City Council

Page 823 CITY OF CARUTHERSVILLE June 17, 2024 Be it remembered the Council of the City of Caruthersville met in regular session Monday June 17, 2024 in the Council room of the Municipal Building at which time and place the following were present: Takella Motton City Clerk Lawrence Dorroh City Counselor Sue Grantham Mayor Jerry Hudgens Sergeant at Arms Robinson Councilperson Glass Councilperson Bullington (Absent) Councilperson Lyons Councilperson Fales Councilperson Grable Councilperson Hood Councilperson Spence (Absent) 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 regular session minutes for May 28, 2024. Councilperson Glass motion for approval, second by Councilperson Hood all in favor with Councilperson Lyons abstaining. Councilperson Hood made motion for the approval of the closed session minutes of May 28, 2024, second by Councilperson Glass all in favor with Councilperson Lyons abstaining. Councilperson Lyons motion for approval of reports and bills, second by Councilperson Hood, with all in favor. Mayor Grantham made mention of the Pickle Ball Grant not being granted with some recommendations to follow for reapplying during the 2025 grant round opening in mid-August. Police report; Chief Hudgens reported 698 calls since the last meeting with 140 cases being generated. The part time workers have been working shifts, and the department is actively seeking full time personnel. The Chief wanted to know what the City’s position was on the shooting of fireworks. Councilperson Grable motion to do the same as last year, second by Councilperson Lyons, resulting in the following vote: Robinson Yes Glass Yes Lyons Yes Fales Yes Grable Yes Hood Yes The guidelines being; permitting the use of common fireworks between the hours of 9:00 a.m. and Page 824 and 10:30 p.m. on July 3, 2024 and only between the hours of 9 a.m. and 11:30 pm. on July 4, 2024. Mayor Grantham announced that there were tickets being sold for $1.00 for a chance on $350.00 worth of fireworks for the restoration of the Historic Water Tower. The giveaway will be given July 3, 2024 at the event taking place on West Third between Highland and Cotton. There will be bleachers provided, bring your lawn chairs. There will also be bouncy houses, hot dogs, chips, drinks, cotton candy, and popcorn for sale. The area will be mosquito treated. Tickets can be purchased at City Hall, Recreation Center, Library, and Council members. Humane report; Karol Wilcox reported the Humane Shelter receiving an award from Best Friends Network for the 2023 No Kill Shelter Standard Award. This could possibly open the door for application of grants, because of the numbers that are being reported to the national database. The Animal Protection League has contacted the Shelter and will be sending them the raised Kuranda beds in order for the dogs not to be exposed to the floor, and also sending con exercise chew toys. Intake was 68, Adopted out 38, Owner redeemed 8 and Rescue 12. The scalded Sheppard dog was adopted today, and there are two cases in Circuit Court (criminal) for animal abuse and neglect. Ms. Wilcox is one of three Humane investigators in the area, which consists of consulting and assisting with probable cause for warrants. There’s also a chance for the Shelter to be the Regional Host for the Department of Agriculture. There’s a class hosted by the ASCPA on animal laws for law enforcement and animal professionals that Ms. Wilcox would also like to host, which would bring a lot more attention to the Shelter. The back kennels are still be looked at for a solution to fix the kennels. The Levee Lounge will be selling pork loins and having silent auctions supporting the Shelter. The car show turned out to be great. Ms. Wilcox and Mr. Wimberly are pretty familiar with the Caruthersville dogs, and are noticing a lot of different dogs being dumped, and are looking into the situation. Fire report; Chief Lynn Moss reported having eight calls for June as follows: three vehicle fires, two grass/trash, two alarm calls, and one extrication. Rural fire subscription letters were mailed out June 1, 2024, and as of today 49 subscription renewals were received. Training for the month will be on Hazardous Material Recognition and Awareness. Public Works/Alliance; Evan Romo reported that Tyler Hall was resigning and that he would helping out until a person was hired. The Operations Report for the month of May is as follows: Administrative/The eDMR and the compliance Monitoring Report for Groundwater Systems was submitted to DNR and all passed. Water/Wastewater Treatment/The injector was replaced on the tractor, and the sludge application was applied with the field issue appearing to be resolved. A centrifuge was borrowed to allow staff to quickly evaluated MLSS levels within the oxidation ditch to help fine tune the treatment process. Regulatory/There were eight bac-T samples and 34 Wastewater samples taken, and all passed DNR. Collection & Distribution/The rebuilt pump was installed at the Recreation Center LS with it having redundancy again. The truck hoist was repaired which allows for safer and easier retrieval of LS pumps in the event the pump chain cannot be utilized. The 6th & Beckwith rebuilt pump was received, but the pump stand has severe wear and tear. The pump will be kept as a backup until Vandevanter can complete the rehabilitation of the LS. Staff aided the Street department in the replacement of the  Page 825 blower driveshaft on the Vac truck. Completed the GIS mapping of infrastructure points on Playground Rd. Repaired the following main and service line leaks: One 1” line, one 3” line, and five 3/4th” service leaks, and completed 22 customer service orders including jetting four laterals. Safety/The Safety meeting covered Electrical Safety and Lockout/Tagout Procedures. Repair Expenses under budget by $16,722.00 and Chemical expenses under budget by $3,633.00. Code Enforcement; Barry Gilmore reported that the Sweeper was up and running, in addition to the backhoe and the tractor. Robertson Paving will be here next month, Copeland Dr. is almost done, and 12th Street is done, and the CCR report for Water is being worked on. The bid opening for Eastwood and Highland is as follows: Welch Hauling/Eastwood $4,500.00 Highland $7,000.00 and Dormer Excavation Eastwood $5,000.00 Highland $5,000.00. Councilperson Fales motion for approval of the lower bid, second by Councilperson Lyons, which resulted in the following vote: Robinson Yes Glass Yes Lyons Yes Fales Yes Grable Yes Hood Yes Councilperson Grable inquired about the 311 Ward property. Mr. Gilmore stated that all was needed was the consent form to be signed by the owner to tear the building down, but it looks like the next step would be a hearing. Parks & Recreation; Lamonte Bell reported that the Swim meet was scheduled for Saturday from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. There’s a Blood Drive June 28, 2024, the Pickle Ball tournament is still scheduled, and the FCC basketball tournament is scheduled July 11th and 12th 2024. Compliments were given on the housekeeping at the Recreation Center. Library report; Marsha Hayes reported emergency funds were approved by the Mayor for the flooding that takes place when it rains in the window on the back wall. The wall itself underneath the window may have to be replaced from the damage. Ms. Hayes also reported that the Library will be fully ADA compliant by June 30, 2024, which has all been taken care of by $70,000.00 worth in grants. Some of the events taken at the Library as of now are exercise classes, PIN meetings, 4H, Girl Scouts, Lincoln Summer Camp, and Summer reading every Tuesday at 11:00 a.m. City Collector; Paige Gillock Collections report from June 1, 2024 through June 17, 2024 is as follows: Real Estate $2,316.81 Personal Property $1,710.47 Drainage Districts $140.00 Miscellaneous $55.00 Total Taxes $3,425.83 Interest & Fees $796.45 Total Collections $4,222.28. Budget; Councilperson Lyons commented on the AMJ City Tax, which is the 3% Marijuana sales tax for the month of May was $21,910.18 and YTD $41,473.10. New Business; Mayor Grantham will be meeting with representatives from MODOT tomorrow to discuss the spending of the remaining money for the airport. Insurance report; Councilperson Lyons motion to approve the Workmen’s Compensation Insurance Renewal with Missouri Employers Mutual. Councilperson Hood second the motion, which resulted in the following vote: Page 826 Robinson Yes Glass Abstain Lyons Yes Fales Yes Grable Yes Hood Yes Councilperson Lyons motion to go into closed session for the purpose of real estate and personnel, second by Councilperson Hood which resulted in the following vote: Robinson Yes Glass Yes Lyons Yes Fales Yes Grable Yes Hood Yes Upon returning from closed session, Councilperson Grable motion to adjourn, second by Councilperson Hood, with all in favor. ATTEST: _______________________________ Mayor ________________________________ City Clerk