The Rock Port Board of Aldermen met Wednesday, August 31, 2022, at 6:00 p.m. with Mayor Amy Thomas presiding. Board members present were Ron Deatz, Lisa Farmer, Kelley Herron and Kory Paris. Also present were Utility Office Manager Terri McGuire and City Clerk Emily Schulte.
Mayor Thomas called the meeting to order.
The meeting agenda was amended to add the solid waste disposal contract.
The aldermen voted to adjourn into executive session pursuant to Section 610.021(1) & (3) RSMo.
The executive session adjourned into regular session.
Schulte reported that Klosek’s had approved the city’s counter offer, except for the 90-day termination notice clause. They would like to counter with a 60-day notice. It was noted this was still more appealing than the original 30-day notice. The aldermen unanimously approved the terms of the solid waste disposal contract with Klosek’s LLC.
It was discussed that a timeline for moving the police department forward would need to be established. Schulte reminded the board that a mandatory MIRMA Police training was coming up and asked if the city would be sending a representative, as registration and hotel reservations would need to be completed. It was the consensus that Officer Morriss should attend this training.
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The Rock Port Board of Aldermen met Wednesday, September 21, 2022, at 6:00 p.m. with Mayor Amy Thomas presiding. Board members present were Ron Deatz, Lisa Farmer, Kelley Herron, and Kory Paris. Also present were Superintendent Brentlee Thomas, City Clerk Emily Schulte, and Officer Derek Morriss.
Mayor Thomas called the meeting to order.
The meeting agenda was approved.
The aldermen approved the minutes for meetings held August 17, 29, and 31, 2022.
Consent Agendas
The aldermen approved the city financial statements, accounts payables, tax report, delinquent tax list, the city clerk, chief of police, all board reports. They also approved the utility financial statements, accounts payables, purchased power and water statements, take or pay water use report, water loss reports, utility office manager report and city superintendent report.
Policy 3-5: Water & Sewer Taps
Superintendent Thomas presented a change to Policy 3-5: Water & Sewer Taps. With standard water taps the utility currently loses money with the cost of installation.
The current policy is: 3-5 Water & Sewer Taps – A standard sewer tap is $200. A standard ¾ water tap is $1,000. All other water taps are $1,000, the cost of the meter, labor, material and equipment.
The recommended change is: 3-5 Water & Sewer Taps – A standard sewer tap is $200. All water taps are $1,000, the cost of the meter, labor, material and equipment.
The aldermen approved the recommended change to Policy 3-5: Water & Sewer Taps.
2023 Budgets
Schulte stated both the city and utility are finalizing their drafts for the 2023 budgets and inquired what, if anything, the board had in mind for year-end employee wage increases. Board members expressed interest in scheduling an additional meeting for raise discussions.
Schulte then inquired about a budget for potentially hiring a deputy clerk. Superintendent Thomas might be able to cost share this initiative with administrative tasks for the street department.
Finally, there are some leads on potential street sweepers, if the board would approve for the unbudgeted expenditure. The Toolcat attachment currently used requires a large amount of maintenance and doesn’t do a very thorough job.
The aldermen unanimously approved $50,000 for the purchase of a street sweeper from the Street Improvement & Repair account.
RPPD Schedule
Mayor Thomas relayed that the department is currently operating as smoothly as possible while short-handed. Herron mentioned that he would like to see more daytime patrols, especially on Mondays since there isn’t school.
Special Event Permit
The fireworks special event permit for Reed Martin to shoot fireworks at home football games was approved.
RFP: City Attorney
No proposals were received so an extension is needed for the city attorney RFP. The RFP for a city attorney was extended to November 1.
Solid Waste Disposal Contract
Klosek’s LLC Trash Service is still waiting on the final draft of the solid waste disposal contract from their attorney, Dan Smith.
City Clerk Emily Schulte
The police department’s GPS is currently automatically drafted from a credit card the city is preparing to cancel. The aldermen voted to draft the Rock Port Police Department patrol vehicle GPS from Officer Morriss’ credit card.
Alderman Paris reported on the chief of police’s patrol vehicle. It was discovered that the engine was locked up so the car was towed to a dealership to be repaired. Everything not under warranty amounted to $2,000 in repairs. The city is still waiting on the tow bill.
Schulte asked for permission to have the bank signature cards updated. The city’s bank signature cards will be updated to remove any employees or officials no longer associated with the city.
Superintendent Brentlee Thomas
Superintendent Thomas reported having recently met with an engineer for future street repairs and will hopefully have a report back soon. A recent water main break put 14 homes on a boil advisory. Several outages have occurred recently due to tree limbs. Sinkhorn has gotten behind, so Thomas is reaching out to alternative tree trimming service providers. New streetlights are being installed as time allows.
In the coming weeks the city crews are preparing to flush fire hydrants. The I-29 lift station is experiencing issues as the check valves are not turning due to flood damage. Allied will be coming to assist in the repairs and new valves are on order. Hudson and Sherlock both passed their water tests. The mini excavator purchased with ARPA funds was delivered yesterday.
Officer Morriss
The board wanted to thank Morriss for stepping up while the department is short staffed and without a chief.
Alderman Kelley Herron
Alderman Herron thanked Officer Morriss for being present at Old Fashioned Saturday Night.
Alderman Kory Paris
Alderman Paris relayed concerns of long-term semi parking in town. Superintendent Thomas stated Section 355.120 of the city code addresses that concern and limits parking of vehicles in excess of 22’ to be parked on any city street for a period longer than 48 hours.
In addition to city streets, MoDOT has stated they can have signs put up on Main Street to limit the parking time of semis; however, it would be the responsibility of the city officers to enforce. Paris moved to approve MoDOT’s installation of parking regulation signs on Main Street. Herron seconded. All votes aye. Paris will contact MoDOT.
Some of the problem trees in town are showing some improvements, but there is still work that needs to be done. Officer Morriss gave updates of specific citizens and their progress. A citizen also inquired about purchasing the city’s old brush site. It was relayed that the city has had this offer multiple times in the past and it is not something the city is currently interested in.
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The Rock Port Board of Aldermen met for a work session meeting Tuesday, September 27, 2022, at 6:18 p.m. with Mayor Amy Thomas presiding. Board members present were Ron Deatz and Lisa Farmer. Kelley Herron was present via phone. Also present were Utility Office Manager and City Clerk Emily Schulte.
Mayor Thomas called the meeting to order then led the meeting in reciting the Pledge of Allegiance.
The meeting agenda was approved.
Police Department Timeline
Mayor Thomas will reach out to the city’s attorney and MIRMA for guidance regarding hiring a new chief, possible implementation of a contract, and any updates that should be made to the job description.
The goal for posting the open position will be October 20, the day following the next scheduled Board of Aldermen meeting.
2023 Wage Increases
Discussion was held regarding 2023 employee wage increases and options weighed between cost-of-living increases and merit-based increases, as well as at what rate. Social Security’s estimated COLA increase is currently around 9%. McGuire and Schulte were also present to advise on the city and utility budgets and answer questions regarding what seemed sustainable.
Farmer moved to approve granting department supervisors allotments of up to 6% of their full-time employees’ wages for performance based raises following year-end evaluations. Herron seconded. All votes aye.
Deatz moved to increase each target zone within the employee wage scale by 3%, but leave the minimum and maximum at their current rates. Farmer seconded. All vote aye.
