CEYLON– Ceylon City Council met Tuesday evening and two questions from the public were answered at the beginning of the meeting. The questions were about the City of Ceylon website not being current about issues. The mayor answered that the personal Facebook could have opinions but not the website of the City. The second question was the difference in the amount reported for the grant for the broadband. The amounts differed because of administration costs for the City such as fees and publication fees.

There was an interview for a grant writer with Brenda Nielsen in which she explained her expertise in being a consultant with local government. She reminded the council that there was a need for a plan with community ideas, needs and support. A grant is part local government, community and companies for financial support. She asked what the council wanted a grant writer to do. There are water issues, street issues, and park equipment purchases. Infrastructure needs engineers such as SEH Company or Bolton and Menk. She gave some ideas for planning park equipment purchases. She reported that her salary varies with what the grant is and hers is usually $25/hour. The council will decide later.

The Waste Management contract was discussed and a representative, Jay Nieson, from Waste Management was present to answer questions. Several people reported that Waste Management was very helpful after Community Day and City Clean Up Day and if there were repairs or corrections needed. The council approved the contract for three years to begin January through December to align with other renewal dates for contracted services.

The regular meeting began with an approval of a shingling project as one of the building permits requested. The other building permit request was tabled due to some ordinance violations not cleared up.

The council approved the request for a liquor license for the new owners of the Legends ll business, Jordan and Wyatt Burmeister. The business will be called Lake Belt Bar and Grill. The paperwork to the state has been sent. The council approved with the impending approval of the state.

Vendors for the Community Day and second auction sales were discussed. The fee of $50 should be paid the Wednesday before the sales day to the city clerk.

The opportunity to have Hog Wild statues in Ceylon was discussed and not approved since the fee was high and the number of businesses was low.

The reports from City employees and council members followed the regular business. The lights for the Main Street construction was mentioned and River Electric is the company putting in lights. The reason for the delay was discussed and Central Specialties Company who are the contractors said there were rain delays. There have been three meetings with city employees and there will be more. The City of Ceylon will be done and then the roads out of town. There are temporary water PVC pipes ready so that the whole town will not be under water shut down for long times, hopefully one day for a few hours while the equipment is lowered underground.

The REA company would like to have a gathering for Ceylon residents to dispense information about the broadband project at the park in Ceylon. The installation, price and any questions can be discussed. The gatherings are tentatively planned 5-7 p.m. on Aug. 2, and from 5-7 p.m. Aug. 23, with a light lunch. The council agreed that residents should be urged to install the box whether they are interested or not since in two years the installation will not be free and will cost quite a bit. The installation will help with sales of houses, etc. The price is about $140/month for the highest end product of 1GIG and very fast internet. There are less expensive and less speedy products. Check out the information at the park in August.

The next meeting of the city council is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Aug. 9, at the Ceylon City Hall.