City of Fairfield City Council met May 12.
Here is the minutes provided by the council:
Due to COVID-19 the City Council meeting was held with limited in-person attendance and others joined the meeting via phone conference.
Meeting called to order by Mayor Maguire at 6:00 P.M.
Prayer led by Alderman Ralph Barbre followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. City Clerk Tina Hutchcraft called the roll:
Mayor: Brent Maguire
City Clerk: Tina Hutchcraft
City Attorney: Darrin Rice
Aldermen: Ralph Barbre; Brett Coale; Jim Griffith; Tyler Lampley; Eugene McGill; Jerry Lisenbee; Terry Stahl; Gary Moore
Also Present: Ken Otey, WFIW Radio; David Mills, Wayne County Press; Keith Colclasure, Police Chief; Theron Forth; Flo Simpson; and others from the community.
The minutes of the meeting of April 28, 2020, agendas and bills of May 12, 2020 were sent out to those entitled to receive them. Mayor Maguire asked for approval of the minutes for the April 28, 2020 meeting. Motion by Alderman Lisenbee, seconded by Alderman Moore to approve the minutes of the meeting of April 28, 2020.
Vote yes: Moore; Stahl; Barbre; Coale; Griffith; Lampley; Lisenbee; McGill
Vote no: none
Mayor Maguire declared motion carried.
Mayor Maguire asked for approval to pay the bills for the May 12, 2020 meeting. A motion was made by Alderman Barbre, seconded by Alderman Coale to approve the bills for payment.
Vote yes: Stahl; Barbre; Coale; Griffith; Lampley; Lisenbee; McGill; Moore
Vote no: none
Mayor Maguire declared motion carried.
Approval of a Resolution Amending Victorian on Main Revolving Loan – The Victorian on Main has asked if they could extend the amount of time they could make interest-only payments on their revolving loan due to the loss of revenue attributed to COVID-19. They have been paying interest payments of $75 each month and were scheduled to start making payments on the principal in June of 2020. Mayor Maguire is recommending we allow them to continue making interest-only payments for another 12 months. A motion was made by Alderman Coale, seconded by Alderman Lisenbee to approve this resolution to amend the revolving loan for the Victorian on Main.
Vote yes: Barbre; Coale; Griffith; Lampley; Lisenbee; McGill; Moore; Stahl
Vote no: none
Mayor Maguire declared motion carried and Resolution No. 20-0512-332 approved and duly adopted.
Economic Assistance Grants to Local Businesses – At the last meeting the Council discussed offering $20,000 in grants to our non-essential businesses to help them during this time. We have received 38 applications and we would like to offer each one $1,000. There is one business that has picked up an application but has not yet returned it. This is more than the original amount of $20,000 that was previously discussed. After Council discussion, it was decided to set aside $40,000 by using money from the revolving loan fund and give $1,000 to the businesses. Alderman Moore made a motion to approve using $40,000 from the Revolving Loan Fund for a Phase 1 grant program for Fairfield businesses. Each applicant will receive $1,000 and the deadline to apply is this Friday (May 15th) at noon. The $40,000 will be transferred from the Revolving Loan Fund to the General Fund. If more than 40 businesses apply the additional applications would need to be brought before Council to decide whether or not to approve a Phase 2 grant program. This motion was seconded by Alderman Lampley.
Vote yes: Coale; Griffith; Lampley; Lisenbee; McGill; Moore; Stahl; Barbre
Vote no: none
Mayor Maguire declared motion carried.
Census Update & Assisting Local Businesses – Mayor Maguire spoke to the Council about the Census and he reported that approximately 61.5% of the people have completed the Census in Fairfield. He presented an idea of purchasing gift cards from local businesses and offer these as an incentive for those that can provide proof that they completed the Census online. After some discussion the majority of the Council felt that this would be unfair to those who have already completed their form and would get nothing for their participation in the Census.
Seek Bids for Water Filter Chemicals – Mayor Maguire asked for Council approval to seek bids for water filtration chemicals. Motion by Alderman Lisenbee, seconded by Alderman McGill to seek bids for water filter chemicals.
Vote yes: Lampley; Lisenbee; McGill; Moore, Stahl; Barbre; Coale; Griffith
Vote no: none
Mayor Maguire declared motion carried.
Award Bid for the Sale of Equipment & Vehicles – Bid opening was held May 7th for the sale of a 1989 Ford F-350, a 1999 Chevrolet HD 3500, and a batwing mower from the Street & Bridge Department. Matt Donaldson was the high bidder for the 1989 Ford in the amount of $2,167.00; Tony Land was the high bidder for the 1999 Chevrolet in the amount of $2,255; and Kevin Weaver was the high bidder for the batwing mower in the amount of $1,275.00. A motion was made by Alderman Moore, seconded by Alderman Lisenbee to accept these bids for the sale of the mower and the vehicles.
Vote yes: Lisenbee; McGill; Moore, Stahl; Barbre; Coale; Griffith; Lampley
Vote no: none
Mayor Maguire declared motion carried.
Ordinance Amending Sections of the Fairfield Code of Ordinances – Attorney Rice presented to the Council an Ordinance that amends several sections of the Fairfield Code of Ordinances. The Council discussed the changes and Alderman Lampley made a motion, seconded by Alderman Coale to approve the ordinance amending sections of the Fairfield Code of Ordinances.
Vote yes: McGill; Moore; Stahl; Barbre; Coale; Griffith; Lampley; Lisenbee
Vote no: none
Mayor Maguire declared motion carried and Ordinance No. 20-0512-211 approved and duly adopted.
Miscellaneous – Alderman McGill asked how the golf cart registrations have been going. Chief Colclasure reported the department has registered about 10 last month bringing the total registrations to approximately 60 to 65.
Miscellaneous – Alderman Moore questioned the amount of overtime hours that are being worked. Alderman Lampley said the payroll report reflects the overtime is quite high. There have been several departments that have been turning in a lot of overtime and have exceeded the amount of overtime that has been budgeted for. We need to be mindful of the monies we are bringing in and what is going out. Alderman Coale stated we are looking at the pandemic and our tax base. Our sales are obviously down in the City of Fairfield and we don’t know where we will be when this is all over. If we can cut back now with our expenses it will only benefit us when we start pulling out of the COVID-19 mess. Many cities are having to go back and re- negotiate contracts with the unions and are looking at possibly having to furlough some of their employees. We hope we don’t have to go to theses extremes so if we can cut back on some of the overtime and expenses, maybe we won’t have to. Alderman Moore stated we all need to pull together and get through this. Alderman Stahl feels if it isn’t an emergency he doesn’t see any reason for overtime. Mayor Maguire will take a look at the overtime and see what can be done.
Adjourn Meeting – Motion by Alderman Barbre, seconded by Alderman Stahl to adjourn the meeting.
Vote yes: 8
Vote no: 0
Mayor Maguire declared meeting adjourned at 6: 45 p.m.
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