Bernie aldermen work through short agenda

There was no discussion on the employee bonuses. Mayor James Tilmon said a "flat" bonus was paid to all full-time employees based on years of employment. He noted that it was a small amount. It was approved by a 5-0 vote with Aldermen Ivan Mekan, Derik Arnold, Dennis Jackson, Butch Barnes and Kristy Barnes present. Todd Young was not present at the meeting.

The city received only one bid on catering the Christmas dinner which will be held Dec. 11 at the Bernie Community Center. That bid was from Meme's Restaurant in Bernie. The bid was for $12 per person with gratuity added to that amount. The menu will include two meats, sides and soft drinks.

Mekan asked how much the dinner cost last year. City Clerk Gloria Dean said she didn't have the information at hand but believed the cost was $11.50 per person, and that included gratuity. Mekan then asked how much the gratuity would cost. There was some discussion about the percentage of the gratuity and it was decided it would be 15 percent. Mayor James Tilmon said there would be around 100 to 125 people in attendance.

Mekan responded that with only one bid, the city really didn't have much choice.

K. Barnes made a motion to hire Meme's Restaurant as the caterer at the submitted bid amount and that 15 percent of the total be paid as gratuity. It passed by a 5-0 vote.

Youngblood was hired as a full-time police officer to replace Mitchel Farmer who resigned. Youngblood was formerly employed by the Caruthersville Police Department. Chief of Police Justin Allen said Farmer would continue as a reserve officer.

In other action, the board of aldermen voted to purchase a $100 advertisement for Project Prom. Tilmon said the city was prevented from making a donation to Project Prom but in the past had purchased the ad in support of the program. The motion was made by Mekan and passed by a 5-0 vote.

During the forum for aldermen, K, Barnes asked when the city would make a decision about what type of sewer treatment plant the city would construct. City voters went to the polls Tuesday to decide whether or not to approve up to a $5 million general bond issue. Engineers had presented two types of treatment plants for consideration- one was for a traditional lagoon-type while the other is a non-discharge system. The latter would require the purchase of more land.

Tilmon said the passage of the bond issue was the first hurdle. He said the engineering firm, Schultz and Summers Engineering, Inc. of Poplar Bluff, would have to draw up the specifications, and it would be at least a year to 15 months before construction would begin. He told Barnes there would be several meetings with the engineers to discuss the type of the treatment system that would be used.

Mekan asked about the status of the service truck to be purchased for the city utility department. City Superintendent Charles Dean quoted the board a price of $20,302.49 for the truck with an additional cost of $6,100 for the utility bed at their October meeting. Tilmon said they had sought the advice of City Attorney Robin Phelan Northern about whether bids were needed to make the purchase. Northern said she had contacted the mayor and advised him that bids were not required under state law.

Dean said he had obtained three price quotes from different dealers. The price he quoted at the last meeting was the lowest, he said. The board tabled action on the purchase at the last meeting, and no action was taken at the Monday meeting. Tilmon said later that the board would address the issue at a future meeting.

Mekan asked about the status of the generators that the aldermen had authorized to be purchased from Missouri State Surplus. Tilmon said the generators had been received by the city. He said concrete pads needed to be installed at the water treatment plant and also the wiring would have to be installed.

"We are still waiting on the specs," Tilmon told Mekan.

He said once that was received, then the city would put the project (concrete and wiring) up for bids.

Chuck Markham, principal at Bernie High School, complained about the appearance of the city fishing pond and the "Welcome to Bernie" sign on the north entrance to the city. He said the sign featured several sports championships and should be a source of pride to the community. He said the sign had been partially obscured by brush until he and his daughter took it upon themselves to "clean it up." He said the city fishing pond "looked bad."

Tilmon told Markham, "That was an oversight on our part, and we will try to do better."

Mekan said the fish pond used to be the old sewer lagoon, and it may well be part of the new sewer treatment system when it is constructed.

"It (pond) may not even be there," Mekan noted.

Timon said the old buildings that had once been rest rooms had been vandalized and would be torn down.

The alderman passed the city financial report and the consent agenda with no discussion.