Board of Aldermen Meeting

CITY OF WILLARD/GREENE COUNTY COMMISSIONERS SPECIAL MEETING January 7, 2013 7:00 p.m. Board present: Alderman Roggensees-present, Alderman Hemphill-present, Mayor Keltner-present, Alderman Vincent-present and Alderman Simmons –present. Staff present: Dale Duvall, City Clerk; Nicholas Heatherly, City Administrator; Randy Brown, Director of Development; Karen Robson, Chief Financial Officer; Whitney Shoffner, Interim Director of Community Services; and Tom McClain, Chief of Police. Guests present: Joel Keller, Kent Morris, Jim Viebrock, Miles Park, J.R. Wells, Chris Coulter, Harold Bengsch, Roseann Bentley, Terry Whaley, Robert Taylor, Tim Smith, Ryan Nicholls and Tim Smith. The meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m. by Commissioner Viebrock. The opening prayer was given by Mayor Keltner. JR Webb, Assistant Director of Communications at Springfield-Greene County 911 Offices, stated that Greene County-Springfield is dispatching for 21 agencies currently. He also stated that the new sales tax that went into effect has allowed for the hiring of new officers. Mayor Keltner asked about the discussion that there may be no more commissioning to the city from Greene County per Sheriff Arnott. Greene County Administrator, Tim Smith stated that he would check on this with Sheriff Arnott and get back to the Mayor. Chief McClain stated that he had heard from the county that there would be “slight adjustments” and he spoke about the charity boxing event to be held in March. Assistant Director of Parks, Miles Park stated that the Dan Kinney Family Center was having its grand opening on Saturday, January 12th and also that this year is the centennial for GC/Springfield parks. The Springfield Battlefield reenactment to take place at the square on January the 12th was also discussed. The Director of the Office of Emergency Management for Springfield and Greene County, Ryan Nicholls and Emergency Planning Specialist – Municipal, Robert Taylor spoke about their partnership with: Willard, Battlefield, Ashgrove, and Strafford. City Clerk, Dale Duvall spoke about the assistance that she has received from Ryan Nicholls and Robert Taylor on the manuals and the NIMS training for staff. Terry Whaley, Ozarks Greenways Director went over many items. Some of what was discussed was: • 2013 is the 21st year for the greenways and that they are trying to start marketing the trail as a “light tourist destination.” • The Ozarks Greenways staff is developing a bicycle destination plan with the County. • The Adventure Race is set for the 5/19/2013 and is in its 15th year. The race is 50 miles long and has had up to 400 participants in the past. • There is a new mountain bike trail geared for beginners that begins at Junction Café and goes to Walnut Grove. 01-07-2013 BOA /GC Minutes Page 1 of 2 The Mayor invited Mr. Whaley to be a member on the Economic Development Task Force for Willard. Whitney Shoffner, Interim Director of Community Services stated that the Willard Parks Department is working with Cox to take over the fitness programs that are offered in Willard at the recreation center. The Parks Department is also looking into grants for playground equipment. Commissioner Viebrock spoke of the new ordinance that would allow revenue from tickets issued in the county to stay with the county instead of going to the state. Joel Keller, Transportation Planner for Greene County, spoke of the projects that they had completed recently in the Willard area. Director of Planning and Zoning for Greene County, Kent Morris reported a large increase in R-1 houses in unincorporated Greene County in the past year. He also talked about LIDAR and how the software works. Chris talked about starting the construction of the morgue in Springfield. Construction is set to start in the fall now that the OEM building the new sheriffs training facilities are completed. Assistant Commissioner , Harold Bengsch stated that the tax revenue was down 9.4% in Greene County in December. City Administrator, Nick Heatherly talked about the following projects and issues taking place in Willard: • Waterline project • Manhole Rehabilitation • SSO’s • Wastewater concerns for Willard and the sewer agreement with Springfield • Sewer increases Alderman Roggensees said that the Board keeps hoping for development. Alderman Vincent and Alderman Hemphill asked Terry Whaley about extending the trailhead hours and connecting Bolivar to Clinton. Terry Whaley stated there were no plans at this time for either item. The meeting was adjourned at 8:25 p.m. ____________________________ City Clerk, Dale Duvall __________________________ Mayor Tom Keltner 01-07-2013 BOA /GC Minutes Page 2 of 2