By Jolene FarleyHills Postmaster Rita Bode attended Tuesday’s city council meeting to inform the council that she requested and received a new post office box section of 50 boxes. Once installed, the post office wouldn’t move to a different location. Installation of the box section is labor-intensive, according to Bode."If he puts a new box section in, there’ll be no moving the post office," she said. The council reviewed a letter from the United States Post Office at a past meeting stating that if they wanted the facility to move into the city office building they would have to evict them from their present location. The council decided not to terminate the lease.The council said they didn’t want to evict a tenant. "It makes us look like the bad guy," council member Linus Svoboda said. "That’s the only way they (the postal service) move forward, is if you terminate the lease," said Bode. The council made recent improvements to the current post office location. A new extra-wide door was installed and a window replaced. The postal service added a new sign on the building.The council added the item to next month’s agenda.In other council business:oThe council reviewed fencing proposals for the compost lot. They discussed installing a fence around the area with a gate to discourage unauthorized dumping.If fenced, the facility would be open set daytime hours and maybe a few weekend hours.City Clerk Connie Wiertzema told the council the county picked up five tractor batteries and two gallons of oil this week. After reviewing the bids, the council decided not to spend the money at this time. "I can’t see spending $4,600 for a fence and it’s not (the facility) going to be open," Jellema said. oThe council reviewed three painting proposals for the Hills Legion. The council budgeted $9,000 for capital outlay on the building.The council hopes a coat of paint will make the auditorium less dark.They discussed the option of adding more fixtures to improve lighting. They instructed City Clerk Connie Wiertzema to pursue bids from local electricians.The painting bids were tabled until a later date. oJim VanderWoude from DeWild, Grant and Reckert, Sioux Falls, attended the meeting to clarify the city’s corporate boundary map. VanderWoude said he spent a day at the Rock County Courthouse looking at documents to determine the correct corporate limits of the city. "What I’m going to talk about tonight is about the most accurate information available," he said. VanderWoude suggested the city certify a map with a title block and the present date and file it with the county. The map would be the official record from the date it’s filed forward.oA joint meeting is planned for Rock County, city and law enforcement officials Monday to discuss law enforcement contracts. Jellema, Elbers and Svoboda plan to attend the meeting representing the City of Hills.
