The Hopkins City Council Monday voted to pay off the USDA loan early and raised the water deposit to $300 for new customers.
The council had agreed to raise the water deposit to $300 for new customers at their last meeting and then put it in the form of an ordinance. The deposit will be refunded to customers when the final bill is settled. If a customer moves from one house to another within the city limits, the deposit will transfer.
The council voted 3-1 to pay off an existing USDA loan early. The CD’s that came with the account were due this month with a 10-day window to decide what to do with them without penalty. For the first time, the CD’s exceeded the amount that was still due on the loan. Allan Thompson voted against the motion. Under the motion, if the CD’s will cover the remaining principal, then the city will pay it off. If not, then they won’t. The next opportunity to review the CD’s and the loan will be February. The money is tied up in a way that the city can’t use it for anything but loan payments until the loan is paid off.
The question was whether the interest on the CD’s would mean the city would wind up ahead if they waited to repay the loans. The rate on the loan was 4.12%. The interest on the CD’s was similar, but despite the Federal Reserve keeping interest rates the same for the last several rounds, banks have been lowering interest on CD’s over the last several months.
The city held its annual Tax Rate hearing. The city put back on the 20 cent temporary general revenue tax that had been erroneously taken off previously.
Councilman Allan Thompson questioned a $14,000 bill for the water repair and fire hydrant project two blocks south of City Hall. The city had been quoted $10,000. The city withheld payment on the bill until they could obtain more information.
The city finally got the safe open. All ordinances are now being entered into the computer system, and the city is 95% done with that project.
It turned out that the 2015 ordinance prohibiting truck and trailer parking was the most recent ordinance that the city passed. Council members agreed that it should be enforced everywhere. Councilman Shadoe Miller pointed out that there was no verbiage about signage anywhere in the ordinance. The next step for the city will be to talk to City Attorney Taryn Henry about proper steps to enforce.
The city declined to participate in Good Neighbor Week. It is an Extension program where cities issue a proclamation, promote acts of being a good neighbor, encourage local events, and receive statewide recognition for their efforts. All five cities that got the Good Neighbor Award, Houston, Excelsior Springs, Sikeston, Springfield, and Ferguson, were much bigger than Hopkins and the closest one to the area was Excelsior Springs.
The council voted to switch Internet providers to United Fiber. Currently, the city is paying $314.44 a month, and Deputy Clerk Mary Smith reported that the Internet and the phone line are frequently down. The council voted to purchase the Silver package, the SmartBiz protection plan, and the landline for $38.95 per month.
The council voted to set the next meeting for Tuesday, September 2nd at 7 pm due to the Labor Day holiday.
The council got several questions from citizens. The first was if the city was going to switch to an electronic billing system. Chris Bird responded that they had looked into it, but that the systems they found cost $10,000. Deputy Clerk Mary Smith said she would continue to check.
MiTasha Allen asked what the city would do about high weeds creating dangerous intersections. She listed 9th & Barnard, 4th & Morehouse, and 2nd & Caroline as some of the most dangerous. The weeds are on city right of way. The city voted to bid out mowing for five hours a month to keep the weeds down.
Kary Owens asked about enforcement of park ordinances. She said there was smoking of pot and tobacco as well as sleeping overnight at the park. The school controls the ball diamond and the football field during the fall and spring while the ball board controls it during the summer. The Community Club manages the playground and shelter house area.
Missouri law states that smoking tobacco is prohibited in public places except in designated smoking areas and with certain exceptions, none of which would apply to the park. The Hopkins Park does not have a designated smoking area. If the Community Club were to designate such an area, it could be no more than 30% of its space. Also, smoking is not permitted at school events.
Laws against smoking pot in public are stricter in Missouri. Under the recently voter approved recreational marijuana measure, cannabis consumption is not allowed in public spaces, which would include the Hopkins Park. Violation is an infraction subject to a fine of up to $100. Smoking pot is also not permitted in a moving or parked vehicle.
Missouri does not have laws against sleeping on public property. Cities and counties can pass their own laws on sleeping in public places, such as anti-camping laws, restrictions on sleeping in parks or sidewalks, or prohibitions on sleeping in vehicles in certain zones. Maryville, for instance, has an ordinance closing city parks after 10 pm. However, some sporting events might last longer; for instance, in North Nodaway’s 22-21 win over East Atchison in summer ball, the game did not end until 10:30 pm. In the past, when Royals games have run past the 12 midnight curfew in Kansas City, the city has waived the curfew.
The City of Hopkins will get pricing for signs and revisit the issue next month.
David and Amy Smyser talked about fencing their neighbor plans to build that they say will encroach on city right of way and hurt their line of sight when they pull out of their driveway, increasing the risk of an accident. The road in question is heavily traveled when people are arriving at or leaving work at J.L. Houston. Mr. Smyser said he was told 17-18 years ago that any structures he built had to be ten feet away from the sidewalk. Chris Bird said the city would look in to what setback requirements are for that particular place. The city has done setback requirements on a case by case basis in the past, but they typically measure from the edge of the road.
At the request of Councilman Allan Thompson, the city went into closed session.
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