City Council members plan to hire an assistant for City Manager Gary Bradley. But at least two Kewanee residents told the council Monday that they feel this is a bad idea.
Karen Rogula said she feels the city can’t afford to pay the salary of an assistant for Bradley.
This is especially true, Rogula said, considering that Kewaneans’ water bills will be increasing substantially because of a nearly $10 million program to remove chlorides from the city’s water supply.
And Obrey Blumenshine, who is a candidate for councilman in this spring’s city election, asked what would be the “realistic expectations” of the assistant.
Blumenshine said of hiring the assistant, “The optics of that look bad.”
Mayor Gary Moore defended the idea of hiring an assistant for Bradley: “That is one position I feel is very necessary.”
Moore pointed out that several city employees who resigned or retired in recent years haven’t been replaced, and some of their duties have fallen on Bradley.
City Clerk Kasey Mitchell listed the positions where people have left and not been replaced: Public works coordinator, operations manager, grounds maintenance manager, director for Francis Park, city engineer and the engineer’s assistant, and fleet maintenance manager.
Some of those people’s duties have been taken over by Kevin Newton, the city’s public works director. But Moore said Newton will be leaving that post at the end of this month.
The rest of the responsibilities have been taken over by Bradley, who Moore said has been putting in longer hours as a result.
The city has placed a notice on its website seeking applicants for the public works manager and assistant to the city manager jobs. Mitchell said that as of Tuesday, the city has received 11 resumes from people applying for the assistant position.
For both jobs, the notice says, salary will be negotiable.
Creation of the assistant position would require passing of an ordinance by the council, which hasn’t happened yet.
Also Monday:
— The council authorized Bradley to execute a 40-year extension of the Henry County Humane Society’s lease of its site on the wastewater treatment plant property.
— An agreement with Peerless Well and Pump to make emergency repairs at the city’s water well No. 1 for $148,522 was approved.
Moore explained that the pump fell into the well, and “significant repairs” were needed.
Due to the emergency nature of the situation, Bradley said, competitive bids for the work weren’t required.
Peerless, which has done work for the city in the past, “likely would have been the low bidder” for the work anyway, Bradley said.
