Board discusses light pole installation

The Perryville Board of Aldermen saw some change at its latest meeting on April 18. The board swore in three Aldermen in accordance with the April 4 election. Seth Amschler took over Ward I from Dennis House while David Schumer (Ward 3) and Doug Martin (Ward 2) were also sworn in as they ran unopposed.
The board also elected a President, which was determined to be Tom Guth, and each Alderman was selected to serve on particular committees. They were Public Works (Tom Guth and David Schumer, Public Safety (Curt Buerck, Clint Rice, and Doug Martin), Finance (David Schumer and Clint Rice), Sidewalk (David Schumer and Doug Martin), Liaison (Seth Amschler), and Economic Development (Doug Martin and Curt Buerck)
After the appointments to the committees, the board continued on with the meeting which included a discussion about light poles installation downtown. The newly installed lights look great and work very well. That said, their installation wasn’t without challenge. The previous lights had “floating” collars that adjusted to the surrounding terrain. This worked very well but allowed water into the base, likely contributing to the failure of several poles. The new poles have a tightly welded, fixed collar, eliminating water issues, but now must be retrofitted somewhat to provide a final “to-grade” installation. City Attorney Baer has been studying this issue since their installation and presented his thoughts and opinions. City staff is capable of doing the work and will complete it intermittently.
“We are doing this ourselves when we have time and some poles will be easier than other ones,” Perryville City Administrator Brent Buerck said. “The poles would probably be ok and get as much time out of them as we did the other ones, but the goal is to do it right the first time. They will probably be installed over the course of one year.”
Alderman Buerck said that the City should look into not using two dissimilar metals when installing the poles as one metal will be aluminum for more of a lifespan on the poles. Brent Buerck said they city would look into that before proceeding with the project.
The board also amended the Water and Sewer Rate Schedule and Establishing the Refuse Rate Schedule.

During the budget review, the Finance Committee asked staff to look at utility rates and make an adjustment given the period of hyper-inflation we are experiencing.
This resolution increases water, sewer, and refuse rates this year by 5 percent and then returns to an annual adjustment of 3 percent for future years.
In the consent agenda, the city approved Mayor Riney to sign “Local Government Certification” for St. Vincent DePaul Society grant application relative to an addition to their property at the corner of Grand and North Jackson Streets. The Saint Vincent DePaul Society is working towards a grant to remodel part of the “Colonnade Room” building they previously purchased from the American Legion. In order to proceed, they will need the city to sign a portion of their grant application indicating that the city is okay with their proposed project. Although the application suggests this location could eventually house a thrift store, there has been no indication they will be vacating their current city-owned location.
The board also approved the recommendation from Parks & Recreation Director Cadwell to accept bids for the Pickleball/Courts Project and award to Gunner Energy Corp
This is somewhat unusual as we are working to also promote a project that will paint a pickleball court for the City of Frohna. The city’s thought is the combined project may draw more interest and better bids for both cities’ projects (after the bid opening, Frohna estimated saving nearly $5,000 over previous project
bids). In summary, this will place three outside courts in the City Park, one in Feltz Street Park, and one in the city limits of Frohna. The city of Frohna will be responsible for their own contracting and all associated costs.
In his report, Brent Buerck discussed the installation of outside security camera in the City Park as there has been reports on vandalism at certain points in the past. He also discussed the city of Perryville’s involvement in the plans for the solar eclipse on April 8, 2024, which included a pyrotechnic show. Buerck also discussed the city’s ISO reassessment which affects resident’s home insurance.