrading the software in the near future.

The city fire truck is currently not in working order. There is still discussion on combining with the rural fire department but an agreement has not been made.

Kristy McDonald gave an update on the dangerous building located at 204 South Street. The city is waiting to hear from the city attorney to see when the city can move forward with demolition. An ad was placed in the paper asking for demolition bids and that ends on May 29.

The next meeting is June 19 at 6:30 p.m.