City Council - Regular Meeting

Call meeting to order. I pledge allegiance to Councilmember Richardson.

I pledge allegiance to 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.

Roll call, please.

Mayor Larkey.

Here.

Council Member White. Council Member Thompson. Here. Council Member Davidson. Here. Council Member Pryant.

Here.

Council Member Lawson. Here. Council Member Richardson.

Here.

Council Member McCallum.

Here.

Council Member Johnson.

Here. We have a quorum. D, personal appearance. Each person listed on the agenda to address City Council should step up to the microphone and state their name and address to the record and limit their remarks to five minutes. Number one.

My name is Steven Vaca, 214 West North Avenue, Belton. I'm the founder of Native Prairie Veterans Foundation. I'm here regarding the Northcast Parkway extension and the Scandal properties. Prior to this meeting, I submitted a document evidence timeline to the city clerk for inclusion in tonight's official minutes. That record is also publicly available online. I want to ask this council one question up front. Does the city manager's heart values apply to how staff presents information to this body? I asked because the record shows the following on March 25th, 2025 Wilson and company sent a written email to assistant city manager, Greg Rocco's informing him that the North cast bridge will expand the a hundred year flood plain, 800 feet onto the grand property. 10 months later, Mr. Rocco's presented resolution are 2026 dash 11 to this council. The council action report he authored contains no reference to that floodplain expect expansion. This council voted without that information. On April 22nd, 2026, Scandal Properties emailed Director Wright and Assistant Manager Ecke calling the $4.5 million road requirement a deal killer. They asked Mr. Ecke directly about avenues on incentives. That same morning, city engineer, sorry, I can't pronounce your last name, Nguyen, had flagged this exact site for strict flood enforcement in writing. Mr. Wright's internal response on April 23rd states, this is a high-cost burden that will likely eliminate the project unless incentives are provided. The city's own engineer told Wright a traffic study was the legal trigger for road improvements. No traffic study was ordered. Five days later, the $4.5 million requirement was gone. No public vote, no council resolution. Two weeks later after that, the $4.8 million in taxpayer funds appeared in the 2027 budget for the same road, funded through your Transportation Development District. I was at the construction site today. Excavation equipment is operating immediately adjacent to standing wetland water. The permit signposted lists number MO-RA0000, all zeros. That is not a valid Missouri DNR permit number. I have contacted MoDNR, the Army Corps of Engineers, and EPA Region 7. Tonight, this council is asked to place Mr. Ecke on the Southview Commerce Center CID Board via consent agenda. I'm requesting that that item be pulled for a separate discussion. I'm formally requesting that this council direct an independent audit of the North cast Parkway decisions, the Mullen road waiver and completeness of information provided to you in resolution 2026 dash 11. And my question for the mayor and each council member, when were you informed that the staff removed the $4.5 million developer obligation? And did you authorize it? That's a question for every one of you. Are you exercising your fifth amendment rights at this time? Is that what I'm hearing?

Please no public comment is not for discussion between the council and public commenters. It is for the public to voice their concerns to the council.

That's all I've got for you guys besides just extreme disappointment.

item e presentations one employment recognition years of service.

thank you mayor members of the council. So we're here to recognize Brian Witherspoon for his 20 years of service with the Belton Police Department. He started in 2006, I did that math on my own, where he served in patrol very well, was an FTO officer, was very dependable, And then in 2018, August, I believe, he was promoted to sergeant, where he has always had a very calm demeanor. One of his details now is the FTO coordinator, which is a very important job for us. Supervises all of the training of new officers to make sure that they get everything that they need and does a fantastic job. Brian doesn't talk a whole lot, but when he does talk, everybody listens. So thank you, Brian, and congratulations.

Look, no, I'm just waiting for them to. All right, item two, FY 2025 audit report.

Good evening, Mayor and Council. Tonight we have with us Emily from Swindoll, Janssen, Hawk, and Lloyd, and she will be presenting the much-awaited FY 2025 audit.

Thank you very much. Good evening. Again, my name is Emily Sheldon. I'm a partner with Swindoll, Janssen, Hawk, and Lloyd on the City of Belton's audit. You have received a report to city council. That report summarizes matters that we are required to bring to your attention about the fiscal year 2025 financial statement audit. And for my presentation this evening, I'll be going through the key points in that report. We start on page one of the report addressing our responsibility to perform an audit in accordance with specific accounting standards. Those standards require us to perform procedures to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements are free of material misstatement. Our procedures include examining on a test basis evidence supporting the amounts and disclosures in the financial statements. We also assess the accounting principles used and the significant estimates made by management. as well as evaluate the overall financial statement presentation. I am pleased to report that as a result of our audit, we determined that the fiscal year 2025 financial statements are presented fairly in all material respects in conformity with generally accepted accounting principles. And we issued an unmodified audit opinion, which is the best kind of opinion that the city can receive. In the accounting policies and practices portion of the report, we'd bring to your attention anything identified in the procedures we performed relating to significant alternative, adopted, changed, or controversial accounting policies, significant accounting policies in emerging areas, or significant unusual transactions. No such items were noted for the fiscal year 2025 audit. As detailed on pages four and five of the report to city council, the city has several significant estimates. Those are the fair value of investments, the allowance for doubtful accounts, pension related items, other post-employment benefits related items, accrued compensated absences, and subscription-based information technology arrangement related items. Our responsibility as auditors is to analyze the processes that the city has in place to record these estimates. And as a result of our work, we concluded that the city's estimates appear reasonable. At the bottom of page one in the report, we note that audit adjusting journal entries were recorded as a result of our audit. These adjusting journal entries include standard adjustments, city provided entries prepared subsequent to the start of the audit, and what we call entity wide entries, which are standard entries prepared solely to convert the city's fund level financial statements to government wide financial statements, which use two different methods of accounting. You can find copies of those adjustments at the very end of the packet, followed by an uncorrected misstatement related to current year impact of a prior year uncorrected misstatement. The uncorrected misstatement was determined to be immaterial to the financial statements. For the observations about the audit process portion of the report on page two, I'd like to inform you that during our audit, city management and staff were responsive and transparent with our team members, and we encountered no disagreements, significant issues or difficulties in performing the audit. The Shared Responsibilities for Independence section describes how we as auditors are required to maintain independence, both of mind and in appearance, when providing audit and other attestation services. We also must maintain a system of quality management over compliance with independence rules and firm policies. The city is responsible for timely informing us if there are new affiliates, directors, or officers, or changes in the organizational structure or reporting entity, and analyzing arrangements with our firm to ensure no management decisions on behalf of the city are being made. Finally, as mentioned on page three of the report, we have separately communicated significant deficiencies in internal control and the compliance section of the financial statements, and have provided management's representation letter. In the financial statements themselves, the schedule of findings in question cost details two significant deficiencies in internal control that we identified during the audit. The first significant deficiency is a repeated item that relates to a lack of controls over inventory of capital assets, specifically related to depreciation and tracking of disposed assets. The second relates to significant adjustments made to the financial statements as a result of the audit, specifically related to grants receivable and the net pension liability. For both significant deficiencies, management provided a response and corrective action plan. I'd like to point out that the city, through management's hard work and dedication, resolved the fiscal year 2024 material weaknesses related to inventory and bank reconciliations, and significant deficiency related to utility billings receivable. Finally, management's representation letter beginning on page six of the report puts into writing matters that are required by our standards to be represented to us by management. We provide this report to you because we believe it will help you as the governing body better understand the city's representations about its financial statements and help you fulfill your fiduciary responsibilities. With that, audits are time and effort intensive. As such, we'd like to give special thanks to Casey, Grace, Brian, and the rest of the city's team for their assistance with the audit. With that, please let me know if you have any questions.

Any questions? Obviously, if you don't have them now and think of them later, send them to Casey.

Yep.

So go ahead. You got one.

In terms of our deficiencies, I believe at least one of those, if not both of them, were on the previous audit. Is that correct? Correct. Probably this is more appropriate for Casey. Can you talk to why we continue to have that deficiency?

So the capital assets, there are some assets on the – on the sheet that we just haven't disposed of yet. And we are working on that. We have talked to Emily about that. Those assets go back probably 20 plus years. Why they are still there, I'm not sure. So that is one that's been on there since I think they started the audit for 23. The other two though,

The other one was the net pension liability was relating to the adjusting journal entries.

Yeah, the adjusting journal entries that we talked about in our meetings and then the grant receivable wasn't there last year because this was the first year for this particular entry.

Anybody else? Hearing none, thank you.

Thank you for your time.

Item F, unfinished business one, motion approving final reading of Bill 2026-22.

An ordinance approving a final plat for Jim's Muffler, a one-lot subdivision on .44 more or less acres, located at 903 North Scott Avenue in the city of Belton, Missouri.

Present. Second. A motion to second. Any more discussion? Hearing none, roll call.

Council Member Lawson? Aye. Johnson? Aye. Richardson? Aye. Davidson? Yes. Bryan? Aye. McCallum? Aye. Mayor Larkey?

Aye.

Thompson? Yes.

Motion passes. 2. Motion to approve the final reading of Bill 2026-23.

An ordinance amending Articles 2 Permits and 5 Rental Registration and Inspection Program in Chapter 10 Buildings and Structures and Appendix A Schedule of Fees and Charges of the Unified Development Code related to permitting and inspection processes and related fees.

Present. Second. Motion and second. Any discussion?

Go ahead. On the permits, so after 90 days, they just get voided out? unless asked for an extension?

Yeah, we would just withdraw them.

So then you've just got to apply for another permit?

Yes. I mean, there's also an option that we can reopen it if they've already submitted things, but generally we're going to just withdraw those and they submit a new application when they're ready to actually start work. But if they've started working on it? If they started working on it, we'll leave it open and continue to have that conversation with them as long as they continue to keep us up to speed on what their timelines are.

So, because I know a lot, I've talked to a lot of people about it, and a lot of people, you know, they start a project, and then a lot of people in Belton, they do their own projects, and you run into getting supplies or something like that or different things that could make it, I myself know it can cause days longer than 90 days.

Yeah, and the 90 days for clarification is just for the application. Once a permit is obtained, the permit is still good for 180 days, which is the current code. So that's not changing. Even if they're still waiting on supplies, a lot of people will still go ahead and obtain the permit and they can ask for extensions in that process. Who decides if you get an extension? It's the billing official. One person? I mean, it's a joint effort. Ultimately, they have the decision, but the director and the development technician, permit technician also have input on that. Generally, we're not. As long as there's a reasonable request, we extend those.

I mean, I've seen it where some certain people get things given to them where others don't. So I don't like that there's one person deciding who gets an extension and who doesn't.

Council Member Richardson, if you have issues with specific permits and how they've been treated, I'd love to see that information, making blatant statements that some are and some aren't without actually bringing forth a specific instance I don't think is going to do us any good.

Okay. Well, I actually have, but okay. Okay. Thanks.

Anybody else? Hearing none, roll call.

Councilmember Bryan?

Aye.

Davidson? Yes. Thompson? Yes. Johnson? Aye. McCallum?

Aye.

Lawson? Aye. Mayor Larkey?

Aye.

Richardson?

Nay. Motion passes. Three, motion approving final reading of Bill 2026-24 as amended.

An ordinance amending Appendix B, Traffic Schedules, Table 6, No Parking Zones of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Belton, Missouri, to establish certain no parking zones.

Present. Second. A motion and a second. Any discussion? Go ahead.

I just want to, I guess... for public comment, point out that I think it's important when we're considering any no parking, this one included, that we just take into the, that we have a primary purpose like in this one, I believe it's safety, but we have a primary purpose that is besides just someone making a request, because, I mean, I could make that same request in front of my house, right? So I think I'm comfortable with this for the safety reasons, as we talked about, especially up at entering the, or exiting the roadway, but I just, you know, for going forward, I think that's important to highlight.

Anybody else? Hearing none, roll call.

Mayor Larkey?

Yes.

Council Member Johnson?

Aye.

Bryan?

Aye.

Richardson? Aye. McCallum?

Aye.

Lawson? Aye. Thompson? Yes. Davidson? Yes.

Motion passes. For motion to approve the final reading of Bill 2026-25.

an ordinance amending Chapter 2, Division 4 of the Code of Ordinances of the City of Belton, Missouri, by clarifying the procedure for return payment fees.

Present. Second. We have a motion and a second. Any discussion? Hearing and seeing none, roll call.

Councilmember Richardson?

Aye.

Thompson? Yes. Bryan? Aye. Davidson? Yes. Johnson? Aye. Lawson? Aye. McCallum?

Aye.

Mayor Larkey?

Aye. Motion passes. Gee, new business. One, public hearing regarding the proposed 31st Amendment to the Old Town Belt and Redevelopment Plan for Redevelopment Project 2026-03 pursuant to RSMO section 353.11.3 subparagraph two. I need to open a public hearing. If anybody wants to speak for or against this motion, come to the microphone, state your name and address for the record, and speak your piece. Public hearing is open. Again, I will ask if anybody wants to speak for or against this motion, come to the microphone and state your name and address for the record and speak your piece. All right, go ahead.

All right, thank you, Mayor and Council Members. The item before you for consideration this evening is the 31st Amendment to the Old Town Redevelopment Corporation, the Redevelopment Plan. This is for applicant, or the applicant is with 401-411 Main Street. They are requesting a project approval of $200,000 for improvements, primarily for the exterior of the existing building. Primarily, it's a roof reconstruction. The estimated property taxes with these improvements could increase the property taxes from $5,500 annually to $8,100 annually over the 12-year abatement period. Although the city will see a short-term decrease in the taxes for the taxing entities in this district, the long-term impact and the improvement is positive by encouraging additional reinvestment within Old Town Belton. The requested project does follow the Old Town Belt and Redevelopment Plan policy that was just recently updated here at the beginning of 2026. Staff does recommend approval, and the Old Town Belt and Redevelopment Corporation Board also recommended approval of the project at its May 6th meeting with a vote of five to zero. The applicant, Anna Woodward, who is here this evening, if the council has any questions, the applicant is also requesting a double reading tonight for the approval so that they may begin work on the roof reconstruction. Happy to answer any questions about the application or the, uh, the board meeting.

Any questions for Mike? Hearing none. Do you have any questions or can I just make a statement? Yeah. Come up here though. Come up here and do it though.

Um, hi, I'm Anna Woodward. And I am requesting a double read tonight. And the main reason is because we have seen a lot of storms in Belton the last few months, which has produced a lot of leaks in our building and affects our inventory and thus our ability to do our jobs in our store. We own family tree furniture, my husband and I do. And also the other main reason is because we have already procured a construction company to work on the roof. We are doing a complete tear off and replacement of the roof. It's not just gonna be patched, it's gonna be completely redone. And I think that that will benefit Main Street, but also the construction company that is working. They've been waiting on us to get started. They've got materials already on the roof. They're ready to go tomorrow. They were ready to go yesterday. So anything we can do to go ahead and do the double read and approve it would be greatly appreciated. I would love nothing more than to get people back to work and be able to support their families. So thank you very much for your time.

Anybody have any questions for the applicant? Hearing none, I'll close the public hearing. Item 2, motion approving first reading of Bill 2026-26.

An ordinance approving the 31st Amendment to the Old Town Belt and Redevelopment Plan to approve the 401-411 Main Street Project as Redevelopment Project 2026-03 and to authorize tax abatement as described therein.

Present. Second. We have a motion and a second. Any discussions? Hearing none, all in favor?

Aye.

Any opposed? Motion passes.

Motion for a second. Second.

We have a motion and a second for a second reading.

Second.

We have a motion and a second. We already got a second. She beat you. You're the third. So any discussion on the motion for a second reading? Hearing none, voice vote. Hearing none, voice vote.

All in favor?

Aye. All opposed? Nay. Motion passes.

Can you please tell me who said no?

Thank you. Motion approving the second reading of Bill 2026-26.

an ordinance approving the 31st Amendment to the Old Town Belt and Redevelopment Plan to approve the 401 to 411 Main Street Project as Redevelopment Project 2026-03 and to authorize tax abatement as described therein.

Present. Second. I have a motion and a second. Any discussion? Go ahead.

Just real quick, I think you all know this, but just for public comment here, I appreciate the idea of the second reading going through the process as hearing things out and possibly giving any other potential further input that someone might not have come up with until the day of. So that's the only reason I voted no. Otherwise, I think this project is just dandy and I have no problem approving it. Go ahead.

I appreciate the fact that you were willing to come and represent your business. Thank you.

Anybody else? Go ahead.

I know you're against the second read, but these are people up on Main Street that are trying to get going on a roof with the weather that we've had here. And I can't think of one time where we've had somebody come back on a second read of a 353 and be like, I don't approve this. That's all I'm saying. I think for the people that are asking for this, I appreciate it, and they're here, and I know they need this because I've seen their problems that they have. So the sooner we can get it done, the sooner I think they'll be better off.

In fairness, I was outvoted on the second reading thing. I just wanted to clarify that that's the only reason behind my thought process.

Anybody else? Hearing none, roll call.

Council Member Richardson?

Aye.

Thompson? Yep. Mayor Larkey?

Yes.

Davidson? Yes. Bryan?

Aye.

Lawson? Aye. McCallum?

Aye.

Johnson?

Aye. Motion passes. Call your roofers. Item 3, motion of pre and first reading of Bill 2026-27.

An ordinance accepting land from the city of Kansas City, Missouri by a special warranty deed to the city of Belton, Missouri.

Present.

Second. Motion and a second. You're up. So I just want to be real clear. The title of this ordinance is transfer of land, and that's because our code specifically says transfer of land. We're actually purchasing this little piece of property from the city of Kansas City. I just want to make sure everyone's really clear on that, that it's just not, they're giving it away and we're taking it. I was going to praise you for getting us something for free. We did not get anything for free. It took me over two years to work this deal. So basically, at the south side of the Markey Business Park, so that's the property to the west of our public works lot, this property that we own, on the south side of that property, there is a little piece of ground that's 75 feet, a about 75 feet by 75 feet. If you look in GIS, you're just going to see the big piece of property we own. You're going to see the big piece of property the efforts own. But if you zoom in and keep zooming in and keep zooming in and keep zooming in, there's a little tiny piece of property there. That's where there used to be a runway light back in the day when the Air Force Base had an operating runway. And so when they dissolved all the assets back in 1994, all the pieces of property were given to Kansas City, given to Port Authority, given to Belden. We all got different pieces of property. This piece of property was overlooked. And so anything that got overlooked was given to Kansas City. And so back when we started looking at the development of the Markey Business Park, someone actually did a title search and found this little piece of property that was owned by Kansas City. Now it took me two years and I knew all the people, I knew all the pottles, I knew all the difficulty, how to get that piece of property. If a developer wanted to do it, he would spend probably the rest of his lifetime trying to get that piece from them. So I worked, I did everything they want. I did tile search. I did appraisals and did everything. And we bought the piece of property for the praise value of $2,000 from them. And so the last step is to, um, accept the transfer of the property to the city of Belton. So that way it'd be available for development in the future. Be happy to answer any questions that you have. Any questions? Go ahead.

You answered my question. My question was why we're calling it what we are when it's clearly a purchase. But thank you for that clarification.

I just have one comment. So it took you two years and we're still paying them money? So, you know, man hours?

Don't even go there. Have you ever dealt with Kansas City? I'd be more worried about my ibuprofen bill. Anybody else? Go ahead.

Okay, so this 75 feet by 75 feet is essential for future development.

So anytime we want to go ahead and develop the area, if we don't own it, that means Kansas City owns it. And a third party then has to negotiate with Kansas City and Kansas City's process. They would actually auction it. And so the highest bidder would actually could buy the property. So if you're trying to develop it, you never know whether your developer actually owns it or not. Then they have to try and negotiate with them to try to buy it. It's just, it makes a lot more sense if we own it, control it. Thank you. Anybody else?

Hearing none, all in favor. Aye. Any opposed? Motion passes. Item four, motion to put in resolution 2026-54.

A resolution approving an event permit submitted by Downtown Belton Main Street Inc. to close a portion of Main Street and surrounding streets as noted for the Fall Festival 2026.

Present. Second. A motion and a second. Yes, sir.

Due to a potential conflict of interest, I'm recusing myself from discussion and voting on this item.

I will be abstaining and recusing myself as well.

I'll be abstaining and recusing myself as well.

Anybody else? All right, where are we at?

Okay. Downtown Belton Main Street, Inc. is hosting the 2026 Fall Festival on September 12th on Saturday. There's no rain out date. The street will close at 5 p.m. on Friday, September 11, and reopen at 9 p.m. on Saturday, September 12. And I believe a DBMSI representative is here this evening. Is someone here?

I'm here.

Okay. Would you like to represent DBMSI tonight?

I can come.

If the council has any questions or if Connie would like to include any additional information.

I can. This is going to be a one-day event. We've asked for the street to be closed on Friday evening. So some of our vendors can go ahead and set up if they'd like to. It'll start 10 o'clock on Saturday morning and go until 10 o'clock Saturday evening. And other than that, I think that's about it. Unless you all have some questions. I do have the MOU here. That's next.

That's next. MOU is next.

Do what?

The MOU is next item. This is just about closing the street.

Okay. So anyway, that's what I've got. Here's the permit to close the street.

Go ahead.

I know I'm one of, well now I'm one of five apparently, but I'm only one up here, but I'll just say I've heard from residents that they really enjoy this event and would love to see it go back to two days. I know at some point it was two days, not in the too distant past, and look, I'm not trying to tell you what to do. I understand you're gonna make the business decisions as needed, et cetera, but I'll just, I just wanted to give that feedback that I would happily support if you needed to further street closure for another, you know, more time period. I would support that just based on feedback.

Some of our vendors take a lot more time to set up than others.

Yeah, I gotcha. Again, I'm not trying to tell you what to do. Just wanted to provide that feedback.

Yeah, we just, there's such a limited amount of people to work at. So that's why we do the one day.

Understood anybody else Hearing none all in favor aye any opposed motion passes Item 5 motion proving resolution 2026 dash 0 5 5 I

Resolution approving a memorandum of understanding between the City of Belton, Missouri and Downtown Belton Main Street Inc. for Fall Festival 2026.

Present. Second. Motion and a second. Any more discussion?

Yes. This resolution is for a memorandum of understanding detailing each party's roles and responsibilities for Fall Fest on September 12th. It provides the cost for city services. DBMSI will provide the city with their certificate of liability insurance and a waiver of subrogation. And Connie is here if you have any additional questions.

Go ahead.

I would like to amend the MOU and have the city sponsor the $6,435 in charges for things like trash barrels, providing the barricades, providing police department support, overnight security and medical personnel time.

Do we need to restate that or are you good with that?

I am pulling up the exact portions of the contract right now for reference. Thanks. And just for clarity, council member Lawson, you're discussing every charge on exhibit B or is there any charges that would remain?

No, I would say, um, full city sponsorship for the city related charges for the event.

Okay. So that would be a motion amending resolution 2026 dash five five by removing the costs and charges for additional services stated in exhibit B. and providing those services at zero charge.

Thank you.

We have a motion to amend as stated. Second. And a motion and a second as stated. Any discussion on the motion to amend?

That was Council Member McCallum, right?

Correct.

Thank you.

I would just add to your point that you would like to see the event continue and grow when we can provide these kinds of sponsorships. It makes it much more tenable for a nonprofit like DBMSI to put the time and effort in and not take that budget hit for city services, which we can support.

I have, so sorry, I didn't raise my hand. I apologize. Um, I stand where I stood previous discussion, whenever that was, a few months ago. I think it's very common for a city to request these services to be reimbursed because it does cost us money. It is taxpayer dollars, blah, blah, blah. And so I do disagree with the idea as a whole. However, I previously voted in favor of a similar reimbursement on an MOU specifically because I still feel we are somewhat in our infancy in terms of what we could have on Main Street and festivals and whatnot. So I can get behind, you know, waving it this year. We'll see what happens next year. That's kind of my thoughts.

Anybody else? Are you charging the vendors?

I'm sorry?

Is there a fee for the vendors to participate?

You know, we haven't released any information yet, pending on what we're going to do with this.

Right.

I can tell you this. Last year, we took in $6,010. Our expenses were $13,267. So we... essentially had a net negative of $7,257. So then when we put another $6,700 for all of this, now we're into the $13,000 range. And to do a festival for $13,000, It isn't there. I mean, that's a lot of money for a one-day event. We're not sure about vendors this year. We have, and not just us, but a lot of festivals are having a problem with the fact that People don't wanna drive long distances that have in the past because of the gas problem. They're coming in for one day or setting up and having to have a booth. So we have no clue how many vendors we're gonna have or what kind of money we're gonna be bringing in. But I can tell you that we will be spending thirteen thousand two hundred and sixty seven dollars no matter what because by time we pay insurance we paid five thousand dollars fifty two hundred dollars this year for a stage uh... seven hundred sixty five dollars for insurance we have fifteen hundred dollars for toilets and we haven't even started with the uh... entertainment or anything else so we will definitely spin The $13,000. How much we take in, who knows? And the fact that this year we do not have the DMV to fall back on to bring in any money, that hurts. And so we have to look at all of our finances. We have to look at everything that we do and see what we can really afford to do. That's where we're at with this.

Okay. So out of curiosity, where did the six grand incoming come from?

I'm sorry.

You said approximately $6,000 came in.

That was last year.

Right. So where did that come from?

That came from vendors.

Okay.

Yeah, that was vendors and that's all.

And I believe we made this agreement on the other ones that you will provide us some kind of statement of what you bring in versus what goes out.

Yeah.

before we can make decisions for future ones.

This is the one that we bring in vendors and we charge vendors. Where Cinco de Mayo, we did not charge anybody anything. We paid for everything for Cinco de Mayo. We never charged a vendor for anything. We had maybe 20 vendors during Cinco last year. So that's what we're looking at. We foot the bill for all of that. So now we have to look at what do we want to finance, how much do we want to finance, and what's fiscally responsible for us to continue the progress that we've made on everything.

Okay. Well, if you could make that commitment, it would help me vote a certain way that we would get a statement.

And I'll just say I appreciate the numbers you provided and that, you know, transparency there. I think to Mr. Pryan's point, as I agree, I would love, and I don't know where this starts or how this process appropriately goes, but whether that's our city making, I guess I'm looking at the wrong person, whether it's our city asking for that information, assuming there's a next year, that request for, hey, can you provide the financials, whatever, I would agree that for our past discussions, we'd love to see that in the future, but again, everything I just said, I can support this for this year for sure.

Anybody else?

Mr. Mayor.

Go ahead, sir.

Would the city be listed as a sponsor for sponsoring this event?

Say it again.

Would the city be listed as a sponsor for sponsoring this event?

Are you asking if the city can be listed as a sponsor?

If the city is going to use taxpayer funds to support the event, which I'm not saying is a bad thing.

Connie, could you list the city as a sponsor? I'm sorry? Could you list the city of Belton as a sponsor for Fall Fest?

You better say that again. Only night I forgot my hearing aid.

That's fine. Since we're going to waive, if we waive the fees in the MOU, can DBMSI list the city as a sponsor of Fall Fest?

I'm sure that we can. We have a meeting next week, I think it is. Okay. Yeah. And I'm sure that if you waive the fees, then that'll be discussed and-

I'll just add I personally would like to see that. I think that's a good idea given, you know, yeah.

I mean, I'm in a position where I can just take it to the board and recommend. I can't tell you yes or no tonight. Trust me, I'd like to, but I can't.

Let us know if the board says no.

Yeah, I will definitely take that option to the board and we will see. But if you can waive that, otherwise we're sitting here and we'll be having a net negative of $13,000 instead of $7,600. So, I mean, those are the things we have to think about. I know... We're the only organization that has to pay for this, correct?

No.

Changes have been made. This is why we have this request from Councilmember Lawson is because we do have a process in place now for all.

the carry nation days is under a city, even though it's the park department, it's still a city or a government entity. So they don't have to pay all of this. Yeah.

Well, yeah. Cause we're the, cause ultimately we're the sponsor.

This is true. So we are the only, the only organization DBMSI is the only organization that this is being sent to of charges.

Yeah, until other organizations want to do a new event, and then we will continue reviewing them on a case-by-case basis. Council Member Prine, you might be more versed in this. The St. Patrick's Day, did we sponsor the MOU for that? Can you refresh my memory?

We did, I believe, but I'm no longer on that. But, yes, there are other organizations, and, yes, there's brand-new processes. So whoever's doing the St. Patrick's Day parade, they would have to do the same presentation you do. Otherwise they will be charged. Yeah. And we hope you spark a lot more people to do the things like this. Agreed.

Anybody else? Hearing none. All in favor. Aye. Any opposed? No. Motion fails.

Okay. So we are waving.

No, motion failed.

No, the amendment failed. Thank you. The amendment failed, but the resolution is still...

The amendment failed.

Now we're at the resolution. I had it up just because you guys got down to five, but so your process for voting states that everything has to be approved by not less than five affirmative votes. So once we get down to five, it has to be unanimous. That would be... pull it up for you guys. That'd be section 299 D of the code of ordinances must receive at least five affirmative votes.

Um, and can I just confirm the only no vote was the mayor?

You can.

Okay.

That was for the amendment. So the resolution is still on the resolution still on table.

That was just for the motion. So back to the resolution as presented any other discussion on the resolution as presented?

I'll just say again, I support the idea, well, I hope they bring more festivals to Belton and I hope they do well.

Can I ask who the they you're hoping to spur into action is? Are you talking specifically about DBMSI or do you just mean the greater?

In this particular situation, yes, DBMSI because of the, this is specific to them bringing us, bringing it forward.

Yeah. It just feels like that's going to land kind of poorly that their event costs just doubled. As a nonprofit, and because I work for a nonprofit and I understand the amount of effort it takes into putting on events and breaking even, let alone making money, which they don't do, I don't see an incentive for them to continue doing it other than just the goodness of their hearts and because people like it, which you stated before we debated this. Granted, I know you voted to... sponsor this and and that's fine but um i don't feel like we are being good partners and supporting the long-standing events that we have and i don't know why anybody would feel incentivized to keep bringing new events if we're going to go we would love for you to have events here it's only seven grand for us to support you as a city i just that's not how these things work i

I was outvoted earlier on something else that I feel no different about and what I mean by that is I can still wish someone well, right? I guess I'm not intending for it to fall flat and I apologize if it did. I will continue to hope you and wish you good luck as you move forward with your event planning as I said. I understand I guess that motion failed but it wasn't in part because of me. Go ahead.

Could this cause Fall Fest not to happen?

I'm sorry?

Could this cause the Fall Festival not to happen? Yes. And that would disappoint.

We cannot continue to fund. No. out of our money, $13,000, $14,000 an event. At one point when we had the DMV and we had money coming in, yes, we could. That was a very, very easy thought. We have never, never tried to make this all about just DBMSI. We want to bring people to Main Street. We want to help our businesses on Main Street. This is a free event to everybody who comes. They don't pay anything. We have a children's area. So, you know, we're still going to be here 10 years from now. How many of you sitting on this board are still going to be here 10 years from now? How long have you lived here, Alex? How many fall festivals have you attended?

Go ahead. Connie, just to clarify, DBMSI sets its budget in January, correct? Say what? DBMSI, you make your budget in January for things like Fall Fest included, correct?

That's correct.

Okay. So based on the conversations the council had in the summer and fall last year, I assume you took away that we would continue to sponsor already existing events like Fall Fest and Cinco. Okay, so when we as a body change our minds and they have to incur additional costs, that's what happens. We lose the scope of events like Cinco or, I mean, at this point, I really, really hope that Fall Fest isn't canceled, but if you guys didn't budget, you know, $64.35 just for barricades, dumpsters, and then staffing that we've provided in the past, then we have no one to look at but ourselves when folks are disappointed.

That's correct. We budget as a rule $10,000 for this event. We budget $10,000 for Cinco. Last year, we spent right at $7,800 for Cinco. And again, we were under $7,700 for this event last year. And it was a good year with the $6,000 that we brought in. That I will tell you. So, you know, it's up to you all.

Anybody else on the motion as presented? Hearing none, all in favor? Aye. Any against? Motion passes.

Okay, so we will not be waiving the fees, correct?

Correct.

Okay, that's all I need to know. Thank you very much.

Item six.

Oh, I have one question for you.

Go ahead.

During the car show, On Saturdays, the people that handle our car shows, the committee, says that the city's not emptying their trash on Fridays, and so the trash cans are totally full come Saturday for the car show. Can we get the city to dump the trash on Friday evening before they leave? I mean, it's a simple request. We're emptying those trash cans.

Of course, yeah, we'll get it done.

Okay, thank you.

Item six, motion approving resolution 2026-56.

A resolution approving agreement with Bucati for health insurance broker and employee benefits consulting services.

Present. Second. Motion and a second. You're up.

good evening mayor and council in front of you on the council action report we've had brown and brown as our broker since 2023 this year we went and did a request for information and it was determined that we think it's in the best interest of the city to transition from brown and brown to view katie with the financial considerations it is a fee of fifty five thousand dollars which is only twenty five hundred dollars more than the annual fee prior to that and it is budgeted. There aren't any legal considerations and the document's been reviewed so the recommendation is to approve the agreement. Questions?

Go ahead. Go ahead.

Why do you think it's better to move to Bukiti?

There were significant staffing changes at Brown and Brown. When we had a diligent overview of multiple companies and when we reviewed services, compensation, the structure, the assistance for us to move forward with our plan, they were the best choice.

You believe this will be a better service for the city?

Absolutely. Thank you.

Anybody else?

Hearing none, all in favor? Aye. Any opposed? Motion passes. H, consent agenda. One motion, none available to approve the recommendations noted. Any member of the council may ask for an aye to be taken from the consent agenda for discussion and separate action. Present. Second. Motion is second. Any discussion? Hearing none, all in favor? Aye. Any opposed? Motion passes. Reports and information. Communication from City Council. Council Member Johnson.

I just wanted to say that I hope that everyone had a safe Memorial Day holiday and remembered the servicemen and women who have given their all for this country. Other than that, I have nothing.

Council Member McCallum.

First, I want to echo the... Memorial Day notes from Council Member Johnson and hope everybody took time to remember and honor those who made it possible for us to have a Memorial Day. In terms of updates from the boards, actually the TD Board did not meet, so I do not have an update there. I do have from the Parks Board a few things to provide. There was a Dryden Nature Reserve update provided, which I think we're probably all familiar with, but just thought it was something good to share. For the first phase, as it's being mentioned, looking to install a concrete trail, infrastructure in general, bridges, sewer, and then a main drive and a parking lot. So a lot of things that may not look real, may not be super noticeable to the public, but it's something that will make a big difference in order to continue to update and make that land into the gem that it is. The field house feasibility study was approved by the board, so that is something they will be looking into. And then the water park is officially open. So just wanted to share that. then of course some events so i think obviously we have carry nation days coming up that's going to involve a lot of things like i don't want to try and mention them all because i'm sure i'll miss some but um you know kind of the end of the show is the drone show as well as um uh tate stevens and uh music you know live music that kind of thing so uh if that peaks your interest please go check it out there's a lot more going on than just those things and that's May 29th to 30th and then June 13th is the mud run and this is I don't know at least the third or fourth year this has been going on for a few years now but it's it's been pretty popular I know and so that's coming up on June 13th so check that out and then June 20th is the hatchet granite disc golf tournament registration is open for that And, oh, there is a, also June 20th, is a mermaid and pirate day at the outdoor water park. There's going to be, that'll start at 10 a.m., and there's going to be a chance to dress as a mermaid or a pirate and come hunt for treasure and that kind of thing. So if that sounds interesting as well, come check that out. That is everything I have.

We had the car show Saturday. We had good weather. A lot of cars showed up. That was a fun time. Memorial Day, the cemetery does an amazing job. Their displays with the flags and everything, everybody ought to go out there and see it. So they do a great job, and a great job by them. That's all I got.

Council Member Lawson.

I guess I'm going to take this opportunity just to revisit not waiving the MOU fees for DBMSI's Fall Fest. I have a couple thoughts of how we can avoid obscuring long-standing events. Two thoughts is one, the legislative budget line where we have money to dedicate towards legislative priorities. I think originally that was intended to be travel and training for the City Council. but I would be interested in reviewing that and finding money to support existing events. The other one falls under economic development, and I think what could help us make better decisions is data from Placer AI. If we could see in a report of events with Main Street closures, the attendance as far back as we have place or AI data. I think that would help us see that it is a good investment and not just sunk costs when we get people out in the community coming to Main Street and being involved in these events. So I'm just going to put it out there. I'd love to have a work session with place or AI data about Main Street closures and event attendance. and then find ways that police department budget isn't taking a hit when we ask them to provide officers. If we can take it out of legislative or something else. Thank you.

Council Member Bryan. I'll echo Council Member Richardson. The cemetery looked awesome and it was a very cool display to walk around and see. They had little placards for the fallen soldiers and you could read about where they were from and what happened to them. And so it was very educational. And then I have a question, and I guess it's to Parks. Is there a Cary Nation run? You all know how much I enjoy the 5Ks, so hey, don't laugh. An interested party wanted to know, is there a Cary Nation run, though, with all seriousness?

No. No. Okay.

Not this year. We feel that may have been AI generated because my wife tried to find it and it said there was, and she didn't feel it was out there. There was also a volleyball tournament at high blue last weekend too. So there's scammers out there working pretty hard. She did not pay for it yet. That's the good news. That's all I have. Council member Davidson.

Council member Thompson.

Once again, thank you for the service members. I have kids who grew up and have very good friends in the service and I appreciate the fact that we can celebrate Memorial Day. Patty and I went to Branson last week and talked to a whole bunch of people and we have a cool Main Street and it was very nice to have that kind of shown to us in a different way. It was interesting and it was nice, so that's all I have.

I don't have anything. City Manager?

Mr. Mayor, I have one thing. I know there's been a lot of public discussion about the flock cameras and the flock camera program, and the city is planning to do a, we'll have staff do a work session at the next council meeting, which is June 9th, to discuss the flock camera program and essentially answer any concerns the council may have on that program. That's all I've got.

Anybody else have anything else? Motion to adjourn. Second. We have a motion and a second to adjourn.

Are we having the executive session?

We are not doing executive session tonight.

Okay.

Sorry. So we have a motion and a second to adjourn. Any discussion? Hearing none. All in favor? Aye. Any opposed? Motion passes. We stand adjourned.