Jake Brake Ordinance, Sidewalk Repair Topics of Discussion

Sedalia City Council heard two strategic planning presentations from department heads Monday night, including one from Community Engagement Director Jessica Hoffman regarding the downtown area and one from Public Works Operations Director Justin Bray regarding Streets, Sanitation, Mowing and Alley Maintenance.

Council then approved an annexation request from Christopher P. and Denise L. Martin for property located at 2280 West Country Club Drive to connect to the City’s water distribution system. The Martins have agreed to pay out-of-city rates for the use of city water. The agreement had been signed and notarized. The property will be annexed in the future only if it becomes contiguous to the city limits, it was noted.

MoDOT requested two minor wording changes in the signs they will produce concerning the Jake Brakes ordinance passed by the Council in May.

The ordinance will not apply in areas where the posted speed limit is 45 mph or great due to the need for engine braking at higher speeds.

Also, the City can request that MoDOT install signage at the city limits that say “Engine Brake Mufflers Required.”

It was noted that the adjustments do not change the legality or intent of the ordinance, but are necessary MoDOT to move forward with posting the appropriate signs on state routes that enter Sedalia where the speed limit is under 45 mph.

Council then awarded a $477,859.20 bid to S&A Equipment & Builders for sidewalk replacement within the City. The bid had to be below $500,000 to keep within budget restraints.

The lowest bid was $647,000, so deductions from the project were made by Project Manager Jeremy Stone to stay with the half-million-dollar budget.

The City has been working on a list that was originally generated in 2013 that show where the needed repairs are located. The nearly half million dollars set aside for sidewalk repair will help accelerate that process, City Administrator Matt Wirt said.

The vote was seven yes, one absent, due to First Ward Councilwoman Cheryl Ames’s absence Monday night.

Two of the three winners in the 2025 Christmas Light Contest were recognized Monday night, including Katie Sanchez, 3309 South Stewart. She won first place and $100. Kyrill Spotten, 2904 Daryl Drive, won second place, and $50.

One liquor license was renewed Monday night at the one-hour meeting: Erica Eisenmenger dba The Ivory Grille, 317 South Ohio, for sidewalk sales and Sunday Sales, $350

Under Miscellaneous, Second Ward Councilwoman Tina Boggess invited everyone to attend the Martin Luther King, Jr., program at Burns Freewill Baptist Chapel, 207 East Pettis, on Monday, Jan. 19 starting at 3 p.m.

Boggess also requested to see maps of the areas where the sidewalk replacement projects will take place. City Administrator Matt Wirt said that can and will be provided.

Wirt also provided an update for the Washington Street Bridge rehab project, saying that the engineer submitted a shoring plan to Union Pacific for concrete forms and equipment, and received final approval. A startup meeting was scheduled for Tuesday (today) with staff members. “He is very anxious to get started,” Wirt said of the project engineer. “Weather pending, he should be starting any minute. It’s good news to get that rolling.”

Under Good & Welfare, Kevin Walker, 700 West Broadway, spoke in favor the Jake Brakes ordinance.

“It’s very annoying,” he said. “Every night between 7:30 and 8:15, I have a special semi that comes through in turquoise green, and he starts Jake Braking all the way from Vermont, all the way down. It’s a 35 mile-an-hour speed limit. He doesn’t need to be doing that unless he’s speeding.”

Walker went on to say he hopes city officials are serious about the ordinance, and noted that he has had to replace window caulking at his house due to the extreme vibrations coming from trucks with Jake Brakes. “And I get tired of that,” Walker told the Council, adding that he has sat on his front porch and counted at least 20 trucks using Jake Brakes in front of his house.

Walker invited SPD Chief Woolery to place a patrol unit at his house anytime to enforce the new ordinance. “I guarantee your officer will be busy all day long,” Walker stated.

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Debbie Covington, 2601 East 12th, began her speech with a shout out to Public Works.

“You guys picked up trash over the holidays,” she noted.

Covington went to on to state that “physical contact with a member of the public, especially to a journalist, is never appropriate in a public meeting. Leadership requires restraint and when restraints fail, leadership also requires humility. A public apology would not admit guilt, it would demonstrate respect for the press, the public and the institution.”

Covington also questioned why Community Engagement Director Hoffman gave a strategic planning presentation Monday night for the downtown area when she “does not run that department before that role has even been established or approved.”

Covington pledged that she “will continue to speak, document and stand up for transparency and accountability.”

Sedalia Senior Center representative Renee Vance was the final speaker during Good & Welfare. She requested $2500 in funding from the City for the upcoming gala. She added that Congress has to act before Jan. 31 for the center to retain its federal funding through the Older Americans Act.

Vance noted that there are 319 clients in Pettis County and 170 homebound clients who receive home-delivered meals. She concluded by giving out US Rep. Mark Alford’s phone number, which is (202) 225-2876.

Council will meet Saturday, Jan. 10 at 8:30 a.m., in the Council Chambers for their annual Strategic Planning Session. The meeting will help prioritize the Council's goals and projects for the 2027-2027 Fiscal Year Budget.

A special session to approve a liquor license for a holiday party at the fairgrounds by ProEnergy will lead off the morning's activities. The $15 license is for Amy Oberbeck dba Shakers Bartending out of Springfield. The company party begins at 2 p.m. and ends at midnight.

Council meets again on Tuesday, Jan. 20. Monday is MLK Day and city offices will be closed. Therefore, the Council meeting gets pushed back one day as a result.

In the top photo: Katie Sanchez accepts a $100 prize from Community Engagement Director Jessica Hoffman for winning first place in the city's Christmas Light Contest held in December.