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TRUMAN-- On Monday the Truman City Council received some good news and not so good news regarding the city's swimming pool. At its last meeting the council was told if no more lifeguards could be found, the hours or days the pool is open would need to be limited.
On Monday, pool commissioner, Kirsten Bressler, said that they currently have four lifeguards that are good to go, two getting ready to undergo the required training and two who are considering becoming lifeguards.
She suggested the pool open on June 3 with a cleaning date of May 31.
However, none of the lifeguards are WSI (water safety instructor) certified, so as it stands, no swimming lessons will be offered this year.
"Maybe we could put something in the paper or on the website that if anyone has WSI and would be willing to come and oversee so that maybe we could get in a session or two," Bressler said.
Mayor Jake Ebert asked how the instructor would be paid. It was said that in the past, former pool commissioner Kim Breamer had her WSI and taught lessons.
Council Member Patty Truax said she's going to be talking to someone about lifeguard training and she believes they will be interested in becoming WSI certified as well.
The council and pool commissioners also discussed its search for a new pool manager. This is the first year the city has posted for the position, which will oversee both lifeguards and operations at the pool. The driving force behind the new position is a desire to have an adult present at all times at the pool. The full-time position calls for someone who is 18 or older.
In other news, some residents voiced concerns and frustrations about excess amounts of water in their basements or on their properties during the public comment portion of the meeting.
One resident said he's lived in his home for almost 20 years and that over the last four years has had problems with a storm drain near his home. He said it's backing up into his backyard and that it becomes a "holding pond" for the end of his block.
Back in 2019, the resident spoke to the council and the storm drain was jetted at that time, giving it relief for a while. However, heavy rain over the weekend has created more problems.
"It's as bad as it ever was now," he said.
The resident asked if the full length could be jetted again. The council said it would have Beemer Companies come and look at the issue.
Another resident spoke about standing water, about 4 to 5 in., in her basement. The resident had previously come to the council about the issue in February, when it was said that her basement drain backs up because it is improperly and illegally connected to the storm sewer.
"I can't afford to put a $6,000 pump in the basement right now, but nor can I afford my house to fall apart," she said.
Street Superintendent, John Bosshart, said they could look at it and see what could be done.
Fire Chief Dave Bentz also shared some concerns with how check donations to the fire department have been labeled. Bentz said in the past it hasn't been a problem, but most recently when the city had its audit done, the labeling of funds was deemed a concern.
"The issue was the check was written out to the city of Truman and not the fire department, and that's where you get to the sticky part, right?" asked Truax.
Bentz said checks should be made out to the Truman Fire Relief Fund. He said he brought up the issue to the council so that everyone could get on the same page. The council talked about asking the auditor to come to a meeting soon to talk about the matter together with the fire department.
Bentz also told the council that EAM (emergency apparatus maintenance) came to do a pump test on the three pumpers and two of them failed. He said they will require about $8,700 in work in order to come into compliance.
Moving to other business, the council reviewed several bids for the campground expansion project.
Troy Nemmers, an engineer with Bolton & Menk, was present to talk through the project with the council. He said they have a schedule A, which is constructing the whole 28 unit campground, and schedule B, which is doing a portion of 11 units.
The low bid for schedule A came in at $327,867. The engineer's estimate was $426,000. For schedule B, the low bid came in at $236,684.
"With the estimates and the way it came in, I think the prices really are quite good for this project. We're recommending to go with schedule A and build the whole project if funding allows," Nemmers said.
However, utility foreman Brent Brown pointed out that the estimate does not include engineering costs, which has an estimate of $10,000 up to $35,000. It also doesn't include electrical, which would be around $50,000 or tables and fire rings. He said with those costs it would come out to be about $450,000 total.
Nemmers clarified that the engineering costs includes project management and oversight and the cost will vary based on how often someone is on site and how long the project takes to complete. Bolton & Menk can also help with grant submissions for a fee.
"In my opinion, that's the only way this project will ever happen," Ebert said of grants.
The council agreed it couldn't make a decision now but will likely plan to hold another work session on the matter in the near future.
Nemmers also presented an agreement for professional services between the city of Truman and Bolton & Menk. He said the agreement will make it more efficient when conversations take place between the firm and city staff.
"Bolton & Menk looks at it like we're serving as the city engineer. City staff can reach out and ask questions about utilities, streets, whatever the case is... because of that, it's a reduced rate," Nemmers said.
The first 16 hours will be at a reduced rate of $95 per hour. It is set up on a yearly cycle and if the city doesn't use up all of the hours, it isn't billed for them.
Council Member Ron Kelley called it a "no brainer." He made a motion to approve the agreement. The motion passed.