City of York ratifies fire-station alerting contract, extends RMS/CAD agreement, approves wastewater cleanout bid and passes ordinances 2419–2428

At its Jan. 15 meeting, the City of York council ratified several operational contracts, approved public-works bids and passed a package of municipal ordinances.

Public safety and IT contracts: The council ratified an emergency authorization (Resolution 2025-4) and approved a $73,263.75 quote from First Wireless, Inc. of Lincoln to install the communications and alerting system at the new fire station; the mayor and city administrator had previously approved the purchase to avoid delay and the council ratified that decision by roll-call vote. The police chief requested a six-month extension of the RMS/CAD user-group agreement (records management and computer-aided dispatch) to allow member entities time to negotiate long-term cost-sharing; the chief emphasized the extension places no immediate financial liability on the city and the council approved the extension by motion.

Public works and wastewater: The council considered bids for a reed-bed cleanout for the wastewater department and accepted a low bid from Wads Enterprises LLC not to exceed $35,000. Staff estimated the removed material at about 2,758 cubic yards and described a plan to deposit drying material in an older landfill cell (phase 5) while retaining operational capacity in a newer cell. The council also discussed and approved a five-year revision to the snow removal and road maintenance agreement with York County; the revision was characterized as an annual payment to the city of $1,520.40 and clarifies which street segments the county will maintain.

Ordinances and code revisions: Council members discussed proposed amendments to municipal code language that would replace routine 'certified mail' requirements with regular mail for many notices, while preserving the option to use certified mail when counsel recommends it; staff and council clarified the difference in response periods and the planned two-step approach (regular mail first, certified mail or enforcement actions if there is no response). Council moved to suspend the rules and subsequently voted to pass ordinances numbered 2419 through 2428 on successive roll-call votes.

Each contract and bid was approved by roll-call. Council discussion included clarifying how staff will document mailings when regular mail is used and how legal counsel will advise on cases that still require certified mail. Several council members commented that changing routine certified mail to regular mail could reduce postage costs and improve delivery-to-residence response rates based on staff experience.