Monday night's City Council meeting led off with passage of an ordinance authorizing a three-year agreement between the City of Sedalia, the Sedalia Fire Department and Brycer, LLC, for use of a Compliance engine at no cost to the City.

A presentation on the Compliance Engine was given to Council May 2.

Many public service items require periodic inspections by qualified firms. One of those items is a fire suppression system. The new program requires that the firm report the results to Brycer. Brycer then reports to the City concerning any public safety devices that are out of compliance.

There is sometimes a $15 inspection fee for the business. The first reading of the ordinance was held May 2, allowing for a comment period from affected businesses. To date, no comments were received.

City Administrator Kelvin Shaw then gave an update on major tax collection trends to Council.

He said that sales tax for June was down significantly over last May, a decrease of 11.1 percent, and 1.9 percent down over last year.

But, Shaw said, "one month does not make a trend."

Use tax was up in June by 55.7 percent, and 28.7 percent over last year.

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Under Public Safety, Council then approved the purchase of two air and light squad trucks for the SFD.

Fire Chief Irwin previously presented a plan to use squad trucks to respond to certain calls that don't require a fire engine or ladder truck, such as medical emergencies or motor vehicle accidents. This will reduce wear and tear on the larger, more expensive fire apparatus.

Two trucks were proposed for purchase, with one for this year and the other for next year, according to the budget plan.

Feld Equipment was determined to be the best and lowest bidder.

The Council was offered two ordinances, depending on if they wanted to buy one or two trucks. The cost would be either $205,525 or $411,050.

Council chose the second option to buy two new squad trucks.

The City Attorney was asked to review City Code concerning the power that is granted to the Mayor when declaring a civil emergency. The current code is in conflict with state statutes, Mayor Dawson noticed.

The proposed changes concern removing the authority of the Mayor to place limits on gun and ammunition trade, which is not allowed under the Revised Statutes of Missouri, Section 44.101.

Council approved the purchase of $4,000 of equipment for a Fire Academy at State Fair Community College. It was explained that a budget amendment would help spend out fire academy reserves to build up an inventory of equipment that can be loaned to fire academy students at SFCC. The equipment will remain the property of the City and returned by the students at the end of the program.

Under Public Works, staff worked with the Senior Center to negotiate a lease agreement to house their operations at the Heckart Community Center.

The agreement stipulates $2,000 in rent for exclusive use of office space and the walk-in refrigerator at all times, from 6 a.m., to 2 p.m., weekdays for exclusive use of the kitchen and one community room, and non-exclusive use of a second community room and restrooms during those weekday hours.

Rental includes all of the utilities, furniture and equipment in those areas, it was noted. Sedalia Park Board has already approved the lease.

With the purchase of an airport hangar from Pro Energy, the City took possession of a tower that Pro Energy rented space, for Wisper ISP to mount an antenna on to provide wireless internet service. Staff worked with Wisper to negotiate an agreement to continue to house their equipment on the tower at a cost of $175 per month.

Staff recommended establishing a usage fee for planes that would be waived if they purchase fuel or other services. Currently, there is no fee to land and take off from Sedalia Regional Airport if they don't buy fuel or other services. It was noted that Airport Director Derrick Dodson review the airport's fee structure and compared it to other similar facilities.

Council approved a change order to a contract with Hansen's Tree, Lawn and Landscaping Services for the grinding of waste materials at a cost of $26,825. Previously, the City asked Hansen's to come twice a year to perform grinding services. This year it will all happen in one session.

One new liquor license was approved for Rebecca Embry dba Korner Lounge, 1604 South Ohio, for a special event (wedding) at the Foundry, 324 W. 2nd, $15.

Seven renewals were approved by Council Monday night:

*Dakota Keele dba Casey's General Store #1052 at 716 W. 16th, for packaged liquor and Sunday Sales, $450

*Tiffany Hockaday dba Casey's General Store #1063 at 1909 West Main, for packaged liquor and Sunday Sales, $450

*Shari Buck Moore dba Casey's General Store #1601 at 3500 West 16th, for packaged liquor and Sunday Sales, $450

*Freedom Esser dba Casey's General Store #2347 at 1601 East Broadway, for packaged liquor and Sunday Sales, $450

*Kristina Moore dba Casey's General Store #3257 at 3050 South Limit, for packaged liquor and Sunday Sales, $450

*Charles Wansing dba Chez When, 121 East 3rd, for liquor by the drink, $450

*Sean Loomis dba Applebee's, 3320 West Broadway, for liquor by the drink and Sunday Sales, $750

Under miscellaneous items, Third Ward Councilman Bob Cross thanked the rest of the Council for the nice plant that sent to Bob's brother's funeral two weeks ago.

Mayor Pro Tem Tina Boggess thanked the Mayor and other Council members who attended a Juneteenth Celebration at Hubbard Park Saturday.

Mayor Dawson said he witnessed road crews work on three blocks of North Quincy Monday morning, as they milled, back filled and laid down new asphalt in the area. The project was on the list for road repair, but was prioritized when it was discovered that the roadway was experiencing base failures, with big ruts forming in the street.

The Mayor said that watching the 15-man road crew in action was "pretty exciting."

Jeremy Pepin, vice president Sedalia Firefighters Local 103, reminded Council members of the 13th annual Firefighters Memorial Ride, scheduled for this Saturday at Liberty Park.

The ride raises money for local scholarships and also maintains the Firefighters Memorial, located at the park.

A ceremony is slated for 10:30 Saturday morning, and the ride will begin at 11 a.m., and travel to the Lake of the Ozarks and return to Sedalia, ending at the End Zone in the Thompson Hills Shopping Center.

Pepin noted that 45 people are already registered for the ride, and he expects upwards of 150 will take part in this year's event.

Registration begins at 9 a.m.

Last year's ride suffered from a hard rain that limited the number of participants, Pepin noted. Around $4,000 or $5,000 was raised then. This year, he is shooting for a goal of $10,000.

Last year's event allowed Local 103 to hand out four scholarships to those interested in choosing fire service or EMS as a career.

Council then adjourned to closed-door session to discuss legal advice and Real Estate.

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