City swears in new mayor, alderman

DESLOGE – A new chapter in the history of Desloge was written during Monday’s board of aldermen meeting when David Kater was sworn in as mayor. Kater replaced Greg Camp who did not run for re-election in the April 5 election.

In addition to Kater, re-elected aldermen Jerry Hulsey and Jim Jones along with newly-elected alderman Chris Gremminger were also sworn in.

One of Kater’s first order of business was to appoint a resident of Ward III to fill his vacancy on the board of aldermen. Kater appointed Bill Young to serve as alderman. Gremminger’s first official motion was to approve the appointment of Young which passed.

Under unfinished items the board approved a resolution for the financing of Highley Lane.

“We are combining the Highley Lane improvement with refinancing the TIF debt,” said Desloge City Administrator Eric Wiederhold. “The cumulative debt of $5 million will be paid for by TIF proceeds.”

The board also approved an ordinance to amend the TIF.

“This was for geographic purposes and for financial purposes,” Wiederhold said. “The old TIF district occupied all land east of Highway 67. We are condensing the district to land west of Highway 67 along with the former commuter parking lot. We are also reducing the budget from $8.75 million to $8 million. This does not mean that we are opposed to re-establishing the original boundaries of the TIF district at a later date.”

The board also approved splitting the financing with MoDOT for the extension of the Desloge Drive turn lane. MoDOT will contribute $20,000 and the city will pay $20,000 toward the project.

The April 5 election results were certified during the meeting. Following the certification of the results and the swearing in of the new mayor and aldermen, Camp and Alderman Scott Bockenkamp stepped down from the aldermen’s podium and took seats with the general public. Both Camp and Bockenkamp were presented with plaques for their years of service to Desloge.

Alderman J.D. Hodge was elected as Mayor Pro-tem. Kater also announced that he would be participating on the Planning and Zoning Commission. A measure to have aldermen participate on the commission was tabled.

The board granted a liquor request to Rhodes convenience store which is going to locate at the property which was previously T-Rex. The board also approved a fireworks license for TNT Fireworks.

Preliminary plans were also approved for Stone Ridge Subdivision which will be located west of Wal-Mart.