Sedalia Firefighter Carver Promoted to Inspector

The Sedalia City Council met Tuesday night, one day after the Labor Day holiday, to conduct business.

The meeting began with a public hearing concerning properties located at Knottingham Drive and Cambridge Drive, and owned by Midwest Landing, LLC. Zakhariy Izoita, owner, filed an annexation petition with the City.

No comments were received.

A 14-day waiting period is now required before the City can conclude the annexation.

Five service award presentations were on the agenda, but none of them attended the meeting Tuesday night:

Tanner McKee – Recreation Sup.-Sports – Park – 5 years of service

Clara Scott – Aquatics Manager – Park – 5 years of service

Justin Franken – Police Officer – Police – 5 years of service

Kylee Kliegel – Police Officer – Police – 5 years of service

Kirra Pappert – Police Officer – Police – 5 years of service

A special award for Sedalia Fire Inspector Jacob Carver then took place with a badge pinning.

Fire Chief Matt Irwin said that Carver has done a lot during his short tenure with the fire department, and is best suited to be a fire inspector. Inspector Carver is in charge of an upcoming open house on Sept. 23. This is the first open house at the SFD headquarters since the building opened. Carver is also currently working on his Ph.D. in fire emergency services management. His wife pinned the new badge on him.

Under Finance and Administration, the City's Human Resources manager, Shannon Ramey-Trull, has worked with the City's workmen's compensation insurance carrier to obtain a $10,000 grant through Missouri Employer's Mutual SafetySMARTS grants to improve worker safety. In addition, $7500 was already secured through the “Buckle Up/Phone Down Challenge. Trull worked with the Public Safety Committee to identify a mobile signboard that can be towed to different locations to warn motorists of the presence of road crews and public safety personnel in the area.

The cost of the message board sign is $20,620. So the City will come up with the remainder of the cost, or $3,120. The sign will be purchased from Street Smart Rentals, LLC, Columbus, Minnesota. The batter-operated sign, which will be charged by solar power, comes with a trailer, modem and radar unit. It can be programmed by a wireless radio link.

The Sedalia Public Library, 311 W. 3rd, will get a new server at a cost of $20,031.12 through Lamm Tech, according to Library Director Jamie Sparks. The cost includes hardware and software, installation, configuration, data migration and a six-month subscription.

The current server is expected to reach the end of its life in October.

The City recently purchased five properties available at a Pettis County tax sale in the amount of $22,332.57. This stems from delinquent tax bills. The properties are then auctioned off in a sale conducted by the County Collector. The opening bid must be equal to at least the amount of taxes that are due.

For the past several years, the City has purchased tax leins on troubled properties, then work through the foreclosure process and the City's legal department to clean up the titles. The City then sells the properties to developers or neighboring property owners to get it properly maintained, preserving property values, and eventually back on the tax rolls.

Council heard a presentation from Chad Hartle of RHC Development, Inc., of Jackson, Mo., regarding the redevelopment of the Liberty and Tambo Apartments at 1400 Liberty Park Blvd.

Plans call for extensive rehabilitation of the senior living properties, which includes 38 units each, and will be done by Ventura Industries, LLC.

Real Estate developer Hartle told Council that half of the project will be done at a time, with residents moved out of one building during the construction phase, then the other half will be completed. Liberty-Tambo was built in 1987.

"We will pay for them to move out and (later) move back in," Hartle said of the residents, adding that some will move in with relatives during that time period. Hartle said that his company has done plenty of similar projects and expects a smooth transition.

However, competition for state funding is fierce, and Sedalia will be competing with other communities such as Kansas City, St. Louis, Columbia, Jefferson City, Cape Girardeau and Springfield.

Hartle asked for a show of support from the City of Sedalia. "We're focused on preserving senior housing," he promised.

Dozens of details of the redevelopment plans for both apartment buildings, along with several schematic drawings of the facilities, were presented to each Council member and Mayor Dawson for inspection.

Hartle said he has plenty of time to coordinate with the Missouri Housing Development Commission on the project. "The timing is good," he said.

Walllace Architects, LLC, Columbia, will do the architectural work on the Liberty-Tambo redevelopment project.

Under Community Development, Council approved a $225,900 bid from Eagleview Aerial Photography Services for three flights over the next six years for GIS mapping purposes. Chief Building Official Devin Lake requested bids, and only one was received from the City's current vendor. The information is useful for developers, as well as the sewer department. Lake also serves as the City's GIS coordinator. An alternate bid of $64,740.60 was also approved, for a total amount of $290,640.60.

The City's revitalization program was designated an Affiliate Main Street. Staff approved an agreement outlining the use of material, training, and support to achieve downtown revitalization. Main Street America, through the Missouri Main Street Connection, provides a trademarked approach to this.

Mobile food vendors must purchase a business license that is good from June 1 through May 31. This is being changed to expire one year from the date of purchase. Also, a special event permit will be available for vendors as well. Those permits will also have a one-year-from-purchase date of expiration.

The part-time position of downtown grounds maintenance was changed to full-time. This came about after the resignation of the former part-time employee.

Under Public Works, Council agreed with Staff to move $1200 from the Public Works Administration line item to supplies, to allow for the installation of shelving, as well as software and hardware to add video conferencing to the first-floor conference room. A whiteboard will be added as well.

Council awarded a $ 480,210 bid from FTC Equipment for blower equipment to upgrade the Central Wastewater Treatment Plant.

Council approved a $14,950 increase in the budget to allow for the repair of pump equipment for one of the City's major wells used for water supply. The bid for the project was awarded previously, but during the work, it was discovered that the wiring needed to be replaced as well.

Council approved an additional $40,300 for additional design services for the Praire Hollow Development for extensions of water and sewer mains. The State of Missouri requires complete encasements for any pipes in the Kart Trail right-of-way, which makes the original plan not feasible. A change order for more design work was approved.

Council approved an annexation agreement with Christopher and Christina Howell for property at 1685 Hickory Lane. The Howells will now be able to hook up to city water and sewer lines.

Under Public Safety, Council approved a one-year extension of an agreement with Sedalia School District 200 for a school resource officer at Sedalia Junior High while school is in session. The school district reimburses the City for much of the cost.

Sedalia Fire Chief Matt Irwin obtained yet another Assistance to Firefighters Grant, which will offset 90 percent of the cost of dual-band radio equipment for his department. Total project cost is $101,006.54. The grant is for $91,824.12.

SPD requested some records be destroyed that have met their retention requirements.

The entire animal control code have been re-written by Animal Services manager Randi Battson, with the assistance of legal counsel Todd Smith. The new code is simplified and includes a list of animals allowed within the city limits, and provides a process for all other animals for specific approval or denial. There are also provisions for animals deemed to be a nuisance to the public. Also, the new code prohibits the selling of offspring without first checking with the State and obtaining the appropriate license.

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One special event liquor license was approved for Volker's Eatery and Pub, 1021 South Limit, for Mouse Races at SFCC, (fund-raiser) 3201 W. 16th on Sept. 30.

Four liquor license renewals were approved, including:

*Erica Eisenmenger dba Ivory Grille LLC, 317 South Ohio, for liquor by the drink, $450

*Mike Ermey dba CVS Pharmacy #10305, 100 E. Broadway, for packaged liquor, Sunday sales and taste testing, $487.50

*Tom Adermann dba Best Western, 3120 S. Limit, for liquor by the drink, $450

*Cathy Geotz dba Break Time #3167, 101 Rebar Road, for packaged liquor and Sunday sales, $450

Under Good & Welfare, Council heard from Fire Chief Irwin, who plans on donating used fire equipment to the Green Ridge Fire Department, mainly hydraulic tools, which Green Ridge currently does not have.

The tools are serviceable, but need about $200 of work to get them up to speed. Third Ward Councilman motioned for the City to pay for the bill for the repairs before donating the equipment to Green Ridge.

Two of Sedalia's firefighters live in the Green Ridge area, and will help train the Green Ridge firefighters on how to use the hydraulic tools, Chief Irwin said.

The fire chief said the donation will help "bridge the gap" between Sedalia and Henry County.

Council also heard from Ebby Norman, who explained that the 2023 Missouri Photo Workshop will take place in Sedalia Sept. 24-30. Norman gave the Council details about the workshop, and thanked City leaders as well as Sedalia Parks & Rec Director Amy Epple for their help in allowing the workshop to take place here.

1980 was the last time such a workshop took place, and many of those photos are currently on display at the Daum Museum.

First Ward Councilman Tom Oldham noted that the Missouri Municipal League conference is this weekend.

Fourth Ward Council members Rhiannon Foster and Steve Bloess did not attend Tuesday night's meeting.

Council then moved to closed-door session.