South Central Reporter

City of Salem City Council met Oct. 4.

Here are the minutes provided by the council:

I. Call to Order

The regular meeting of the Salem City Council was convened at 6:00 in the Council Chambers of Salem City Hall. The meeting was called to order by Mayor Nicolas Farley at 6:00 pm.

Council members present:

Councilman Jim Koehler

Councilman Royce Bringwald

Councilwoman Amy Troutt

Councilman Craig Morton

Mayor Nicolas Farley

Council members absent: None.

Others present:

City Manager Rex Barbee Public Works Director Annette Brushwitz City Clerk Bev Quinn Chief of Police Sean Reynolds Finance Director Keli Barrow Economic Dev Dir Tabitha Meador City Attorney Mike Jones Code Enforcement Officer Dave Lusch Asst. Public Works Dir. Cory Purintun DOEM Director Terry Mulvany Members of the Media and Public

II. PRAYER AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE

Councilman Koehler offered the opening prayer, with Mayor Farley leading the Pledge of Allegiance.

III. PRESENTATION OF PETITIONS/PUBLIC COMMENTS – None.

IV. MAYOR’S REPORT AND PRESENTATIONS

Mayor Farley –

- thanked all involved in the Little Egypt Festival and indicated it was a success, despite the rain. Mayor Farley also commended the Salem Historical Commission and their group of volunteers on their event “Tales from East Lawn Cemetery”;

- indicated the water towers have been painted, and the logo looks really good; - reported that progress is being made on the Inclusive Playground;

- indicated Leaf Vac starts October 25th; City-wide clean up will be the week of October 11th; and Trick-or-treat night in Salem will be Friday, October 29th from 6-8 pm;

- reported that he has arranged for a vaccine clinic at the Salem Family Aquatic Center on Saturday, October 9th from noon until 4:00 pm, with the second vaccine being issued on October 30th at St. Theresa’s.

V. CITY COUNCIL ACTION

1. Consent Agenda

a. City Council Minutes - request approval of minutes of September 20, 2021 Motion was made by Councilman Koehler and seconded by Councilman Bringwald to approve the minutes of 9/20/2021, as presented. Roll call vote: AYES:

Councilman Bringwald, Councilwoman Troutt, Councilman Morton, Councilman Koehler, Mayor Farley. NAYS: None. Motion carried.

2. Acceptance of Agreement for Professional Services with Gonzalez Companies Mayor Farley indicated this is the annual engineering contract for MFT projects. Rhutasel and associates has provided these services for us in the past, but many of the engineers the City worked with now work for Gonzalez Companies. Motion was made by Councilwoman Troutt and seconded by Councilman Koehler to enter into an agreement with Gonzalez Companies for the MFT engineering for this year. Roll call vote: Councilwoman Troutt, Councilman Morton, Councilman Koehler, Councilman Bringwald, Mayor Farley. NAYS: None. Motion carried.

3. Discussion and possible action on allowing dock renovations on City Reservoir Mayor Farley indicated the City Attorney has prepared an ordinance that will allow those with existing docks on the Salem Reservoir to repair or replace their docks on city-owned property, with the following requirements:

1. the boat dock shall not exceed 8 feet x 35 feet;

2. the owners of the boat dock must maintain the dock in a safe manner;

3. the owner of the boat dock shall agree to indemnify and hold the City harmless from any and all claims for personal injury or property loss arising from the use of the boat dock; and

4. the City reserves the right to revoke this license at any time by giving the owner 30 days written notice to remove the boat dock.

Motion was made by Councilman Koehler and seconded by Councilman Bringwald to approve Ordinance 2021-17 amending Chapter 22 of the City Code to allow construction of boat docks on the City-owned reservoir with restrictions. Roll call vote:

4. Approval of sign on bonuses in limited fashion

Mayor Farley indicated Chief Reynolds has approached the City Council with a proposal to offer sign on bonuses to new hires in the police department, specifically $2,500 to hires who do not have experience and $5,000 to lateral transfers from other departments. Chief Reynolds indicated the Board of Police Commissioners will soon be accepting applications for patrolmen, and will be publishing a new Eligibility Register. In order to make the list, there are a series of tests the applicants must pass. Reynolds added that it is getting progressively harder to attract good applicants, and it is becoming common practice among departments to offer sign on bonuses. Chief Reynolds indicated the City saves money when it can hire lateral transfers, as they don’t have to attend the academy, and the department doesn’t incur overtime expenses covering the open position while a new hire is at academy.

City Manager Barbee indicated the department will have one or two officers retiring in the next 12-18 months. Councilman Koehler asked how the current officers will feel about new hires receiving sign on bonuses. Chief Reynolds responded that he has discussed this with them, and received no objections. Mayor Farley indicated he would like to see this budgeted before enacted. Chief Reynolds responded that the cost would be a wash, as the City would be replacing higher seniority officers with lower seniority officers at a lower wage; lateral hires would save the City from paying for academy; and the department would not incur overtime costs while new hires are at the academy.

Councilman Morton indicated he thinks sign on bonuses should be offered to all departments, or to none. Councilwoman Troutt indicated she is an advocate for the Police Department, but she feels the benefits of working for the Salem Police Department are already attractive enough to entice lateral transfers without the added sign on bonus. Troutt added that she would like to see some stipulations on how long a new hire receiving a sign on bonus would have to stay employed by the City of Salem. Mayor Farley concurred.

Chief Reynolds indicated the reason he is bringing the subject up now is that the Police Board will be testing in December, and it will be two years before they test again. How number of eligible applicants gets smaller each year. With so many senior officers looking at retirement within the next few years, it’s important to have good officers in place. Councilwoman Troutt responded that it is a common practice to offer sign on bonuses, bu8t does not feel the bonuses being discussed are what will entice good officers to Salem – it will be the existing benefits package that will draw them to us. Councilman Koehler said he would like to see a number of years commitment connected to the sign on bonuses. Chief Reynolds responded that it is common to require a three-year commitment. Koehler added that he would like to know where the money is coming from and see a written plan before moving forward. Both City Manager Barbee and Chief Reynolds added that they see this as a one-time offering for the upcoming list.

Public Works Director Brushwitz indicated she is concerned that this will raise a red flag with the Public Works employees, as it takes them four years to reach scale wage, and they are not receiving bonuses. Mayor Farley asked what the turnover in Public Works is. Brushwitz responded that it has been higher this year, but this year is the exception. During her twenty years with Public Works, fewer than 10 full-time employees have left.

Councilwoman Troutt indicated she feels this is a law enforcement issue, not a City of Salem issue, although she does not feel the bonuses are necessary at this time. Councilman Bringwald indicated he is not in favor. Motion was made by Councilman Bringwald and seconded by Councilman Morton to deny the proposal for sign on bonuses for new hires at any level. Roll call vote: AYES: Councilwoman Troutt, Councilman Bringwald, Councilman Morton, Mayor Farley. NAYS: Councilman Koehler. Motion carried.

VI. CITY MANAGER REPORT WITH DEPARTMENT HEAD UPDATES

City Manager Barbee reported the following:

- Keep Salem Beautiful is selling t-shirts that say “Love Where You Live – Keep Salem Beautiful” for $10.00 each;

- IML was a good experience, and he asked City Council members who attended to let him know of anything they would like to see the City needs to implement;

- Barbee indicated he will be getting with Department Heads soon to determine grant projects to bring to Council for approval;

- The YMCA/City of Salem Rec Department will be holding an event on Friday, October 15th that will include a glow in the dark obstacle course, night bike ride, bonfire and hot dogs in Bryan Park;

- The Inclusive Playground is moving forward.

Finance Director Barrow reported:

- the tax levy will be on the next agenda;

- she is working on getting the month closed, and will be preparing and sending out revenue reports.

Economic Development Director Meador reported:

- the “Back to Business” application portal will close on October 13th. Meador added that the first round of grant awards has been awarded, and she has been encouraging businesses that are even close to qualifying to go ahead and submit their applications. This is one of the grants where applications go directly to DCEO, so she has no way of knowing how many local businesses have applied.

Public Works Director Brushwitz indicated:

- she has been on the phone a lot with Ron Ragan of UGM regarding gas prices. Luckily, the City purchased storage at a good price. The City’s secondary source of gas, Citation Oil, is currently offline. Brushwitz added that it appears that current prices are substantially higher than what we paid in the past few years, but we will be okay as long as the weather remains mild. Councilwoman Troutt asked if there is a point when our stores reach a certain level that we can reach out and encourage conservation of these resources? Dir. Brushwitz indicated that stores are calculated monthly, and we purchase regularly. Brushwitz added that last year was an anomaly, and oil producers took action to get the highest possible rates. Mayor Farley added that it was a national fiasco. Dir. Brushwitz and City Manager Barbee both indicated there is action being taken against the price gouging that occurred, and we may recoup some of those costs;

- the contractors are still working on a few pieces of the fence at the Inclusive Playground, and some of the signage is in. The Public Works Department will be removing approximately eight trees to provide space for the handicapped parking spaces, sidewalk and park shelter. The concrete should be installed within the next week or two. Mayor Farley indicated he would like to hold a ribbon cutting before Halloween. Farley added that the shelter is in at Americana;

- the oil and chip program for this year is done, and the City changed the process so that there was less roll off of chips, which worked well;

- City-wide clean up will be held the week of October 11th, and the list of what the City will and will not accept is posted on the City of Salem website;

- Leaf-Vac will start on Monday, October 25th.

City Clerk Quinn indicated:

- she appreciated the opportunity to attend the IML Conference, as she learns something every year.

VII. CITY ATTORNEY REPORT – No report.

VIII. CITY COUNCIL MEMBERS REPORT

Councilman Koehler -

- asked where the City is on development of the Soccer Complex. City Manager Barbee indicated the first step is the topographical survey, and that agreement was approved at the last meeting. Koehler added that the soccer fields need mowed.

- indicated the parade was a success;

- congratulated the Historical Commission on the “Tales from East Lawn”, which was also a success.

Councilman Morton –

- asked if the City will be required employees be vaccinated or tested. City Manager Barbee responded that the requirement for vaccines or testing is for medical and school personnel, so the City will not be implementing a requirement for vaccines or testing at this time.

Councilwoman Troutt –

- indicated she was grateful for the opportunity to attend the IML. Many attendees of the IML reported a lot of disfunction in local politics, and she has developed a greater appreciation for our government. Troutt added that she appreciates the City Council, Department Heads, and the employees, and commended them on how well they work together.

Councilman Bringwald –

- indicated the water towers look good;

- indicated he toured the Voices and Votes and Freedom Project at the Bryan Bennett Library, and was very impressed;

- indicated he attended the IML Conference, and there was a lot of refreshing information provided.

IX. ADJOURNMENT

As there was no further business to discuss, motion was made at 6:54 pm by Councilwoman Troutt and seconded by Councilman Morton to adjourn the meeting. Roll call vote: AYES: Councilman Bringwald, Councilwoman Troutt, Councilman Morton, Councilman Koehler, Mayor Farley. NAYS: None. Motion carried.

https://www.salemil.us/sites/g/files/vyhlif1161/f/minutes/cc_-_2021_10-04.pdf