Sheridan CBC, City Council Plan New Community Building

The Sheridan City Council and the Sheridan CBC are proposing to put up a new community building to replace both the Schoolhouse and the current City Hall. Councilwoman Mary Jo Riley, who is the President of the Sheridan CBC, said that they wanted the Schoolhouse off their hands and that it was getting to where it was costing too much to maintain and that the roof was threatening to fall in. She said that last year, the CBC put up $700 to fix the leaking roof to the schoolhouse but that it was now "ripping clear away." Mayor Leland Wake said that the city would be agreeable to doing a joint project with the CBC on getting a new building, citing ongoing problems with City Hall. The roof was starting to leak, temporary repairs made to the floor in the back a few years ago were not holding out any longer, and the building was not well insulated, meaning that the building fund could exhaust itself quickly if the city does not do anything about the high heating costs. Riley said that for the CBC's part, the building was costing $100 per month for electric bills even if nobody was using it and when people were using it, it would cost more.

Earlier, the CBC had pursued a grant to replace the roof. However, Riley said that what they found was that there were too many strings attached; the CBC would have to pay prevailing wage and there was a limit to what they could have gotten. Sheridan officials have looked at other communities and noted that Allendale had build their community building themselves. Councilman Dave Thomas said that a new building would generate a lot more revenue than the present City Hall. Clerk Genevieve Walker said that the city had already paid out $800 in heating costs for City Hall and that it would be higher next year with the higher fuel costs. Riley said that the first priority for the CBC would be to draw up what they wanted and get an estimate. She said they were thinking of a possible metal building with offices and a small kitchen and a community area that could be used for dinners or dances.

For the city's part, Mayor Leland Wake said that he could prop up the floor in the back of the City Hall and that it would last about a year. But he said that it was living on borrowed time and that it could fall in anytime.

Fire Chief Butch Thomas said that the Fire Department had no objection to David Parman coming and tearing down the old siren. Council members also said they wanted the one owned by Richard Supinger that is sitting on the concrete block in front of the water plant gone as well.

Riley reported that the park would be painted in time for the Sesquicentennial this year. The CBC bought paint for the project and the Sheridan Shamrocks 4-H Club will paint it.

Various ditching problems were brought up. The Housing has a standing water problems on the road that leads north from the housing. Jim Bullock's tube on the alley is filled with mud and there is no drainage. Dean Lantz's alley needs a tube as well. There were also tubes needed by Evelyn Hansen's and John Steinman's. The Methodist Church has a water problem in their basement that city officials said was partly caused by tubes that were too high.

Water Superintendent Dave Parman said that they were still running on manual for the connection from the water plant to the tower. That led Mayor Wake and councilman Dave Thomas to advocate checking how much it would cost to overhaul the electrical systems at the water plant and possibly getting a loan if necessary. The problem is that many of the parts for the water system are old enough that they might not be made any more. However, the downside is whether it would be worth it given the fact that David Parman will be retiring from his duties as Water Superintendent in an estimated 2 1/2 years. Parman said that he wanted to see the electrical connections overhauled even if for only 2 years.

This led to talk about the Northwest Missouri Water Partnership, which is an attempt to get all of the various towns and water districts under one roof, in a plan which supporters say would bring a lot more water to the area and which would thus attract a lot more economic development that could not have been done in the past due to lack of water. Fire Chief Butch Thomas said that he feared that Sheridan would be forced to join down the road should they no longer be able to remain in compliance of DNR regulations. Mayor Wake said that he feared that there would be a drop off in quality as well and that there was uncertainty as to how long the partnership would last. If worst comes to worst, Dave Thomas said he feared that the city would be forced into sewer service after being forced to join the partnership.

The city is still waiting on word for their Preliminary Engineering Report grant, which would alleviate the estimated $10,000 price tag for the PER. Wake said that the city had been told to wait three months, but that it was now 6-7 months and nothing has been done on that grant.