The Rock Port Board of Alderman met Wednesday, February 18, with Mayor JR Chaney presiding. Also present were: Jeff Geib, Chris Roup, Kimberly Brake, and Michael Graves, aldermen; Natasha Baruth, city clerk; Becky Oxner, utility office manager; and Jarod Hudson, superintendent. Visitors present were Randy Friesen, Frankie Shoemaker, John Barth, Justin Olsson, Jerri Dearmont, and Teonilia Flanagan.
Mayor Chaney called the meeting to order at 6:00 p.m. and led the meeting in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.
The agenda was amended to add the CDBG grant.
The aldermen voted to approve the minutes of the January 21 meeting, the city consent agenda, and the utility consent agenda.
Visitors
Justin Olsson with Olsson Associates was in attendance to discuss the upcoming lift station project. The study has been completed. The design will be completed in 2026 with the installation being completed in 2027.
Jerri Dearmont with Northwest Missouri Regional Council of Governments was in attendance to discuss the CDBG grant. Bids for asbestos and demolition have gone out. The city received two bids for asbestos inspection and no bids for demolition. Asbestos inspections are required before continuing. The board needs to complete score sheets for each asbestos bid and approve a bid.
New Business
Midwest Data Center contracts for city and utility use were reviewed and approved.
Chaney spoke about the possibility of getting generators for city hall and the shop. He stated that the generators would help with a FEMA grant and would allow city hall to remain open during outages. Graves moved to accept the bid for the shop generators from Ottmann Electric. The motion died. Further discussion ensued. Geib moved to approve the bid for shop generators and Graves seconded. The motion was approved unanimously.
The aldermen voted to approve the roof bid submitted by Teten Home Improvement.
Chaney spoke about a possible outside panel to show city business and flyers. Discussion was tabled.
Chaney spoke about looking into tightening up hemp requirements. He would like to see an ordinance around street signs testing, sign spinners, and requiring a hemp license. The aldermen voted to contact the lawyers about these.
Chaney spoke with Utility Manager Oxner about utility read dates. She stated the meters are read the 18th-20th of each month depending on weekends and holidays. Chaney spoke about several complaints he has received and would like to make sure that meters are read at the same time each month.
Chaney spoke about door locks at city hall. He would like to install metal doors and key card access to keep records safe and to track who accesses them. Discussion was tabled.
The new office clerk position was discussed. A job description was presented. Chaney would like the position opened with wages coming from 75% utility and 25% city until they can see how the work is divided by hours.
The board called Lyle Brown to ask some clarifying questions regarding his business license. The aldermen voted unanimously to approve the Brown Farms Precious Metals business license.
The board completed the score sheets for both asbestos inspection bids. They voted to accept the Red Rock Inspections bid pending CDBG approval.
Old Business
The board spoke with Superintendent Hudson about the lift station and the presentation from Olsson. Hudson would like to move forward with Olsson. The city has been putting band aids on the lift station for years and it now needs a full repair.
Chaney would like the city to look into bonds and grants. The aldermen voted unanimously to accept the Olsson bid.
The Christmas tree was tabled.
The livestock ordinance was tabled for lawyers.
Chaney stated that the tornado siren company needs a letter from the fire department stating they can use their radio frequency. Clerk Baruth will talk to the fire chief.
The FEMA grant, county lot, and annexation were tabled.
Additional Reports
Clerk Baruth informed the aldermen she would be at the clerk conference the week of March 9th. Baruth presented amounts being transferred to general. The aldermen voted to transfer the $200,543.15 left from ½ street tax to reserve.
Chaney spoke about the scoreboard at the park baseball field. New poles are needed as the current poles cannot support the new scoreboard. Chaney states the poles will be the responsibility of the park. Chaney also spoke about elected official training and how he would like to see all aldermen attend.
Brake spoke about the wellness coalition asking about a smoking ordinance. The city currently has one. Brake also spoke about the coalition adding walking signs to a path but the city would have to maintain. The board would like more information on the signs and the path.
Executive Session
The aldermen voted unanimously to adjourn into executive session for personnel matters, legal actions and personal records pursuant for Section 610.021 (3), (1), and (13) RSMo at 7:54 p.m.
The executive session adjourned at 8:10 p.m.
The meeting was adjourned at 8:11 p.m.
(Note: Information was taken from unapproved minutes provided by Natasha Baruth, city clerk.)
