Winfield reviews Veterans Commission ordinance changes

By Bryce Kelly, Mt. Pleasant News

WINFIELD ? Despite there being a larger turnout from the public during a special session on matters concerning the Winfield Community Veterans Building Management Commission last week, Wednesday night?s Winfield City Council?s discussion on the matter resulted in no public comment whatsoever.

?I want to thank the council and those that came last Wednesday to talk about the Veteran?s Commission,? said Winfield City Mayor, Chris Finnell. ?I thought discussion was good and that people were respectful, which is great.?

It was resolved during last week?s meeting to make some changes to the Commission?s ordinance with the City of Winfield in the hopes that it would help resolve any issues in communication between the city council and the Commission, while also safeguarding the Commission and its property within the Winfield Veteran?s Building down the road.

The council approved the following changes in the Commission?s ordinance:

? The commanding officer from the city council, the Winfield American Legion Post No. 643, and the women?s auxiliary of the Winfield American Legion Post No. 643 will recommend two potential appointees for appointment to the Commission, and the mayor may reject or accept any of those recommendations.

? Each meeting of the Commission would follow the Roberts Rules of Order, with all motions requiring a unanimous vote rather than a majority vote. Votes that cannot reach a unanimous vote by the Commission will be brought to the city council for a vote.

? Any expense under $500 shall be a one-time expense that is unassociated with another expense.

? Work orders for non-daily maintenance items shall be submitted to the City Clerk.

With the council?s approval of these changes as a first reading, the new changes will be brought before the council again next month for a second reading.

In other council business, Winfield City Clerk, Angie Oepping, said she was pleased the council approved a new website subscription provider for the city. According to Oepping, the current website is ?very outdated?.

?We have gone through a demo with Immense Impact and it seems very user friendly. We also went through another demo with a separate company that was very expensive,? said Oepping. ?Immense has a help service available 24/7, and they will also help us set up and design our new website.?

The cost of the new provider is $439 per year. The website will also give residents the ability to sign up for city alerts, which the city office can update with information regarding boil orders, street closures, etc. Oepping also said the website change may also give the city the ability to accept bill payments online.

?There are lots of people who ask about online payment, so if we could get that, I think it would be nice to do for our citizens,? said Oepping.

The council also approved L.L. Pelling to do some sealcoat work, and asphalt paving and patching in 2017. The sealcoat work would cost roughly $30,000. Regarding asphalt, work would tentatively stretch from East Pine to Locust Street, then through Walnut Street to Chestnut Street. That work is slated to cost roughly $46,000. Combined with sealcoating work, the total cost of both should come in under what was originally budgeted by the city for 2017 street work.

In other news, the board:

? Approved May 10 for the public hearing for a fiscal year 2017 budget amendment. The hearing is set to begin at 7 p.m.

? Approved an alley on the west side of the city to be named West Lincoln Lane.

? Approved adding gutters to the library/fire station.

? Approved street closures and the official route of the Cinco ?K? Mayo 5K.

? Approved temporary outdoor service for May 5 to May 6 for Welcome Inn.

The Winfield City Council will meet again on May 10, at 7 p.m., at the Winfield City Office.