The Trenton City Council accepted a proposal for city prosecutor and approved several bids during a meeting on Monday night at city hall.
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On a 7-0 vote, with councilman Dr. Nick McHargue abstaining, the council accepted a proposal from the firm of Andereck, Evans, Milne, Johnson and Widger to serve as city prosecutor, effective Oct. 1. Current city prosecutor, Jim Holcomb, is resigning from the position as of that time.
The vote to hire the firm came after much discussion and a 2-5-1 vote not to accept the proposal from the Spillman Law Firm and Jason Spillman, who currently serves as the county prosecuting attorney. During that vote, Chuck Elliott and Steve Perry voted yes while Terry Toms, Kenneth Ewing, Ed Holt, David Trickel and Jim Bush voted no. Dr. McHargue abstained.
Both Corey Herron, who represents the Andereck firm, and Spillman were present at the meeting to answer questions, many of which focused on a possible conflict of interest on issues when both the county and city are involved. The county prosecutor serves as attorney for the county while the city has the Andereck firm under contract to handle civil matters.
In his proposal, Spillman cited a state statute that would allow him to serve in both capacities with approval from the county commission and he reiterated that point during the discussion. It was noted that the county prosecutor has served as the city prosecutor in the past and that there were very few times issues came to light in which there was a possible conflict between the two entities.
Mentioned by the council was the agreement between the city and county concerning operation and use of the new law enforcement center, although any legal actions concerning the contract would be taken care of by the city’s civil attorney, the Andereck firm. Dr. McHargue noted that he thought that there was not supposed to be any issues involving the agreement, however, Bush said if the council were to “read the fine print, you would find there are several things in there that could cause some problems.” He did not elaborate.
There was also some concerns expressed about the possible backlog of cases, which Spillman noted he did not anticipate and that just like all jobs, he would prioritize the legal work to decide what would need to be handled first.
In discussing availability of the prosecutor when out of town, Spillman noted that fax machines, cell phones, etc. allow the prosecutor to be available for routine matters, but that he would be available in person when necessary. He also noted that special prosecutors can be appointed when needed.
In regard to the filing of tickets, Spillman said that he would leave it up to the discretion of the police chief as to how he would like city tickets filed, noting that in some instances, city tickets do require being filed in state court. Spillman said some of that is already being done.
Bush said he would like to see the council consider the Andereck firm because of the many resources it has available in regard to personnel to handle cases, which Holt agreed to when he voted no on the Spillman proposal. Bush noted that the resources would be worth the additional cost to the city, which Perry projected would be around $4,000.
Spillman’s proposal was for $1,300 per month for a retainer and $100 per hour over the 13 hours of the retainer, although he said he planned to handle the billing much like Holcomb did in not keeping track of additional time unless a matter, such as a trial that would take a lot of extra time, would come up. The Andereck proposal was for a $1,625 retainer (13.5 hours) and $160 per hour extra. Herron said the firm would keep track of all of the time and bill accordingly.
Elliott, in making the proposal to have the Spillman firm handle the prosecutor’s duties, said he believed the city would be getting the same product with the cheapest bid. Perry seconded the motion, having stated earlier he believed there would be little difference in the handling of city cases by the two firms and that the council could save the citizens money.
After answering questions from the council, both Spillman and Herron left the room to allow the council to discuss the matter further before making a decision.
Holcomb thanked the city for having served as the city prosecutor and praised the work of the city police in preparing reports and having information available when taking a case to court.
The council approved a bid of $6,000 from Trenton Sand Company to purchase kerosene from the Trenton Municipal Airport. The kerosene is being removed from a tank at the airport that is to be repaired as part of other FAA-ordered work at the site. It was the only bid received. The vote was 7-0, with Trickel abstaining.
The council voted 8-0 to accept a bid from DR Petroleum Services at Chillicothe for the upgrade of items necessary for the AV gas and Jet A fueling facility at the airport. The bid was for $27,528, but will be less as there will be some deducts for items the city already has.
The council voted to hire Eric Hauck of Trenton to paint the hangars at the airport at a cost not to exceed the bid of $6,580.73 he submitted for the work. It was decided to hire Hauck as an employee, allowing him to be placed on the city’s insurance, with the city also purchasing the materials needed, which City Administrator Kerry Sampson anticipates can be done at a lower cost.
The council accepted a list of seven properties that will be put out for bids to be demolished by the city. It was noted property owners will be asked to pay at least $750 per property toward the cost or make some other arrangement with the city to help get the structures taken down. It is anticipated the work will cost around $3,000 per home, with Building Inspector Gary Beverlin saying around $3,000 will remain in the city fund to help with unexpected expenses that may arise when doing the demolition work.
Properties on the list include five in the same area – 1707 Bolser (owned by Nick Sharp), 1814 Bolser (Steve Anderson), 1913 Carnes (Frank Gannon), 1608 Carnes (Ron Peterie) and 1813 Merrill (Ron Peterie). Beverlin said that the two other properties, 1401 E. 13th St. (owned by Joe DeVorss) and 926 Highland (Charles Barnett), are on the demolition list as the owners plan to have houses rebuilt on the sites.
In other business, the council:
• was told three police officers will be taking white collar crime computer forensics classes.
• was told that Firefighter I and II training is being done and that eight persons will be tested as pay-per-call firefighters on Sept. 6.
• was told the Finance Committee is getting information concerning a fire district that would include the city of Trenton and the area already covered by the Grundy County Rural Fire District.
• was updated on Administrative Committee meeting matters previously reported in the newspaper (wrecker rotation, utility disclosures on real estate transactions, Oklahoma Avenue curb and guttering work, fireworks and property demolition).
• was updated on the light situation at the airport, with the FAA to be contacted about what movement of the light, if any, can be done.
• was told that NCMC personnel assisted the city with putting together its NIMS training, with additional training to be available in October.
• was told no decision has been made by the Union Pacific regarding work on the 22nd Street Bridge.
• was told over 100 persons used the trap and skeet range over the weekend.
• was told the final version of the downtown improvement plan has been received. It will be taking to the steering committee for review, then brought back to the council for its approval.
An executive session was held for personnel and legal matters. During the session, the council agreed to a land swap with Grundy Electric Cooperative. The city will trade nine acres of land it owns just north of Grundy Electric for an eight-acre tract of land on Pleasant Plain, adjacent to the city’s industrial park. Sampson said the land will be used to house the asphalt plant in the future, if and when the city acquires a different plant. Sampson said paperwork is now being done and that an ordinance will be brought back to the city for final approval at the Sept. 24 meeting.
There will be no meeting on Sept. 10 as the mayor, council members and other officials will be attending the Missouri Municipal League meeting.