The City of Fairfax Board of Aldermen held a regular meeting October 18, 2023. The meeting was called to order by Ryan Kingery, Mayor, at 6:37 p.m. Roll was taken. Also in attendance were: Debra Wyatt, Shannon Long, Beth Graves, aldermen; Lori Helfers, City Clerk; Terry Miller, Treasurer; and John Brown, Water Superintendent.

The tentative agenda was approved.

Joe Matzinger, Midwest Data Center, was present with the 2023-2024 contract renewal with Midwest Data Center. A quote/summary of the new services that Midwest Data Center considers to be core services (in addition to the current backup they provide) was presented. The bill would be approximately $100 more than current billing and will offer more services and better protection. After consideration, the aldermen voted to update the city’s contract. Joe Matzinger left meeting at 7:00 p.m.

The aldermen approved the regular minutes of September 20, 2023, and accounts payable.

An update was given on the CDBG Street Grant project. As of October 18, 55% of the streets have been completed. Contractors should be done with the south side of Hwy. 59 by Friday and move to the north side on Saturday. John submitted an invoice for $22,255.80 (minus the $20 wiring fee) for the extra streets the city is having done on top of the streets proposed on the CDBG grant. The aldermen voted unanimously to pay the invoice (by wiring funds).

A representative from Atchison County Wholesale Water Commission (ACWWC) was unable to attend the council meeting due to unforeseen circumstances. John Brown stepped in as a representative for ACWWC to explain the expansion of adding Nodaway Public Water, District #1. The vote to add Nodaway Public Water to ACWWC will require a vote from all four entities, PWSD #1, Rock Port, Tarkio, and Fairfax, and this vote must be unanimous. After discussing the pros and cons, the council asked John to reach out to ACWWC with some questions they had regarding the buy-in. John will reach out to ACWWC and get back to the council when he has the answers.

Staff Reports

Terry Miller, City Treasurer, reported that all accounts are in balance.

Lori Helfers reported the status of nuisance letters that have been sent out.

John Brown made mention of a drain outside the old city hall that will need to be repaired before the Hwy. 59 paving project starts. When time permits they will look into what all repairs will be needed.

The meeting was adjourned at 8:30 p.m. The next meeting will be November 15, 2023.