CEYLON– Ceylon City Council met Tuesday evening and the meeting began with two public comments. One was a request for funds to help put on a Christmas party, sponsored by the nonprofit group Helping Hands of Ceylon, for Ceylon residents on Dec. 18. As a

governmental agency, the City is not allowed to do that. The council suggested other resources to ask such as businesses, individuals and fire department. A representative for Helping Hands in Ceylon reported that over 100 children were at the Halloween party they

sponsored and they expect around 200 for the Christmas party since it is for all ages in Ceylon. They are planning a lunch of chili, fruit, sandwiches, bars, a goodie bag with peanuts and other treats and a visit from Santa for parents to take pictures. The council

wished them well and urged others to contribute generously.

The other question from the public was wondering if the City was again, going to sponsor a Christmas Lighting contest for homes in Ceylon. The council approved the contest. The city clerk will organize the contest with prizes of $75 for first place, $50 for second, and $25 for third. The prize money will be in the form of credit on the homeowner’s utility bill. The council thanked the city clerk for doing that.

The concern about properties violating ordinances with junk was discussed. The Council will discuss the processes available at the next meeting on Dec. 13. Meanwhile, the pictures of properties and descriptions are ready and the council suggested certain properties. They all agreed that there must be a follow through. Councilman Dunlop remarked that the City has done many hours of work over the years to clean up the

properties and has treated the owners with respect including letters, visits, offers of help, pictures, CleanUp Day help. The council is getting very frustrated with no action or

repeated violations from some residents.

The meeting continued with discussion of a building permit concerning a storage building moving on to a lot. The council discussed this with the property owner and asked for the permit to be tabled until further investigation was done. The property owner agreed.

The election results were read and approved with the mayor position electing John Gibeau (incumbent) and the council positions electing Wayne Walter (incumbent) and Lon Oelke.

The meeting continued with discussion of the 2023 budget which must be approved at the next meeting and sent in to the state by the end of December. Discussion about plans/schedules for fixing things so they are not neglected especially with prices going higher was held and will be addressed in 2023.

The City employee reported that the skid loader needed repairs and that bill will come later. The road construction is not done fully and the state will snowplow this year again. Full turnover of road to county will probably be next year.

Digging for the broad band by Federated Rural Electric Association (FREA) will have to stop with the cold weather. Some residents may have internet with above ground connection. The FREA is trying to get a grant to help with connecting businesses in Ceylon.

Council reports included the purchase of a snowplow for $18,000 and the abandoned truck was cleaned out of very gross junk and rats and that Waste Management was using a dumpster to get rid of stuff. The truck will be towed by Borntrager in Trimont from the old

elevator parking lot hopefully this week.

The building on Main Street that did not get sidewalk in front of them since they are a safety hazard to pedestrians was discussed. One owner was present and showed pictures of his building. The other buildings had pictures taken and shown. One building has roof collapse and floor collapse and the two buildings have a common wall so those need to be demolished. The third building has a water leak damaged wall near the sidewalk area which could be repaired.

The state engineer estimated the repair of all the buildings to be $50,000 each which would support the sidewalk. The council would like to meet with all the concerned parties and discuss the situation and remedies so the sidewalk can be made and the unsafe buildings can be removed.

The next meeting of the Ceylon City Council is scheduled for 6 p.m. on Dec. 13 at Ceylon City Hall.