Nevada County Picayune and Gurdon Times Newspaper Archive

Council Sworn In; Has Very Busy Night

Before any business could be conducted by the Gurdon City Council Monday night, the panel had to be sworn in.

However, no judge was available for the task, which then fell to Gurdon recorder- treasurer Tambra Smith. Once the aldermen were sworn in, they were kept busy.

The first order of business was to appoint someone to fill the seat in Ward 5. This seat had been held by Phillip Giles, who forgot to file, but asked to be reinstated. He was.

Gurdon Mayor Rick Smith told the city's governing body how the Gurdon Fire Department was burning an eyesore for practice. The department had been approached by the owner.

However, Smith said, the city will be working to get permission to raze dilapidated buildings in the area as they are a hazard and blight to the community. Those owners who refuse to give permission will find the city working to have the buildings in question condemned.

The next order of business was the second reading of a no smoking ordinance. Under the terms of this ordinance, smoking would be prohibited in any building owned, leased or rented by the city.

Fines for violating this ordinance could be as much as $50.

The ordinance passed its second reading and will be addressed a third time at the February meeting.

The council then approved an ordinance allowing the city to waive the competitive bid process and purchase a used truck for the animal control department.

In actuality, the animal control department has been using the vehicle, which was owned used by Gurdon Street Department Superintendent Jim Caldwell.

The city obtained a grant of $8,000 to buy the truck, paying $6,000 for the vehicle and using the remainder of the funds to equip it.

From there the council amended the 1998 budget to reflect actual figures instead of the anticipated numbers plugged in at the first of the year.

This is done by cities each year as a method of cleaning up the budget and getting all the ducks in a row for auditors.

Finally, Smith recommended spending some money. He told the council the old hospital had been sold for $155,883.77.

He suggested taking $55,883.77 and using part of this money to purchase a new car for the Gurdon Police Department, and the rest to buy an emergency warning siren system.

The council had previously agreed to put $15,000 in the GPD's capital improvement fund to be used to buy a new car, with plans to add more to the fund this year.

However, with this windfall, Smith suggested going ahead with the purchase, buying the car through the State Cooperative Purchasing Program. This, he said, will allow the city to buy the car for less than it could independently from a dealer.

Plans had also been made to borrow money from the Gurdon Fire Department's capital improvement fund to buy the warning sirens with and pay the money back with revenue from the half-cent sales tax passed for the measure.

But, with the sale of the hospital, Smith said the sirens could be bought outright, once bids have been obtained and approved.

The remainder of the money from the sale of the hospital will be placed in the city's emergency contingency fund.

This fund was begun a year ago with $200. It was something the city had never had in the past.

With the revenue from the half-cent tax exceeding expectations in the first 10 months of collection, Smith said, it could help offset the $2,000 per month the city will lose from the lease of the hospital.

In the first 10 months, the tax generated about $60,000, or $6,000 a month. Smith said this will amount to $72,000 annually and shows the people of Gurdon have been shopping locally.

The council agreed to go ahead with the purchase of a new police car, and to let bids for the siren system.

A special meeting of the council will be held Monday, Jan. 25, at 7 p.m., when bids for the siren system will be opened, bids will be solicited for a new hand-held radio system for the GFD and a budget for Gurdon for 1999 will be approved.