The city of Trenton will be updating its telephone system to include fiber optic service at the Oklahoma Avenue warehouse following action taken on Monday night by the city council.
On an 8-0 vote, the council voted to enter into a contract with the Missouri Network Alliance LLC d/b/a Bluebird Network, to provide fiber optic services at the warehouse. The company already provides city hall with fiber optic service and, according to Trenton Municipal Utilities Comptroller Rosetta Marsh, will give the city two sites from which a fiber optic service could be provided throughout the city. In addition, Mrs. Marsh noted a significant savings to the city in telephone charges.
The fiber optic work at the warehouse will be a one-time charge of $7,500 along with a $440 per month charge to provide 100 megabits of service. The company will also be upgrading city hall’s fiber optic service to 100 megabits. The agreement is for seven years.
Also approved on an 8-0 vote was an ordinance authorizing an agreement with Sybran Communications of Lenexa, KS for installation of Voice over Internet Protocol (VOIP) at a cost of $4,000. New desktop phones by Polycom are included and would be operational through the city’s Internet system.
To prepare for the new telephone system, the council approved GRM Networks to re-wire city hall at a cost of $4,157, which includes a 24 port, one gig switch, materials and labor.
Three other ordinances received approval on an 8-0 vote, including an agreement with the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission to allow for signage designating Trenton as a “Purple Heart City” and a lease agreement with Aaron Landes to farm ground owned by the city. The third ordinance set Dec. 12 to Jan. 16 as the dates for persons to file as candidates for the city council, with the election to be held on April 3, 2018. The two-year council terms of Allan Quilty, Brad Chumbley, David Mlika and Larry Crawford expire.
The council agreed to adopt a written policy regarding abandonment of sewer taps. The policy was already in place and being used, however, no written documentation had formally been adopted.
An increase in the city’s health insurance costs was approved with the adoption of a proposal from BAS, which is provided by the city’s current carrier, MIRMA. The city will continue to provide insurance for its employees, however, dependent insurance will continue to be the responsibility of the employee. The cost to the city has been estimated at around $30,000, with the cost being split between the city and TMU.
TMU was given permission to advertise the sale of 12 transformers purchased in 2001 for a substation project, but never used. The city, which waived its purchasing policy, agreed to advertise the transformers at a cost of $2,500 each.
The council voted to allow Burns and McDonnell engineering to submit a “plan of action” to the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, describing Trenton’s intention to add a chemical in treating the water supply. According to City Administrator/Utility Director Ron Urton, the chemical would “coat the water pipes” and lessen the possibility of future lead tests showing higher than allowable levels for residential properties that have lead service lines.
Kelly Beets from MIRMA presented a $556 award to TMU, which was used to purchase fire retardant gear for linemen working on overhead power lines.
North Central Missouri Development Alliance Executive Director Micah Landes presented a report, including her involvement in several economic development activities. She talked about how enjoyable it has been to work with persons in the Trenton area, whom she described as wanting to work together to make the community a better place to live.
Councilman Quilty presented his “Tidy Up Award” to John Anthony, presenting him with a key to the city.
An executive session was also held at the end of the meeting for personnel and legal matters (see sidebar).