The 11-mile water line project is down to its final mile, Public Works Director Carl Staton told the Grant City Council at their regular meeting Wednesday. Completion is dependent on the weather. As of Wednesday, the 10-day forecast for the area called for mostly 30's and 40's with Saturday showing a high of 29 and a low of 13. The crew doing the project hit the Rural Water line twice.
John Joe came to discuss alternatives to the city's current health insurance plan. Currently, out of the plans he offers, Blue Cross & Blue Shield offers the lowest rate for the current plan that the city has. There are currently eight employees enrolled in the city plan. The other plans charged significantly higher rates for similar benefits. Currently, the city pays around $3300 a month for its plan. The rates are locked in until December 1st, 2014.
Joe said that there might be several plans that could be available on a self-funded basis with 8-10 blocks of rates. He said that there have been around 125,000 enrolled in Obamacare since October 1st. Cancellations have been in the news recently. Joe reported that Blue Cross & Blue Shield sent out 300,000 cancellation notices for Missouri customers whose plans do not meet Obamacare standards. He said that another glitch in the system is that they have still not figured out how to set up the billing.
The council voted to renew its pledge of $6500 per year for the Economic Developer contingent on the Progress Organization's hiring of one.
Staton reported that city crews repaired a storm drain that collapsed by Dave Moyer's along with three smaller leaks. The city has also been repairing equipment.
The council declined to sign a building permit for Whitney Harker for a trailer until they could find more information about whether it complied with city ordinances regarding trailers.
Grant City's CBC won $200 for finishing second in the state CBC contest.
Clerk Ayvonne Morin reported that she was waiting for more tax money to come in before doing the budget. One need is a new city barn; the current one is falling apart and rotting. The roof is leaking and it now takes two people to shut the doors.
The council discussed lighting for the new Grant City sign.
The Department of Economic Development will bring a dream team to Grant City to help develop a long-range plan based on priorities sometime at the start of next year. The current Strategic Plan is up for renewal this year; it was last done in 2009 and is up for renewal every five years. This will be done at no cost to the city.
February 4th and 5th will be Great Northwest Days held at the Capitol. The county will once again be doing a booth for the event.
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