The Hillsboro City Council meeting opened with a moment of silence to honor former mayor Delores Dalke who was mayor of Hillsboro for 27 years prior to current Mayor Lou Thurston taking over in January of 2018.
“I think we all realize the debt we owe to Delores and the great work she did as mayor for 27 years,” said Thurston.
The Community Plaza and Splash Park were the main topic of discussion for the meeting.
City Administrator Matt Stiles said, “We’ve been working on this project for over a year now. I think we’ve done an outstanding job with it and have done almost all of it. City crews have done a tremendous job installing all the elements of the splash park. It has taken longer than originally anticipated with our crews doing the work, but the work is well done and will be lasting. The city has saved a good amount doing the work, but as we come to the end of the first phase, I believe it is time to contract some of the final concrete work.”
The street department contacted Rene Parga owner of Vogts-Parga, to get a quote to complete the alley parking and remaining sidewalk sections. The quote from Vogts-Parga is for $40,992. The work will be completed the following week.
Stiles explained that the main factor in the decision is the shortage of labor.
“The street department is down one position and is losing another person before the end of May. With only two workers to lead the project, it’s difficult to finish the project in a timely manner.
Stiles estimated that the remaining material costs would be around $23,000.
He said. “Considering the impending labor shortage in Street, the additional cost of contracting makes sense to complete the project in a timely manner. Funds from the project would be taken from the Capitol Improvement Project fund with a balance of $86,988.75 and local option sales tax which has a balance of $232,537.93.
The council voted to accept the proposal from Vogts-Parga for $40,992.
The group also talked about installing a fence around the splash park for safety. The council agreed and approved the installation of the fence.
In other business, the council:
* approved the following appointments to the Planning Commission for three-year terms: Lily Arthur, Joe Kleinsasser, Gary Tibbets, Eddie Weber and Alicia Smith.
* heard a department update from Cara Duell who reported that in the last year, the museums have had 1,721 visitors from 11 states and four countries.
* approved the proposal from Circle C paving at a cost of $3.40 per square yard with an estimated volume of 13,489 square yards for sealing the downtown area with Oynx Mastic Surface Seal. The work is planned to begin in July and be completely finished in August. The project will be funded through the Special Highway fund which has a current balance of $94,975.15. Funds in Special Highway are from state gas tax and can only be spent on road and right-of-way maintenance and construction.
* approved renewing with Blue Cross Blue Shield for the proposed health insurance plan with an estimated annual premium of $272,334.
