The West Plains City Council held its regular monthly meeting Monday and passed several ordinances, some annual renewals of agreements with local entities and others pertaining to contract agreements and the vacating of an alley.
Bids were also accepted as part of the council's consent agenda.
Local plumber Bob Wallen, who addressed council in April about the city's water metering and billing, also spoke briefly to thank council members and city officials for their ongoing attention to the issue and to say he continues to work with the water department, specifically in regard to readings and billing that seem unusually high.
A bid was accepted from Donelson Construction of Christian County for street sealing at about $524,000, under the $600,000 budgeted for the project. The work is expected to cover about 4.5 miles of city streets.
Asplundh Tree Expert of Union, previously hired for right-of-way tree trimming in 2023, was the only bidder for the same project this year and will begin work starting June 1 and continue until Dec. 31, or until the budget is depleted. The bid is for two crews with equipment for about $315 an hour straight time and $435 an hour overtime. The yearly budget for the service is $300,000.
Local company Pace Construction was the only bidder for asphalt overlays and street milling, expected to cover about 2.7 miles of paving. The budget is $400,000 for the service, and the bid came in at $860,421.60. Purchasing agent Kristopher Bates, when making a recommendation for the bid, pointed out the shortfall would be made up with $568,000 in savings and unanticipated revenues from 2023.
AK Construct of West Plains will install a concrete driveway at Fire Station No. 1 on Kissinger Street, replacing the current asphalt driveway for $31,970. The bid came in under the $55,000 budget, and the remainder will be used to complete concrete work at the fire training tower begun by city street crews.
A used rough mower for the North Terra Golf Course will be bought from Kansas Golf and Turf for $29,500, and a used sprayer will be bought for $30,000 from Professional Turf Products. Bates explained in his recommendation the rough mower wasn't the lowest bid, but the best choice given the number of hours logged when compared to other offers. Both bids collectively came in under the $100,000 total budget for the course, which leaves room for the city to purchase other equipment like golf carts and other approved capital items, Bates added.
An order will be put in to help maintain an inventory of Itron brand water meter encoder receiver transmitters (ERTs), at a cost of $26,750 for 240 from United Systems of Benton, Ky. Bates explained in his request that an order of 354 units had been placed in July 2023, and has just arrived. Given the amount of time it's taking to get the orders, he said, it is prudent go ahead and place an order so the inventory will be there if needed.
The city's only tennis court, at People's Park, will soon be replaced, through resurfacing and striping, by two pickleball courts instead. A change order was approved to allow the purchase of two pickleball nets and resurfacing at an additional cost of $14,210.
The resurfacing of the tennis court was contracted in September 2023 with McConnell and Associates, and the same business will convert the courts and install nets. The total cost of the project is now $37,260, and it is expected to start in mid-June.
Council conducted the first readings of two separate bills to become ordinances. The first, if passed, will vacate a 10-foot alley between First Street and Broadway near the intersection of Broadway and Washington Avenue, a request made by adjacent property owners Moira Seiber, Terry Johnson and John Harris in order to create more parking. A utility easement will be retained by the city.
The next bill to become ordinance seeks to authorize City Administrator Sam Anselm to enter into agreements with contractors for the U.S. 160/Independence Avenue overpass project that has begun. The agreements must meet Missouri Department of Transportation standards and be under budget.
The ordinance includes a lighting agreement with the Missouri Highways and Transportation Department, and the city will maintain lighting along that street once it is installed.
Several resolutions that are voted on annually were renewed. The first was a cooperative agreement with the West Plains Public Library, and a second authorizes Anselm to execute an agreement with West Plains Downtown Revitalization for economic development. A third resolution authorized a lease agreement between the city and the Missouri State University-West Plains Board of Governors for space at the West Plains Civic Center to be used for office, storage and events.
The last of the resolutions confirmed support for the application of Transportation Alternatives Program (T.A.P.) funding with MoDOT in order to improve the condition and walkability of sidewalks on Hunter Street. The street falls within the South 160 Community Improvement District (CID), with the intention of the city partnering with the CID to provide the minimum required 20% of the cost in order to qualify for the grant. The sidewalk will be part of the Garner Villas senior housing project that will be located off of County Road 6460, and run along Bruce Smith Parkway from Mitchell Road to County Road 6460.
