Interesting article about the Sheriff's Department from the Ames Tribune. Since that is who we contract our police services with, I thought it would be of interest to post here.
CLICK HERE TO READ THE ARTICLE
Monday, December 27, 2010
Friday, December 24, 2010
Garbage and snow plowing
Just a reminder that garbage pickup will be on its normal Fridays, on Dec 24, and Dec 31.
Also when we have snow forcasted, make sure you get your cars off the street until they are plowed, to avoid parking tickets. You should have received a mailing outlining this.
There is also a run down of the snow ordinance on the city's website. CLICK HERE to see it.
Also when we have snow forcasted, make sure you get your cars off the street until they are plowed, to avoid parking tickets. You should have received a mailing outlining this.
There is also a run down of the snow ordinance on the city's website. CLICK HERE to see it.
Dec 13 council meeting
Only one council meeting in December. We had a couple issues of note that we talked about.
1st was the new streets of Bryan and Arthur. They are not going to open this winter. It appears there were a couple of problems with the construction. None horrible, but they are worthy of correction.
A couple of the storm water intakes have issues. I think 2 are built too high, leaving a rather large opening. One is severely tilted as well. Another issue is that a manhole cutout did not get the concrete poured around it correctly, leaving a gap. Another section of the street has a bit of a dip in it, which could lead to standing water. These are not going to get corrected this winter, so the street opening will have to wait. We still owe $50,000 on the project, and our engineer reports that the corrections will not cost that much, so we hope the contractor will be motivated to come repair the issues.
The next issue revolves around our water and wastewater treatment. Since our previous w/ww superintendent retired, we have contracted with a licensed operator to sign off on our water and wastewater reports with the DNR. While the person we hired, Nathan Hovick, is tending to all the day to day things in the city, he did not have his license for signing off on those yet (and neither did any of the applications we got for the position).
Nathan just got his wastewater certification, so we were able to cut $600 a month off our contracted rate. So that is good.
That leaves the water, and we had one or two different routes before us, that could save the city some money. Our Streets Dept head, Harold Hovick, has just received his water certification. That is good for the city in the long term, as we will have two people available to sign reports. We also can stop paying the contractor for signing off on the reports, so that will save us some money. However, in the interim, until Nathan gets his license, if we use Harold, I think it is the opinion of the majority of the council, that Harold is worthy of some extra compensation to serve as water superintendent. That has not yet been decided, but I'm guessing that may happen.
We also have the opportunity to get Nathan up to get his license more quickly, saving us contracted fees. Before Nathan can apply for his license, he needs to have 3 years on the job. However, if he has his associates degree, he can apply in 18 months. Nathan needs 23 or so more credit hours to finish his degree at DMACC. So the city council has agreed to do a tuition reimbursement for Nathan to finish his degree. This will allow Nathan to get his license about 18 months sooner, saving around $18000 in contracted fees, in exchange for about $4000 in costs.
The downside could be something similar to when Roland had its own police department, and we sent officers to the academy, and then they bolted for higher paying jobs as soon as they had their degree. I hope that is not the case here, and even if it is, as long as Nathan hangs around 5 months after getting his license, we will still be money ahead.
It is nice to see our city employees furthering their education, and gaining certifications. Both Harold and Nathan are doing it in the water/wastewater area, and Deneen has done so in the clerk area.
There really wasn't much more on the docket. We had a potluck Christmas party with the city employees, and members of RADC, and a bit of a going away party for former council member Erin Varley. Next council meeting is Jan 10.
1st was the new streets of Bryan and Arthur. They are not going to open this winter. It appears there were a couple of problems with the construction. None horrible, but they are worthy of correction.
A couple of the storm water intakes have issues. I think 2 are built too high, leaving a rather large opening. One is severely tilted as well. Another issue is that a manhole cutout did not get the concrete poured around it correctly, leaving a gap. Another section of the street has a bit of a dip in it, which could lead to standing water. These are not going to get corrected this winter, so the street opening will have to wait. We still owe $50,000 on the project, and our engineer reports that the corrections will not cost that much, so we hope the contractor will be motivated to come repair the issues.
The next issue revolves around our water and wastewater treatment. Since our previous w/ww superintendent retired, we have contracted with a licensed operator to sign off on our water and wastewater reports with the DNR. While the person we hired, Nathan Hovick, is tending to all the day to day things in the city, he did not have his license for signing off on those yet (and neither did any of the applications we got for the position).
Nathan just got his wastewater certification, so we were able to cut $600 a month off our contracted rate. So that is good.
That leaves the water, and we had one or two different routes before us, that could save the city some money. Our Streets Dept head, Harold Hovick, has just received his water certification. That is good for the city in the long term, as we will have two people available to sign reports. We also can stop paying the contractor for signing off on the reports, so that will save us some money. However, in the interim, until Nathan gets his license, if we use Harold, I think it is the opinion of the majority of the council, that Harold is worthy of some extra compensation to serve as water superintendent. That has not yet been decided, but I'm guessing that may happen.
We also have the opportunity to get Nathan up to get his license more quickly, saving us contracted fees. Before Nathan can apply for his license, he needs to have 3 years on the job. However, if he has his associates degree, he can apply in 18 months. Nathan needs 23 or so more credit hours to finish his degree at DMACC. So the city council has agreed to do a tuition reimbursement for Nathan to finish his degree. This will allow Nathan to get his license about 18 months sooner, saving around $18000 in contracted fees, in exchange for about $4000 in costs.
The downside could be something similar to when Roland had its own police department, and we sent officers to the academy, and then they bolted for higher paying jobs as soon as they had their degree. I hope that is not the case here, and even if it is, as long as Nathan hangs around 5 months after getting his license, we will still be money ahead.
It is nice to see our city employees furthering their education, and gaining certifications. Both Harold and Nathan are doing it in the water/wastewater area, and Deneen has done so in the clerk area.
There really wasn't much more on the docket. We had a potluck Christmas party with the city employees, and members of RADC, and a bit of a going away party for former council member Erin Varley. Next council meeting is Jan 10.
Census Part 2
Well, it appears we will have to wait a bit longer to find out Roland's population. While they have released the state populations, it is going to be next year before the release the populations for specific cities.
I appreciate the 4 guesses that have been made so far on my blog post. The guess of 2 million may only apply if mosquitoes were counted in August.
I appreciate the 4 guesses that have been made so far on my blog post. The guess of 2 million may only apply if mosquitoes were counted in August.
Wednesday, December 15, 2010
Census
It is my understanding from media reports that the 2010 Census data will be released next week. I have no inside info on what it will show for Roland. But for my blog readers, I thought I would make a predicition, and offer y'all the chance to do the same.
So if you care to take a guess on Roland's population, leave it on the comment to this post. For the person making the closest guess, I will name a day in your honor. Of course, unofficially. Kinda like getting the key to the city. And if you don't want to leave your real name, I will name the day in honor of your fake internet name.
So here goes. I think we are going to slip a little bit, but not much. As a reminder, in 2000 we were at 1324. So the Mayor's guess is.....
1302
What say you?
So if you care to take a guess on Roland's population, leave it on the comment to this post. For the person making the closest guess, I will name a day in your honor. Of course, unofficially. Kinda like getting the key to the city. And if you don't want to leave your real name, I will name the day in honor of your fake internet name.
So here goes. I think we are going to slip a little bit, but not much. As a reminder, in 2000 we were at 1324. So the Mayor's guess is.....
1302
What say you?
Friday, December 10, 2010
Mayor/Dog Catcher
Tonite about 5:30, I got a call on my cell, from my son at home, who said I was supposed to call Casey's about a dog that kept walking into the store.
Ok.
So I called Casey's and found out that apparently there was a black lab that would wait for somebody to open the door, and he would try to sneak in. Nobody at Casey's knew whose dog it was, so some customer had the bright idea that they should call the mayor.
I'm not mad, more amused than anything. As I was in Ogden at the time. So I called our Streets guy Harold, and he offered to leave home and try to corral the dog. If he didn't know who owned the dog, the dog was going to end up in doggie jail for the weekend.
Harold never called me back, so I don't don't know the outcome. But I have a lot of takeaways from this.
1. We have smart dogs in Roland.
2. Often you hear the phrase about politicians, "I wouldn't elect that guy to Dog Catcher." Hey, I got elected to Mayor, and if that ever goes away, I still have a shot at Dog Catcher.
3. On a more serious note, this is an example of the good stuff that our city employees do that doeesn't always get noticed. Harold was home on a Friday evening, but immediately left to help on this issue. It is nice to have employees with that kind of dedication to be a troubleshooter for problems in town.
4. I really love living in a small town in Iowa. I don't know if I have gotten a mayor call in a couple months, and when I do, it is about a dog trying to sneak in a convenience store. If that is the worst problem I get pestered about, we've got a great town.
And in honor of the call....
Ok.
So I called Casey's and found out that apparently there was a black lab that would wait for somebody to open the door, and he would try to sneak in. Nobody at Casey's knew whose dog it was, so some customer had the bright idea that they should call the mayor.
I'm not mad, more amused than anything. As I was in Ogden at the time. So I called our Streets guy Harold, and he offered to leave home and try to corral the dog. If he didn't know who owned the dog, the dog was going to end up in doggie jail for the weekend.
Harold never called me back, so I don't don't know the outcome. But I have a lot of takeaways from this.
1. We have smart dogs in Roland.
2. Often you hear the phrase about politicians, "I wouldn't elect that guy to Dog Catcher." Hey, I got elected to Mayor, and if that ever goes away, I still have a shot at Dog Catcher.
3. On a more serious note, this is an example of the good stuff that our city employees do that doeesn't always get noticed. Harold was home on a Friday evening, but immediately left to help on this issue. It is nice to have employees with that kind of dedication to be a troubleshooter for problems in town.
4. I really love living in a small town in Iowa. I don't know if I have gotten a mayor call in a couple months, and when I do, it is about a dog trying to sneak in a convenience store. If that is the worst problem I get pestered about, we've got a great town.
And in honor of the call....
Wednesday, December 8, 2010
What's goin' on in Roland?
Things have slowed down in Roland. I guess I don't know much that is going on. Our only council meeting of December will be next Monday.
If you don't want to go out and about this weekend (at least out of town that is), there is an opportunity to help out at the Roland-Story Booster Club Basketball Tournament this weekend. There will be boys and girls teams from grades 4-8 playing in Roland. This is the big money maker for the booster club. You can help by working in the concession stand, working admissions, running the scoreboard and scorebook, and clean up detail.
The help is needed on Saturday or Sunday. It is a good chance to hang out with some people. It is not too hard of work. I will be working the scoreboard and doing postgame clean-up. If you would like to assist, contact Paul Clark at paulclark@usa.com.
Speaking of Paul Clark, just a reminder that you can listen to his broadcasts of Roland-Story sports at NorsemenNetwork.com. I am his sidekick for all the football games. I'll join him for a few basketball games, and I will fly solo for some of them as well while Paul is off doing other things. It is a nice thing to have if you don't feel like taking a road trip to go cheer on the Norse, or even if you don't feel like heading over to Story City some night.
If you don't want to go out and about this weekend (at least out of town that is), there is an opportunity to help out at the Roland-Story Booster Club Basketball Tournament this weekend. There will be boys and girls teams from grades 4-8 playing in Roland. This is the big money maker for the booster club. You can help by working in the concession stand, working admissions, running the scoreboard and scorebook, and clean up detail.
The help is needed on Saturday or Sunday. It is a good chance to hang out with some people. It is not too hard of work. I will be working the scoreboard and doing postgame clean-up. If you would like to assist, contact Paul Clark at paulclark@usa.com.
Speaking of Paul Clark, just a reminder that you can listen to his broadcasts of Roland-Story sports at NorsemenNetwork.com. I am his sidekick for all the football games. I'll join him for a few basketball games, and I will fly solo for some of them as well while Paul is off doing other things. It is a nice thing to have if you don't feel like taking a road trip to go cheer on the Norse, or even if you don't feel like heading over to Story City some night.
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Odds and ends
The new street is getting closer to completion. It has been basically done, but it needed the fill put along the outside of the curbs, and concrete poured around manholes. They have done so this week. The contract says they were to be done by the end of the year, so I'm guessing they may have been focusing on other work.
There are two retirement parties in the county, if you happen to know these people. Long time County Supervisor Jane Halliburton chose not to run for re-election and is done after 20 some years I think.
And Lori Morrissey, the County Emergency Services Director is retiring at the end of the year.
If you happen to know them from any dealings with the county, just a note that they will both be having retirement parties at the courthouse on December 28. From 2-4 for Jane's, and 2-5 for Lori's. Lori's I know will be in the EOC in the basement of the courthouse in Nevada.
On another note, you will soon be getting a reminder in the mail regarding the duties of homeowners and motorists during snow season. Since we may be getting snow on Friday night, just a reminder that you need your car off the street until your street is plowed. If not, you could get a parking ticket. You don't want that, and frankly, I don't want parking tickets written if we don't need to. So help the plow guys, and keep your cars off unplowed streets.
There are two retirement parties in the county, if you happen to know these people. Long time County Supervisor Jane Halliburton chose not to run for re-election and is done after 20 some years I think.
And Lori Morrissey, the County Emergency Services Director is retiring at the end of the year.
If you happen to know them from any dealings with the county, just a note that they will both be having retirement parties at the courthouse on December 28. From 2-4 for Jane's, and 2-5 for Lori's. Lori's I know will be in the EOC in the basement of the courthouse in Nevada.
On another note, you will soon be getting a reminder in the mail regarding the duties of homeowners and motorists during snow season. Since we may be getting snow on Friday night, just a reminder that you need your car off the street until your street is plowed. If not, you could get a parking ticket. You don't want that, and frankly, I don't want parking tickets written if we don't need to. So help the plow guys, and keep your cars off unplowed streets.
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