The Willow Springs Board of Alderman met in regular session Thursday, Feb. 18.
Present: Mayor Brooke Fair, Alderman Danny Bradley, Alderman Susan Rackley, Alderman Troy Yonker, Alderman Phill Knott, City Administrator Beverly Hicks, City Clerk Heather Duddridge, Deputy City Clerk Gena Brook, City Attorney Zane Privette, Assistant Police Chief Wes Ellison.
Guests: Amanda Mendez, John Bailey, Tom White, Phyllis White.
ANNOUNCEMENT OF QUORUM
Announcement of Quorum: City Clerk Heather Duddridge called the roll. Mayor Fair opened the February meeting of the Board of Alderman at 5:03 pm with a quorum present.
AGENDA APPROVAL
Motion by Alderman Bradley, seconded by Alderman Rackley to approve the agenda as presented. Motion carried 4-0.
CONSENT AGENDA
Motion by Alderman Yonker, seconded by Alderman Knott to approve the Consent Agenda which included Approval of Minutes – (RM 1/21), Approval of Bills for Payment, Receipt of Financial Reports, and YMCA, Department Head’s & Board’s Reports. Motion carried 4-0.
NEW BUSINESS
Airport Board Appointment: Tom White and John Bailey from the Airport Board were present. White relayed that the Board was requesting appointment of Pat Stuart to the Airport Board to fill the vacancy of Phill Knott. Bailey discussed Stuart’s familiarity of the airport and aviation knowledge. Motion by Alderman Bradley, seconded by Alderman Yonker to approve the appointment of Pat Stuart to the Airport Board. Motion carried 4-0.
Destruction of Records: Council was presented a list of records ready for destruction based on the State Statute Record Retention schedule.
• Utility Files – 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014
• Accounts Payable – 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015
• Deposits – 2011
• Receipt Management – 2012, 2014
• General Ledger – 2014
City Clerk Heather Duddridge informed Council that there may be additional documents ready for destruction and a new list would be presented to Council at a later time, if necessary. Motion by Alderman Yonker, seconded by Alderman Knott to approve the destruction of City Records as presented based on the record retention schedule. Motion carried 4-0. Council was also presented a list of Court records ready for destruction based on State Statute
Record Retention and Missouri Court Operating Rule 8.
• Minor Traffic/Animal Control/Etc. (open records) disposed in 2017
• Major Traffic/Serious Ordinance Violations (open records) disposed in 2008
• Cases dismissed in 2017 (closed records)
• SIS Minor Traffic/Animal Control/Etc. (closed records) disposed in 2017
• SIS Major Traffic/Serious Ordinance Violations (closed records) disposed in 2008
Motion by Alderman Yonker, seconded by Alderman Bradley to approve the destruction of Court Records as presented based on the record retention schedule. Motion carried 4-0.
Highway Safety Grant: Assistant Chief Wes Ellison informed Council that the Missouri Highway Safety Grant is provided through MoDOT and is 100% funded. Grant funding will be applied toward officers’ overtime hours. The purpose of the Highway Safety Program is to look for and address various hazardous moving violations. This is a grant the Police Department applies for each year. Motion by Alderman Rackley, second by Alderman Yonker to read Bill No. 75-21 as Resolution No. 21-75. Motion carried 4-0.
Signature Card Resolution: City Administrator Beverly Hicks stated that changing the names from the City’s financial accounts is necessary from time to time and in this instance, it would be adding City Clerk Heather Duddridge’s name to the accounts after her appointment as City Clerk. Other names on the accounts are City Administrator Beverly Hicks, Deputy City Clerk Gena Brook, and Mayor Brooke Fair. Motion by Alderman Yonker, second by Alderman Rackley to read Bill No. 76-21 as Resolution No. 21-76. Motion carried 4-0.
Fire Department Ordinance: City Administrator Beverly Hicks stated that this ordinance revision is in follow up of Council’s numerous discussions. Following the resignation of Donald Worley as Fire Chief, Hicks stated that now was the time to make changes to the qualifications necessary for the position of Fire Chief going forward and the steps taken to appoint someone to that position. After researching other City’s ordinances, Hicks believed it was apparent that the next Fire Chief needs to have certification in Fireman 1 and II, along with Incident Command
System (ICS) 100, 200, 700, and 800. Hicks also stated that while the training may not be readily available due to being in a small rural area, the key is to make sure it can be accessed within a reasonable amount of time. Finally, Hicks’ stated that her next step is to meet with the Fire Department to gather their opinions and inform them of the direction the City wishes to go, followed by putting together a job description allowing the public to apply for the Fire Chief position. Hicks believes that it is important that the firemen’s opinions are heard, but also believes that Council should be involved in the selection of Fire Chief. Hicks stated that after a new Fire Chief is hired, she would like to see him or her involved in writing the new Standard Operating Procedure (SOP). Motion by Alderman Bradley, seconded by Alderman Rackley to read Bill No. 63-21. Motion carried 4-0.
2020 Year End Review: City Administrator Beverly Hicks provided a brief overview of the 2020 calendar year, calling it “a year of many uncertainties,” which required an amendment to the budget in July and helped the City to remain financially healthy. The weather event of May 4, 2020 brought tornadic-like features that up-rooted trees and caused power outages city-wide. Electric crews from City of Mountain View, City of Cabool, and City of West Plains assisted with restoring electric service. The City expended approximately $300,000.00 for cleanup and restoring utility service after the storm. Insurance proceeds from claims have already been received, along with partial reimbursement from FEMA for disaster relief funding in the amount of $91,000.00.
The City applied for funding through the CARES Act and was awarded $110,298.05 for utility bad debt recovery, Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), upgrades to the Police Department software, and other unexpected expenditures due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The City’s other expenditures during the 2020 calendar year included repair/replacement pumps for the Wastewater Treatment Plant, a small welder, electrical fault locater, two loads of utility poles, electrical switchgear for economic development at the South Junction, boring services to expand utilities for the truck wash, tasers for the Police Department, and two vehicles for the Police Department. Total capital expense, including economic development expansion and upgrades, for 2020 was approximately $769,000.00.
Two new projects that began in 2020 are the Family Dollar Store under a TIF (Tax Increment Financing) and the Dollar General project. Those projects are continuing to move forward with goals to open by late spring 2021.
Hicks stated that she looks to 2021 with great optimism. Despite the challenges experienced in 2020, Hicks stated that it remained successful and anticipates 2021 to be successful as well. She described the City of Willow Springs as “strong financially and motivationally.”
