Aldermen hold brief meeting

The Fredericktown Board of Aldermen adjourned for its regularly scheduled meeting, Jan. 23.

During work session business, Chris Reagan stopped by to discuss the building/community center project being worked on by the Madison County Progress Initiative. 

Reagan asked the aldermen to consider helping cover some of the costs to run the facility once it is completed. The Fredericktown R-I School District has already agreed to help with minor maintenance and cleaning.

The board of aldermen asked Reagan to bring a more official proposal back before an official decision could be made.

Next, the aldermen approved a request for City Clerk Theresa Harbison and Deputy Clerk Ashley Baudendistel to attend Missouri City Clerks and Finance Officers Association Spring Institute training. Due to the date of this training the board also voted to cancel the March 13 board of alderman meeting. 

A request for Police Chief Eric Hovis to attend the annual Police Chief’s Conference was also approved.

The aldermen voted to purchase 50 96-gallon trash cans at a total cost of $3,595.50. This purchase is something the city does every year to continue to rotate out the old carts.

The last order of business discussed during work session was relating to the LMI (low-moderate income) survey. The completion of the survey by the citizens, which are selected by the state, is important when it comes to applying for grant funding. In the past, the city has had a difficult time getting citizens to return their surveys.

The aldermen voted to create an incentive for those chosen by offering a $10 utility bill credit, per address, to all those who return their completed survey.

As a reminder, the state chooses participants and city staff do not have a say in who receives the survey.   

During regular session business, the aldermen passed an ordinance allowing Atlas Roofing Corporation to lease the premises located at 410 Graham Drive.

An ordinance was also passed to hire Dille Pollard to perform architectural services for the design and construction of the new police station. 

The council passed an ordinance–which will only go into effect if voters decide to pass it during the April election–imposing a sales tax of three percent on any sale of adult use marijuana sold with the city limits.

The next meeting of the Fredericktown City Council will immediately follow the 5:30 p.m. work session, Feb. 13, at City Hall.

Victoria Kemper is a reporter for the Democrat News. She can be reached at vkemper@democratnewsonline.com