NL City Council concentrates on infrastructure

The New London City Council met in regular session on May 8 with all members present. They approved the agenda and then held a public meeting.

They took citizen questions and/or comments on the proposed budget amendment for FY2023. Hearing none, the Council approved Resolution No. 401 authorizing the amendment of the budget for FY2022-23.

The Council approved the consent agenda and no one addressed them in open forum.

In old business, they approved Resolution No. 400 authorizing the Mayor and Clerk to enter into a loan agreement with Two Rivers Bank & Trust to purchase a 2020 Rosenbauer Pumper Truck. The principal amount is not to exceed $410,000 at 4.875% for a term of 10 years.

They then reviewed quotes from Norris Asphalt and Paving to asphalt three streets:

•N. Pine Street at $216,250.

•Kennedy Street at $33,685.

•Wilson Dr. at $53,100.00.

After discussing the street maintenance budget of $70,000 for FY2023 and estimating they will need between $30,000 to $40,000 for seal coating this year, the Council approved the Norris bid of $33,685 to asphalt Kennedy Street.

With that, the Council turned to new business. They took the following actions:

•Approved pay estimate No. 4 for Jones Contracting of $163,964.12 for the second addition of the Pine St. Subdivision.

•Approved Resolution No. 402 amending Resolution No. 353 designating the spending of the American Rescue Plan Act funds (COVID moneys). The Council had previously designated $45,219 to go to the New London Municipal Utilities (NLMU) for new fire hydrants/valves. The approved spending the remaining $228,835.51 on a new storm sewer/roadway on N. Division St.

•Approved Resolution No. 403 authorizing the closing of the 100 block of N. Pine St., the 300 block of W. Washington St., and the 100 block of N. Maple St. for New London Days activities on July 29 from 7 a.m.-5 p.m.

The Council then discussed wage increases for employees for 2023-24. After weighing the pros and cons of a percentage or a flat rate amount, they agreed to a $1 per hour raise for all employees. They will take action on this item at the June meeting.

The last topic of discussion was the engineer’s estimate for a new sewer/roadway on S. Pine St. from Main Street to Thompson St. The estimate totaled $1,470,000.

While the Council agreed that something needs to be done with the road before it gets much worse, the City doesn’t currently have the funds. The Council discussed borrowing the funds to finish the project. They would also like to research grant funding. No action was taken.

The meeting adjourned at 6:35 p.m. The next regular meeting of the New London City Council will be June 12 at 6 p.m. at the City Office.