WILSON — When it comes to the repair of dips at Wilson intersections and the scheduling of street chip and sealing, the Wilson City Council wants more information — and, in the process, save the city dollars.

At Monday’s meeting, council member Chuck Crawford was asked to go back to Kirkham Michael and Associates in Ellsworth for a new proposal. That proposal would not include repairing the dips, but concentrating first on the chip and seal schedule. Kirkham Michael will also be asked to provide a third proposal on doing the dip repair at a later date.

Council member David Criswell said the city could possibly cut back its expenses on chip and seal and use those funds for other things — such as dip repair. He suggested the city call Mike Fisher, who repaired the dips in three of the city’s streets several years ago, to see how he did it.

Earlier in the discussion, Crawford whittled Kirkham Michael’s $17,500 original proposal down to $7,800 by having them just evaluate the situation, including the dips, the chip and seal schedule and the city’s maintenance schedule. That would give the council options and professional engineering, Crawford noted.

In other business:

• The council reviewed, but took no action on a draft abandoned property ordinance.

“I don’t think it’s something we want to jump into too quickly,” Mayor Mike Peschka said.“Before we sign off on something, we want to make sure we get our attorney’s thoughts and approval on.”

Peschka said the ordinance deals with more than just dealing with delinquent and falling down buildings.

He said the purpose is to try to encourage the owners either to get their property in a condition where it is rentable, or perhaps put it up for sale.

Theresa Staudinger, city attorney, said the definition of a vacant building is a building that is unattended or unoccupied and is not used as a place of residence or business, or a building that is frequently open or unsecured so unauthorized admission may be gained without damaging any portion of the property.

“Those are the buildings we are concerned about,” she said.

Criswell said he is in favor of this type of ordinance because it encourages movement on these properties.

Peschka suggested each council member take time to review the draft ordinance and suggest changes at a later council meeting so it can be something the entire council can agree to.

• Peschka said he was approached by an individual who wants to bring moderate income housing to Wilson. Peschka then asked council members for their thoughts on perhaps having the city apply for a grant to help pay the matching funds to go with the grant funds the individual has received.

Staudinger said she had concerns about liability issues. She will look into the matter.

Criswell said the city should support housing coming to Wilson, but the council should be cautious about how it assists the private sector.

• Criswell presented a list to the council on the bulk water rates of nearby communities. Wilson charges 25 cents per 100 gallons, as does Dorrance. Ellsworth bills its bulk water sales like a regular business.

“I just wanted to get a better feel where we are at,” Peschka said.

• Consideration of a mission statement for the city was tabled until the Feb. 18 meeting so Stacie Schmidt of the Ellsworth County Economic Development could be asked to make suggestions on the mission statement.

Due to the President’s Day Holiday, the next meeting of the Wilson City Council will be at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 17, at city hall.