Emergency Operations Center (EOC) Director Greg Hubbell shared some of his concerns on Feb. 3 with the Cuba Board of Aldermen about relocating the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) office to one of the rooms within the Recklein Auditorium.

A large concern of his is that if there is an emergency, and citizens are displaced from their homes, where will they go? Will Recklein have enough space and privacy to act as the EOC command center, as well as provide space for those who need a bed and a meal at the same time?

According to Hubbell, Recklein was designated by the American Red Cross as the emergency displacement center, so if there was a severe enough emergency, he questioned where everyone would set up. He also said that the command center and the EOC office should be together.

There is also the problem that there are only two dressing rooms that are used, and if the EOC moves its equipment into one of them, it would possibly hinder those who need to use them during events like renting out the auditorium for weddings.

“So we got to have a place where the citizens are nowhere near the command center for these decisions. So that’s why I feel we need to find a new place, or even yet, if Recklein is no longer rented out, it’s strictly for EOC command center and things of that nature,” Hubbell said.

He would like to check out a few other places before a relocation spot is approved.

While he was not physically present, Treatment Plant Supervisor David Minardi sent a message that the Xylem ultraviolet (UV) system manufacturer needed to do a site visit to “diagnose and troubleshoot all the issues with the UV system.” The site visit will cost at least $5,149, and a motion was approved with a 5-0 vote to schedule the visit to install sensors and get the UV system fully operational.

Cameron Schweiss, Archer-Elgin engineer, gave an update on the new pickleball court construction.

“The main playing courts have been placed. Weather depending, they plan to install fence either this week or next week, and then there’s some like concrete ribbons around the perimeter of those courts that needs to be poured,” Schweiss said.

There is a 28-day curing period, and after that, they’ll want to paint and stripe the courts.

He presented the board with a list of colors from the paint manufacturer, and Mayor Kevin Copling asked if it would be fine to involve the parks and rec board more, and let them decide on the color. Completion of the project is dependent on the upcoming weather conditions.

“So we’re looking at project turnover within the month, assuming the weather behaves,” Schweiss said.

Moving on to an update on the McBride development, for the city to cover its debt-service payments, Schweiss explained that Cuba residents may see a slight increase over the next couple of years on their water and sewer bills.

“What we’re looking at is trying to raise those rates over the course of the next 6-7 years by about 7 percent a year. So that would equate to a combined monthly increase of $3.79,” Schweiss said. “So, you know, 7 percent, it seems like a pretty large number, but you’re also chasing inflation in that too.”

Alderman Ward 3 Joyce Hartzell asked about possibly getting grants after the city’s audits were up to date.

Schweiss explained that the city is eligible and intends to pursue a facility plan grant from the Department of Natural Resources (DNR), which is a $50,000 engineering report grant that is 80 percent funded through DNR. Although other grants will be pursued.

President Ciara Kitchen of the Crawford County Youth Football program gave an update.

Cuba’s electric department helped out with improvements to the concession stand.

“The improvements they made help ensure the building is safe for our volunteers and families to use this season,” Kitchen said.

They also had community members who volunteered their time to help with the concession stand by installing cabinets and countertops; moving shelving; power washing, sanding and painting the interior; and helping to organize the space for a more efficient function.

Registration officially closed on Feb. 28 with 169 kids signed up, a total of 24 volunteer coaches and 19 businesses/individuals that have agreed to be sponsors. Their season kicks off at 6 p.m. on March 20 at Hood Park and is open to everyone.

“We hope to see many members of the community there showing their support for youth in our town. At the end of the day, this isn’t just about football, it’s about giving our kids a space to belong, a place to grow and a community that shows up for them,” Kitchen said.

Former parks and recreation board member Cyndi Mercer also mentioned that the missing scoreboard clicker issue, which was first discussed with the parks and rec board on Feb. 10, has not been resolved yet.

She also alleged that the current parks and rec board isn’t getting the correct information to the aldermen, but didn’t go into specifics. There was a lot of echoed agreement from the audience when she mentioned the next parks and rec board meeting was scheduled for March 10, the same night as the Meet the Candidates night.

“I used to be your park board president. I was on that park board for several years. There’s no reason that park board date cannot be rescheduled for community members, for both entities to be able to attend,” Mercer said.

Resident Connie Dildine-Hubbell approached the board with a question about Henderson Street.

“Henderson Street has been closed for many years, and we use it as a drive,” Dildine said. “If you’re not going to open that as a street…that’s what I’m going to ask you, is if you would be willing to transfer that property over to us, or we can buy it, or what needs to be done.”

A motion was approved to start the process for the transfer of ownership with a 5-0 vote.

Street Supervisor Bill Dotson’s March 15 retirement was accepted with a 5-0 vote. For his replacement, the board wanted to do an internal hire, but decided to go through the normal hiring process and publish the position. A motion was passed to publish only the street supervisor’s position for now, with a 5-0 vote.

Grounds Maintenance Supervisor Jerry Montgomery gave a building and property update.

“Recklein has been completely done on the inside, as far as the ceiling, where we did repairs and put the light up and all this stuff, and we’ve replaced all the light bulbs in the, I call the dance floor and dining area, so, and that was all in the budget,” Montgomery said.

Planning and Zoning sent their recommendations to the board from their Jan. 29 meeting. A motion was passed to approve moving to the next step of the process of Aldo Alu’s request for rezoning from residential (R1) to multifamily (R2) to build triplexes and Jacob Highley’s request from R1 to commercial to operate a gym with a 5-0 vote.

Bill No. 2209 became Special Ordinance No. 958 with a 5-0 vote. It authorized the mayor to enter into a contract, on behalf of the city, with Showtime Pyrotechnics, LLC, for a Fourth of July fireworks display.

In other business, a motion was approved for Cuba’s spring clean-up on April 6-7 with a 5-0 vote.

A motion was approved to move the parks and ground maintenance crew payroll from the General Revenue fund back to the parks fund with a 4-1 vote; Alderman Ward 1 Harold Halbert voted against the motion.

The Cuba R-2 School District was approved for the use of Hood Park for their cross country meet on Sept. 30 with a 5-0 vote.