City Council - Regular Meeting

clerk, would you call roll, please? Yes, Mr. Mayor. Mr. Combmes, Miss Hansen, yes. Mr. Henchie, yes. Uh, present. Mr. Luther, yes. Miss Nelson, present. Miss Reclu, Mr. Washington. Mr. West, seven council members present or met. Thank you. Reverend, would you lead us in the pledge, please?

Face the flag, please. Attention, salute, and pledge. 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. Thank you, sir. Privilege. Thank you.

Okay, we'll uh move on to comments from visitors. Uh if you want to address the council, please come forward. Give us your name and address and you'll have three minutes and the council will not respond to you. Seeing no one come forward, we'll move on to the approval of the Kenic agenda.

Yes. Uh trunk or treat in Carver Park on October the 25th from 3 to 6. Fulton Rotary Club strides and Bites at Memorial Park on October the 26, 12 to 3. Testimony night at Veterans Amphitheater October 26 from 4 to 6 and Brick uh Brick District Boo on the Bricks October the 31st from 4 to 6. I move that we approve the consent agenda. Second. Very well. Any discussion?

Seeing none, all in favor, please say I. I. Oppose. Motion carries. Thank you. Uh we have no unfinished business tonight. We already have uh new business. We'll move on to council concerns. Councilman West. All right. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. So, first of all, uh there was a session held this afternoon uh presented by Sergeant Kyle. I can't remember his what? Green.

Green from the Missouri State Highway Patrol. And it was very very well attended. I was really impressed by the number of people that were there and it it addressed uh active shooter how people how the community the churches schools etc can protect themselves. So uh kudos for the police department for arranging that and I was really happy to see the number of of people that were the room was packed. We had to bring in extra chairs. Um also the human rights commission met last um Monday week ago and we elected the the I didn't we didn't I don't have a vote the um they elected the chair um Tom Clap and Carmen Brandt as vice chair and um let's see we talked about the Jane Peterman F humanitarian award had been presented to Lwanda Jackson at a recent city council meeting Junth. Uh it was discussed and it was it's basically being turned over to a community-led committee um that will you know the they the human rights commission will will uh have members on it as well to represent the city and whatever they might need. Uh also the Celia vigil is uh being talked about. It's scheduled in December and it is uh I don't remember the date. I think it's the 21st of December and right now it's again it's also being turned over to a a separate community committee. So uh more to come on that and then they did provide us a budget request. So that was it and I have no other concerns.

Thank you, Council. Councilwoman Reclu is not with us tonight. Councilwoman Hansen. Yes, Mr. Mayor. Thank you. Um I don't have any concerns, but I do have an announcement. The Harlem Wizards are going to play tomorrow night at New Bloomfield High School, and um the money raised goes to housing initiatives and programs in Callaway County. and they're playing against the Callaway Allstars, which I'm not one, but I feel like it would be a great game to see. So, get your tickets. That's all I have. Thank you. Thank you, Councilman Luther.

Yes, Mr. Mayor. Um really just talk through um maybe some possible communications enhancements. uh a week or so ago uh we were had a planned water outage but throughout that work we had an emergent uh water line issue as well that I believe expanded the scope of the impacted footprint those customers and uh there was some feedback on the communications and and really reaching all the necessary individuals to ensure they were informed of the outage and the boil orders and stuff like that. So, uh, probably something we can definitely focus on and I don't know if we have any updates to date on maybe some enhancements there of of communications, but, uh, I know it's something we've been talking through and working on and, um, hopefully be able to reach out to the customers a little more effectively, I guess. So, yeah, I believe that this there was some confusion on that, I believe. And part of it was probably on our part, but part of it was also on some customers part because where one side of the street is out of water or was affected, the other side was on another main so it wasn't affected. So some of the overlap really was a knowledge of how the system worked also. But uh we do we try to to get those notices out. It comes down to like we had one last week over there toward the YMCA or was changing the valve out. The outage is going to last 10 minutes is how long it lasted roughly. So, do you spend the time to go notify 75 people for something that's only going to last 10 minutes? So that's something we're starting to discuss internally too is how short of an outage or how long of an outage do you have before you go notify everybody and some people don't have Facebook. I mean we can post it but that is not that is not the all telling thing to do. So definitely some of the challenges

there's so many different social media platforms right that which one you focus on it's hard to focus on all of them and you know what's this look like and I'm not sure what other cities do as well for especially the emerging issue type you know communications but uh definitely something we probably look at one thing I would also point out is ju just a reminder uh anyone who's impacted by a boil order will receive a hanger on their door so there were a couple different issues last week and I I know there was some confusion there, but you will receive a boil order notice on your door if you in fact are impacted by that. Um, and then one thing I was actually going to talk about here in a little bit are some enhancements to our website that are coming and there are some communication tools that I think will be a bit more effective than what we've had in the past.

Excellent. And I did receive one of those door hangers. So, I appreciate that. So, good deal. So, thank you for the update. Thank you. That's all I have. Yeah, our communication is not the best obviously, but we are working on that. Thank you, Council Councilman Colmes.

Uh, yes, Mr. Mayor. Uh, the Planning and Zoning Commission met tonight. Um, and we'll have four properties coming up for the council to review. Um, probably at the next meeting, I'm assuming that's typically the way it works. Um, in terms of concerns, um, my big one is right now, um, especially since we've got people on the public safety commission is safety for those that are walking, jogging, biking, that sort of thing. Um, a couple of my son's friends got hit last week while running, paying attention, running off the sidewalk in between a thing, and somebody hit them. Um, and just a couple months prior to that, a friend of mine almost got hit while jogging on the sidewalk. Um, and so it just seems there there's a number of uh distracted drivers. I mean, I try to be cognizant, but there's also issues with people not knowing what side of the road they're supposed to be on when they're walking, running, jogging, biking, all that sort of stuff. A lot of it, yeah, like Mike said, is is cell phone use while driving. Um, you see that all the time. Um, and so I don't know what we can do beyond just educate. I know I see kids all the time on the wrong side of the road or people with their dogs on the wrong side of the road and you feel bad because it's like what they need to be educated. I don't know how we do that. Um but it it just seems to be increasing and and being an issue of car versus people right now. So um that's my only concern. No, to your point, Alan, we used to do it that the high schools really getting to the the fresh drivers, right, where they have those mock-ups of the crash cars and this happened from a text uh text while driving incident. I don't know if we still do that, but could be something we could reach out more on the school platform to get to these kids early, say, this is what can happen, right? So,

I think part of what you're talking about, Allan, is the pedestrians and the bicycle riders, that sort of thing being on the right on the correct side of the road. Yeah, it's both. Like there's a I mean, as you mentioned, like there's a lot of distracted driving going on. Like you just see it all the time. I see more and more of it all the time. People on their cell phones. And so we've got that piece to address, but we've also got the education piece. Like it used to be taught like in grade school like this is the side of the road you ride your bike on. This is the side you walk on. Right. I my my kids haven't had that, but we've they do that because we've taught them that and they can spot it. But I mean, I see it regularly, people walking on the wrong side of the road and cars coming up behind them.

Um, so there's a lot of those safety things we can address for pedestrians, but also what do you do on the flip side when we don't have sidewalks um and people are walking and you got distracted driving and someone's going to get hit? One thing I would also point out that I see a lot more often, uh, where there are sidewalks and perfectly good sidewalks, people not using them. Yeah. Um, and so they're just walking in the middle of the street. So, just a reminder, I know we all love sidewalks, we want more of them. Let's let's use them. Would be a good place to start, too. There you go.

Thank you, Councilman. I think u with our colleges and high schools right now, I see a lot more um kids out running and especially in the evening and uh I might encourage our motoring public to please uh watch out for these young people that are training. So, um I'm not sure there's a great answer to that, but just being careful. You're right. Distracted driving. Okay. Thank you, Councilman Washington.

Thank you, Mr. Mayor. Um, a couple of things. First of all, um, um, parks park board uh, they elected new officers uh, and u, it's good. I I don't recall their names, but uh, I believe we have a new uh, officer uh, for officers um, who is leading that. And truly I I thank um Charlene for her leadership uh what she's doing. It seems to be doing a great job. Uh we've seen the work at uh Carver Park uh basketball court. Uh asphalt has been has been laid and it looks good and so we're looking forward to the rest of the work that's going to be done on that as well. Um I was looking uh someone called me about the demilation uh with the latest uh the latest on the demilation uh where we at and uh I know the gentleman that who won I don't know the person who uh who received the bid I know he had extension from back in u I think June somewhere he had an extension asked for an extension and he received that from us and I think he's scheduled to be done this this month, October, am I correct? And that's what I'm just an update on that if we can get that um later on. Um other than that, I don't have any other concerns.

Thank you. Thank you, sir. Councilwoman Nelson. Yes, Mr. Mayor. Um, I do not have any concerns and unfortunately I was not able to make the last utility board meeting. Darl, is there any updates that we need to give anyone? Courtney, is there are there any updates that I think I attended the meeting. It's been so long ago. Um, no. At this point, I I don't think we have anything else. Uh, we will we'll of course let you guys know as we get a little bit closer, but otherwise I'm sorry, Kathy. Utility. Thank you for bringing that up. Yes, the public utility board did review those rate increases and they did make the recommendation to move forward. So, I believe there is an ordinance on there for tonight. Thank you, Kathy.

Thank you for that. I'm so sorry I missed that. I plan to be at the next one. Um, and like I said, no concerns tonight. Thank you, Councilman Henry.

Yes, Mr. Mayor. Um, there has not been a uh city safety committee meeting since the last meeting. Um, I would also like to say thank you to Chief Ladwig for um sponsoring the the active shooter awareness for the churches in our town that Mike was talking about. Um, this is one of the many ways the Fulton Police Department shows that they are committed to the safety of our residents, businesses, schools, churches, and activities throughout our city. I would also like to thank Sergeant Kyle Green from Troop F of the Missouri State Highway Patrol for coming to our community and conducting a very well done training. Um this was this was very well done. Also, I'd like to thank uh um Mr. Dunlap, Daryl Dunlap, for solidifying our power availability in the future. um he does an excellent job of keeping us on track and and getting us the best bang for our buck for our utilities and electricity. Thank you, Darl. And um and since the last meeting we had the MML conference and I would like to give a special thank you to the madam clerk Kathy Ratliff for preparing us with all the information and packets and everything and and making it so easy to go to a conference like that and um and I have no concerns.

Thank you sir. Uh I have one thing. and I uh attended the NAACP meeting last night and uh they are fastly preparing for their banquet on uh November the 8th and um I might encourage you anyone that uh can make that to please try to uh doors open at 5:30 and meal it's at 6:30 and it's at the uh reclex. Will there be tickets at the door? They have to be in advance.

Okay. So, um you can see any just about any NAACP member and get a ticket for that. It's uh they've got a I think an excellent speaker for this year. So,

Mayor, if you don't mind, I was just going to have a couple things to go over real quick as well. First, congratulations to Councilman Washington. I heard that you're going to be the Fulton High School Homecoming Grand Marshall this year. I think that deserves a round of applause. We are in the presence of greatness, ladies and gentlemen. I think that's amazing. Uh, and then I also wanted to just mention again that the city is launching our new website. Um, that's going to be coming up here towards the end of this week. So, it's exciting. There's been a lot of work that I know Doris uh our communication coordinator has put into that. It is going to have some of those enhancements. We're going to be rolling some of that stuff out. Uh but I'm excited because it's going to be ADA compliant. It will make things a lot more user friendly for our community. And so it's been a it's been a long time coming as Taylor Swift would say. And then I also want to just highlight do I have some participants from Leadership Callaway here tonight?

That's what I thought. No, not you. It's okay. That's okay. welcome from junior leadership as well. It's wonderful to have you guys here uh and have you joining us for a council meeting. I also look forward to talking with you uh Thursday and next Monday as well. So, thanks for joining us tonight. Thank you. We'll move on to resolutions. Councilwoman um recluse is not here tonight. Um, Councilwoman Hansen, would you read that for us, please?

Yes, Mr. Mayor. Resolution 3592, Southwestern Power Administrative Administration Extended Agreement. It's a resolution authorizing the mayor on behalf of the city of Fulton, Missouri to execute an amendatory agreement to the current power sales contract with with the Southwestern Power Administration providing for the sale and purchase of federal power and energy and establishing an effective date. I would like to make a motion to um accept this resolution. Second.

Very well. Do we have discussion? Seeing none, all in favor, please say I. I. Oppose. Thank you. Next, we'll have resolution 3593. Councilwoman Hansen, you want to read that one also? Yes, Mr. Mayor. Thank you. I didn't look ahead for

That's all right. Uh resolution 3593 is an acknowledgement of rate increase. A resolution acknowledging the 2026 annual utility rate increase for electric, gas, and water services in accordance with ordinance number 1665-24. And I would like to make a motion that we pass this resolution as well.

Very well. discussion. Councilman Cole.

Yes, Mr. Mayor. Uh, a couple rate increases ago, we talked about rate increases and how that would affect impact those uh lower income um maybe those that need assistance. Um, I know I've shared this before um but I went and did looked at the numbers again tonight just so everybody was aware. Um, in 2025, CMCA's numbers, uh, uh, in terms of what they're allowed to assist people with actually went down drastically. Um, the last few years it was been up to like in the summer, in the winter months they could do up to $1,600 and now it's at $800. In the summer they could do $1,200 and now it's back to 300. Um, and so that's a pretty substantial decrease for those people that we've said, hey, they could still get assistance through through CMCA. Um, and so as we consider rate increases, I think it's important to at least think about those people who may not be able to afford much of any increase. Okay. Thank you, sir. Any other discussion?

Seeing none, all in favor, please say I. I. Oppose. No. We have a roll call vote, please.

Miss Hansen, yes. Mr. Henchie, yes. Mr. Luther, yes. Miss Nelson, yes. Mr. Recclu, Mr. Washington, yes. Mr. West, yes. And Mr. Combmes, no. Thank you. Six council members, affirmative.

Yeah. Uh, resolution 3594, maintenance equipment lease agreement. Uh, Councilman Luther, would you read that for us, please? Yes, Mr. Mayor. Resolution 3594, maintenance equipment lease agreement. A resolution authorizing the mayor on behalf of the city of Fulton, Missouri to sign all necessary documents in relation to a 5-year lease with turf works for 19 pieces of maintenance equipment with financing through central bank and establishing an effective date. I make a motion to adopt resolution number 3594 at this council meeting. Thank you. Do we have discussion on uh this M?

Yeah, I didn't see it talked about here. Charlene, if you got a minute on this. So, we're looking at a 5-year contract. Is this all new equipment in or is this existing equipment?

Um, so there is a plethora of equipment on there. So, I'm glad you asked. Um, so we just came out of five-year contract. There are um eight pieces we identified on that five-year contract that we were going to buy out, right? That's what we did the budget amendment for in our prior council meeting. Um on that um prior lease agreement we had 15 pieces. Um so this one will have 19. So it is to replace some of those pieces um that we need in addition. You said we bought outright a few of the existing pieces already. Yes, that is correct.

So as we potentially after this agreement, we may buy some more and eventually kind of get away from the long-term lease. Is that I feel like that's definitely an option available. Yes. And I think it's something we should continue to look at doing. I know we have the expertise in house and the garage and the staff really to help maintain that stuff, too. So, yeah. So, definitely appreciate us looking into that and and really weighing the options financially, which which is the best option. I'm sure everyone that plays golf really appreciates the uh we all we all appreciate the the maintenance and upkeep of the golf course. So, we all do a great job. Thank you. You're welcome. And just so you know, it it was put in the budget for 2026. So, it's proposed budget. the proposed budget. Thank you.

And I would like to thank you for going out and seeking lower interest rates than what was offered through turf work. So, thank you for that. Still don't like that interest rate, but it's better than what was proposed by them over 8%. So, thank you so much for doing that work. Thank you, Charlene. Any other discussion? Seeing none, all in favor of resolution 3594, please say yes. Yes. Opposed.

Thank you. Now we'll move on to ordinances. These are uh second readings, I believe.

Oh, okay. These are first reading and then if you have a second reading on there, it's a typo. Uh, Councilman Washington, would you read bill number 1758, please?

Yes, Mr. Mayor. Bill number bill number 1758, a local t uh tobacco and vaping control. An ordinance enacting chapter 72 of the city of Fulton code to establish a local tobacco and vaping control, including permitting sales and restriction to minors and requiring s signage and enforcement and establishing an effective date. I make a motion that we uh place bill number 1758 for second reading at the next regular schedule. Second, council meeting. Second. Very well. Do we have uh discussion? Anyone

clarification on that? If somebody wants clarification on that, please. Uh I just wondering if uh are we saying that uh on the vaping control including permitting the sales permitting sales and restriction to minors require signage and enforcement establishment and then I went down to the action or and this I think the state has something that we that they're trying to do. I'm not clear on that. Do you know anything about that? Kathy, could you speak to kind of where this boilerplate language came from and then I can talk a little bit more about the enforcement, what the intent is here.

Yeah. When I was comparing it with our city code and state law, um that's where the signage and all the other sales restrictions came from. Our ordinance will match up exactly with what state law recommends and requires along with federal law. Okay. And Tom Riley did review it and he he checked it over and made sure that it was definitely legal before we put it into play. But basically what was what happened is we didn't have it listed in our ordinance. Okay. That gave our officers the ability to patrol it. Okay. You know, reduced staff at the state levels. They're the ones who made the suggestion that we could put that in our ordinance specifically.

So to kind of Yeah. And that's absolutely perfect to kind of build on that a little bit. that um you know the state obviously is limited in their resources and being able to go through and manage and effectively um enforce some of these regulations. So we were notified that we were having some pretty significant issues with minors being able to obtain tobacco products. Uh that's always a concern of course and we want to do our part to make sure that we keep everybody safe and legal. And so in working with our partners at the state level, our attorney, um this is kind of as Kathy mentioned what what we brought to the table. Um, this is going to allow our local police department to be able to enforce those rules and regulations more effectively. Uh, because obviously the state alcohol alcohol and tobacco control can't necessarily go into every single town and do that. So, their suggestion was for us to really beef up and make our ordinances uh match those regulations so we can better enforce them.

That's what I was that's what I was reading and I want to make sure I was on the same page. Thank you. Appreciate that. Okay. So, I have a question. I have I think I found where it's at. But so say someone is over 21 years old and buys some cigarettes or vaping products. It looks like se section 72-4A is the one that says I can't or that person not me that person can't provide that to a minor. Is that is that I'm glad you clarified that it couldn't be you councilman. I'm glad we made that clarification. Um, I would I don't even want to give them to people that are old enough to do it. So,

Sure. No, but you're correct. Uh, proposed section 72-4 does uh specifically say you cannot sell, furnish, or distribute any tobacco products. So, it can't give it to a minor. Okay. Thank you. This isn't just on the uh businesses. This is also covers the citizens individuals. Yes, that's correct. All right. Thank you. Okay. Okay. Any further discussion? Seeing none, all in favor of moving bill 17 58 to the next meeting, please say I. I.

Oppose. Okay, we'll move on to bill 1759, uh, the extended liquor hours. Uh, Councilman West, would you read that, please?

Yes, thank you. Bill number 1759, extended hours, extended liquor hours exemption, FIFA World Cup 2026, an ordinance exempting the city of Fulton, Missouri from temporary extended liquor hours authorized under section 311. 2026 RS Mo during the 2026 FIFA World Cup and establish an effective date. I move for uh I make a motion to place bill number 1759 for second reading at the next regularly scheduled council meeting. Okay. Very well. This this one might need a little explanation.

Little explanation. I I expected as much. Thank you. Uh so I know that Chief Ladwig had put some information prepared a memo for you guys to better understand this, but the FIFA World Cup is going to be held in Kansas City next year. Uh state legislature passed extended consumption and sale hours for alcohol and there are a lot of cities across the state of Missouri and counties um who are uh exempting themselves from those extended hours. You know, again, it is a it is a position that each community can take, but it does potentially impact uh the need for additional law enforcement with those extended hours. So, uh our partners at Callaway County Sheriff's Department brought this forward, Sheriff Mley. Um and I know that Chief Ladwig and Sheriff Mley have been talking about this pretty extensively. So, the goal here would be to extend it to keep our current regulation in effect even though the state has extended those hours of sale and consumption. Yeah. I don't I don't think this would affect us one way or the other this far out of Kansas City. So,

you just never know. Huh? You never know. No, but I think we ought to pass it. I agree with you. Okay. Any other discussion? All in favor, please say I.

I oppose. Very good. We'll now have bill 1760, fire department mutual a mutual aid agreement. Councilman Henchie, would you read that for us, please?

Yes, Mr. Mayor. Bill number 1760, Fulton Fire Department Mutual Aid Agreement. An ordinance authorizing the director of ad administration on behalf of the city of Fulton, Missouri to sign all necessary documents in relation to the fire department mutual aid agreement between the city of Columbia, Missouri and city of Fulton and establishing effective date. I make a motion to place bill number 1760 for the third reading at the next regular scheduled council meeting. Second reading. Second readings. Excuse me. Second reading. Second. Okay. This is uh just a normal mutual aid agreement. Any discussion on this?

Seeing none, all in favor, please say I. I. Opposed. Thank you.

I moved that. Okay. Announcements. Um, city council will meet um once in the month of November and that meeting will be November the 18th at 6:30. Folton Police Department will host their uh annual trunk or treat event on Saturday, October the 25th from 4 to 6 at Morgan Soccer Complex. All proceeds from the uh dollar per person donation uh benefits the shop with a hero Christmas program. The city of Fulton Legends and Solid Waste uh department will be closed November the 11th for Veterans Day and November the 27th and 28th in observance of Thanksgiving holiday. Uh solid waste services will be adjusted. Uh however, emergency services will remain in the normal operation. Parks and recck staff is excited to once again offer the festival of lights which will officially open on December the 4th. you can follow our Facebook page uh for updates on the opening night activities and I think you'll probably have it on your Facebook page as well. So that's always a very exciting night and I think uh everyone always looks forward to that. Now uh do we have any other announcements that anyone has? Um on the Festival of Lights, Charlene, are you guys starting to take uh registrations for that event yet or when will that open?

It is currently

It's currently open. Okay, excellent. So, if you're an individual family business and you want to have a tree uh in the Festival of Light, Field of Joy, Festival of Lights is the whole thing, but Field of Joy uh get with parks and recreation. The other thing I wanted to point out is we had a dedicated staff uh in solid waste who did a lot of cleanup with fall cleanup past week and so I just want to give them a quick shout out. They did a great job as always uh kept everything clean and tidy as they were gathering everything up and we also love those citizens that go out there and take a look at things before they come and visit. So thank you to everybody for doing your part to keep things very tidy. Do we have any tonnage this year?

We do. You can just play some Jeopardy Jeopardy music for me real quick. In the middle of that, I skipped right past Halloween. Parks and Wreck is going to have a Halloween gathering dance fun afternoon on the 26th. Was that right? 20 25th. This number always fascinates me. Yeah. And Mr. numbers is 85.27 tons collected which was picked up by eight people which means each person picked up 13,000 pounds that's a lot of junk

stuff. Okay. [Laughter]

Yeah, that that number is always huge. 85 tons and there was a lot of people like Courtney said coming through the neighborhoods picking stuff up that they seen was valuable. So if they hadn't picked a bunch up it probably been closer to the spring cleanup was was over a hundred tons if I remember correctly. Oh, there were people out there with flashlights the first morning going through stuff. Yeah. So, anyway, we'll pass on your comments. They did a good job cuz they they did. And uh I believe Doris helped one day. She picked a bad day. It rained so she uh got very wet. But uh she hung in there and they really appreciated Doris out there helping. So, shout out to Dors.

Good. Thanks, Darl. Okay, we do have a need for an exe a short executive session tonight. I make a motion that the city council will meet in executive session. To clarify as well, that'll be for legal and litigation. I want to make sure we highlight the purpose. Sir, before you make that, before you uh next schedule uh uh council meeting is on the 28th. Is that right, sir? Okay. I didn't see it on the announcement, so I just unless I'm over overlooking it. Okay. All right. Two weeks.

Motion. Second. Yep. I think we got a motion in a second. So, I think we're probably ready for a roll call. Okay. Madam Clerk, Miss Hansen. Actually, thank you. Uh, Mr. Henchie. Yes. Mr. Luther, yes. Miss Nelson, yes. Mr. Clue, Mr. Washington, yes. Mr. West, yes. Mr. Combmes, all council members affirmative.

Very good.