Sheddrick explained that Albany and Stanberry had a similar arrangement with the Gentry County Sheriff's Department. Roach explained that without a signed contract, Sheddrick would not have the authority to enforce city traffic ordinances. However, Sheddrick can always enforce state laws within city limits; for instance, he can always ticket someone for careless and imprudent driving.
Roach and council members said that parking was getting to be a problem. Roach said that she had personally had a near-miss as she nearly missed a car that was parked in the road. Councilwoman Cathy James said that there was a problem with people parking in front of the barriers to the west side of the road as well.
Roach said that Sheddrick would not be required to work on an hourly basis for the city, but only on an as-needed basis. She said that she would not have a problem with the city sharing a portion of any fines with the county. Currently, Sheddrick cannot write tickets for someone speeding 50 miles per hour in a 25 miles per hour zone.
Part of the plan for city traffic enforcement would involve towing cars that are illegally parked. Mayor Roach said that hopefully, after one car was towed, the illegal parking problem would stop. Sheddrick agreed that any parking ordinances had to have teeth in them to be effective.
Roach said that the reason that they dropped their COPS Grant project was because they didn't want to be in competition with the county, which is using one with extra stimulus money. Unlike a lot of grants, the city and county cannot apply together.
Sheddrick will discuss the matter further with the County Commission while the city will talk it over with their attorney.
Economic Developer Charity Austin reported that she was still working on the Enhanced Enterprise Zone project for the county. The board has been appointed and the maps have been made. The next step will be for the board to provide details about the blight in the county as the purpose of the program is to get rid of blight. That would include discussing places that went out of business in recent years. Austin said that the project would be about three quarters finished by this week.
Austin also reported on the Gazebo project. There will be a work day on May 14th as volunteers will work to build it.
The deadline for the Solid Waste Grant will be May 25th. The city has still not heard regarding the rubber mulch grant that they have applied for. Roach and council members brainstormed about possible ideas for the grant, including possibly partnering with the county for a wood chipper. A few years ago, the county got a grant for one but turned it down as it was only a partial grant and the amount that they would have had to put up was too high.
Austin reported that she was also working on the upcoming Sesquicentennial Celebration.
Austin reported that she had heard a lot of positive comments about the Downtown Renovation Project. Work on the north and east sides of the Square are complete; work began on the south and west sides this week as the sidewalk was being torn up. Areas of concern identified was a possible water runoff problem on the north side. Councilman Dennis Downing and Public Works Director Carl Staton will talk to the contractor about the matter.
The project is being done under budget, which could allow the city to do more, like possibly replace two storm drains, one which has been causing the county problems in the past.
Edd Worley asked when 3rd street would be paved as he reported a dust problem. Staton said that it would be one of the next roads to be done, but that currently, the city was letting the fund for it build up before adding any new streets. Currently, the city pays off $54,000 worth of loans from the New Street Fund, which was voter approved. That leaves around $30,000 for new street construction, which Staton says does not go very far with the current high gas prices. Roach said that the city still plans to pave every street with the fund. Dennis Downing suggested having the city put chlorine on it as a temporary fix. Another issue reported was trash trucks tearing up streets that were just paved.
An incident involving the Worth County Ambulance was discussed involving the Ambulance going the wrong way down the south side of the Square in responding to an emergency in broad daylight. Councilwoman Catherine Runde, who brought up the issue at an earlier meeting, said that she had three witnesses who saw the Ambulance go too fast. Jean Hanks of the Worth County Ambulance responded that the reason that they did that was because they were getting frantic calls saying that the situation in question was getting worse. "We got there in time," she said. "Would we have got there in time if we had taken the detour? I don't know."
Hanks explained that the ambulance was driven using GPS technology which always uses the most direct route to a location. However, that leads to problems -- the GPS does not recognize mud roads or one way streets, for instance. And when they are dispatched somewhere, they are not told a name -- only a physical 911 address. Jean Hanks said that nobody on the Ambulance Board had told her about the matter, but Runde said that she had talked to members of the board about it and that they had endangered the community that day. "People don't expect someone to go the wrong way on a one way street in the middle of the afternoon," she said. "It is a privilege, not a right, to go the wrong way and it does not excuse you from being liable if there is an accident and someone had gotten hurt." Hanks responded that they didn't know if there was an absolute emergency or not. "Especially if you get called four times saying that situation is getting worse."
The Bathhouse has been backfilled and drainage has been put in. The plumbing will be next. Craig and Gina McNeese will manage the pool on a volunteer basis and they will report to Catherine Runde. 11 students took the Lifeguard Training Course this year. The city is not sure when the pool will open this year due to the construction. The city will draw up a list of expectations.
The city will hire summer help again this summer. It will involve general labor around the city such as mowing, weedeating, and other duties as needed. It will be a part time position.
The nature trail will be completed after the work on the new bathhouse is done. The city had originally planned to put in asphalt, but is now leaning towards concrete, saying that it might be a cheaper option since gas prices drove up the price for asphalt. There will be stop signs on the road intersecting the trail; the possibility of putting in speed bumps was discussed.
Public Works Director Carl Staton reported that city crews fixed water leaks, did mowing, and helped with the pool and the bathhouse. They worked on the street sweeper, got streets shaped up, and fixed potholes with cold patch. Staton said that streets recently paved by the city with the New Street Construction funds cost the city around $3,000 to repair because they were torn up by trash trucks. The problem with requiring weight limits was that they might scare off haulers from the town.
The city awarded the contract for various maintenance jobs around City Hall to Charlie Morin.
Mayor Roach and council members agreed that the city needed to sit with the Rural Water District and talk about a possible contract to replace the one that expires in 2014. The city needs a new contract with the Rural Water District in order to get approval for the loan for the 11 mile water line replacement. "We're in this together and we have a mutual interest in providing water at a reasonable cost," said councilman Bruce Downing. One possibility was a joint meeting with the city and the Rural Water District board to discuss the contract. Roach said that like the proposed contract with the Sheriff, the proposed contract with the Rural Water District was not written in stone but was just a starting point for negotiations.
The Missouri Department of Transportation is planning to upgrade its Grant City facility. They are planning to put in a wash bay as well as a salt dome, both of which will require building permits from the city. The DOT will put in 2" meters as part of that project.
The council approved a $135/hour legal services agreement with Doug Thomson not to exceed $6,000 for work in negotiating and closing a loan agreement with the USDA for construction and operating the water system. The city passed an ordinance ratifying the agreement with Parnell to provide water. Parnell must follow suit for the agreement to become official.
The contract between the City of Stanberry, the City of Grant City, and Middlefork Water Company will come up for renewal. The council prepared for negotiations for a new contract and are in the process of drawing up concerns about the project going forward.
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