Riverside accepts funds

The Riverside Town Council meeting began with discussion over the moneys the Town of Riverside has received. Mayor LeRoy Stephenson happily said, in regards to the Chokecherry wind energy project, “we got a ton!”

They had budgeted to receive $25,000 total but have already received over $27,000. Receipts from the sales and use tax have totaled $35,864.

Stephenson then brought up the need for new bathrooms in the park. Last year, the ladies room had issues and, when the contractor fixed it, they said that in order to fix the issues permanently, the floor would have to be jackhammered out. Stephenson said that he thought the best solution would be to tear down the old restrooms and rebuild and make them handicap accessible. The rest of the council agreed. Stephenson said he would draw up some plans for the next meeting. Once the council has agreed on a plan, it will be advertised for bid.

Then the position of sale document was discussed. The document contains data on the projects each community in the county is planning along with each community’s capacity to pay the Specific Purpose Tax approved in May, 2019. The document will be used to set pricing for bonds. The approved document will be released to the market for pricing on November 18, 2020 with a closing date of December 3, 2020. A special meeting will be held November 24, 2020 at 5 p.m. to adopt a resolution accepting the terms of the specific purpose bond. The meeting will be held via Zoom with all the other bonding towns. Final amounts for distribution will be determined and a signed resolution will be sent out the next day.

Stephenson said that he has reviewed and corrected the information in the document concerning Riverside. The Riverside Town Council approved the position of sale document.

Lee Ann Stephenson provided a written report with updates for the Sierra Madre Joint Powers Board (SMJPB). A pressure test was conducted on October 24, 2020 on an original ductile iron pipe on the main line coming into town. The pressure held steady for over an hour. The test was repeated the same day with no leaks. This was the first time this original water crossing pipe has been tested since installation approximately 25 years ago. The SMJPB plans to retest the pipe every three to five years going forward.

Lastly, Mark Helwick provided an overview of the MASA Medical Transportation Solutions meeting he attended. Since the Classic Air contract expired due to changes in legislation, individuals would need to pay out of pocket or with private insurance if they required medical flight transportation. MASA offers individual plans that provide discounted services with their medical transportation company for a monthly fee. MASA does have a website that provides options to enroll in their coverage.

The next regular meeting of the Riverside Town Council will be 6 p.m., Thursday, December 10, 2020 at the Riverside Town Hall.