Council Votes to Abolish Sedalia Airport Board

The Sedalia City Council, in its first meeting of June 2020, abolished the Sedalia Airport Board, due to poor attendance by its members.

In notes provided by City Administrator Kelvin Shaw, the Airport Board has not been functioning for quite some time. In fact, monthly meetings were reduced to quarterly meetings, and for the last several quarters, the group has not had a quorum when they do meet.

However, Shaw said, the information and input provided by some individual members is considered valuable to the airport director, and that info is used to inform improvements.

Current airport board members listed on the City of Sedalia website include: Curt Williams, Dave Wiedeman, Larry Bahr and former airport director John Evans.

In addition, Sedalia Regional Airport lost its director last month due to the resignation of Eric Bowers, who left to assume a position in Jefferson City. He served as director for three years, hired in May of 2017. The City is currently searching for his replacement.

City staff recommends the continuation of informal meetings with stakeholders on specific topics as needed, and dispense with trying to hold formal meetings of the advisory board on a regular basis.

The vote to abolish the Sedalia Airport Board was six yes votes, with two Council members absent (Charles Lowe and Tollie Rowe).

In addition, the Council on Monday night:

*Reduced the size of the Bothwell Regional Health Center Board of Trustees from 11 to seven. This was done to increase the efficiency and effectiveness of the board. To accomplish this, it was decided not to appoint anyone to the board to replace the three boards members whose term expires in June. A fourth member previously submitted his resignation from the board and his position will not be re-filled.

*Accepted an $83,580 bid from Storage Networks to update the City's storage software and hardware systems, which are currently out of date. A total of four responses to request for proposals were received. Storage Network's bid was well under the $140,000 budgeted for the problem.

*Approved a one-year extension for the contract with Hansen's Tree Service at a cost of $30,750 for grinding services. Hansen was the low bidder last year, with the option of four, one-year contract extensions. The service is necessary for the City to produce mulch from compost through the combination of sewer sludge and yard waste.

* Approved a resolution to authorize application for another $10,000 TRIM grant. The grant allows for a tree inventory in the public right-of-way and city parks, which helps with Sedalia being a member of Tree City USA. TRIM stands for Tree Resource Improvement and Maintenance.

*Approved a change order which added $2,277 to the cost of Phase 4 of the Streetscape project in downtown Sedalia. A design error was recently discovered by Rhad Baker Construction pertaining to an incorrect joint type, thus adding to the overall cost. The total bill for Streetscape Phase 4 now stands at $1,011,714.

*Approved a one-year extension in the contract with Duke's Root Control at a cost of $25,971.60. This will be the third consecutive one-year extension for the service, which chemically controls tree root problems in the City's sewer system.

*Approved the cost of archaeological research to be done by Missouri State University. The research is required by the Feds due to federal funds being used to construct a Nucor Rail Spur north of Sedalia. The study will certify that the the City of Sedalia is not disturbing historical artifacts as a result of the construction. The cost of the research is $6,958.54. The City has determined where the successful project bidder will obtain the dirt needed to bring the “Sedalia Rail Spur Project” up to the proper grade, it was noted.

*Approved a $122,920 contract with Engineering Surveys and Services in alignment with upgrading the City's water mains from 10th to 16th Street, and from Grand to Engineer.

*Approved a $36,495 agreement with Barr Engineering for professional services pertaining to permits from the DNR covering the City's sewer system, which are up for renewal. A significant amount of work, expertise and sampling goes into the application process, it was noted. Additionally, a line item in the budget for this was moved from capital expenditures to operating expenses, explained City Administrator Kelvin Shaw.

*Approved a $50,000 contract with advertising firm Callis and Associates, of Sedalia, for the City of Sedalia's branding project. A total of 19 proposals were received, it was reported. Sedalia Mayor John Kehde, Community Development Director John Simmons and Councilman Andrew Dawson, serving as the Community Development Committee Chairman, was the review committee for the proposals.

*Accepted a $12,000 grant to help administer a historic preservation project in Sedalia. The goal is to register the Victorian Towers District in the National Register of Historic Places. The total cost of that project is $24,087. Tax credits to offset the cost of restorations is the desired outcome. Downtown Specialist Raeanne Spears applied for and was awarded the grant on behalf of the City as a Certified Local Government.

*Moved the Animal Services Department from the Finance and Administration Committee to the Public Safety Committee. The move is a better fit for the department, explained Councilman Tom Oldham.

Five City employees were recognized at the start of the 42-minute meeting Monday night.

Equipment Operator George Stevens has served in the Sanitation Department for 30 years.

Commander David Woolery has served in the Sedalia Police Department for 25 years.

Sgt. Kevin Klein has served in the Sedalia Police Department for 10 years.

Ofc. David Mittelhauser has served in the Sedalia Police Department for five years.

Ofc. John Fellows II has served in the Sedalia Police Department for five years.

This was Councilwoman Bonita Nash's final Council meeting. She decided not to run for re-election. Nash said she she would still be watching Council meetings from the audience.

Tollie Rowe's last Council meeting was in May, as he was absent Monday night. He also elected not to run again.

Council adjourned to a closed-door session.