The school farm project absorbed most of the Hills?boro City Council?s time and energy during its Nov. 19 meeting (Page 1A), but it did address several other issues before adjourning.
The council:
? received a list of 67 potential capital improvement projects from Paine with the request that the councilors indicate which projects they feel are most important.
Paine said he will use their feedback to help the council develop priorities for the next five years.
? heard Councilor Shelby Dirks challenge the financial wisdom of city staff doing stretching exercises at the start of each day before beginning work.
Noting the $2,500 rebate the city received on its worker compensation premium for participating in the exercise program, Dirks suggested it was actually costing the city $30,000 a year based on the average pay of employees and 15 minutes of stretching per day.
Paine defended the program, saying it is easy to measure the financial impact of employee injuries in terms of lost work time, but it is impossible to know how much the city saves when injuries are prevented.
Dirks said he agreed with the goal of reducing injuries, but wondered if there was a more economical way to achieve it.
? discussed the city?s situation in regard to storm sirens and severe weather. Cur?rently, the city no longer has a volunteer who organizes the effort, Paine said.
The service has always been volunteer-based, he added, but it is difficult to find people who are willing to fill the role without compensation.
? met in two executive sessions, one regarding attorney-client privilege for 30 minutes, and one regarding personnel for 15 minutes. No action was taken when the public session resumed.
