Last 2018 Meeting Busy for Carmi Council
The Carmi City Council’s last meeting of 2018 was a lenghty one as the aldermen took quick action on a couple of items and then listened to David Coston explain how the city could potentially save up to $700,000 a year.
Coston reported on a recent Duke Energy project that looked at the feasibility of installing cellular based smart meters for the electric department and possibility the water department.
Coston, the city’s electrical consultant explained the meters would allow the city to read the meters from the office, freeing up the current two meter readers for other jobs. The smart meters would basically use a cell signal to transmit the information, in this case, electrical usage, to the city for billing, etc. The meters would also allow the electrical department to pinpoint outages and other problems, right down to the residence.
Coston explained he wasn’t asking for a vote, he just needed to know if the aldermen would like to proceed with the next step. That step would have Duke Energy put together a package that included costs of the meters, installation and monthly fees. He thought those fees would likely run between $10 and $12, basing that upon other cities that are using the cellular smart meters.
While there was no official vote, it was the general consensus to move ahead with the next step with figures to be available sometime in the new year.
Earlier in the meeting, Coston explained the service area agreement with Wayne White Electric Cooperative, that was approved by the council, basically sets areas that Wayne White will be responsible for and areas that the City of Carmi will cover. Coston said the city actually gained some territory, without giving up anything. It was explained the agreement will actually make coverage of repairs or installations easier to deal with.
In other matters, the council approved switching insurance coverage from Gallagher Risk Management to Shepherd Insurance, here in Carmi. City Clerk Cynthia Atterbury explained Gallagher’s new bid was around $383,000, while Shepherd came in at just under $300,000. She explained an Illinois Municipal League Risk Management bid was cheaper, but did not include vehicles or property. Atterbury said she felt the Shepherd bid was the best choice and pointed out the company is just across the street. The council then approved the Shepherd bid.
Prior to adjournment, Mike Buckman, city superintendent reported on work orders for 2018, explained the orders were up considerably since 2017. He reported 249 work orders for street lights, that included changing bulbs, etc. There were 224 orders for the line department; 169 for the tree department; 208 for street; 313 for water and 268 for the sewer department. The total was 1426 up from 1055 last year. Buckman also thanked everyone, including the mayor, council and city employees for their hard work throughout the year.
He also pointed out there are mapping projects to continue and complete and explained the mapping project has helped turn up manholes, shut-off switches and other items that will help the city departments in the future.
In committee reports, Mike Knight thanked the city workers who rang the bell for the Salvation Army. He said he would have a total on what was collected in the future.
Mayor Jeff Pollard reported the annual motor fueld tax fund review had been completed for 2017 and the city was in compliance.
He then wished everyone a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, reminding the aldermen the next meeting would be Wednesday, Jan, 2, 2019
