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Garage sales and tourism amid topics of discussion at Coffee with the Mayor Thursday morning
The monthly "Coffee and Conversation with the Mayor" event was held Thursday morning at Precision Coffee. Nevada Mayor George Knox fielded several questions and engaged in discussion on topics ranging from garage sales and downtown revitalization to a proposed tourism contract with the Nevada/Vernon County Chamber of Commerce.
Starting off the conversation, Mayor Knox made note of a heavily discussed ordinance from Tuesday evening's city council meeting. The ordinance (Bill No. 2023-006) would amend part of the city code in reference to garage sales. The current city code states the following:
(a) Each garage sale shall be limited to two consecutive days and shall be conducted only between the hours of 8 a.m. and 6 p.m.
(b) Not more than two sales can be held at, or by, any separate household per year.
The amended ordinance would change the wording to the following:
(a) Each garage sale visible from the street shall be limited to two consecutive days and shall be conducted only between the hours of 8 a.m.and 6 p.m.
(b) Not more than two garage sales visible from the street can be held at, or by, any separate household per year.
This amendment to the current code is being requested so that the code of the city is in agreement with Missouri's new "Home Based Business" statute (Section 71.990 RSMo). This statute became effective Aug. 28, 2022, and since then the city code has been partially in conflict with it. The only changes to the code would be the addition of the phrase "visible from the street" to the first half, and the addition of the word "garage" to the second half of the ordinance.
However, during Tuesday evening's city council meeting, Councilman Lyndon Eberhard noted that a community member had recently addressed the council in regards to the number of garage sales that the City of Nevada allows per resident. The current code allows for two garage sales per year. Eberhard noted at the Tuesday meeting that he believes if the council were to address the city's code regarding garage sales, it should also include a discussion and possible revision to the number of garage sales allowed.
Clearing up any confusion, Mayor Knox noted at the Thursday coffee event that the ordinance would not pertain to the number of garage sales allowed. He also stated that City Attorney Bill McCaffree advised that the council pass the ordinance amending the wording of the code so that the city can be in harmony with the state statute.
Nevada/Vernon County Chamber of Commerce Director Jessica Sloniker was also on hand at the coffee discussion to clarify the proposed tourism contract the city is considering with the chamber. The agreement would approve contracting with the chamber to provide support for tourism operations, including the operation of the Tourism Visitor Center. The funding by the City of Nevada (up to $50,000) would come from the city’s tourism fund.
Rounding out the coffee discussion were concerns with the loss of buildings on the downtown Nevada Square. Mayor Knox stated there are many proposed ideas for the empty lot at the corner of Cherry and Main street (park, food truck lot, etc.), but there are still hurdles to battle. This include the issue of the basement needing to be filled in and the adjacent buildings being unstable.