City approves bid for Bakker Landing traffic signal

The Tea City Council met Dec. 4 and approved the bid for the Bakker Landing Avenue traffic signal project.

The council approved the low bid from LT Companies at $482,000. The bid came in about $28,000 lower than when the city asked for bids in April and lower than estimates.

They approved the second reading of two ordinances. Ordinance 312 is an ordinance to amend the municipal chapter 2 of the municipal ordinance to add section 2.03, city council composition and terms. The ordinance changes the mayor and council member terms from two years to three years. It will become effective for the next election.

Ordinance 313 is an ordinance creating licensing regulations for medical cannabis establishments and allows for those businesses that are already established to transfer the license to another address in the city.

They also approved resolution 23-12-09, a resolution to set fees for medical marijuana dispensary license change of location. The council set the fee at $500.

City administrator Justin Weiland and finance officer Dawn Murphy asked the council for input on putting together a resolution for the Dec. 18 meeting.

After much discussion, the council recommended $4.25 per 1,000 gallons for 1,000-9,000 gallons, $4.75 for 10,000-19,000 gallons and $30 for 20,000 and above. The proposed increase to the lower tiers is 20 cents and 25 cents, respectively. The proposed increase for the top tier is $25.10. The reason the council is looking at increasing the top tier significantly is to try and keep high water usage to a minimum and conserve the city’s water resources.

The council approved two pay applications and a change order. They approved the pay application for the regionalization wastewater pump station and force main from Metro Construction for $266,570.30. The change order was for the same project from Metro Construction for $3,604. HDR engineer Ben Scholtz said this project is nearly complete and should be ready to commission soon.

They approved the 2023 mill and overlay project from Asphalt Surfacing Company for $396,173.26. The project was a little more than expected but it was finished on time.

The council approved the resignation of part-time police officer Alex Suurmeyer.

They approved the agreement with the South Eastern Council of Governments to the Unified Planning Work Program to conduct a master transportation plan. The city’s financial commitment is $37,000 of the $205,000 total.

Due to holidays in January and February, the council will meet Jan. 8, Jan. 22, Feb. 5 and Feb. 20.

They went into executive session at 7:45 p.m.