Former alderman Jarvis returns to Pierce City council in Ward 3

Pierce City Police Department expands to four members strong
 
A former alderman returned to the city council in Pierce City and new officers have begun their duties in meetings in Pierce City in September and October.
During the monthly meeting on Sept. 9, Jerrod Jarvis was sworn in to take the Ward 3 city council seat vacated by the resignation of Ben Slagle, who won the seat over Jarvis in the 2024 election. Jarvis’s return put the council back to full membership.
On Sept. 24, a swearing-in ceremony was held for three new police officers. Clerk Julie Johnson administered the oath of office to Justin Reed, Ben Vogt, and Derek Eden. Reed comes from Sarcoxie. Vogt and Eden come from Carthage. Eden has been an officer for four years and has experience serving in the Barry County Sheriff’s office.
Chief Steve Norman said the department will now be at full strength and will have an officer on duty daily from noon to midnight.
Norman praised the service of Officer Chasity Gray, who worked as an officer part-time in Pierce City for 10 years. She resigned following Norman’s appointment as chief.
“She did a great job, keeping the boat afloat,” Norman said. “[Her resignation] doesn’t detract from what she did. We’re forever grateful to her.”
Norman has also instituted a new practice, dubbed “Chat with the Chief,” meeting with the public from 9 to 10 a.m. every fourth Tuesday at the Reyes Family Restaurant. The next session will be on Oct. 28.
At the Oct. 13 meeting, Norman reported taking many medical calls. He said officers would make wellness checks in response to family requests. Jerrod Jarvis spoke about a phone tree system Monett used wherein a call would come daily to a household, and the person there could push 1 to indicate all was well. The computer would flag calls that prompted no response. Norman said he would look into it.
With Halloween approaching, Norman said his officers would check to see that traffic moved safely and that sex offenders were at home without their lights on.
Pierce City officers were now equipped with body cameras and the in-car camera system was operating, lowering the city’s liability potential. The new 12-hour schedule had been implemented, giving officers a rotating schedule wherein they worked Monday and Tuesday, were off Wednesday and Thursday, on Friday and Saturday, then switched for the next week. That enabled officers to have every other weekend off.
The department has a new written vision and vision statement. “It’s all about the community,” Norman said.
At the October meeting, council members approved attorney Andrew Cole to serve as city attorney, succeeding Toni Hendricks, who stepped down. Cole works as an assistant prosecutor for County Prosecutor Darlene Parrigon.
For two months in a row, council members heard about ongoing issues with traffic by Central Elementary School. Some motorists picking up children have turned into the driveways declared as one-ways by the school. The question arose over whether the city could ticket motorists for driving the wrong way on a private drive, or even write an ordinance about driving on private property. Hendricks said she would have to research the issue.
Chief Newton said the city would have to pass an ordinance banning right turns onto any private street before he had authority to issue any sort of ticket. Posting a “No right turn” sign in itself did not constitute a legal deterrent. Alderman Scott Wahl volunteered to work with Attorney Cole to shape an appropriate ordinance.
In department reports, water operator Bert Bond in September discussed reasons why the north side of town had low water pressure. He theorized it was because of the height of the north tower. He agreed to speak to an engineer about possibly adding a series of pressure tanks or “a big bladder” to resolve the issue. If that could work, he anticipated having to receive approval from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources before making modifications.
Mayor Todd Killingsworth reported public works found five fire hydrants that would not open. He asked the fire district through Alderman Scott Wahl to investigate and make corrections as needed.
In September, Amber Tindell filed an end-of-the-year report on the city swimming pool, noting 40 season passes had been sold. In October, she submitted a multi-page list of repairs or upgrades needed at the pool prior to next season.
Council members scheduled a public hearing on proposed sewer rate increases for Sept. 22. Only one person from the public attended. At the October meeting, aldermen lamented the lack of a response, but felt they had to pass the base water rate increase of $3 to stay in compliance with their bond covenant. The rate increase passed on a 6-1 vote, with Cory Sooter opposed and Melonie Roberts absent.
Clerk Johnson reported at the October meeting that the contract for the TextMyGov online service was due for renewal, costing $2,000 on a three-year contract. Killingsworth expressed doubt that enough people had signed up for alerts to justify the expense. Aldermen tabled the issue for further research.
At the September meeting, council members approved a variance for 215 N. Locust, a residential property, to allow a second building to be added for second residential structure. Owner Amber Tindell wanted to add what she characterized as “a mother-in-law” house. The city code does not allow two structures on a 75-by-100-foot lot. The Planning and Zoning Commission recommended the change. The council approved it by a vote of 7-1, with Cory Sooter in opposition.
Tindell was back at the October meeting, reporting Planning and Zoning said she needed a permit from the city to build a second house there. Sooter, this time with backing from Jerrod Jarvis, again challenged Tindell to repair the first house before authorizing work on a second structure. The matter was tabled.
In September, the council reviewed a request to vacate Lawrence Street, an undeveloped city street, running north from Hwy. 37 to Adams Street, north of Grande Tire. Killingsworth observed vacating the street would block an adjacent east-west street, which is also undeveloped. On the advice of legal counsel, aldermen tabled the issue and agreed to notify all parties that could be affected by utilities running through that property. The issue did not come up again in October.