The Emmet City Council voted Thursday evening, July 16, to have Mayor Ottis Chuck Otwell pursue discussions with local grant writer Joanne Muldrew about preparing grant applications for the city after Otwell said he would rather see grant administration fees remain in Emmet than go to firms outside the community.

Because the available video recording ends before the meeting concluded, the following account combines discussion captured on the recording with information from notes provided afterward by Emmet Vision Association member Deanna Allen. Information attributed to Allen's notes comes from the portion of the meeting that was not recorded.

The video is available below this article.

Otwell first raised the subject of grant-writing during old business, explaining that he had researched how grant writers are typically compensated.

"I did have it brought to my attention about Miss Joanne Muldrew, and I've done a little research on these grants," Otwell said. "Most of the people that do those grants, they'll make them for you free, but when you get them, you owe them from 10 percent down on all of them."

He told the council he wanted permission to approach Muldrew instead.

"I'd rather have somebody at home getting the commission out of it," he said. "I'd rather keep the money than have somebody else somewhere else."

According to Allen's notes, the council later approved allowing Otwell to speak with Muldrew about writing grants for the city.

Allen's notes also report that the council unanimously approved purchasing a replacement handheld water meter reader after Otwell informed members that the city's current unit is no longer operating properly and is no longer supported by the manufacturer. The replacement is expected to cost approximately $3,500.

Earlier, according to the video recording, council members approved the minutes of the June 18th meeting before reviewing the city's financial report.

Councilman Grant Cox questioned the Street Department's finances after noticing the department had operated at a deficit through the first six months of the year.

"It appears to me that we've been losing money," Cox said. "I was just wondering if this is something that we need to pay some extra attention to, or if it's something that's going to level out and come back around."

Otwell replied that payroll expenses represented much of the shortfall but also said the city's accounting system was not always charging employee labor to the proper departments.

"I have no control over where labor's charged out," he said. "With y'all's approval, I'd like to do it like we used to. They turn in a timesheet and they mark down what they were doing. That way I can regulate what work's to be charged out."

Otwell also described how the city narrowly avoided replacing one of its major wastewater pumps after employees discovered it had seized rather than suffered a catastrophic motor failure. The mayor said an engineer initially concluded the pump needed replacement and quoted the city a price exceeding $11,000 before freight. "I said, 'We don't have a choice. Go ahead and get it,'" Otwell said.

After reconsidering the diagnosis, however, city employees removed the pump for inspection. "I said, 'You pull that thing,'" Otwell recalled. "It'll show the same thing as a burnt, shorted-out, locked-up motor if something happened to catch right in that impeller."

The inspection proved him correct, Otwell said, after describing how the pump was freed and returned to operation. "The amp draw was almost the same as a brand-new one."

Although the existing pump is back in service, Otwell said the city will keep the replacement pump as a spare and hopes eventually to maintain backup pumps for each lift station.

"We kind of earned our wages last week by that," he said. The council also discussed changing the city's payroll procedures.

Otwell said the current system requires payroll checks to be prepared before employees have completed their final workday of the pay period. "I've never seen a place like that," he said. "We'll work our way out of it."

Allen's notes state that under new business, Councilman Grant Cox suggested council members tour the city barn after cooler weather arrives so they can become more familiar with the city's equipment.

Allen also presented the Emmet Vision Association report. According to her notes, she told the council the July 4th Emmet celebration "was a huge success" and thanked the Emmet Volunteer Fire Department for remaining on standby during the fireworks display. She also thanked the mayor and city employees for preparing Firemen's Park and the fireworks launch area. Allen said the fireworks contractor recommended mowing the launch area shorter before next year's celebration to improve safety.

Allen also reported that the association's next community event will be the October Trunk or Treat.

In her Farmers Market report, Allen said the market enjoyed a successful season with several new vendors participating, although customer traffic was lower than in previous years. According to her notes, Allen attributed this to a decline to the economy, observing that while residents enjoy fresh, locally grown produce, it often costs more than vegetables available at grocery stores.

Allen further reported on behalf of the Emmet Park Committee that a safety concern about the way a vendor drove out of Fireman Park raised during the June council meeting had been resolved during a specially called committee meeting. According to her notes, the committee issued the vendor involved a written warning and advised that any additional rule violations would result in suspension from the Farmers Market for the remainder of the season. The meeting then adjourned.