Hillsboro council hears apology for presentation style

The Hillsboro City Council heard during its Oct. 21 meeting an apology from one of the two residents who took the council to task at its Oct. 7 meeting for the way the city handled the Wal-Mart land deal this summer.

Jon Hefley, a co-owner of The Lumberyard in Hills?boro, said he was sorry for the way his co-presenter shared information during that meeting.

?I wanted to apologize to you for last (meeting) for an outburst by another person on the team?totally wrong,? he said. ?I know he?d never come in and apologize, so I wanted to for him.?

Hefley then asked the council members if they had watched the DVD they had received from him, titled ?Wal-Mart, the High Cost of Low Prices,? and what they thought of it.

?My reaction was I was depressed,? City Admini?strator Larry Paine said. ?There were a lot of things going on there that were not?it?s not the way I would do business in this organization. And I know not everybody is like that.

?My experience with the Wal-Mart in Concordia was not like that. Some of the things they talked about (on the DVD) were not things me or my family experienced.?

Referencing the DVD?s report of a failing hardware store, Paine told Hefley, ?I can see why you?ve got the concerns that you do. But on the other hand, I?m thinking this particular Wal-Mart (coming to Hillsboro) is not the same type of store. It?s a grocery store?it?s not a super store.?

Hefley said that could change, even as he has made changes recently in his own business.

?I think being light on your feet is a good thing,? Paine responded. He said a review of Hillsboro?s history during recent decades shows that businesses change and adapt, and they come and go.

?I think any business in this town that thinks they?re going to have one simple business plan that goes for 40, 50 years is crazy,? Paine added. ?It?s an adapting process.?

Paine accepted Hefley?s apology and thanked him for coming to the meeting.

Other business

In other business, the council:

? accepted the recommendation of Police Chief Dan Kinning to replace a department vehicle with a 2015 Ford Taurus from Hillsboro Ford for the low-bid price of $24,028.

Bids also were submitted for a 2105 Chevrolet Caprice priced at $25,410 and a 2015 Chevrolet Tahoe priced at $29,800, both submitted by Midway Motors of Hillsboro, and a bid for a 2015 Ford Explorer at $25,913 from Hillsboro Ford.

? approved ordinances to officially adopt the Uniform Public Offense Code and the Standard Traffic Ordinance for local use.

?When police officers use the STO and the UPOC, having and using the most current edition makes cases going to court easier to adjudicate,? Paine stated.

? approved Mayor Delores Dalke?s appointment of Wendell Dirks to the Salem Home Board of Directors.

? heard Paine report the city will need to replace its hand-held electronic meter reader because it is no longer being supported by the company with whom the city works.

Paine said the plan is to replace the device soon with a more superior model, then gradually replace old meters with ones that can be read electronically with the new meter via radio frequency.

? heard Paine said he has begun the process of reviewing city utility rates in response to the council?s request last year that it consider smaller rates increases each year rather than major increases every few years.

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