A transfer from the Parks fund to General Revenue prompted discussion during the Feb. 17 meeting of the Cuba Board of Aldermen after resident Cyndi Mercer raised concerns about a potential misallocation before the Cuba Parks and Recreation Board earlier in the month.

Alderman Ward 2 Pitts Lesesne began the conversation about park tax use.

“The park tax was founded on the principle that we needed help paying for the maintenance and upkeep of the parks. I think about 35 percent of (the grounds maintenance crew’s) payroll was coming out of the park tax, well, out of the park fund,” Lesesne said. “June 3, you (Mayor Kevin Copling) presented to the council to move these people out, the grounds people, out from under the park tax, under the Park fund, into the General (Revenue) fund.”

That decision to move them to the General Revenue fund had been tabled, but the money got transferred anyway.

“Well one is, I did mention I did not want them to be put in the park, paid out of park because we only get a...quarter of a cent sales tax,” Copling said.

When asked by Lesesne, Comptroller Jennifer Basham alleged that someone had told her to move the $50,000 to the General Revenue fund, but she couldn’t remember who. Lesesne addressed the board and asked the guilty party to come forward.

“You know, I didn’t do it, but I’ll say I did it,” Copling said. “I will take the blame because this is ridiculous.”

Lesesne reasoned that it had to be someone from the board because they were the only ones who could tell Basham to move the money.

“There’s only...seven people sitting at (this) table, so there’s only seven people that can tell her (what) to do. Nobody in that stand, nobody out there or nobody else is going to walk into Jennifer’s office and say, ‘Do this.’ It’s got to come from this table,” Lesesne said. “I do not believe anybody else walked into your office and told you to move the money.”

Copling made it well known that, no matter the cause, he is happy with the fact that the money was moved.

“I’m gonna make a comment. I don’t know who said it, I’ll take the blame, but I’m glad it’s moved,” Copling said.

In the end, a motion to seek legal advice on the issue was approved with a 6-0 vote.

Approved recommendations made by the Parks and Rec Board were presented by Alderman Ward 3 Joyce Hartzel.

Crazed & Caged Promotion LLC asked the board to accept the bid on 70 fence poles for $360.50 for their demolition derby safety fence. When asked, Basham claimed that there wasn’t enough money left in the budget to purchase the poles.

“So move it,” joked Alderman Ward 3 Jeff Bouse.

Against Basham’s recommendation, the board approved the motion to purchase the poles with a 6-0 vote.

They also voted to advertise for pool managers and lifeguards.

City Clerk Lainie Garbo read the bid for the city’s fireworks, starting at $25,000 this year, and having $750 added each year. The motion was passed with a 6-0 vote.

An issue previously discussed with aldermen on Feb. 3 was that the computer system at the Emergency Operations Center (EOC) was down, and they were waiting to see if it could be fixed. EOC Director Gregg Hubbell officially announced on Feb. 17 that it needs to be completely replaced.

The computer system sets off the sirens in Cuba, and with it down, Hubbell has to set them off manually with his phone. With storm season coming soon, the board was quick to approve the $1,915 purchase with a 6-0 vote.

Hubbell has reached out to the siren company for bids on moving EOC equipment from their current building to the new one, but they cannot give an accurate bid without looking at the equipment and buildings in person.

Where they are moving to hasn’t been decided, but Lesesne mentioned that he talked with Crawford County 911 Emergency Services and the new Emergency Management Director (EMD) Loren Wilson about the possibility of putting the EOC in one of the back rooms of the Recklein Auditorium.

“Since there’s already a backup generator there, there’s a tower already there that the police used to use,” Lesesne said.

As it was not on the agenda, it couldn’t be voted on, so it was tabled until the next meeting.

As first discussed during a Feb. 12 special board meeting, what appears to be black mold was found in a closet of the current EOC building. The motion to get a mold test done was passed with a 6-0 vote.

In other business, Copling explained to the board and visitors that there wasn’t enough money in the budget to fix the entire roof of the Recklein Auditorium, so they only repaired a portion of it. Unfortunately, the new shingles don’t match the old ones. He also addressed the lack of harnesses used during the repairs.

“Another thing is, they feel pretty safe on the roof when they done it. You don’t see anybody around here, hardly, wearing harnesses,” Copling said.

“The difference between everybody else running around those roofs without harnesses is they have their own insurance,” Lesesne said. “The difference for us is we have city employees running around the roofs, but they will say that they’re not.”

He is worried about the risk it puts on the city if someone gets hurt without wearing the proper safety equipment.