The Rock Port Board of Aldermen met for a special meeting Wednesday, September 15, 2021, at 6:00 p.m. with Mayor Amy Thomas presiding. Board members present were Ron Deatz, Lisa Farmer, Kelly Herron, and Todd Stevens. Also present was City Clerk Emily Schulte.
Mayor Amy Thomas called the meeting to order. Alderman Stevens took minutes.
The meeting agenda was approved.
The owners of River Rock Lanes submitted their liquor license application, state liquor license, and their background check. The aldermen voted to approve River Rock Lanes’ liquor license application.
Clerk Schulte left the meeting.
The following 2022 employee wage adjustments were discussed:
Chief of Police, 2.2%
Police Department, 2.5% (for supervisor distribution)
Superintendent, 4.0%
City Laborers, 4.0% (for supervisor distribution)
City Clerk, 4.0%
Utility Office Manager, 3.0%
Utility Office Staff, 4.0% (for supervisor distribution)
Herron moved to approve wage adjustments as listed. Deatz seconded. All votes aye. The meeting adjourned at 7:35 p.m.
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October 20
Regular Meeting
The Rock Port Board of Aldermen met on Wednesday, October 20, 2021, at 6:12 p.m. with Mayor Amy Thomas presiding. Board members present were Ron Deatz, Lisa Farmer, and Kelly Herron. Also present was City Clerk Emily Schulte, Officer Derek Morriss, Park Board member Jennifer Geib, Molly Pesce with Olsson, and Scott Driskell.
Mayor Amy Thomas called the meeting to order then led the meeting in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.
Alderman Deatz recommended amending the meeting agenda to add an executive session for personnel matters. The amended meeting agenda was then approved.
The aldermen also approved the minutes for meetings held September 15 and October 6, 2021. Herron seconded.
Molly Pesce was present on behalf of Mike Milias of Olsson. She gave an update for the water tower recoating project; it went really well overall. Upon board approval, Mayor Thomas signed the previously approved Change Order #1 switching out the tower paint, adding several years to the warranty.
Updates to signature cards at Citizens Bank & Trust were approved. Approved signers are: Park Board, City of Rock Port Swimming Pool, Park Board Walk/Bike Path & Pool Repair Fund bank accounts: Tisha Jackson, Jill Lager, Jennifer Geib, Amy Thomas, Todd Stevens, Emily Schulte, Terri McGuire, and Brenda Clemens. Katey Kroeger and Trevor Hale were removed.
The Park Board recommended Mayor Thomas appoint Andrea Cook and Jen Welch to the vacant board positions. The recommendation was approved.
Geib relayed that the Park Board is going to attempt to have at least one member present at all future Board of Aldermen meetings.
Scott Driskell was in attendance to inquire about progress on Skyline Drive. He noted that this has been going on for some time and was hopeful the city would come to a resolution soon. Board members expressed that it is being worked on, however it didn’t seem like MoDOT had yet proposed a reasonable solution. Alderman Stevens is the lead for this project, so it was suggested that the subject be tabled until he was present.
The aldermen approved the city financial statements, accounts payable, tax report, delinquent tax list, and all board and departmental reports. They also approved the utility financial statements, accounts payable, purchased power and water statements, take or pay water use report, water loss reports, utility clerk report and city superintendent report.
Policy 2-17: Paid Medical Leave was tabled.
Clerk Schulte readdressed the idea of implementing a 4th of July Committee to handle the holiday activities at the park on that day, since it is city property. It was asked that a proposal be submitted at the next meeting for discussion. Any community members who would be interested in assisting are encouraged to contact the city.
Clerk Schulte will look into Board of Aldermen liability coverage.
City Clerk Emily Schulte noted that any liaisons with employee evaluations should get those turned in to HR. She also reported they are still waiting on the final rule for the American Rescue Plan Act. Once that is released, a meeting will be scheduled.
Deatz relayed that Opp Street is complete but they are waiting for the concrete to cure prior to opening the street. Since the city will soon be losing two street department employees, they will likely be shifting to maintenance only.
Alderman Kelley Herron asked Morriss if he thought the police department would be interested in interacting more at the park on 4th of July, if a committee were to be assembled. Morriss didn’t see why they couldn’t.
Alderman Lisa Farmer asked to readdress the tabled Medical Leave Policy. It was inquired if the board thought sick leave could be utilized to care for children still in the home, in place of the other parent who is actively in the hospital with the sick child. The board agreed that the sick leave policy allows for employees to use sick leave in this way.
The aldermen voted to move into executive session at 6:50 p.m. for personnel matters pursuant to Section 610.021(3) RSMo.
The executive session adjourned and regular session resumed at 8:37 p.m. The regular meeting was then adjourned.
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October 29
Special Meeting
The Rock Port Board of Aldermen met on Friday, October 29, 2021, at 8:15 a.m. with Mayor Amy Thomas presiding. Board members present were Ron Deatz, Lisa Farmer, and Kelly Herron. Alderman Todd Stevens was present via phone. Also present was City Clerk Emily Schulte.
Mayor Amy Thomas called the meeting to order.
The aldermen voted to move into executive session at 8:15 a.m. for personnel matters pursuant to Section 610.021(3) RSMo.
The executive session adjourned at 8:44 a.m. and regular session resumed.
The aldermen approved posting the field supervisor and superintendent positions with the advertising budget of $500.
They also voted to approve suspending on-call for the outside plant, and approved increasing the wage scale by 3%.
The meeting adjourned at 8:47 a.m.
