CEYLON– The Ceylon City Council met on Tuesday evening. Travis Winter, engineer from Bolton and Menk, reported on the work at the Water Treatment Plant for the city.

The filter was drained and some cells are not working properly so he suggested shut down of cell not working and clean out cells and get cells all working and in running order. The city is working under 50 percent right now. Each cell has four layers of different media. This would cost about $40,000. A valve is not working properly also. It is not shutting all the way and when the back flush happens to run the water through the filters it is letting some water push through. The estimated cost of that replace would be $6,800. The city has quotes from Beemer and requested that Winter to get another quote so they had at least two quotes on those costs. The council will go into special meeting when he has those quotes ready.

Winter reminded the Council that some of the equipment is original equipment which means it is over 40 years old. There is going to be major/significant replace/repair done on the water system in the upcoming years. Grants should be explored now as it takes time to go through all the needed information and steps for grant applications.

When asked by the council, Winters reported that a usual time for repair/replace is around 20 years and may cost $45,000. The council agreed that things need to be planned ahead and maintenance costs need to be budgeted yearly.

The auditor, Craig Popenhagen, reported on the audit for the city. For cities under 25,000 there is a shorter audit (regulatory audit) which was used by his company. He reported that the collection of property taxes was at 97 percent which is very good. The General Fund was also in very good shape. The close out of the financial conditions was very good too and he reported that the audit was deemed a clean audit. There were no incidents with compliance of state and city orders. The closing audited amount for the City was $1.4 million. The Utility fund was operating at a loss.

The water, sewer and electric funds are in the Utility fund. The city has continued to pay down the water loan taken. The assets of the fund are $800,000 and $42,000 of that is depreciation on physical assets like pipes, pumps etc. That fund did receive $ 14,000 from FREA (Federated Rural Electric Association Coop) as dividends. It has $400,000 in equity. Some of the expenses are repair/replace on the aging water and sewer systems and loans for that.

The auditor reported news and suggestions: segregation of duties which is hard with only two employees and some part time help. The council should keep track diligently, keep communications open and have transparency. A suggestion to include the journal entries with the packages given the council members for each meeting was given, which would help with communications.

The statewide pension fund is underfunded for all cities so that is what the report about underfunding shares with all cities was about. The auditor suggested an out of state travel policy and review of time sheets. In general the auditor reported a good financial condition for the city.

Also during the meeting, a resident complained about the sewer system when there was a hard rain last year and was concerned that the city was not doing anything about the sewer system. The council and the city employees reported what had been done so far and what is planned for the future but has not been started while they have to wait for contracts and other protocol. They do have two pumps available if needed and a 10 inch line is proposed and is waiting for lawyer and contract approval. The council said the water system would be first.

A question about putting pickleball court on basketball court was asked and the council suggested tape for the markings and see if it is used enough to do painting of markings. A suggestion of contacting the Fairmont School district CER was also mentioned.

In other business:

— The council approved repairing the Bad Boy mower for $800.

— The council approved paying the $250 bill to Rosburg Construction for repair and shut off of the water connection that was never shut off at an abandoned property.

— The council approved the employee evaluations and increases of salary to the Clerk and Utility worker and also raises in time off and hours or work per week effective July 1, 2025.

— The council approved hiring a new Utility worker, Nathaniel Beckendorf. He will begin Sept. 2,2025 and after he receives his licenses he will be paid for training. He will work from 6 a.m. to 3 p.m. at $20/ hour with increases after his licenses are earned. The council reported that they had two applicants.

— The Council approved following the County and State regulations concerning a Cannabis business in the city.

— The Utility City employee reported that some repairs at the treatment plant are planned for September and that there will be an inspection of the water system in September.

— The council approved the city employee to get bids for tree removal by the city hall which is rotted and split somewhat. The council also approved the city employee should remind the ordinance violator that seal coating will be done next week and the vehicles and other stuff must be removed from the street by his property immediately. He has received notification prior to this week and not cooperated in the removal of junk.

— A new fire department member has been hired and gear for him needed to be purchased. The fire department also mentioned purchasing gloves made for fire fighters.

— The Mayor reported on her overview of ordinances and requested the council’s help in reviewing each group done. She also requested a work session every fourth Tuesday so work continues on matters and then they can be brought up at the regular meetings.

The next regular meeting of the Ceylon City Council is scheduled for September 9, 2025 at 6 p.m. at City Hall.