CLAFLIN — The governing body of the City of Claflin met in regular session, Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2017, in the city building. This unofficial summary of the minutes of the meeting are provided courtesy of Claflin City Clerk Patricia Schmidt. Minutes are subject to approval at the November city council meeting.
Present at the meeting were Mayor Michael Urban, Councilpersons Doug Hubbard, Dan Michaelis, and Kelly Nixon. Also present were City Attorney, Robert Suelter, City Clerk Patricia Schmidt, Police Chief Gary Vaughan, Gregg Vannoster, City Superintendent Richard Hayes, Darin Martin, Bill, Tami and Colby Miller and three representatives from the Central Prairie Coop.
The meeting was called to order and the council approved the agenda, the minutes from the Sept. 11 regular meeting, and the monthly appropriations. Michaelis moved to remove an agenda item concerning direct deposit of county distributions.
Hayes reported on needed repairs at the sewer plant following its inspection. An RBC bearing is out, and will cost less than $2,000 to replace, which the council authorized. The weir blades need to be replaced and a UV sensor is out, and Hayes is currently looking into replacement costs.
A security system has been installed at the city building. It was determined another camera is needed, which will raise the monthly fee by $22.00. The council approved its installation and the additional expense.
Heavy debris from the Central Prairie Coop has been noticeable lately, and community members and department heads shared problems they’ve been experiencing. Vaughan provided examples, and Hubbard talked about issues the fire department is having. Bill Miller, accompanied by Tami and Colby Miller, spoke about the cost of keeping his air conditioning units running as the debris clogs up the filters. Joe Schauf, the general manager from Central Prairie Coop, apologized for all the problems. The company plans on replacing both cyclones on top of the west elevator after the Fall harvest. If this solves the problem they will check the east elevator, he said.
The council resumed discussion about potential changes to a resulution that provides free water and sewer for first time homeowners in the City of Claflin for one year. It was decided unanimously to continue the policy with no sunset date.
Attention turned to the roof of the gym at the Claflin Community Center. An agreement has been reached between USD 112, the city and the recreation center for its replacement. The school has agreed to pay $9,450, and the city and recreation center will each pay $22,114 to Washington Roofing. The council by consensus gave Mayor Michael Urban authority to sign the contract. In a related discussion, city council members commented that kids have been crawling up on the roof of the Community Center, and they agreed a fence will be installed to curtail their efforts.

Other items of discussion and actions taken included:
• The council agreed the city will provide large candy canes for Santa to hand out this year, instead of “Santa Bags.”
• Approved spending $740.00 for Kirmer Electric to dig a trench for a water line at the city owned lot at 321 Main Street.
• By consensus, the council agreed that Darin martin could have the old city council table for his garage if he can make a donation for it.