Another zoomed meeting

I passed through Monon on late on Monday afternoon and took a couple of pictures of their new downtown mural.

Sorry for the poor quality. I took them from the car. 

There is not a lot happening. The leaves are down and almost all of them have been picked up by the street crews. An interesting news item I noticed is that a company called Cleveland-Cliffs is buying most of the steel-making operations of ArcelorMittal, which include several big plants in Gary, for $1.4 billion. That seems to be a ridiculously low amount for such a huge operation.

The City Council met on Monday at 4:00 in a Zoom-only meeting. It passed an amendment to an ordinance that extends the shutdown of City Hall to December 4. It authorized borrowing of $100,000 from gas department cash reserves to fund the new sanitation department until its fees allow it to fund itself. The borrowing is to be paid back by the end of 2021. The sticker program ends this year but the new monthly fees for trash pickup will not be immediately available to pay bills. A bit later in the meeting the Council established the new sanitation department. It has until now operated by paying expenses from City's general fund.

The Council approved a couple of transfers of funds, one for repairs on the aerial truck (which is now working correctly) and the other for engineering work for a Community Crossing grant for street work. The Council approved bids for 2021 supplies of gas, diesel, and tires. It was an easy decision because each item had only one bidder.

The Mayor announced that he has tested positive for COVID and is in quarantine. He has no symptoms. The City Project Manager and Gas Department Superintendent are in quarantine as they wait for test results. The City Building Commissioner is in quarantine because his wife tested positive.

Although the old aerial truck is again working, the City has signed contracts to purchase a new truck that should go into production in late February or early March. Apparently each truck is a special order.

Have a nice Thanksgiving.