City Council - Regular Meeting

set in the new building, too.

So excited to start way of thinking. No reason to sit down, is there? Not [laughter] at all. Live. We are live and we are ready to go. So, I'm going to call this meeting to order. For all that care to please stand for an opening prayer and the pledge of allegiance. Let us pray. We come before you today with grateful hearts, thankful for the opportunity to serve the people of Republic. We ask for your guidance and wisdom as we make decisions that affect our community. Please grant us clarity, unity, and integrity in all that we do. Help us to lead with compassion, humility, and a spirit of cooperation. In your name we pray. Amen.

Amen. I pledge algiance 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.

Now then I'll try to corral this chair. [clears throat] All right. Thank you everyone for being here this evening. We're going to move on to our very first item of the agenda this evening, a very special occasion. We have the swearing in of our new city administrator, Mr. Colton Harris. So, at this time, we will have Laura and Colton swear in our new city administrator. Will come up on the screen. All right, if you'll raise your right hand and repeat after me. There you go. I Colton Harris. I, Colton Harris, do solemnly swear do solemnly swear that I possess all the qualifications

that I possess all the qualifications prescribed for my office by law prescribed for my office by law that I will support the Constitution that I will support the Constitution of the United States of the United States and of the state of Missouri and of the state of Missouri the provisions of all laws the provisions of all laws of this state of this state affecting cities of this class affecting cities of this class and the ordinances and the ordinance of the city of Republic of the city of Republic and that I will faithfully demean myself in office and that I will faithfully demean myself in office. So help me God. So help me God. CONGRATULATIONS. [applause]

Thank you Laura and welcome Colton. [clears throat] So we're going to move on to citizens participation. Uh, do we have anyone in the audience this evening that wants to participate in citizens participation? Okay, seeing that there is none, I'm going to close citizens participation. I'm going to move on to the consent agenda. I welcome the council to ask any questions or comments about items number one through three on the agenda. If there are no questions and no comments, I need a motion and a second for approval of the consent agenda. Motion second. Second. Got a motion and a second. All those in favor? I.

All of those opposed.

Are there any abstensions? Motion carries 6 to zero. Board, commission, and committee schedule. Board of adjustment meeting will be January the 8th, 2026. We have a planning and zoning meeting on January the 12th, 2026. Our next city council meeting will be January the 20th, 2026. Our city council work session we have on January the 27th, 2026 at 11:00 a.m. And then we have a city council meeting on February the 3rd, 2026. Moving on to old business and tabled items. Item number four, I need a motion and a second for the second reading of bill 25-41 by title only, please.

Motion. Second. Got a motion and a second. All of those in favor? I I All of those opposed. Are there any abstensions? Motion carries. 600. Laura will read the ordinance by title, please. An ordinance of the city council approving the annexation of approximately 105 acres of property located at 5740 West Republic Road in adjacent water. Thank you, Laura. Does city council have any questions, comments? [snorts] Seeing that there are none, uh, we will move on to final passage. I need a motion and a second for the final passage of Bill 25-41, please. Motion. Second.

I've got a motion and a second. We're now going to take a roll call vote on our computers. Motion carries 600. Moving on to new business and first reading of ordinances. Item number five. I need a motion and a second for the first reading of bill 25-42 by title only, please. Motion. Second. Got a motion and a second. All those in favor? I.

All those opposed. Are there any abstensions? Motion carries. 600. Laura will read the ordinance by title, please. An ordinance of the city council approving the final plat of Prairie Ridge phase one subdivision. [clears throat]

Thank you, Laura. And we've got Mr. Taber here this evening to give us an overview. Good evening. Chris Taber, principal planner. The city has received an application from Prairie Ridge Republic LLC. I'm requesting the final plat of Prairie Ridge phase one. The subdivision was previously approved as part of the Prairie Ridge planned development in um 2022 on July 19th. The passage of this final plat is going to legally divide 39.39 acres of land into 137 single family lots and it will also convey the dedication and associated of associated rightaway utility and storm water related easements to the city. The final plat conforms to the Prair Ridge plan development district as approved by the council again on July 19th, 2022. Uh city staff has reviewed the final plat and determined that it substantially conforms to the requirements of the approved development plan in addition to the requirements of the city code chapter 410 subdivision regulations and article v five major subdivision final plat. We are recommending approval of this plat.

Thank you Mr. Taber. Do we have any questions, comments? from city council. Okay, seeing that there is was that a no. Okay, just wanted to make sure. So, no questions, no comments from council. Uh before moving on, we have a pursuant to 3.10F of the charter. Staff is requesting the second reading of this ordinance during tonight's meeting. I need a motion and a second to approve the second reading of bill 25-42 to be held during tonight's meeting. Motion second. Got a motion and a second. All of those in favor.

All of those opposed. Are there any abstensions? Motion carries. 6 0. It's our second reading of ordinances. I need a motion and a second for the second reading of bill 25-42 by title only, please. Motion. Second. Got a motion and a second. All of those in favor? I. All of those opposed. Are there any abstensions? Motion carries. 600. Laura will read the ordinance by title, please. An ordinance of the city council approving the final plat of Prairie Ridge phase one subdivision.

Thank you, Laura. Uh, does city council have any questions or discussion? [clears throat] Okay, seeing that there is none, we will move on to final passage. I now need a motion and a second for the final passage of bill 25-42, please. Motion. Second.

Got a motion and a second. Uh, we're now going to take a roll call vote on our computers. [clears throat] Motion carries 6 0. Moving on to other business and resolutions. 25-R-45, a resolution of the city council assigning authorized designated officials and signers for the city of the Missouri Department of Natural Resources State Revolving Fund Loan. I need a motion and a second to take up resolution 25-R45. Motion. Second.

Got a motion and a second. And we have Mr. Ford here this evening to give us an overview.

Good evening. Bob Ford, chief financial officer. As you recall, a couple years ago when we were finalizing the SRF loan, um Andrew Nelson and I were established as the as the city representatives to be able to submit on behalf of the city for reimbursement in the SRF program to DNR. Um we closed on that loan in June of 2004. We didn't actually begin drawing on the facility until June of this year. We've drawn about half of that facility. Uh what this resolution does, it's really a a housekeeping matter. It takes Andrew off as a signer and it adds Jake Jones on my staff as an alternative signer in the event that I'm unavailable and not able to sign and submit on behalf of the city. Um staff is obviously recommending approval.

Thank you, Mr. Ford. City Council have any questions or comments? Mr. Gerky, remind me of the funding source on that. We're using all that that source first. Correct. So, we've exhausted all of the grant money. Both both $25 million tranches are have been exhausted and we're down to the final $50 million and about half of that has been drawn on to this point in time. So, we have about 25 million left and we've got about 25 million left on the project. Thank you. You bet.

Thank you, Mr. Ford. Thank you, Mr. Gerky. Do we have any additional questions, comments from city council? Okay, seeing that there is none, this is a resolution so that we can call this immediately to a vote. All of those in favor? I I. All of those opposed. Are there any abstensions? Resolution passes 860 0. Moving on to reports from staff. Mr. Harris.

Thank you, Mayor. I want to take this moment. This is first time of course that I've had the chance since I've started. This will only be my second day to thank the council. Uh I want to thank the executive team [snorts] and and you mayor. This is an incredible opportunity and I'm just very grateful to be on board. So I just want to thank everybody. It's been incredibly welcoming. Uh my first two days I've had the opportunity to be interviewed twice and uh the big question is what does the future look like? And you know I I right now it's an exciting time for a public and there's a lot of momentum but I just want to say that we've also done a lot in 2025. I mean as as new to this organization coming in I just look around. We have a new budget solution. Uh we have the new the software additions to to make payroll better. Uh obviously we have city hall almost complete which is looks incredible. Um so it's just great. I want to thank staff. Incredible job. This council staff just a lot of work has been completed and there's a lot to be proud of in 2025. So, just wanted to take a moment to state that that there's a lot to be there is, you know, the short answer about the future is there's a lot on the horizon and that's going to be great. But even right now, there's a lot to be thankful for and grateful for. So, just wanted to mention that. Couple of quick updates. Uh, we have a utility billing update. There's going to be another software change. Uh, so a mailer is going out tomorrow. It's going to modernize the system and be able to allow transactions to happen electronically and so that's going to be that that'll go live uh in the 1 of February. Uh so more information to come on that but uh that'll be sent out uh tomorrow. Also, we have the annual report coming. Uh, so we're targeting again early February to have that go out and be completed. And of course, that'll

detail all the accomplishments we've had in 2025 and all the work that was done. [clears throat] Um, as I mentioned, uh, city hall nearing completion. Uh, it's looking really good. We've got, uh, a lot happened even today. Uh, so we're hoping to move staff in later this week. Um and we'll have an open house in early spring. So then my last uh item of course we have candidacy filling uh began today 8 in the morning and so offices to be voted on are uh one council member ward one council member Ward two three and four all for a four-year term. So filing after uh today will be by appointment appointment only as scheduled with the city clerk and uh filing will end on December 30th from 3 to 5. So additional information can be found on the website as needed.

Perfect. Thank you very much. U and again welcome to Republic and so it's it's wonderful to have you here and it's exciting. It definitely is an exciting time for Republic and so we're glad to have you here.

Do we have any reports from city council? I Mr. Mayor, I just want to say uh welcome Colton. Uh it's going to be it's going to be an honor to serve alongside you. I'm looking forward to the future and and kind of continuing what this staff has already been doing and uh just looking forward to it. Awesome. Thank you, Mr. Campbell. Any additional reports from city council? Okay, we're going to move on to the mayor. Uh yeah, it's wonderful to have you here, Colton. Uh this evening I got here a little bit early and I I did get to take a walk over to city hall and look through that and it is so incredible. Uh and just a shout out to to everyone here at Republic. I got to catch the story about what happened with the furniture delivery today and just super impressed on having the time to go through there and give me that tour after they just did all of that hard work. So very thankful. Uh it's very impressive over there. A lot of goosebumps. Uh you know, I'm excited to get the public over there to see that. I'm excited for everyone to get over there and be able to have that comfort of a a wonderful working environment as well. And so I'm very excited for everyone, very happy to go through there. And yeah, that's such a wonderful building. We've got such a bright future. And so yeah, it's so wonderful. So excited for everyone to go over there. It's impossible for me to get all of my gratitude into a few sentences, but I also wanted to say thank you uh to our staff, Lisa Addington, for uh her term as interim city administrator and and Mr. for Miss Haynes and all of staff that has has taken the additional steps that have taken to get us to this point with welcoming Colton tonight. And so I just wanted to to send out a great big thank you to all the staff, too. I could be here and mention everyone's name all night, but it's thank you to everyone very much. I wanted to give a great thank you to everyone at Main Street Events for another successful Christmas on Maine. Uh Mr. Campbell and I were talking about that before the meeting tonight. Uh it was just such an awesome

crowd. I think it's bigger than it's ever been before. The parade was excellent. The Kijijanas did a wonderful job. The Kiwana's judges did an awesome job, too. Um, it was great to see everyone out there. I know I got to see several of our council members out there. So many different members of the community, and it's just such an honor to be mayor in those types of situations and seeing the fun and seeing those memories happen. So, thank you to the Main Street events. Thank you to everyone that made that possible, including the Kiwanas and all of the vendors, too. A lot of volunteers I know went into making that day successful. We had an awesome showing this weekend as well. It's been a very busy last couple weeks. Uh we're busy here in Republic and so I love it. Last Saturday was it was kind of a bittersweet. It was the last day for our old library and so um it was incredible to see the community show up to support the Green County Library and what they're doing over there with that new building. There was over 200 people that showed up Saturday to help move books from the old library to the new building. And to say goodbye to the old building and welcome into that new building, it was so incredible to see that many people from Republic show up to help move books and and just to show that gratitude for the library and what's meant to them. So, it was another wonderful thing and thank you to the Green County Republic Library [snorts] and all of their hard work as well and making that just such a wonderful opportunity for us here in the future. This year, I do want to mention uh I have once again been invited to the competition for the Salvation Army Mayor's Bell Ringing Challenge. Uh we'll have a friendly competition between the mayors here in the area. There'll be four or five of us. I haven't got quite confirmation yet, but I did get confirmation earlier today u on December the 18th from 11:00 a.m. to noon. I will be at the main entrance to Bass Pro. So, if anyone would like to come out and and show support for the Republic mayor on this friendly competition on seeing who can raise the most money, um I promise you it's probably the most spirited friendly you'll ever see me. And I love ringing that bell. I love to see people

smile. And so, it's just such a wonderful time. I'd love to see you come support. And if if support is just a friendly hello, that's all I need. And I'd really appreciate that. And if anyone wants to ring that bell with me here in Republic throughout the holiday season, let me know and I can coordinate that to where we can go stand outside of a Price Cut or Walmart, whichever one, and we'll ring that bell and we'll welcome our community as well. So, my invitation to anyone. But, um, January 15th is the next OTO board meeting. Um, just to give everyone a quick update, the Otto board of directors did approve for the last meeting the executive board of directors for next year. And so in addition to being on the board of directors for 2026, we will take on the role of secretary on the executive board. And so hopefully I make them all, Mr. Gerky has been lined out just in case I can't make it. But we've got another opportunity and just kind of another another step for us to share our abilities here in Republic. So I'm looking forward to that. I wanted to give a quick shout out. The next chamber meeting is January the 6th. Um and it's just such an incredible last chamber meeting was wonderful. So many different people in Republic coming to the chamber meeting and uh it's always such a wonderful time. There's so many different people to to meet there. This last week we were the chamber Republic Chamber of Commerce was invited by Chick-fil-A which if anyone knows where Chick-fil-A is, it's not exactly in Republic proper. And to have someone that's in Chick-fil-A and someone that has the values of Chick-fil-A reach out to someone like the Republic Chamber of Commerce and reach out to the Community of Republic and ask for support on a ribbon cutting for a new facility is just to me beyond impressive. And it just goes to show me what the int all of the things that Republic Chamber is doing and the excitement shows and other people want to be a part of that. And when we have people around us coming to Republic asking us for support, it really shows the values that we've shared with our community. And so it's just such a wonderful time hanging out

with the chamber and getting to see the hard work that they're doing. It goes a long ways. And so Republic is doing a number of great things on a lot of different levels. It's been a wonderful year. I don't mean to go on, but uh I tried to keep it under 20 minutes. I went just above it. So, but I just wanted to take that time. This has been a wonderful year. Uh I really wanted to thank council for everything that you've done. I know that with missing time with families, it it's it sometimes it weighs a little bit and so I really appreciate everyone being here. Um I appreciate the people that are putting their names on the ballot for these next four seats. U we've had a wonderful time with council and I've I've really appreciated all of this time for us being together. This has been a wonderful year. I know next year is going to be a wonderful year. And so other than that, I want everyone to have just wonderful holiday season. Thank you so much for making this year so memorable. I look forward to making more memories next year. We'll have Colton. He'll have a little bit of time to settle in. We'll be in our new building and we'll be setting a new chapter for Republic's history. So, I'm very proud to be here. Thank you very much. I hope everyone has a merry Christmas, a happy new year. And other than that, that's