Board of Alderman Regular Meeting

CITY OF WILLARD BOARD OF ALDERMAN REGULAR MEETING February 10, 2025 at 6:00 PM Willard City Hall, 224 W. Jackson St., Willard, MO MINUTES Staff present: City Administrator Wesley Young, City Attorney Nate Dally, City Clerk Janice Gargus, City Clerk Rebecca Hansen, Parks and Recreation Director Jason Knight, Public Works Director Trevor Hoffman, CFO Carolyn Halverson, Police Officer JD Landon, Planning and Zoning Director Mike Ruesch, Project Manager Steven Bodenhamer No citizens present PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE Mayor Smith led the Pledge of Allegiance CALL THE MEETING TO ORDER Meeting was delayed until a quorum was present. Mayor Smith called the meeting to order at 6:39 pm and asked the city clerk to conduct the roll call. ROLL CALL City Clerk Hansen conducted the roll call. Present: Mayor Troy Smith, Casey Biellier, David Keene, Joyce Lancaster, Jeremy Hill City Clerk Hansen confirmed that a quorum was present. AGENDA AMENDMENTS/APPROVAL OF AGENDA CONSENT AGENDA: “A Consent Agenda allows the Board of Aldermen to consider and approve routine items of business without discussion. Any member of the Board of Aldermen, the City Staff or the Public may request removal of any item from the Consent Agenda and request that it be considered under the Regular Agenda if discussion or debate of the item is desired. Items not removed from the Consent Agenda will stand approved upon motion by any Board member, second and unanimous vote to “approve the Consent Agenda as published or modified.” 1. Meeting Minutes January 27, 2025 2. January/February 2025 Current Outstanding Invoices, Checks and Draft Paid Invoices 3. Department Head Report City Clerk February 2025 4. Department Head Report Court February 2025 5. Department Head Report Human Resources February 2025 6. Department Head Report Parks Department February 2025  7. Department Head Report Planning & Zoning February 2025 8. Department Head Report Willard Police Department BOA Monthly Report February 10, 2025 9. Department Head Report Public Works February 2025 10. 2025 Board Attendance Report Mayor Smith asked for a motion to approve the Agenda Amendments and the Agenda. Motion was made by Alderman Biellier and seconded by Alderman Hill to approve the Agenda Amendments and Agenda. Motion carried with a 4-0 vote. Voting Aye: Aldermen Biellier, Hill, Keene, Lancaster. Mayor Smith asked for a motion to approve the Consent Agenda. Motion was made by Alderman Biellier and seconded by Alderman Keene to approve the Consent Agenda. Motion carried with a 4-0 vote. Voting Aye: Aldermen Biellier, Hill, Keene, Lancaster. CURRENT OUTSTANDING INVOICES, DRAFT AND CHECK PAID INVOICES Mayor Smith asked for a motion to approve the current outstanding invoices, draft and check paid invoices. Motion was made by Alderman Biellier and seconded by Alderman Hill to approve. Motion carried with a 4-0 vote. Voting Aye: Aldermen Biellier, Hill, Keene, Lancaster. CITIZEN INPUT none DISCUSSION 11. Water Advisory Board Applications The Board reviewed submitted applications. Only one applicant lives in town; the others live outside of the city limits. We will need to amend the ordinance, which states we need more representation in-town, or else we must give more time for other round of applications. There have been 2 or 3 calls for applications. It was decided that postponing the formation of the water board will have no negative consequences—the idea was to provide a voice for residents. Mayor said to allow another month for recruitment to satisfy requirements of ordinance. The board agreed. The question was asked whether an alderman should always serve on the board. It was decided to keep the water board autonomous. It was also determined that any applicant should be a customer of either water or sewer. RESOLUTIONS 12. A RESOLUTION OF THE BOARD OF ALDERMEN OF THE CITY OF WILLARD, MISSOURI, AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO SIGN THE CONSENT TO MODIFICATIONS WITH VERIZON COMMUNICATIONS City Administrator Wes said that we will table this for now. Verizon hasn’t arranged details with our engineering firm to their satisfaction that their equipment replacements won’t damage the water tower. Mayor Smith asked for a motion. Motion was made by Alderman Biellier and seconded by Alderman Hill to table this resolution. Motion carried with a 4-0 vote. Voting Aye: Aldermen Biellier, Hill, Keene, Lancaster.  13. A RESOLUTION OF THE BOARD OF ALDERMEN OF THE CITY OF WILLARD, MISSOURI, AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO ENTER INTO AN AGREEMENT WITH SAC RIVER COWBOY CHURCH FOR WATERLINE INSTALLATION Public Works Director Trevor and Planning and Zoning Director Mike explained that this is a new Church event center down by EE. The church has requested a 6-inch water line for fire sprinklers. They signed for annexation. Mayor Smith asked for a motion. Motion was made by Alderman Biellier and seconded by Alderman Hill to approve this resolution. Motion carried with a 4-0 vote. Voting Aye: Aldermen Biellier, Hill, Keene, Lancaster. 14. A RESOLUTION APPROVING ESTIMATE E24-0684 FROM NROUTE ENTERPRISES FOR THE INSTALLATION OF EQUIPMENT IN THE TWO NEW POLICE CRUISERS. The City is currently leasing two police department cruisers from Enterprise. These vehicles did not come with existing equipment and require new NROUTE equipment installation. Mayor Smith asked for a motion. Motion was made by Alderman Biellier and seconded by Alderman Keene to approve this resolution. Motion carried with a 4-0 vote. Voting Aye: Aldermen Biellier, Hill, Keene, Lancaster. 15. A RESOLUTION ADOPTING THE CITY CLERK & PUBLIC INFORMATION OFFICER JOB DESCRIPTION City Administrator Wes submitted the job description for the dual position of City Clerk/PIO now held by Rebecca Hansen. This position could be split in the future. Mayor Smith asked for a motion. Motion was made by Alderman Hill and seconded by Alderman Lancaster to approve this resolution. Motion carried with a 4-0 vote. Voting Aye: Aldermen Biellier, Hill, Keene, Lancaster. 16. A RESOLUTION ADOPTING THE PUBLIC WORKS & WATER-SEWER DIRECTOR JOB DESCRIPTION City Administrator Wes submitted the job description for the dual position of City Clerk/PIO now held by Trevor Hoffman. Alderman Lancaster expressed concern that those duties, combined, might be challenging. It was pointed out that Trevor has good people under him and is efficient at delegating. Mayor Smith asked for a motion. Motion was made by Alderman Lancaster and seconded by Alderman Hill to approve this resolution. Motion carried with a 4-0 vote. Voting Aye: Aldermen Biellier, Hill, Keene, Lancaster. ORDINANCES 17. AN ORDINANCE ACCEPTING THE LEASE BY LAKELAND OFFICE SYSTEMS TO PROVIDE A PRINTER FOR THE PUBLIC WORKS DEPARTMENT AND AUTHORIZING THE  MAYOR TO EXECUTE ALL NECESSARY DOCUMENTS ON BEHALF OF THE CITY OF WILLARD, MISSOURI CFO Carolyn described the lease for the printer to the Board’s satisfaction. This was a First Read. 18. AN ORDINANCE OF THE BOARD OF ALDERMEN OF THE CITY OF WILLARD, MISSOURI, ESTABLISHING A UNIFORM POLICY FOR PUBLIC WORKS STAFF OF THE CITY OF WILLARD The Board was informed that the City is hoping to end the existing uniform contract or to keep the contract to a minimum. Public Works employees find the uniforms cumbersome, and the service has not been satisfactory. The rep said we could end the contract, but the company, when contacted, said the City is locked into the contract for 2 more years. Three employees are currently signed up for the uniform rental. The City can just stay at this rate and use the minimum service. The company told Trevor that exercising the buyout option would be prohibitively expensive, but no specific figures were shared. The Board asked Trevor to research the buyout amount. They also asked if they have other uniform materials available that are more amenable to public works staff. We have been paying overcharges (lockers we don’t have, charged two holidays that we didn’t receive services.) Nate Dally will also research this to see if we can negate the existing contract. It was suggested we table this item. Mayor Smith asked for a motion. Motion was made by Alderman Hill and seconded by Alderman Biellier to table this motion. Motion carried with a 4-0 vote. Voting Aye: Aldermen Biellier, Hill, Keene, Lancaster. 19. AN ORDINANCE ESTABLISHING A PERFORMANCE EVALUATION AND MERIT RAISE POLICY FOR FULL TIME EMPLOYEES OF THE CITY OF WILLARD City Administrator Wes outlined this policy for giving raises based on merit rather than periodic across-the-board raises. Mayor Smith asked for a motion. Motion was made by Alderman Keene and seconded by Alderman Biellier to approve this ordinance. Motion carried with a 4-0 vote. Voting Aye: Aldermen Biellier, Hill, Keene, Lancaster. 20. AN ORDINANCE ADOPTING THE CITY OF WILLARD DISCIPLINARY POLICY City Administrator Wes described this policy, which sets out a method for correcting employee aberrations, especially pertaining to qualifying for raises and continued employment. City Attorney Nate Dally shared his opinion that this policy does not change at-will employment. This was a First Read. 21. AN ORDINANCE REVISING AND REPLACING SECTION 400.1500 OF THE CITY CODE – EXCAVATION Planning and Zoning Director Mike briefly went over the proposed changes to the city code dealing with commercial excavation. This was necessitated by past instances in which commercial  excavators damaged existing utilities, left open trenches that could be a safety hazard, etc. Mike reported that he received emails showing there was some public concern that these guidelines could later be interpreted to restrict residential homeowners from excavating on their own property. The Board had received similar concerns. Mike changed the verbiage to read that this does not affect individual homeowners. It now clarifies that this is for “partnership, firm, or other entity”. The Board appreciated the public bringing the problematic broad verbiage to the city’s attention. The City was glad to change the wording to be more exact. Also, the current requirements for a contractor’s Certificate of Insurance is “not less than .5 million” for wrongful death. The City can arrange future COI requirements to suit the board. For instance, we could require no less than 1 million for wrongful death. The Board asked what is typical in the industry, but there is substantial variation. The Board was asked to approve as amended. Mayor Smith asked for a motion. Motion was made by Alderman Biellier and seconded by Alderman Hill to approve this ordinance. Motion carried with a 4-0 vote. Voting Aye: Aldermen Biellier, Hill, Keene, Lancaster. 22. AN ORDINANCE ADDING SECTION 400.520 OF THE CITY CODE - 520.010 APPROACHES Planning and Zoning Director Mike explained that a homeowner can provide material for a driveway approach, and public works will then schedule and do the work to construct it. Corrugated metal was removed from the approved list of materials. ABS pipe was added to the approved list. This code covers multiple approaches to a property, if those approaches meet zoning. Another proposed change is that the size of the approach will match the driveway; for instance, 30 ft approaches would be used for 3 car garages. This was a First Read. 23. AN ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING THE MAYOR TO SIGN A CONTRACT WITH SEE MY LEGACY A vote is all that is needed to accept this quote. CA Wes and City Attorney Dally pointed out that policy already exists for this money to be spent under the current Parks & Rec budget Parks and Recreation Director Jason briefly explained this platform and referred the Board to the information he provided. CFO Carolyn was asked how donated funds would be handled; she responded that donations will go into escrow account unless tagged, then it will go into a tagged account. There would be no time frame to use the money. The City would retain discretion to dictate projects; there would be a disclaimer that donated funds will be used at Park and Rec’s discretion in the event that earmarked projects are canceled. Mayor Smith asked for a vote. The vote failed. 24. AN ORDINANCE APPROVING THE 2025 PARKS FEES Parks and Recreation Director Jason explained new increased park fees: summer camp fees, fees for lunch provided at camp, middle school adventure camp fees, counselor-in-training fees, venue rental fees, rec center fees and pools fees. These are needed to recoup the cost of providing services. Also, fees will be split for Freedom Fest: craft booth fees will differ from food fees, to reflect the disparity in earnings.  The Board asked for breakdown for each sport and what it made for 2024, within 30 days. Jason will provide that. The City no longer charges a cleaning deposit for rentals. The City cannot verify whether rentals are clean. The Board would like the people who use rental to pay for the cleaning. Nate Dally says photos could work to verify cleaning. This was a First Read. 25. AN ORDINANCE APPROVING THE SPECIAL EVENT FEE SCHEDULE FOR OUTSIDE ORGANIZATIONS Parks and Recreation Director Jason explained this cost-covering measure for events that come into town. It covers mainly salaries of employees involved in the event. Third-party outside events are not actively sought by the City. The Board pointed out that Homecoming and Veteran’s parades are the only current parades not put on by parks and rec. There are waivers for school-sponsored events, so the Veteran’s parade will be the main event affected by this change in policy. In the past, many businesses donated to the Veteran’s parade. The Mayor reminded the Board that other third parties can come into town and ask for city subsidie as well, if we subsidize some parades. Nate Dally brought up that we need set policies, independent of parade content. This was a First Read. 26. AN ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING A CONTRACT WITH PREMIER PYROTECHNICS FOR THE FREEDOM FEST FIREWORKS Parks and Recreation Director Jason explained that he attempted to gather three quotes for fireworks: one company declined, saying the show was too small. Another didn’t have the proper licensure. Premier was the only company that could produce a realistic quote. We have used them in past years. The Board’s concern was that the contract was for three years; there was discussion about recourse in case the City really didn’t want to use Premier. So far, the cost and quality has been satisfactory. We have used them the past six years. This was a First Read. PROJECT MANAGER UPDATES 27. Approval of Advertising for Bids for The Meadows Gravity Trunk Sewer Project Manager Steven Bodenhamer informed the Board that our engineering firm, Allgeier, Martin and Associates, is ready to advertise for bids. The matter was put to a vote. Motion was made by Alderman Lancaster and and seconded by Alderman Biellier. The motion was carried with a 4-0 vote. Voting Aye: Aldermen Biellier, Hill, Keene, Lancaster. 28. Sanitary Sewer Status Update The City is nearing the end on the plan for the lift station that is for the 94 lift. Review of construction and cost is complete; the next step is to get a construction permit from Department of Natural Resources. The agent in charge of that has been reassigned and  grant funds are currently frozen at the national level. This situation is unprecedented, no one knows exactly how to proceed, so we are waiting to see what happens in the next weeks and months. Easements for The Meadows have been secured and recorded with Greene County. CITY ADMINISTRATOR REMARKS City Administrator Wes is researching new equipment for the board room, including a larger display screen, wireless microphones, and a computer assisted meeting recording that is searchable. We are also pushing the Willard City App as a way to get information out more effectively to the community. NEW BUSINESS none UNFINISHED BUSINESS none ADJOURN MEETING Mayor Smith called for a motion to adjourn the meeting. The time was 8:17 pm. Motion was made by Alderman Lancaster and seconded by Alderman Biellier to adjourn the meeting. Motion was carried with a 4-0 vote. Voting aye: Aldermen Biellier, Keene, Swatosh, Wilson. Rebecca Hansen, City Clerk