Council approves part-time position
Florence City Clerk Darla Gore was authorized at the city council meeting Monday night to offer a part-time position in the Florence City Office to Cindy Dallke of Peabody.
The position will be for 17 hours a week, accumulative to no more than 68 hours per month at a starting wage of $7 an hour.
The decision was reached by the council following an executive session to discuss personnel.
The council also approved funds to send Sarah Cope to three grant writing workshops in Emporia.
The city's new police chief Merlin Stout asked the council to allow him to hire a person to go into a training program for 20 hours a month. Stout said he knows of a young man in Hillsboro who is interested in the position and would be willing to move to Florence.
Stout said the man is not certified. Stout said would visit with the Peabody police chief to see if there would be a way the communities could split the cost of certification training and then both towns could use him as back-up.
The council tabled a decision until Stout has more information and a commitment from Peabody.
In another issue related to the police department, Councilman Randy Mills said attempts by SBC to re-route the police department's outside line back through the city office did not work.
Although the phones were integrated when the new city building opened a year ago, former police chief Creighton Smith had the police lines made private. Since the system came from Avaya, the SBC technician told Mills, Avaya would have to come and reintegrate the phone lines. So far, attempts to reach the company had been unsuccessful.
Councilman Dan Ludwig volunteered to try to reach the company which also maintains a system for his trucking company.
In other business, the council:
— approved an electrical license for Roger Johnson.
— voted to keep the 2004 holiday schedule the same as the schedule for 2003.
— heard that a couple interested in purchasing the nursing home had decided against the purchase.
— tabled until the next meeting a decision on hiring FlorenceWeb Computers to maintain the city's web site.
— agreed to update the employee manual. Councilman Mills will review the manual and have a first reading of any changes ready for the next meeting. Mills noted that updates to the manual had not been made since July 2003. The computer program used to bring the manual up to date is missing. A replacement program will be ordered.
— heard that city superintendent Stuart Funk has covered the discharge line at the water plant with dirt. Funk said that with the dirt cover and the fact that the water being discharged stays at about 40 degrees, there is little chance of the line freezing.
— approved an offer from Westar for a pricing work order on improved lighting the city is considering at the U.S.-50 exit at Johnson's General Store. Westar will send options and prices for the council's consideration.
— heard from Funk that the new tires for the trash truck still have not been received. Funk also said that cold weather had halted completion of the repair of a sewer problem on Grandview. He said the city had filled the hole in the pavement with gravel as a temporary measure and would cover it with concrete when the weather warms up.
— agreed to remove all city property from the back room of the library building and store it elsewhere. Currently Christmas decorations, the snow flakes for the street poles, and extra bulbs are stored there and cannot be covered by insurance. They will be moved to the city shop.
