Town of Brooker Regular Monthly Council Meeting April 12,2022  Present: Absent:  Joe Tolleson, Chris Caldwell, Steve Acree, Gene Melvin, John Maines, Suzanne  McRee, Charlene Thomas Linda Bennett  Community: Terry Thomas, Steve Voelker, Tony Stalnaker  Meeting called to order by Gene Melvin, Mayor. Meeting start time: 7:00 p.m.  Pledge of Allegiance  An motion was made by Steve Acree to approve the March 8th meeting minutes as presented.  Seconded by Chris Caldwell, Motion passed.  First Order of Business - Election of Mayor and Vice-Mayor Call for nominations - Chris Caldwell nominated Gene Melvin.  Steve Acree made a motion to open nominations for Mayor for a one-year term. Seconded by Steve Acree made a motion for nominations to cease. Seconded by joe Tolleson. Motion Steve Acree made a motion to nominate Gene Melvin for Mayor for a one-year term. Seconded Steve Acree made a motion to open nominations for Vice-Mayor for a one-year term. Steve. Acree made a motion for nominations to cease. Seconded by] Joe Tolleson. Motion Chris Caldwell made a motion to nominate Steve Acree for' Vice-Mayor foraone-year term.  Joe Tolleson. Motion passed.  passed.  by. Joe Tolleson. Motion passed.  Seconded by) Joe Tolleson. Motion passed.  Call for nominations - Chris Caldwell nominated Steve Acree.  passed.  Seconded by Joe Tolleson. Motion passed. Attorney - John Maines: Nothing to report. Fire Department - Joe Tolleson:  I. Joe Tolleson reported that he has not yet been able to get into the Fire Department office building with the combination provided. Tony Stalnaker was present and provided  the information.  Town Clerk Report = Suzanne McRee:  I. Past due report was passed out. Still out $130.63 in overdue accounts. Two meters (2)  were locked this month, both were paid and unlocked.  1    2. Clerk noted that there had been an incident with an irate customer after his meter had been locked for non-payment which resulted in him going to different council members homes for resolution. For situational awareness, the Clerk relayed the account was locked for non-payment (2 months) and 4 notices had been mailed citing the balance due. Once the customer called the office cel, Terry Thomas was dispatched to restore 3. Clerk advised that Sunland Construction will be purchasing water from the city for use on their construction project beginning first week of May and continuing thru August. Sunland has confirmed they will draw no more than 5000 gallons at at time and have the 4. Clerk provided information on progress of SCOP Grant Road Resurfacing project. The Infrastructure Consulting Engineers (ICE) willl be at the May meeting to provide an update. Council members were provided a copy of the most recent progress report 5. Utility Services conducted an inspection of the water town in November 2021. A condition assessment report was provided to the Council members for review. 6. ARPA (American Recovery Plan. Act) Funds - Clerk is attending monthly webinars which provide updated reporting information. Most recent information provided is that municipalities receiving less than IO million ini funds are eligible for a more simplified reporting with a standard deduction/format. Thei first reporting period will end on 4/30/22; Town of Brooker will report "no active projects" during this reporting period. 7. Council was advised that lots are currently listed for sale in Bragg Branch crossing - 8. The Board of Trustees for the proposed charter school, Brooker Community School, Inc. sent letters to each Council member. Those letters were provided to the Council 9. The Clerk will be out oft the office on Monday, 5/2/22 and' Wednesday, 5/4/22, however will be in on the Sunday prior (5/1/22) and Thursday (5/6/22) to ensure monies are  water service, upon verification of payment by Ms. Thomas.  appropriate backflow equipment.  from ICE.  information provided for information only.  for their review. receipted.  Bookkeeper = Charlene Thomas:  I. Went over Revenue and Expenditures for March 2022.  2. Community Center refrigerator quit working which resulted in a repair cost of $406.67 for the replacement of an evaporator fan. Charles Berg Enterprises, Inc. was the vendor 3. Bookkeeper advised she had noticed the Community Center is very dark and the automatic lights do not appear to be working. Gene Melvin will check for mechanical 4. Bookkeeper advised that the Council that there had been in an increase in the revenue 5. Bookkeeper went over information concerning Brooker Volunteer Fire Department Account at TD Bank. A new account has been created; Town of Brooker - Fire Fund. The signatories on this account are Gene Melvin, Linda Bennett and Charlene Thomas. The current balance, as of 3/31/22 is $71,864.37. Tony Stalnaker asked to confirm these  that handled the repair.  issues and will advise if lights need to be purchased.  generated from Fines during the months of February and March.  2    funds are designated for "fire department usage" and it was confirmed that was the 6. Charlene Thomas provided additional information regarding meter cut-off and cut-on to the Council. She relayed that only the Town Clerk knows how much money is owed by acustomer: and restoration of service can only be completed when receipt ofi funds is verified. Any customer approaching a council member should be referred to the Town Clerk for appropriate handling; in person during office hours or viai the office phone or the emergency cell phone number if after hours. Any re-connect will be assessed: a re- connect charge, either $25.00 if during office hours or $50.00 if after office hours.  intent.  Water Department - Gene Melvin:  I. Gene Melvin briefed with Bernard Carter who relayed that the ceiling (sheetrock and insulation) at the water works building had collapsed and fallen on the water sample line/well #1, breaking the line and flooding the building. Charlene Thomas will make  contact with thei insurance provider to address repairs.  Sanitation = Chris Caldwell:  I. Joe Tolleson voiced concerns over the condition of the trash cans with damage caused by the Wastepro equipmentgrappler. Clerk advised that these concerns have been relayed to' Wastepro and they are bringing replacement carts. I. Issues with roads/streets are being addressed thru the SCOP grant. 2. Tree reported being down on Bradford Avenue and East Street, falling across road. Bradford County Road Department removed the tree from the road. Gene Melvin asked if the Town has anyone on file to remove trees, if BCRD isn't available or it doesn't fall under their jurisdiction. The prior contact (Red Starling) is no longer in this business. Three names were given as possible contractors that could provide this service. Town Clerk will follow up for appropriate insurance documentation and  Road/Streets = Joe Tolleson:  provide contact info to council members.  Recreation/Parks = Linda Bennett (absent): Ground Maintenance/Mowing = Steve Acree:  I. No report  I. Mowing is taking place as scheduled however it was noted that some yard debris was left. Steve Acree will make contact with contractor to ensure removal.  Community Center Building = Mayor Melvin:  I. Follow-up requested for repair of Community Center roof to include elastothermic coating. An invitation for bid will be placed in the Bradford Telegraph for  competitive bids.  3    Town Council:  I. Aletter was received from Brooker Community School, Inc., requesting a donation towards the start-up oft the proposed charter school. Gene Melvin presented the possibility of making a contribution with. ARPA Fiscal Recovery funds, citing the provision allowing such a contribution. This will be a future agenda item.  Old Business:  I. American Recovery Plan Act (ARPA) - Fiscal Recovery Funds well that could be used for non-potable water.  a. Gene Melvin asked the Council to consider using ARPA funds to install a second b. Chris Caldwell asked about the possibility of ARPA fund usage for broadband improvements, citing the recent outages. The Clerk was directed to make contact with inetic/Windstream to see what improvements could be made,  New Business:  I. Credit Consideration for Water Bill - Stearns (Account #413)  During this billing cycle, this customer had extremely high usage and contested the amount of usage recorded. Customer was advised that two (2) separate people had read the meter and followed up to ensure there were no issues with the meter itself and further issues would need to be addressed by the customer and her personal contractor. It was noted that the customer had stated she could not the current water bill. Steve Acree made a motion that the current water bill be pay reduced half.  Seconded by Chris Caldwell. Motion passed.  by  Checks approved: General Fund: 7753-7774  Water Fund: 5732-5742  An motion was made by Steve Acree to approve the bills. Seconded by Chris Caldwell. Motion  passed.  Gene Melvin made a motion to adjourn. Time: 8:27 p.m.  CeeEbmb Cecil E. (Gene) Melvin, Mayor  MRes  Ss Suzanne/MicRee, Town Clerk  4