City Council

Page 405 CITY OF CARUTHERSVILLE October 7, 2019 Be it remembered the Council of the City of Caruthersville met in regular session Monday, October 7, 2019 at 5:00 p.m. in the Council room of the Municipal Building at which time and place the following were present: Sue Grantham Mayor Takella Motton City Clerk Lawrence Dorroh City Counselor Tony Jones Sergeant at Arms Rodgers (Absent) Councilperson Duckworth (Absent) Councilperson Bullington Councilperson Lyons Councilperson Cheek Councilperson Grable Councilperson Hood Councilperson Reeves Councilperson The number of members necessary to consider a quorum being present, the Mayor called the meeting to order and announced the meeting was in session for the transaction of business. The first order of business was the approval of the public hearing and regular session minutes of September 16, 2019. Councilperson Lyons motion for approval, second by Councilperson Bullington with all in favor. Councilperson Bullington motion for approval of the closed session minutes, second by Councilperson Lyons, with all in favor. Councilperson Lyons motion to approve the reports and bills, second by Councilperson Hood, with all in favor. Under presentation of petitions, letters, and other communications; Mayor Grantham yield the floor to Doug McDowell. His letter of engagement for accounting services for the fiscal year 2019-2020 will be at a 4 to 5 percent increase. Councilperson Lyons motion for approval, second by Councilperson Bullington, which resulted in the following vote: Bullington Yes Lyons Yes Cheek Yes Grable Yes Hood Yes Reeves Yes There will a public meeting Monday with the CMFIC, October 21, 2019 at City Hall regarding funding through the USDA for the Water and Wastewater plants to make application. Police report; Chief Tony Jones reported that the department will continue to take applications through October 15, 2019 for the Police Clerk position. They will set up interviews and bring their recommendation to the Council. Councilperson Hood attended the Fire & Police/Humane committee meeting at 4:00 p.m. October 7, 2019. There’s a need for a part time Humane Officer to work weekends  Page 406 and some holidays. At this time, the Humane Officer is working Tuesday through Saturday, which leaves a big gap between servicing the animals and the community. The part time Humane officer would work 4 hours on Saturday and Sunday and every other holiday responsible for cleaning and feeding. The AC units at the Animal Shelter are in need of replacing, which have been installed since the construction of the building. Councilperson Lyons will be reviewing the budget before any decisions are made. Karol Wilcox reported intake of 19 dogs/puppies and 21 cats/kittens; 1 dog owner redeemed, 14 dogs/puppies were adopted, and 15 cats/kittens were adopted. After being opened on Saturday to try and move some of the animals, 9 animals were adopted. In the future they will be open 1 Saturday a month. There were also 17 animals picked up by rescue before processing. The Animal Shelter has teamed up with Pet Sense in Sikeston, which should increase the ability to house cats through placement with them. They are tracking the dogs running at large on East 19th St, Playground Rd, and South Ward. Attendance will be at a conference at the University Of Missouri in October concerning health issues; and at a conference with the Missouri Department of Agriculture in November regarding new regulations. The Shelter is also seeking funds for a chain link enclosure for hands on socialization and for potential adopters’ hands on with an animal. Fire report; Fire calls from September 17, 2019 through October 7, 2019 are as follows: 9/17/19; Water heater malfunction on East 13th St, 9/18/19; Barn fire on Hwy D at a total loss, 9/19/19; Fire alarm sounding on East 18th St, 9/20/19; Fire alarm sounding on Truman, 9/21/19; Mutual aid request by Hayti fire department at the Cleveland apartments with 4 units being heavily damaged, 9/21/19; Window fan caught on fire with minor damage on East 12th St, 9/30/19; Wood debris on fire on I55/412, 10/5/19; Fire alarm sounding due to pan left unattended on stove with minor damage on Davis. Fire prevention is occurring this week along with scheduled visits at the fire station from the Elementary School and Presbyterian Day Care. Next week R3 School and Head Start will visit. Fire inspections were conducted at Church of God and the Physical Therapy Center on Truman. Training for the month was Fires at the Scene of Hoarders. There have been 112 fires this year compared to 115 this time last year. Public Works; Paul Shaw reported that the department assisted with getting stands moved at the Library, conducting the normal everyday duties, and working at Arcosa on the bar bit, and on the line, the main should be up and running by tomorrow. Park & Recreation; Wes Deere reported that the Kick Ball signups were ongoing, and the Pee Wee football won their tournament against Kennett and Charleston. They have been the Bootheel Champions for the last 2 years. Mr. Odom, Risk Management Assessor with MOPERM conducted a walk through at the Recreation Center for the 24 hour access. Mr. Odom was impressed with the 21 and over policy, no children being allowed, panic button, cameras, and the 911 dispatcher ability to be linked to the camera system. Mayor Grantham aforementioned the daily viewing of the camera feed. Mr. Deere stated that they had the ability to know when someone scanned in and would be viewing the feed daily. There will not be any price changes to the insurance policy, and Counselor Dorroh will draft a liability waiver agreement. Councilperson Grable motion to approve the 24 hour access to the Recreation Center, second by Councilperson Hood, which resulted in the following vote: Bullington No Lyons Yes Cheek Yes Grable Yes Hood Yes Reeves Yes Page 407 Library report; Teresa Tidwell reported that the Library was in the process of putting up the Village for Christmas. The Arts Council will be sponsoring the Stellaluna Boneyard Jamboree Thursday, October 10, 2019 at 6:00 p.m. , free to the public, which ties in with some Halloween themes. Later on in the month will be Halloween Storytime. Budget report; Councilperson Lyons projects the Total Fund balance for June 30, 2020 at $4,579,967.53 up $88,006.10 from last fiscal year. The projected General Fund balance is $547,871.86 up $67,820.69 from last fiscal year. There’s guaranteed savings of $87,000 from the solar panels, but Councilperson Lyons conservatively projected $20,000 for each site. With no further discussion or questions about the budget, Councilperson Bulling motion to approve the budget. Councilperson Grable second the motion to approve the budget, which resulted in the following vote: Bullington Yes Lyons Yes Cheek Yes Grable Yes Hood Yes Reeves Yes Economic Development report; Jana Merideth reported the Building Local Prosperity held its first meeting September 18, 2019, $10,100 was raised, the program cost $7,000 and the catering $3,100. Ameren, through their Economic Development team gave $1,000 to BLP, and BLP has been commended on having such a diverse team. Ms. Merideth also stated that they will be pursuing a 3 year grant to pay half of the salary for an Economic Developer, with the hopes the other half could come from the Economic Development Sales Tax. Grants will also be pursued for blighted areas, and another type of grant for buildings. The second BLP meeting is scheduled for October 16, 2019 and November 20, 2019 for the last of the meetings. The 4 targeted areas are as follows: City Cleanup/Marketing, Workforce Development, River Tourism Development, and Value Added Agriculture. Councilperson Hood read Sonya Fuller’s letter of resignation outlining her experiences, and of her commending the workforce. Mayor Grantham entertained a motion to accept Ms. Fuller’s resignation. Councilperson Lyons motion for approval, second by Councilperson Hood which resulted in the following vote: Bullington Yes Lyons Yes Cheek Yes Grable Yes Hood Yes Reeves Yes Mayor Grantham stated the Community Aces will be cleaning Exit 6, and MODOT will be assisting with lighting and vests, cleanup will occur Tuesday morning October 8, 2019 and Hwy 84 which the Community Aces have adopted ,cleanup will occur in the evening. Business from the floor; Frankie Travis addressed the Council to consider adopting an ordinance for Hands Free Driving. There are laws in place for distractive driving at the State level, but Mr. Travis wants implementation of an ordinance that will be more specific in holding drivers accountable for the use of cell phones while driving. Mr. Travis has been asked to participate in a round table in Columbia to  Page 408 talk about distractive driving. The belief is that if enough communities pass ordinances then changes can be made at the State level. Counselor Dorroh stated that he would draft an ordinance by working through the issues with the State existing laws and develop an ordinance that will work in conjunction with the State laws. Mayor Grantham entertained a motion to go into closed session for the purpose of personnel. Councilperson Lyons made the motion, second by Councilperson Hood, which resulted in the following vote: Bullington Yes Lyons Yes Cheek Yes Grable Yes Hood Yes Reeves Yes Upon returning from closed session, Councilperson Lyons introduced the proposed salary schedule with changes to table A to catch up with the minimum wage effective January 1, 2020. There was a little increase to level B and level C remains the same still a significant difference from level B. No changes were made to Law Enforcement due to previous adjustments, and no changes to the part time Firefighters, but the full time Firefighters was increased to $12.00 per hour the same as nonpatrol Law Enforcement. The part time E table will be set at the new minimum wage, and everyone will have the 1.5 percent increase, which will come to $32, 785.58. Councilperson Bullington motion to approve the proposed salary schedule with Code Enforcement being on level C based upon qualifications, and Street and Sanitation to be moved to level B as Street and Sanitation Superintendent. Councilperson Lyons second the motion, which resulted in the following vote: Bullington Yes Lyons Yes Cheek Yes Grable Yes Hood Yes Reeves Yes With no further discussion to be brought before open session Councilperson Lyons motion to adjourn, second by Councilperson Hood with all in favor the meeting adjourning at 6:35 p.m. ATTEST: ________________________________ Mayor _________________________________ City Clerk