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At the City of Reading Council meeting on Tuesday, June 5, Ken Nordin reported that there was a meeting of the Finance Committee about the 2008 budget. They hope to have something together in a few weeks so they can present it to the county. Mr. Nordin noted that the Treasurer’s report has been positive for May. The Auditor’s tracking reports shows that all is running okay, according to Mr. Nordin.
Jim Pfennig spoke about the ordinance for the new ambulance for the Fire Department. The money will come from the Fire/EMS capital fund. Mr. Pfennig urged drivers to watch for children on bikes. Be safe this summer. He also spoke about an incident where a young child was found wandering about in Reading. The small child only knew his first name. Mr. Pfennig urged parents to teach their children both first and last names and what their home address or phone number to ensure that the police can help the child be returned home safely.
Lee Roth scheduled a Service Committee meeting for June 19 at 6:00 pm. They will be discussing the Benson Street pavers.
Jim Champlin informed everyone that the Street and Curb Repair program will have bids opened Thursday. He also wanted to see the ordinances passed related to Leelanau and Pompano project. This will utilize the grant dollars secured for the project. He also spoke briefly about Senate Bill 117. Mr. Champlin is concerned with the response by Duke Energy company to the problem with the power lines in February. The City asked the company to review what occurred that day with a fine tooth comb and provide a written analysis of the situation that occurred. Duke has not sent any information as of yet.
Mary Pletz provided a bevy of information about Recreation events. The pool is now open. Hours are Saturday and Sunday from 10:00 am to 6:00 pm and Monday through Friday from noon until 7:00 pm. Teen Night will be Friday, June 15 from 8:00 to 10:00 pm and will cost $6 entry fee. Ladies Luncheon at the pool will be Wednesday, June 27 from 10:00 am until 2:00 pm, the fee is $6.
Ms. Pletz asked about having mulch put around the swing set at Voorhees Park and also mentioned that the sink is leaking. Mr. Boehner will look into both problems.
Bob Asbrock mentioned that the plans are starting to show interesting developments. They will share more at the Zoning, Planning and Environment Committee meeting on June 26 at 6:30 pm. The old zoning code did differ between garages and other outdoor buildings, the current one does not. Mr. Ashbrock and the Building Commissioner have been coming up with ideas that might solve some of the issues. Regarding the trees on Benson Street ordinance, Mr. Ashbrock feels that they need to carefully select the trees to be sure to get the appropriate ones. He also had a constituent ask him about composting. He will do research on the matter and report back.
Tony Gertz said that there was a fruitful meeting about the north end sewer project. He thanked Linda Fitzgerald and John Steinmetz. There are still issues that need addressing like swales and the flooding that is still occurring. Regarding the sexual predator stickers on window to denote where they live… this could cause more problems than help. Especially if the labels were not taken off after the predator moved. He then noted his happiness that the Finance Committee is moving ahead to put money aside in a fund. He feels that more money needs to be put aside to build back the fund. Mr. Gertz expressed his happiness about the pursuit of a grant for turf at the stadium and hopes that the City continues to aggressively go after it. Mayor Robert Bemmes stated that they are continuing to go after the NFL grant but need to get matching money and hopes that private donors will come forward to help with this.
Mr. Nordin spoke about the Reading High School Alumni soccer game on July 29 at 4:00
pm. If interested, call Polly Ford at 733-
Mr. Roth asked if the issue of too much truck traffic on Clark Road (mostly from Arlington Heights) can go into committee to find a resolution to the problem. It was put into the Public Health and Safety Committee.
The issue of high grass came up. The City is working on those on Elm and Clark. If residents know of other problems, please call before the grass gets too high. The process can take some time, especially with absentee landlords, and the grass is really high before it can be mowed by the City. They would like to investigate how to punish repeat offenders in order to stop them.
Mr. Pfennig asked if the American flags along the parade route could stay up until
after July 4. Mr. Gertz would like to see them stay up year-
Mr. Boehner gave his report about his busy month of May. He attended the Business Roundtable meeting with Mayor Bemmes on May 16. The new phone system is up and running. The pool has passed inspection and they sprayed the grass to get rid of bees and added two awnings on the west side of the pool area. On May 30, Mr. Boehner met with Ray Rosek of Hylant Group regarding health insurance, they could see a ten percent increase in premiums this year. The City gets rebates from recycling; this money does cover some of the costs of the dumpsters by the stadium. Junk mail is also recyclable as well as cardboard containers.
Mr. Boehner spoke about the problem of renters parking along Reading Road all day long. They need to work towards a solution. There will be a meeting with JMA regarding the pavers on Benson Street on June 26.
Mayor Bo Bemmes provided his report. He complimented the police working at the VYO
Festival. All went well, few problems. The police have begun park patrol. Mayor Bemmes
and Lt. Carter attended the Central Elementary School’s grade graduation ceremony.
As far as the Fire Department, all hoses have been tested, crews continue to complete
servicing of the fire hydrants. Fire Chief Kaiser continues to improve from his knee
replacement surgery. Lt. Randy Fischesser announced his retirement effective July
22. Civil Service has been contacted to provide the name of the next candidate on
the Lieutenant’s promotional list and Firefighter-
The event Wheels for Kaleb was a great event. They exceeded their goal. Congratulations to Crystal Amburghy on her recent showing at the state competition. Mayor Bemmes promised that Ms. Slavey would have more reports in the future. He also noted that she and he met with Pete Mullenkamp regarding the NFL grant for turf at the stadium.
Carol Bullock-