City Council - Regular Meeting

Call meeting the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. [clears throat] Roll call, please. Mayor Larkkey, here. Council member White, here. Council member Thompson here. Council member Davidson here. Council member Bryan here. Council member Lawson here. Council member Richardson here. Council member McCllum here. Council member Johnson here.

We have a quorum roll. Personal appearances. None. Unfinished business. None. New business. One. Motion approving resolution 2026-001. A resolution approving a memorandum of understanding with heart in hand for reimbursement for certain costs related to operating a warming shelter. Present. Second. We have a motion in a second. You're up.

Good evening, mayor and council. The evening or the resolution that you have before you this evening is similar to the one that the council considered last year. Um this is for a reimbursement program to Hart and Hand for certain expenses related to operating their warming shelter um at at their location. The homelessness committee took uh took application for this reimbursement and considered at its December 4th meeting, voting unanimously 8 to zero to approve Hartinhand as the recipient of the reimbursement. The only difference with this year's uh reimbursement application was the inclusion of anou in the packet that council saw. Um primarily this was due at the request of heart and hand um as part of some ongoing grant funding. I believe Sam is here. I should have looked before I stood up. Um, but Sam Newbie, the uh the director of Heart and Hand, he did indicate that for future grant funding and some other um kind of reasons on their end, kind of some technical as well as some administrative reasons, they preferred theou approach. Um, the way we structure the program, the way we structure the payments and the the verification that we'll do on the staff side is not changed at all. really just memorialized by that document that both will agree to. Happy to answer any questions about the program or this year's um reimbursement.

Go ahead. So, it's we're not really ask they're not really asking for any new security services. They're just this is just to memorialize what's really being done right now. That's correct. Okay. So, there's no new concerns or anything like that. Okay. Thank you. Go ahead. To be clear, we're currently not discussing theou. Is that right? Not no. So the first item, the the 2026 one is the reimbursement program. Um what Hartinhand had requested was that we have anou specifically just for the reimbursement program. That's number two. Okay.

Correct. There's a secondou with heart and hand that is also on the agenda. Oh, so there's a Soh, okay. So then maybe it's going into So the So there's twous at hand here. The first one being about the reimbursement. Yeah. All right. I do have questions on that one as well. So, I I don't I saw I think I saw a hand up before mine. Relied. So, go ahead. Okay. I didn't know who you were pointing at up there, mayor. Um, did we increase Mike? Did we increase the money that we gave them this year? Did we up the ante for I know it was $10,000 last year and we've increased it this year. It correct. It's 15,000 this year.

Okay. And do we get any data from for instance how many people stay, how many nights are they open? Um what services are provided during that warming center time? Yes. um as part of the council packet and within the narrative that they that Hart and Hand submitted to the homelessness committee um for as part of their application, they have some information in there about how many individuals were served, some of the items that specifically were reimbursed as part of the program as well.

Okay. And so I know that we talked about this extensively last year and we know that Belton is not the the the leading arrow for solving the homeless issue. So, but I'm wondering if and and I I'm not saying that they shouldn't have a warming shelter, but could we possibly think about in the future um using that money to provide different services other than, you know, I know that we need a warming shelter. We also need a cooling shelter, but we also need services that helps people get driver's license and and I'm wondering if that money could be spent or could we say, you know, in addition to you keeping them warm, could could you let us know what other services you're providing?

Absolutely. And and I I know we have Sam here who is uh with Heart and Hand, they have a variety of other services that they provide to those that take advantage of the warming center. Um, as for the reimbursement program [snorts] as a whole, we certainly could based on council direction um have other uh other recipients of that just in the last two years, Hart and Hand has been the only applicant and the only recipient for that reimbursement. And have we have we designated it only for warming shelters or I mean have we said that you can only use this money for warming shelters or Okay, because I I know that we I know that we've been talking about this for several years and I don't see a for and I'm not in the loop but I don't I would like to see you know just for me personally some some kind of branching out of things that we're providing and they may [clears throat] do that. So anyhow that's just what I have to say. Go ahead.

Uh similar thought process I guess was and I think I had I mean honestly I think I asked this exact same question last year. What happens if we have another good and let me let me actually preface all of this by saying I strongly support Heart and Hand. I personally donate to them. My family donates to them in many different ways throughout the year. Um I believe they're a great organization. have a this is not in any way, shape or form a message about heart and hand. I just want to throw that out there. Um it's but but I do you know in this role I'm expected to you know have ask some questions and follow up with where our money's going. What if we have another organization that steps up and says hey you know I I can provide a service with you know 7,500 half of the money or whatever. Are we locked in at that point with this or how does how does this transpire? So based on since we are kind of coming to the end of the fiscal year for this program um you know this being our only application you know staff's recommendation is approval for kind of the full amount for this program. Um the application reopens at the beginning of the new fiscal year. um and we have the application open during the entirety of the year and if other applicants were to take advantage of it um you would see those recommendations coming from the homelessness committee to uh the council here for consideration

one of the things can I hold on go ahead I just one of the things I think we discussed last year at some point um was uh that this is especially that centers to keep people safe is extremely important and this is a great first step, but we kind of saw it as a first step. So, just, you know, kind of similar, maybe not the same, but similar to Tom to Council Member Thompson that, you know, just like to see, I guess, more potential. Sure. That's all. Go ahead. Now,

to your statement, uh, when we cons brought this forward, the idea was we may have several different agencies that, uh, might be applying and so the money might be divid divided up between several agencies. Oh yes, they can. Yeah, and I I understand just to make sure I'm clear. I understand. I mean, we are almost at the end of our uh fiscal year and at this point there's been no other applications. So, with a couple months left, why are we Makes perfect sense and maybe next year we'll have a a different conversation, but I I understand. Thank you,

Mr. Mayor. If I may, um, can I make a suggestion to the to the mayor and the council that that we can have a portion of this conversation as we go through the budgeting process? Um, one of the things that we like to utilize the budget for is a planning document. So that way, you know, as we're planning our programming for the year, not that we have to program every single dollar, you know, at every single level, but, you know, for things that are special, things that go above that are that are, you know, outside the normal scope of our services, if we want to be supportive of those types of activities, those types of services, um, I I would recommend that we have that conversation if we want to put money different somewhere else. It it kind of helps us plan. It helps other organizations plan as they're going throughout their year as well. um if they're trying to provide a warming shelter and there's a risk of us not providing the funding in the future that they'd be probably you know responsible of us to let them know that uh as we're going through our budgeting process and so I know this is number is at is at a you know $15,000 it's it's below the council you know requirement but theou does require the council approval and and this is obviously a very political issue so I think that we should go ahead and have that conversation as part of the budgeting process if and if you want to add more money you discuss splitting up the money. Let's let's try to have that conversation during the budgeting process so we know where we're going and everybody else can plan as well.

Go ahead. Um I'm just going to say I know I've worked with heart and hand with the warming center. Um anybody that would like to see all the different programs that they do during the day to help these people, they should just go down and visit. They um they help them get driver's license. They do a lot of stuff. They get medical care. It's not just feeding them. There's a lot of other stuff that is going on. So, it's it's well worth anybody's time to go and take a tour of the building and visit with these people that work there. Go ahead.

For the record, I agree. I think that's a great suggestion, but we may not all have the time to do that. So getting an overview from somewhere somehow would potentially be helpful here. That's all I'm saying. Go ahead. Um I I frequent heart and hand. Shirley's on speed dial for me. So um but I I just I just I had some questions. I just about accountability and I I feel like that's my job. So I uh I work often with Heart and Hand and their kitchen and their pantry is better than mine. So there you go. Go ahead. And I agree with everything everybody said. I certainly support in this effort. But because the [clears throat] talks about wraparound services,

if we could get a list of what those are and what's actually being offered right now, that would be helpful, I think, to council moving forward and to the I think that's a good suggestion. Yep.

Mr. Mayor, uh, just to kind of piggyback on what Joe said and also to answer uh, in a roundabout way Council Member McCullum's question about like exclusivity, the city does not enter into exclusive contracts unless it is required for like to put something on the Apple store, right? That is an exclusive type of thing. So when we are approving warming shelters or other services or even other contracts, um there is not some sort of limit where we cannot if another entity were to come around were to file an application where we could not have two entities running warming shelters or situations like that.

That's that's great to hear. I I guess the reason for the question was simply that the way this is worded, it appears as though we have an exclusive situation. That's why I'm bringing it up. Anybody else? Hearing none. All in favor? I. Any opposed? Motion carries. Item two, motion approving resolution 2026-002. A resolution approving the formalization of the memorandum of understanding between Hart and Ham Ministries in the Belton Police Department. Present. Second. We have a motion and a second. You're up, sir.

Uh Scott Lions, police chief, what you have in front of you tonight is a resolution uh for the police department to sign a memoir random of understanding with heart in hand. And we've been talking with Hart and Hand about this uhou uh for about the last month and a half. Uh we hope had hoped to maybe get it on the agenda prior to tonight because there is a timing issue for them in regards to a grant. they are applying for with HUD and for homeless. And so, uh, theou is simply a document that meets their requirements to apply for this grant. Um the police department and Hart and Hand as well as the city as you know have a great relationship and uh our police officers are always um interacting with Hart and Hand on various uh levels um whether it's in the field or um answering questions or providing assistance.

Any questions? Go ahead. Well, I think you pretty much answered my one big question I had on this, which is what's the point here? Yes. Um because I was reading through it going, "Okay, we're defining what the police already do. We're defining what Heart and Hand already does. Why are we entering into thisou when we're just all in agreement here?" So, thank you. So, this is for a grant. Is this Do we know as a state, federal? What? It's a federal grant. It's HUD. And so, oh, you said that HUD. Okay. Okay. Thank you. That's what I needed. All right. Anybody else? Hearing none. All in favor? I. Any opposed? [clears throat] Motion carries.

I'm sorry. Um I would I should have add that they would like to have this signed tomorrow if there needed to be a second vote.

Make a motion for second read. No, that's not resolution. Resolution. Oh, resolution. Sorry. [clears throat] Item three, motion approving resolution 2026-00003. A resolution amending the public arts commission membership and changing the commission name. Present. Second. Have a motion and a second. Yes. Thank you. Let me get my notes up. You're up.

So, in 2023, the city council established the public arts commission. Just like the tourism committee recently, the intent of the public arts commission is to have a citizen identity with city staff supporting in a professional support role. This particular resolution removes city staff from or rather moves them to an exeicio position and also changes the name to public arts committee instead of commission just like other advisory committees. It's very similar to the tourism one um [clears throat] that we did back in November. So later in this meeting, there will also be an appointment to appoint and reappoint the members of the public arts committee. [laughter]

Any questions? Hearing none. All in favor? I. Any opposed? Motion carries. Consent agenda. One motion nonvailable to approve the recommendations noted. Any member of the council may ask for an item to be taken from the consent agenda for discussion and separate action. Is that second? We have a motion and a second. Any discussion? Hearing none. All in favor? I. Any opposed? Motion carries. H. Communication. City council. Council member Johnson. Don't have anything tonight. Thank you.

Council member McCallum. Well, I uh just want to say I think this has probably been the uh best city council meeting we've had all year. So, just want to say thank you. Thank you for [laughter] that. Um and looking back on 2025, I want to take a moment um to just say thank you to everyone that got involved in the city happenings. um whether it was a call email message of some kind to your local council member, whether you volunteered maybe at stream cleanup or something like that or participated in a council meeting itself or maybe dedicated your time as an appointed member of one of our committees. Uh just want to say thank you to everybody that made 2025 an awesome year. Um TD board I don't have any updates from at this time. Um we should we'll be meeting later this month. And um parks of course I have several updates. Uh, believe it or not, it is time to talk about spring sports. Um, the signups for soccer, volleyball, softball, baseball, and flag football are all underway. Uh, just go to the parks website in order to be able to register. Um this Saturday, January 17th, the kids night out will be at High Blue um from 5 to 9:00 p.m. And then Saturday, January 31st, there will be a Princess Tea Party at High Blue taking place from 1 to 3:00 p.m. And then pretty exciting news, the new playground for Wallace Park has officially been ordered and we should see a rendering of that some point uh maybe next week even on social media. So, we should see that come out pretty soon. So, exciting things going on at parks. That's everything I have.

Council member Richardson, I only have I have a couple questions. My first one's for uh public works. Um I have a resident in W 3, and I I've asked this question. I've sent an email um to Joe, but I didn't really get a great answer. Um her her water bill kept going up. um she only used under the minimum and it went up from 58 to I believe 64 and then from 64 up to 72 for a couple months and was asking questions and supposedly the the answer that she got was that they put a larger water meter on her and there's an extra charge for that. Is that is that true or

No, that's not true. Um and the issue was resolved with the property owner and the new building should reflect that. Um, it was and we I'd rather not talk about specifics of individual bills in the middle of the council meeting. And so, like I said, this was this already was addressed with the individual who Well, I was just trying to figure out because I'm like, we've had other water bills issues in the past and I want to make sure like somebody else didn't get in that same issue. Yeah, we've got um, you know, 8,000 users. So, [clears throat] every once in a while we do have an issue or two that arise and so we try to take care of those as quickly as we can.

Okay. And my other question was for uh like permitting and codes. Um I have another resident business owner that had a permit and I believe it expired and they renewed it a month or two later, I believe is what had happened. And after they renewed it on October 3rd, they wrote them a ticket on October 9th for a container that they had out there that they were storing stuff in. Can we write tickets after you get Again, this was a specific issue with a specific individual and I'm not I I do not feel like it's a it's appropriate to discuss individual code enforcement matters, okay,

in a in a public meeting like this. I mean, if it was an overall um policy uh that was an issue that we wanted to discuss that this is an appropriate venue for that. But um yeah, this was Well, I've asked I've asked I've sent emails and asked for answers, but I've never gotten them. So, I figured I'd bring them up to the directors and find out why the issues are were going. And so, that's all I got.

I missed the last planning commission meeting, unfortunately. So, I have nothing at this time. Well, I went on January, I believe it was the 6 to parks and had a fun time at the bingo that they support and all the items were donated to the Belton Education Foundation. It was a good time. Council member Thompson, 2025 was an awesome year, I think, for Belton. Um, I will compliment parks on their new lighting at uh Memorial Park. It is certainly eye-catching and it certainly will do the job. So, good work, Parks. Council member White,

I don't have anything. I don't have anything either. So, city manager. Yeah, we have a few things coming up that are noteworthy. Um, on Thursday, there will be a neighborhood meeting for the uh proposed new development uh 163rd Street in Given across from the Price Chopper. um [clears throat] that'll be on uh Thursday at 5:30 PM and here in the chambers. And then there's going to be a budget workshop next Wednesday, December 21st, again here in the council chambers at 6 p.m. So, just want everybody to know that.

Okay. Items for review and discussion. Number one, 163rd district resoning and preliminary development plan. Yeah, we've received the formal resoning and preliminary development plan uh request for the 163rd district project covering 40 acres at the northwest and southwest corners of 163rd Street and Given Street. Um also known as the Hails property. Um I did pass out at your seats the preliminary site plan. Uh there may be some additional changes to it, but this is pretty much uh what's been proposed and will be coming forward. Um, north is on the left side. So, if you rotate it 90 degrees to the right, that'll probably give you a better view of, uh, what you're used to looking at, um, with north on the top. Um the developer Petra is requesting to reszone the property from C2 general commercial to C2PUD uh which is general commercial with a plan development uh which would accommodate the mixeduse development with 150,000 square ft of commercial uses including entertainment and restaurants and 592 multif family units and a mix of apartments and mixeduse buildings with ground flooror retail. Um the apartments are all on the south side and then the mixeduse buildings are up in the northwest corner of the property to the west of the entertainment use. Um this PUD zoning will accommodate reduced setbacks and on street parking to provide a more pedestrianfriendly environment with wide sidewalks and outdoor seating. Um additionally the PUD will allow ground flooror residential units in mixed use or in the multif family buildings. Um, as Joe mentioned, uh, there's the neighborhood meeting this Thursday from 5:30 to 6:30 here in the council chambers. Um, both staff and the development team will be available to answer any questions and address comments and concerns of the proposal. And, uh, public hearing will be held by the planning commission on Tuesday, February 3rd, with this project anticipated to be presented to the city council on February 24th.

Any questions? Go ahead. There's um is this the full amount of the property or is there more space? Like is there my That is the entirety of the 40 acres. Okay. Will be is the plan how much of the plan do we know? Is it phases?

So we have asked them for a phasing plan. So we should have all that um prior to the planning commission. Um but in our conversations with the development team, they would like their first phase to go ahead and be getting the infrastructure in for both um street sections um and possibly starting on the entertainment use first with the south apartment section south of the green space also being part of that first phase. [snorts] I really wanted to see town houses. We had uh I I'll just I'll say it a little louder. I was kind of mumbling there, but we had, you know, initial discussions on this where, you know, this obviously fits in line on a mixed use as it is mixed use. Um one of the exciting things that were initially talked about was potentially things like a town houses and um so it would it would be nice to see that. Um I'm throwing that out there as a potential idea. Just saying.

Anybody else? All right. Hearing none, we'll go on to the next thing. Item two, utility easement vacation, 231 North Cedar Street.

Yeah, the second uh sheet there has a the location of what's being proposed. Uh there's a partial vacation request for utility easement at 231 North Cedar Street, uh which is the undeveloped lot just south of the Valvaline that's currently under construction. Um the developer is requesting a partial vacation of the easement to accommodate a multi-tenant shopping center sign at this location. Um staff has reviewed the request and recommends denial of the request based on the feedback received from multiple utilities including water, sewer, gas, and AT&T communications uh that would protect future needs within the easement. Um this utility corridor is less than 50% developed and additional improvements could be needed in the future uh that could impact utilities including relocations or expansions. Uh the planning commission held their public hearing on this item last Tuesday and after discussion unanimously recommended denial of the request and this request will come before council on January 27th.

Go ahead. There's already a sign across on the other side of the road, right? Correct. Go ahead. This proposal appears to be eliminating that other sign on the other side of the road. or is that is that something we're asking them to do or is that just what they're proposing?

So, what they were proposing to do is remove the sign on the other side of the access drive, the south side there in front of Price Chopper, and build a new sign at this location. Um, but we have in the staff report, you'll see all of the uh reasons for the recommendation for denial, which include other possible locations for this sign. Um, and again, the feedback that we've received from the utility companies Okay, go ahead. Go ahead. Either one of you go. Um, on the easement, have we ever approved a situation like this before?

We have re we have approved vacations of utilities easements. However, uh very rarely if ever we approve those if there are any utilities that are not consenting to that request.

Um and I was at the planning meeting last week and how long I I was under the impression the the speaker said he had worked with the city on this sign for the last year, year and a half, two years. So, what's I mean changed in that area to prevent having a sign put up? I I mean, I know the easement, but it just doesn't make sense if he's worked with you.

So, he's actually they've actually been proposing the sign at this location, and we've consistently told them no to this location. Um but ultimately they would not accept the no from staff and provide another location for the sign. And so their next option if they're not going to go with staff's recommendation, they can take it through the process and then city council has the final say on that. I just didn't know if I mean it just seems strange. Um because I know signage is important. We're putting up new signage in the city. Um,

yeah, we fully support a monument sign that like they're proposing somewhere in the shopping center, but we they have not presented alternative locations that would be outside of this easement and protecting the easement is our primary concern. Okay, because I just Okay, thanks. Do we have any any perspective uh folks for that other empty lot? And that may not be the place to this may not be the time to ask that, but I just was curious because we were we have not uh received any updates on any potential tenants there, but that's another one of our reasons for not supporting the vacation is because the sign going there further eliminates the buildable area of that property.

Well, and it certainly eliminates the kind of road that they'd have to have through there to put any businesses there. Right. Correct. It would be pretty tight to provide access, especially if you're having a drive-through facility. Were we promised things there and that haven't materialized or I don't know if promised is the right word, but I I recall that discussion and that discussion was that we were going to get a swig with the Valvaline. We were going to get a swig and then and I think one time we even talked about a slider place or something there. So just curious.

Yeah. And I think it is the same developer who's requesting the sign. So I as we discuss this when it does come back to council for a formal discussion and formal vote, it is definitely appropriate to ask about, you know, that buildable space. What's happening with that next? What happened to the the uh items that were potentially, you know, I don't know if promised is the right word, but definitely talked about during public meeting when the val was up for approval. Well, I've been such a fan of that being business being built there. It would be nice to [snorts] see something that was u nice next to it.

Anybody else? Hearing none. Item three, parkland dedication. Is it up? Not yet. There it is. There it is. All right, you guys can see it. There it is. All right. Um, yeah, this is just a precursor to the resolution that will be coming forth to you guys. Um, is it not up anymore? Well, we lost we lost the we lost it. We lost the right our right.

I I think the only one that it was on both.

All right. So, yeah. So, as council can see, um, highlighted are the park properties that we that have been identified. Um, the green one is the one that's platted and we knew we didn't realize this till recently that most of the parks are not officially platted and submitted. Um, and so Wallace Park, we did that process mostly because we had the fire station and the police station as part of the same piece of land and so we want to make sure those were separated and not included. Um but if you'll recall, we had the discussion during the parks empowerment act back in August about the uh idea of identifying what the parkland is. Um there was conversation in a previous you know uh issue that came up for vote about well what is parkland and technically how do you define it and then there was a some vagueness previously about what people thought was parkland and and so this is just a clarifying resolution so to speak just to say okay in our charter it says any parkland um that was is going to be sold or disposed of um there there should be involved a consultation with the park board as part of that process. And I don't know that think any of us have a problem with that. Obviously, it's in the charter. And so this essentially just delineates what is parkland since there is no legal delineation of what is parkland. Um unless it it has some sort of a deed restriction and not all of these properties have deeds and deed restrictions for that for that to take place. And so um the way we came up with this is we essentially just went on there and looked to see what what parks were there. I ran the uh precursor precursory map uh by parks by Kevin and he said, "Yeah, add this, you missed this, we added that." Um and so if there's one that we have missed, the park board will be looking over this, I assume, at their next meeting next week. And so um we can get that added before the resolution, but I think we've pretty much caught everything. Any questions on this as we prepare the resolution and

the supporting documentation for the 27th? Were you waiting for us to look at this to send this to parks or has already been sent? I I sent went ahead to send sent it to Kevin and said, "Hey, go ahead and send it. Share it with your park board." Um, there's no secrets here. This is a a collaborative effort for us to decide, you know, give us a formal definition of what Parkland is. I I guess I only asked to serve as a reminder from the last park board meeting that both of us were at that where they had made that request to see it. So that's the only reason I brought it up. Yep. Any other questions, thoughts, or else? Go ahead.

Just for clarification, this is just to identify so that if in the future we were in a position where we wanted to sell a piece of property, we would know this has been designated as a park and we need to do the consultation with parks. Correct. Yes. I think, you know, clarity is kindness. And I think that, uh, in in ongoing efforts to improve, you know, relations [snorts] between the council and the park board and staff, um, non-park staff and the park board, we, you know, the more clear clear we can be in some of these issues, the easier it is for everybody to to know what the next steps are when when questions arise.

Anybody else? I guess I the only thing I'd add to what you were bringing up there is the the other thing I would expect I guess from a city staff perspective is if we were to ever add a park um we would also have to update the resolution and the fact that the resolution exists would kind of be a precursor even if you know all of us are no longer on city council anymore I'm assuming the next city council would that would be a precursor to say hey we should probably update this so [snorts] should serve as a you know a good helpful reminder yeah I'd like to put a link in the your to our in our website under parks highlighting this map and the resolution in addition to any other parks. Perfect.

Links that need to take place. Anybody else? All right. Item n motion to enter an executive session discuss matters pertaining to legal actions according to Missouri state statute 610.021.1 021.1 pertaining to legacy and purchase sale of real estate according to Missouri state statute 610.021.2 pertain to negotiated contracts according Missouri state statute 610.021.12 02 1.12 and the record be closed in the meeting adjourned from there. Present. Second. We have a motion a second. Any discussion? Hearing none. Roll call, please. Council member McCllum. I. Johnson. I. Larson. Lawson. I'm sorry. I. Richardson. I. Davidson.

Yes. Prian. I. Thompson. Yes. White. I. Mayor Larkkey. Yes. Motion passes.