The Sunnyvale View > News
Town council approves water tower, works late into the evening
By Zach Markovic, zmarkovic@starlocalnews.com
The town of Sunnyvale town council put themselves through the ringer Monday night as council members worked their way through a joint meeting beginning at 5 p.m. and continued into a regular meeting that lasted well past 10 p.m.
Councilmember Saji George was not present at Monday’s town council.
The council touched on a variety of topics throughout the evening including approving the final plan for the new water tower, approving a review of money transaction procedures and taking a look at the mid-year budget review.
The preliminary and final plat and site plan for the Elevated water tower has been finalized for the town of Sunnyvale and was approved with a 4-0 vote during the town council meeting. Two additions were added to the ordinance, a change in the Planning and Zoning commission meeting where part of the fence was brought in and was not indicated on the plan at the meeting, and the town also added that they will grade the surface at the site so rainwater does not flow onto surrounding property.
“When we first talking about buying this property, at that time there was drainage issues there that did not get resolved,” Town Manager Scott Campbell said. “If we put a tower there we can go in a do some grade work.”
The raised tank will be constructed at a site in the northeast section of town at Barnes Bridge and Polly Road. Some citizens concern on the site and the stability of the ground was raised during the public comments. Marc Bentley, head of the engineering department, said the site has been inspected and the plan accounts for all issues.
“This tank is not just sitting on the ground,” Bentley said. “The piers for this are going down into the rock, regardless on what is buried beneath there.”
The site was purchased for $60,000 and current engineering work that has already processed at an estimated at $75,000 to $80,000 worth of work. The site plan meets all lighting ordinances for the water tower with the throw of lights not facing residents.
Another point brought up by a resident during the town hall focused on renting the space for the tower to allow for cell phone or other transmitting devices. Campbell said that is something the council can explore at any time but was not a part of the original design.
The annual consumer confidence water report was presented and approved 4-0 by the town council. The town did not have any problems with water contaminates during the survey. Last year there was an issue with a sample that turned out to not be a problem. Campbell said there are plans underway to make the report easier to read next year.
“I think if we can make it more user friendly, it would help,” Mayor Jim Phaup said.
In October a former employee of the town had stolen cash from the town, the sheriff investigation is still pending on the case. The council and staff also initiated an external examination of their money handling other business practices to determine where improvements can be made.
Webb Watch was hired and tasked to assess the town procedures for handling cash and give recommendations to the town. The contractor identified 50 transactions that they had questions on during a three month period of observation, all of which staff had explanations in the irregularity and have been accounted for said the town attorney.
The contractor made 35 recommendations with 21 of the 35 have been implemented. Three are in progress of implementation. And the rest have been given to long term planning with two are not being considered after town review.
A recommendation for bullet proof glass be put between employees and the lobby, the council said that might detract from the feel of Sunnyvale. Campbell said he does understand that while glass barriers have not been needed yet, some cases have arose where they might have been necessary and his concern is as the area grows extra security will need to be examined.
“We take what happened very seriously,” Phaup said “And what [Webb Watch] has done very seriously, and we are confident you will see great improvement when you come back.
Campbell said that while they are a late on releasing the mid-year budget report, the town has been doing well with the budget. In memo the town official said: The general fund has performed well for the first half of the fiscal year. Total revenues are in line at 75 percent of the annual budgeted amount, and we are recommending budget amendments that result in a total increase in General Fund Revenues of $142,781 or 3 percent. The attached narrative from our Finance Director addresses the revenue trends for the year.
The budget revenue increase came on the heels of an increase in sales tax that the town had initially put a conservative estimate on at the beginning of the budget.
This item was mainly on the agenda to discuss and next meeting they plan on making it an ordinance for action to make changes to the budget.
Councilmember Saji George was not present at Monday’s town council.
The council touched on a variety of topics throughout the evening including approving the final plan for the new water tower, approving a review of money transaction procedures and taking a look at the mid-year budget review.
The preliminary and final plat and site plan for the Elevated water tower has been finalized for the town of Sunnyvale and was approved with a 4-0 vote during the town council meeting. Two additions were added to the ordinance, a change in the Planning and Zoning commission meeting where part of the fence was brought in and was not indicated on the plan at the meeting, and the town also added that they will grade the surface at the site so rainwater does not flow onto surrounding property.
“When we first talking about buying this property, at that time there was drainage issues there that did not get resolved,” Town Manager Scott Campbell said. “If we put a tower there we can go in a do some grade work.”
The raised tank will be constructed at a site in the northeast section of town at Barnes Bridge and Polly Road. Some citizens concern on the site and the stability of the ground was raised during the public comments. Marc Bentley, head of the engineering department, said the site has been inspected and the plan accounts for all issues.
“This tank is not just sitting on the ground,” Bentley said. “The piers for this are going down into the rock, regardless on what is buried beneath there.”
The site was purchased for $60,000 and current engineering work that has already processed at an estimated at $75,000 to $80,000 worth of work. The site plan meets all lighting ordinances for the water tower with the throw of lights not facing residents.
Another point brought up by a resident during the town hall focused on renting the space for the tower to allow for cell phone or other transmitting devices. Campbell said that is something the council can explore at any time but was not a part of the original design.
The annual consumer confidence water report was presented and approved 4-0 by the town council. The town did not have any problems with water contaminates during the survey. Last year there was an issue with a sample that turned out to not be a problem. Campbell said there are plans underway to make the report easier to read next year.
“I think if we can make it more user friendly, it would help,” Mayor Jim Phaup said.
In October a former employee of the town had stolen cash from the town, the sheriff investigation is still pending on the case. The council and staff also initiated an external examination of their money handling other business practices to determine where improvements can be made.
Webb Watch was hired and tasked to assess the town procedures for handling cash and give recommendations to the town. The contractor identified 50 transactions that they had questions on during a three month period of observation, all of which staff had explanations in the irregularity and have been accounted for said the town attorney.
The contractor made 35 recommendations with 21 of the 35 have been implemented. Three are in progress of implementation. And the rest have been given to long term planning with two are not being considered after town review.
A recommendation for bullet proof glass be put between employees and the lobby, the council said that might detract from the feel of Sunnyvale. Campbell said he does understand that while glass barriers have not been needed yet, some cases have arose where they might have been necessary and his concern is as the area grows extra security will need to be examined.
“We take what happened very seriously,” Phaup said “And what [Webb Watch] has done very seriously, and we are confident you will see great improvement when you come back.
Campbell said that while they are a late on releasing the mid-year budget report, the town has been doing well with the budget. In memo the town official said: The general fund has performed well for the first half of the fiscal year. Total revenues are in line at 75 percent of the annual budgeted amount, and we are recommending budget amendments that result in a total increase in General Fund Revenues of $142,781 or 3 percent. The attached narrative from our Finance Director addresses the revenue trends for the year.
The budget revenue increase came on the heels of an increase in sales tax that the town had initially put a conservative estimate on at the beginning of the budget.
This item was mainly on the agenda to discuss and next meeting they plan on making it an ordinance for action to make changes to the budget.
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