City OKs hiring water staff
December 20, 2010 11:47 PM
By Matthew Steingraber
The Sedalia Democrat
The Sedalia City Council on Monday approved an expanded contract with Alliance Water Resources that will add two staff members next year to help manage the city's Water Pollution Control Department.
The city contracted Alliance in 2008 to provide management services for the department.
The council unanimously approved a new deal Monday that will increase the city's fee 70.4 percent next year, adding more than $100,000 to the contract and pushing the annual cost of the agreement to $246,012.
Public Works Director Bill Beck said the agreement will add two staff members to the department, including a full-time operations manager responsible for day-to-day operations of the wastewater facilities and laboratory as well as a part-time employee to assist with clerical work. He said the extra staff would allow department manager Phil Webster to focus on other duties.
Beck said the additional employees, along with other staffing increases for the water pollution control department over the next few years, were planned for in a sewer rate study developed this year in response to a Department of Natural Resources consent order to eliminate infiltration issues in the sanitary sewer system.
"We need to get some additional help, and we were probably going to need to pay more to get someone anyway," Beck said.
"The first two years was what it really took to get a handle on the programs the city has got and the programs it has to do," said Dick Tuttle, Alliance director of operations. "We got the staff organized and running efficiently, but there is still work that needs to be done."
Councilman Ken Norton, Ward 4, said he was pleased with the work Alliance has done for the city in the past two years, especially the assistance in expediting the plan for responding to the DNR consent order.
"We're getting another person plus a half-time person that are already qualified with licenses, and we couldn't find someone else without paying more," Norton said.
The City Council also approved a measure to eliminate references to restaurant inspection duties in the city code book as part of a plan to transfer all inspection responsibilities to the PettisCountyHealthCenter.
Before the change, the city was responsible for examining restaurants, convenience stores and grocery store delis, while the health center was required to inspect all food establishments in the county.
Officials said the consolidation of inspections will eliminate redundant efforts and allow for more thorough inspections based on resources available to the health center.
Last month, the Pettis County Commission authorized the changes, which will take effect at the start of 2011.
Sedalia Mayor Elaine Horn said the city employee responsible for restaurant inspections was retiring, and the council recently voted to change the opening position to a full-time code enforcement officer.
In other business, the City Council:
* Awarded three bids for equipment for the Sedalia Police Department: a $20,549 bid from W-K Chevrolet to purchase an animal control van, a $10,715 proposal from Mavron Inc. to convert the van for police use and an $8,235 bid from Applied Concepts Inc. for three radar units.
* Approved a $4,200 addition to its agreement with Olsson Associates for survey and design work to move sanitary sewer manholes out of the storm water drainage ditch on West 12th Street, between South Park Avenue and South Grand Avenue.
* Signed off on an agreement with the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission, allowing the city to accept grant funding through the Safe Routes to School program for a sidewalk improvement project near HeberHuntElementary School.
* Adopted a resolution approving a $2,000 appropriation to the Whiteman Area Leadership Council to promote the city at Whiteman Air Force Base.
* Convened in closed session following its regular meeting for legal advice and to discuss personnel matters.
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