Holts Summit Board of Aldermen host public hearing for various city improvements

The Board of Aldermen general meeting for May opened as usual, and the first items for consideration were in the form of a public hearing to discuss a new trash service contract renewal with Allied Waste, a storm water management program and funding for a proposed new activities center.

According to City Administrator Brian Crane, for years, there has been an issue with the trash service in the city of Holts Summit. In the past, there have beens problems with illegal dumping, issues with litter disposal and insufficient carts to hold trash.

An Allied Waste representative recommended a more uniform and automated service to combat the problem. This would entail Allied Waste providing households with a trash cart in which residents would deposit their trash and take out to be disposed of weekly. These carts could vary in sizes according to the type of waste being thrown away and the family size using the carts.

The representative discussed the benefits of this automated service, which include cost savings, higher service level, improved aesthetics and less polution.

According to Crane, under this contract, residents would pay around $13.50 per month for trash services or $16.50 per month for trash and recycling services. The recycling fee would be optional, and would only be implemented if at least 600 residents participated in the program. These two costs would include projected fuel costs and a franchise fee that would cover street maintenance and other various city needs.

The next item discussed in the public hearing was a program to manage storm water in the city. Christina Luebbert of Luebbert Engineering discussed goals the city has had in the past as well as how the city plans to improve present conditions.

Last on the agenda for the public hearing was a discussion of funding for a proposed activities center.

This plan would include generating funding from user fees through memberships sold, a capital campaign through donations and a property tax through real and personal property.

A Realtor present at this meeting suggested getting the property tax on the November ballot. If implemented, according to Crane, the property tax could generate between $20-$100 per year for every house valued at $100,000.

Among the items passed at the meeting, the ordinances to construct a wastewater system, improve sidewalks, execute an easement agreement with Ameren Missouri for an underground electric service and implement upgrades to the radio system to help the Callaway County Emergency Operations Center were passed unanimously.

In the new business section, an ordinance was passed to execute a contract between Holts Summit and Septagon Construction Company, Inc. to build a Municipal Center and Sally Port.

Also, the "elephant in the room," according to Alderman Jason Michae,l was the ordinance to host a beer garden during the 2014 Fireworks Festival. This issue has been discussed in the past, and the aldermen wanted to make sure that it was implemented correctly.

"If we're going to do it, let's do it right," said Mayor Lucas Fitzpatrick. "We're going to take that step and see if it's right or not."

The motion passed, and the mayor hopes that people will remember the fireworks more than the beer garden.

story created on Monday 5/12/2014 at 9:42:25 pm by Kevin Smith