Monett City Council acts on utilities, dispatching, Agreement offered to support sale of Fairway Apartments

The Monett City Council addressed diverse business at its two latest meetings, passing several ordinances with both readings at the same session. 

The expensive business focused on rehabilitation of the sanitary sewer system. Utilities Superintendent Skip Schaller presented bids in four categories and proposed hiring multiple contractors. He noted the city let its contract covering such work expire several years ago and piggybacked off the contract let by the City of Bolton. The new contracts would enable other cities to use the rates specified in the proposal. 

Specific contracts went to SMICO Contracting Group of Odessa for lining rehabilitation for $3.1 million, two contracts to Ace Pipe Cleaning of Kansas City for a total of $204,457 for service lateral connection repair and smoke testing, and Ehrsom Construction of Lamar for $578,820 for open-cut point repairs on mainlines and tap connections. 

Schaller said unlike past contracts, work approved would also cover repair of service lines connecting to the main if found to be in bad shape. Manhole rehabilitation was not included, as it has been in the past. Schaller noted the city found another vendor for that job with “a great product” and wanted to stick with them. 

The ordinance was passed immediately at Schaller’s recommendation, as several contractors wanted to begin work as soon as possible. 

The contract to oversee all these projects by Trekk Design Group was passed a second time on July 23 due to omissions in the originally drafted ordinance. 

On a separate financial deal, council members authorized to enter into a lease-purchase deal with Central Tax Exempt Investments and the Missouri Association of Municipal Utilities to finance construction of a new electric substation next to the IOOF Cemetery on North Fourth Street. Schaller felt the 15-year deal with Central Bank offered the best rates. City Administrator Mickey Ary hoped to finalize details by the end of the month. 

Dispatching fee finalized

At the July 9 meeting, council members approved a new agreement with the Barry County Emergency Services Board for dispatching of the Lawrence County portion of Monett. The original contract expired. The new contract offered a five-year deal for a base fee of $50,000, increasing $5,000 a year. The previous charge was $93,985 for one year. 

Dispatching for the Barry County portion of the city comes without charge, covered by the countywide sales tax that includes 911. 

According to Mike Phillips, county emergency services executive director, the initial deal that enabled Monett to give up its own dispatching operation was based on call volume. Since the initial deal was struck, Monett’s call volume has increased. In addition, the Emergency Services Board operates on the state fiscal year of July-to-June, unlike Monett, which runs April-to-March, making it difficult for the city to estimate volume charges for the coming year. 

“Monett has had growth and is looking at more,” Phillips said. “It’s not best to penalize officers for being proactive. I proposed the new rate as a flat fee for budgeting purposes. I talked to the chief [George Daoud] about it. I made the proposal to our board and they agreed. We felt it was fair, covered our costs, and was a mutually respectful decision; a win for everybody.” 

Support for housing deal

At its July 23 meeting, the council agreed to write a letter of support for Rural Housing Developers LLC. Christine Ott, chief operating officer for the company, who works out of the firm’s Springfield office, reported the firm is purchasing the Fairway Apartments from MACO, the longtime owner. Rural Housing Developers already owns the nearby Colonial Village apartments on West Pine Street. 

Ott requested the city’s support in its application for tax credits through the Missouri Housing Development Commission.

Unlike other property owners of what has been historically low-income housing, Ott said her company will continue that service. “The current tenants can stay,” she said. “[Fairway] will remain affordable housing for 30 years. We go for sustainability. Others buying [apartments contracted for low-income residents] have turned them into market-rate properties. We want to preserve it as affordable.”

Ott said Rural Housing Developers plans to put $100,000 into each of the Fairway apartment buildings.

She requested a letter of support to submit in the first week of August. City Administrator Ary said the council could authorize a letter without calling a special session for a vote. Community development director Doug Potts added there was another project working with the Missouri Housing Development Commission that his office was tracking. 

Hearing for CDBG grant

The July 23 meeting also included a required public hearing for a grant application for a Community Development Block Grant. Applications for federal funds were due by July 31. According to Mike Gervais, communications specialist for the city, a date for the public hearing had not been set by the council’s July 9 meeting and could not be announced at the council’s regular evening monthly meeting, which the public attends. 

The July 23 morning meeting, scheduled as a work session, did not have any members of the public in attendance. 

The grant sought is a demolition block grant “for the demolition of several publicly owned structures to remediate slum and blight.” Mayor Randy Burke said the funds could be considered “low-hanging fruit.” Doug Potts elaborated, “The city is working on several different projects to address a growing concern among residents regarding vacant and deteriorating buildings, including the pending Vacant Building Registry and Chapter 353 downtown. If this grant is awarded, it will provide the city revenue to address city-owned properties that are unused, unusable, or unnecessary.”

Later in the meeting, council members discussed several dilapidated shelters built around five school bus stops on city right-of-way. Rather than rebuild or repair them, Potts recommended removing them. Council member Ken Gaspar, who serves as president of the Monett school board, said the district has many more bus stops without shelters and would not object to their removal. 

Potts continued, “While that project would likely be completed before this grant money is awarded – if it is approved by council – it serves as a good example of the type of projects eligible for this kind of funding.”

Potts noted Monett had not applied for CDBG funds for several years, unlike other cities, and could apply routinely. The last CDBG money awarded to Monett came as part of the Kelly Creek buyout by the Federal Emergency Management Agency, approved in 2018.