Holts Summit Board of Alderman approve plan for infectious disease preparedness

<p>The Holts Summit Board of Alderman’s monthly meeting is still scheduled to occur as planned at 6 p.m. Tuesday. File photo</p>

The Holts Summit Board of Alderman’s monthly meeting is still scheduled to occur as planned at 6 p.m. Tuesday. File photo

The Holts Summit Board of Alderman altered verbiage to the city's Infectious Disease Preparedness Plan during their Tuesday meeting.

The board passed a bill amending the City Code to add a section concerning false identification when purchasing alcohol.

In new business, a resolution was passed authorizing the Transportation Department to request qualifications of engineering consultants who could help with compliance under Municipal MS4 Operations - which covers stormwater management and storm sewer systems - for the city. City Administrator Hanna Lechner said this position allows them to be compliant with contracts and agreements with the city. After gathering submissions, the board will review applications and make a decision at the next alderman meeting.

"We felt it was necessary to go through with this process, post it for a couple days or weeks, and see what we get," she said.

Applications must be submitted to Lechner by Feb. 1. Any questions concerning the project should be directed to [email protected] or 573-896-5600.

The resolution concerning flood hazard prevention was passed, which followed Ordinance No. 2474, adopted last July, and will help the city meet State Emergency Management Agency and Federal Emergency Management Agency requirements for the National Flood Insurance Program. With its passing, the city will be making an Administrative Procedure manual setting out its plan to follow regulations and the previously passed Floodplain Management Ordinance.

A change order was authorized for the sewer project, decreasing the overall budget amount by $72,071.50 and increasing the Wastewater Improvement Project by $14,578.19, bringing its total to $5,935,739.69. Lechner said this still leaves the project about $72,000 under their original contract.

"Even with this change order and the one approved last month, we're still under budget, so there's nothing to be concerned with," she said.

The increase will allow the crew to install a grit chamber and emergency power connection from the regional pump station and extend casings past right of ways. The decrease will go toward other repairs in the city, which the sewer department will assist the street department in doing. The official completion date is set for February 2022.

One important step for the alderman was modifying the city's Infectious Disease Preparedness Plan. Back in March, Lechner met with officials to come up with a "pandemic virus preparedness plan," which provided employees with paid leave if they were to contract COVID-19 - she compared it to the function of the CARES act. Because the city doesn't meet all requirements for the Family and Medical Leave Act, this plan prevented employees from having to use their own sick days.

Lechner and other city leaders decided they needed to come up with additional coverage for employees in case there is a rise in another COVID-19 strain. By using the term "infectious disease" in the plan, it covers a wider definition of COVID-related illness issues - for example, if a person is quarantined with someone who tested positive for the virus, they could also qualify.

"Say something else happens and it could possibly be an issue all over again," Lechner said. "It covers more than just the term 'pandemic virus.'"

The modified plan was approved and will be used by the city when determining assistance for employees affected by COVID-19.

The board approved of the establishment of the National Incident Management System - this guidance system gets state and federal systems on the same page when it comes to natural disaster response, Holts Summit Police Department Sgt. Brandon Ruediger said, who was appointed emergency management director of NIMS in the city.

Establishing this system allows the city to apply for funding in the form of the Emergency Management Performance Grant - Ruediger clarified establishing NIMS does not guarantee automatic funding, but meets the standards of FEMA to apply for the grant.

"It can pay for personnel, benefits, equipment and more, but there are eight baseline requirements SEMA requires, and this is one of them," Ruediger said.