Gabe Stark
Reporter

The Trenton City Council approved several infrastructure projects and ordinances during its Monday, July 13, meeting while postponing or rejecting other proposals for further review.

The council accepted a $30,000 bid for an electric distribution project involving approximately 2,500 feet of boring. The work will include installing 2-inch conduit containing 1/0 stranded power cable.

Council members also approved an agreement with Lauber Municipal Law to provide special counsel and general municipal legal services. City Attorney Kenton Kenny will remain Trenton’s primary attorney, with the firm available to assist with complex matters or when Kenny is unavailable.

Although council members supported having additional legal assistance, several raised concerns about monitoring the cost. The firm’s primary rate is expected to be approximately $270 per hour. City officials agreed to report the expenses regularly to councilmen and notify the council if more than three hours of service are used.

The council also considered two bids for diesel fuel used by Trenton’s electric production facilities. Because neither fully met the city’s specifications, both bids were rejected and the purchase will be advertised again with clearer instructions. Officials also plan to develop a policy allowing fuel to be purchased quickly if the city is asked to generate electricity for an extended period.

Additional purchases approved during the meeting included a truck for the city’s code department and a $20,500 bid from S&N Construction for concrete work along Riverside Drive.

In other infrastructure updates, approximately 40 feet of Riverside Drive was removed when a sewer main was relocated to accommodate construction of a house on two adjoining lots. The concrete project will repair about 110 feet of the street, including sections that were already deteriorating.

A separate sewer easement ordinance was rejected after officials discovered that its supporting documents appeared to reference different projects. A corrected ordinance will be presented to councilmen for consideration of approval at a later date.

The council also approved an ordinance reaffirming the conflict-of-interest provisions of the Trenton City Code. Councilmen also granted Brent Mitchell a conditional use permit to convert three office spaces into apartments at 400 E. Ninth St.

Consideration of a proposed city equipment rental policy was postponed to allow additional review. However, the city will honor an existing verbal agreement allowing a local business to use municipal equipment during July.

The meeting concluded with a discussion about requiring direct deposit for city employees following a payroll software problem involving paper checks. One proposal would allow current employees to continue receiving checks while requiring future hires to use direct deposit. No action was taken.