Council discusses changes in city cell phone lease agreement with provider
by Angie Asam, Staff Writer
NPI Wireless and later Cellular One (Dobson Cellular), as a part of the lease agreement to have their services on the water tower in Rogers City, gave the city 10 free cell phones to be used by department heads. AT & T has since bought out Cellular One causing a change in the lease agreement.
AT & T does not offer free cell phones as a part of the lease agreement but will give the city $50 per month for each phone to be used. The proposed policy would have city employees currently using city cell phones to purchase their own phones and the city would give them $50 per month toward their monthly bill.
?If we purchase the phones, we then give ourselves a lot of extra work as we have to document which calls are work calls and which are personal calls,? said city manager Mark Slown. Councilmember Gary Nowak said well that?s an easy fix; don?t allow them to use the phones for personal use. This however would force some employees to carry two cell phones and cause confusion.
Slown looked at the policies in place in several other cities and thought that having the employees purchase their own cell phones and give them a small stipend for the phones would be helpful. The $50 is already being supplied by AT & T and would be a wash for the city. City clerk/treasurer Theresa Heinzel also discussed that by having the employees purchase the phones they are responsible if they get damaged or broken, taking that burden off of her.
Slown did not ask for council to make a motion on the issue, but a decision must be made by August 1 or the employees will not have phones and will likely lose their numbers. Harbormaster Brian Wagner has his cell phone published several places as a contact after hours and before and after season at the harbor.
Nowak suggested that maybe the city could look into the cost of an unlimited plan for all of the employees to share, he asked Slown to bring some options back to the next meeting for further discussion on the policy.
IN OTHER CITY COUNCIL NEWS:
? Harry Wearinga of Fleis and VandenBrink appeared before the council to discuss a few items involved with the street lighting project. He suggested that the new lights be mounted on dark blue poles, have power outlets at 12 feet and have a black polycarbonate on the top of the lamp to reduce light pollution. Council felt comfortable with his recommendations and he said he hoped to be back with final documentation and breakdowns of the project possibly as soon as the next meeting on June 16.
? Scott Campbell, a student at Alpena Community College, will be serving as an assistant to the city manager this summer through the work force investment act. He will work 30 hours per week for nine weeks at no cost to the city. Campbell has served on the U.S. Kitty Hawk as a member of the Navy. ? Ordinance #2009-05 was adopted, amending the downtown development authority district boundaries.
? The council unanimously approved the first amendment to the articles of incorporation of the Rogers City Fire Department Authority and designated Deb Greene as the
? Cordes Excavating was awarded the bid for the Erie Street water main project, which is a part of the Vibrant Small Cities Initiative grant from the Michigan State Housing Development Authority. Cordes came in with the low bid at a price of $90,542.16.
? Council approved the renewal contract with the Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT) for reimbursement of the work performed by the department of public works on the trunklines. The contract runs October 1, 2009 through September 30, 2014. Roger Wenzel was designated as the maintenance superintendent.
? A resolution in support of an MDOT application for the Linden Street Bridge project was unanimously passed. The application is being submitted but requires a two-year waiting period for approval. The project would be shared in cost by MDOT and the city. The Rogers City Lions Club and the Rogers City Area Chamber of Commerce both had events approved by the council. The Lions Club will be holding their annual White Cane drive on Friday at the Erie and Third Street intersection. The chamber will be holding a number of events including the spring fest, the summer concert series, the doublehanded challenge dinner, family fun day and others.