COUNCIL MEETING

Tuesday April 18, 2017

 

The Board of Aldermen held a regular meeting on Tuesday, April 18, 2017, at 7:00 PM. Those present included Mayor Greg Richmond, Alderpersons Calvin Wilson, Keith Kohley, Roger Coe and Alice Kezar. Also present were City Supervisor David Brodie, Emergency Management Director Denis Kolb, Tax Collector Meghan Sexson, Police Chief Curt Drake and City Clerk Karla McNorton. Also present were, Carol Coe, Lois Kolb, Ron Johnson, Irwin and Sandra Johnson, Wally Jeffers, Virgil Sherwood, Sandra Pogue and Sally Carroll from the McDonald County Press.

 

The Mayor called the meeting to order at 7:00 P.M. The Mayor noted the meeting on April 4, 2017 was cancelled due to a tornado. The bills were paid from that meeting on Thursday April 6, 2017 and will be ratified at this meeting.

 

The Board discussed the regular meeting minutes held on March 21, 2017. Ald. Wilson made a motion to approve the minutes from the regular meeting held on March 21, 2017. Ald. Kohley

Seconded. Ald. Coe, Kezar, Kohley and Wilson voted aye with 0 nays.

 

The Board discussed the special meeting minutes held on March 28, 2017. Ald. Kohley made a motion to approve the minutes from the special meeting held on March 28, 2017. Ald. Wilson

seconded. Ald. Coe, Kohley and Wilson voted aye and Ald. Kezar abstained

 

The Board discussed the special meeting held on March 31, 2017. Ald. Wilson made a motion to approve the minutes from the regular meeting held on March 21, 2017. Ald. Kezar seconded. Ald. Coe, Kohley, Kezar and Wilson voted aye with 0 nays.

 

The Board discussed the emergency meeting April 6, 2017. Ald. Kohley made a motion to approve the minutes from the regular meeting held on March 21, 2017. Ald. Coe seconded. Ald. Coe, Kezar, Kohley and Wilson voted aye with 0 nays.

 

The Mayor acknowledged Shauna Landess and Joseph Lombardo to discuss the condemnation process at 108 W. Williams St. Shauna Landess and Joseph Lombardo were not present.

 

Old Business: None.

 

The Board discussed the bills from the April 4, 2017 meeting in the amount of 39,983.68 including transfers. Ald. Kezar made a motion to approve the bills from the April 4, 2017 meeting in the amount of 39,983.68 including transfers. Ald. Wilson seconded. Ald. Coe, Kohley, Kezar and Wilson voted aye with 0 nays.

 

The Clerk read the following election results, City Mayor Greg Richmond with 52 votes, Tax Collector Meghan Sexson with 80 votes, Northward Alderman Alice Kezar with 42 votes and Southward Alderman Ron Johnson with 19 votes. She then proceeded to swear in the new officer holders.

 

 

 

 

The Mayor noted it was time to reappoint the City Attorney, Chief of Police and the City Clerk.

 

Ald. Kohley moved to re- appoint Duane Cooper as City Attorney. Ald. Wilson seconded. Ald. Kezar, Johnson, Wilson and Kohley voted aye with 0 nays.

 

Ald. Johnson moved to reappoint Curt Drake as Chief of Police. Ald. Wilson seconded. Ald. Kohley, Kezar, Johnson and Wilson voted aye with 0 nays.

 

Ald. Kohley moved to re-appoint Karla McNorton as City Clerk. Ald. Wilson seconded. Ald. Kezar, Kohley, Johnson and Wilson voted aye with 0 nays.

 

The Board discussed who to appoint as the acting President. Ald. Kohley moved to reappoint Ald. Wilson as acting President. Ald. Kezar seconded. Ald. Kezar, Johnson and Kohley voted aye and Ald. Wilson abstained.

 

The Mayor asked Ald. Kezar to be the Recreation Board Director. Ald. Kezar agreed.

 

The Mayor asked Ald. Kohley to be the Street Commissioner. Ald. Kohley agreed

 

The Mayor asked Ald. Johnson as the Maintenance Commissioner. Ald. Johnson agreed.

 

The Clerk noted that it was time to appoint the check signers and at the next Board meeting they would need to approve a new Corporate Resolution and sign new signature cards with First Community Bank. Ald. Wilson moved to keep Mayor Richmond and Ald. Kezar as the same check signers with First Community Bank. Ald. Johnson seconded. Ald. Kezar, Johnson, Wilson and Kohley voted aye with 0 nays.

 

Ald. Kohley moved to appoint Ald. Wilson as the third check signer. Ald. Johnson seconded. Ald. Kezar, Johnson and Kohley voted aye and Ald. Wilson abstained.

 

The Mayor acknowledged Virgil Sherwood to discuss the high water usage at the Full Gospel Church. Virgil explained he believes they are having water stolen from them again. Supervisor Brodie asked if he was sure it wasn’t a toilet hanging up? Mr. Sherwood says he doesn’t believe so. Clerk McNorton noted she had looked at the account and the high amounts are random. It was discussed about a faucet outside and agreed if a hose was hooked to it, you could see it. Ald. Wilson moved to average Full Gospel Church’s high water bill. Ald. Kohley seconded. Ald. Kezar, Johnson, Wilson and Kohley voted aye with 0 nays.

 

The Mayor acknowledged Mr. & Mrs. Johnson to discuss putting a doublewide on the property at

215 E. Garner. Mr. Johnson asked to be allowed to put a doublewide at the location. It was asked what size the home and it is 28 by 60. It was asked if the property was big enough behind and in total and it is 1.2 acres. Mr. Johnson then showed the Board pictures of the Doublewide. Ald. Wilson moved to approve the Johnson’s putting in a doublewide at 215 E. Garner St. Ald. Johnson seconded. Ald. Kohley seconded. Ald. Kezar, Johnson, Wilson and Kohley voted aye with 0 nays.

 

New Business: The Mayor noted Mr. Sweeten has been in contact with Neosho box and wood and they will chip all the wood at the ballpark for $260.00 an hour and they believe it will take less than 8 hours, with the total being around $2000.00. After a brief discussion, Ald. Wilson moved to have Neosho Box and wood chip the wood at $260.00 an hour until it is completed. Ald. Kezar seconded. Ald. Kezar, Johnson, Wilson and Kohley voted aye with 0 nays.

 

Mayor Richmond also brought up that he had a call into USA Metal and Greg Sweeten had a call into MO. Metal about the metal around town and neither has returned their calls. Jim Riggs from Riggs Ranch Mobile Home Park wants to pick up all the metal around town. After a brief discussion, it was agreed to allow him to pick up the metal if he signs the liability waivers.

 

Mayor Richmond then brought up that the City employees have incurred a lot of hours in overtime following the tornado and wanted to know if the board would consider paying them out the comp time earned during the pay-period. David Brodie and Curt Drake do not want theirs payed out, but Karla McNorton and David Sarratt would like to have theirs paid out. Ald. Wilson moved to pay out the overtime earned for the pay-period of April 1, 2017 to April 15, 2017 to David and Karla. Ald. Kohley seconded. Ald. Kezar, Johnson, Wilson and Kohley voted aye with 0 nays.

 

Ald. Johnson brought up the speeders on Hwy 59 coming off the interstate and thinks we should have a radar set up there to catch the speeders as there is no speed limit sign where it levels off and if some tickets were written, then maybe people would stop speeding. David Brodie noted he believes it is a State Hwy and will need to talk to MO. Department of Transportation about a sign being put there.

 

Ald. Kohley then noted there are a lot of piles of building material lying around town and wanted to discuss correcting it. It was agreed to call Republic Services and see if we can have some dumpsters just for that. It was also discussed seeing if Greg Sweeten can have county come back and haul the stuff to the dumpsters.

 

Ald. Kohley then thanked all the citizens and volunteers who came and helped after the tornado. Everyone who helped did an amazing job. We still have a lot to do, but it looks great 2 weeks after.

 

The Mayor noted that Paula Brodie was not paid out her sick hours upon retirement and because of an error he would like for her to be paid those hours. After a brief discussion, Ald. Wilson moved to have Paula paid out 14 hours of sick time. Ald. Kohley seconded. Ald. Kezar, Johnson, Wilson and Kohley voted aye with 0 nays.

 

Citizens Business: Kevin Keeney wanted to complain about Mediacom as they said they were unaware there was an outage in our area and thinks we should try to get another company in. Mayor Richmond will make a call and see if he can get another company in here.

 

Sandra Pogue wanted to thank the Emergency Management Department. She feels they did a great job. They allowed her family to take shelter at their building and she really appreciates it. It meant the world to her and her family and she would really like to see a storm shelter in Goodman. It was mentioned that the school will probably build one in the school when it’s rebuilt.

 

Department head reports:

Curt Drake- wanted to acknowledge Joe Haswell went from a reserve to part time and

can keep up with reports and he really stepped up during the tornado and Curt would like to ask for him to be full time. Ald. Kohley asked if anyone else had applied for the position. Curt noted a younger man had applied for the position and if they wanted a closed session to discuss it that would be fine, but he thinks Joe should get it as he really stepped up during the tornado. Curt would feel comfortable starting the other applicant as a reserve. The Mayor then noted he had spoken with Joe and he knows Goodman is a training ground, but he would like to settle in with Goodman and stay for a long time. Ald. Wilson moved to hire Joe Haswell full time at $11.00 an hour. Ald. Kohley seconded. Ald. Kezar, Johnson, Wilson and Kohley voted aye with 0 nays. It was asked if the cars had been turned into the insurance company and Karla noted they have been.

 

Denis Kolb-nothing to report. Asst. Emergency Management Director Keith Kohley thanked all the citizens and volunteers who came and helped after the tornado. Everyone who helped did an amazing job. We still have a lot to do, but it looks great 2 weeks after. Ald. Kohley then asked about the City employees all going out to dinner for a job well done. The Board agreed to table the discussion to a later date.

 

David Brodie- David Sarratt needs hours to keep his license. He will need to go to

class May 2, 2017, June 15, 2017 and another date to be determined. David and I

have signed up under the Missouri Water and Wastewater Conference (MWWC) for $35.00 each. They have classes in Neosho, Springfield, Republic and are voucher friendly. David will get 5 and a half hours at one class and 6 and a half hours at another. We can both go to classes through MWWC and use the Expedition if the Board agrees. The Board agreed to allow them to use the Expedition for classes.

 

The Storm Siren is fixed, it was tested Saturday. We had to put up a new meter loop.

 

The box at the ballpark that runs the lights needs replaced. It will be $400 for the box and $400 for the breaker, but we may be able to fix it. The lights at the ballpark and the poles have been fixed. I want to thank Empire, New Mac, Goodman Telephone and McDonald County for the wonderful job. Also, thank you to Walmart, Home Depot, Tyson and the churches in town and in Neosho. I also want to thank Paula for coming over to help after the tornado.

 

Meghan Sexson- Meghan noted the Board has the report for March and also wanted to ask about the PTO using the Council room for their meetings. The Board verified it would not interfere with the Council Meetings, Fire Department meetings and gave Megan approval to have the meeting held here.

 

Karla McNorton- noted the buildings have been turned into the insurance.

 

The Board discussed the bills in the amount of 23, 585.38 including transfers. Ald. Kezar moved to approve the bills in the amount of 23, 585.38 including transfers. Ald. Wilson seconded. Ald. Kohley seconded. Ald. Kezar, Johnson, Wilson and Kohley voted aye with 0 nays.

 

Ald. Kohley moved to adjourn the meeting. Ald. Johnson seconded. Ald. Kezar, Johnson, Wilson and Kohley voted aye with 0 nays.

Special meeting

Tuesday March 28, 2017

 

The Board of Aldermen held a special meeting on Tuesday March 28, 2017. Those present included Mayor Greg Richmond, Alderpersons Calvin Wilson, Keith Kohley and Roger Coe. Also present were Police Chief Curt Drake and City Clerk Karla McNorton. Ald. Kezar was not present.

The Mayor called the meeting to order at 7:00 P.M. noting this meeting was a closed session pursuant to RSMO. Section 610.021, Section (3) to discuss hiring, firing, disciplining or promoting of particular employees by a public governmental body when personal information about the employee is discussed or recorded. The Mayor also noted that Ald. Kezar was absent.

 

After coming out of closed session, the Mayor announced no votes had been taken. The Mayor then noted Mary Curry had put in her resignation and April 14, 2017 will be her last day. It was discussed and agreed to see if the next person the Board had chosen when Mary was hired was still interested in the position before putting an ad in the paper.

 

Ald. Kohley made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Ald. Coe seconded. Ald. Coe, Kohley and Wilson voted aye with 0 nays.

COUNCIL MEETING
Tuesday March 21, 2017

The Board of Aldermen held a regular meeting on Tuesday, March 21, 2017, at 7:00 PM. Those present included Mayor Greg Richmond, Alderpersons Calvin Wilson, Keith Kohley, Roger Coe and Alice Kezar. Also present were City Supervisor David Brodie, Emergency Management Director Denis Kolb, Police Chief Curt Drake, and City Clerk Karla McNorton. Also present were Lois Kolb, Michael Richmond, Ron Johnson, Kevin Keeney, Wally Jeffers and Sally Carroll from the McDonald County Press.

The Mayor called the meeting to order at 7:00 P.M.

The Board discussed the regular meeting minutes from March 7, 2017. Ald. Kezar noted under citizens business that Mr. Jeffers comment about the drones, should read FAA, not FFA. Ald. Wilson made a motion to approve the minutes from the regular meeting March 7, 2017, with the correction. Ald. Kezar seconded. Ald. Coe, Kezar and Wilson voted aye and Ald. Kohley abstained.

Old Business: Ald. Wilson asked David about the metal for the Community Building roof. David is going to try and fix it. It was suggested to have him contact a tree service to see if we can get a bucket to get high enough to fix the roof.

New Business: City Clerk McNorton noted that Mike Williams called and wanted to verify that he was still the mower for the City. The Board agreed to continue having Mike mow for the City as he does a really good job.

Ald. Wilson also noted that a lady had contacted him about the City putting in a skateboard park. Ald. Wilson explained that putting in a skateboard park could be expensive and the insurance could be expensive. He did note that the lady said it takes a lot of time to go to Neosho and let her kids skate for maybe an hour and a half. It was discussed looking into a skateboard park as there is a possibility of getting a grant to assist in the expenses. It was also discussed that you can put up signs that the City is not responsible for accidents. It was also noted the City could be liable if there was a crack in the concrete that was not fixed and someone was injured.

Citizens Business: Mr. Jeffers brought up that there is a lot of gravel on the corner of Main and Ozark Trail on the South side and wanted to know about getting it cleaned up. David noted he believed it was the State, who actually owns it, but it could take a month for them to come and clean it up and he will go clean it up.

Department head reports:

Curt Drake- Nothing to report

Denis Kolb-Nothing to report. Asst. Emergency Management Director Keith Kohley
noted there is a possible severe storm event on Friday.

David Brodie- David noted he has been having trouble with the Lift Station generator and had Route 66 Electric come out and look at it. The generator would kick itself off. The voltage regulator needed replaced and it fixed that problem. It was discovered the disconnect box to the pump is worn and needs replaced as well as a switch. It will be $297.98 for the box, $99.00 for the switch, and $264.00 for the labor, at a total of either $659.48 or $759.48. David will have to check on which amount, but it needs to be fixed since it was put in in 1990. It was asked how much it would cost to replace it and David noted it was a Generac Generator and could cost $30,000.00 to replace it. It was agreed to start planning on replacing it and to discuss it during budget meeting time. Ald. Wilson made a motion to get the generator fixed at total of $759.00. Ald. Kohley seconded. Ald. Coe, Kezar, Kohley and Wilson voted aye with 0 nays.

David then noted he had put up two speed limit signs at Whitmore and Garner on both sides of the street and if the Board wanted more put up, he has 5 more. David did note the Board might consider changing the speed limit to 25 MPH as 30 MPH is a little fast for that street. David noted he is pretty sure that would need to be done by Ordinance. Police Chief Drake also noted that School Street could use a speed limit reduction also.

Ald. Wilson asked if we are still using the marker on Garner Street, as it looked like some kids were damaging it. David noted he is not sure if it is still being used or if it was ever an actual marker. He will have to call a land surveyor and find out.

Meghan Sexson- not present

Karla McNorton- Jill Cornett from Harry S. Truman Coordinating Council would like to schedule a separate meeting to discuss the Comprehensive Plan and wanted to know when a good time for the Board would be. The Board agreed on either April 13, 2017 at 6:00 or 7:00 P.M. or April 27, 2017 at 6:00 or 7:00 P.M.

The Board discussed the bills in the amount of $21,749.56 including transfers. Ald. Kezar
made a motion to approve the bills in the amount of $21,749.56, including transfers. Ald. Coe
seconded. Ald. Coe, Kezar, Kohley and Wilson voted aye with 0 nays.

Ald. Kohley asked about having a closed meeting for hiring, firing, and disciplining in the next few days. The Board agreed to have a closed meeting on Tuesday March 28, 2017 at 7:00 P.M.

Ald. Kohley made a motion to adjourn the meeting. Ald. Coe seconded. Ald. Coe, Kezar, Kohley and Wilson voted aye with 0 nays.