Sheldon Council discusses parks issues, buzz about bees

Concerns from the park board, a citizen issue relating to a sewer repair, the property tax levy and the question of whether to close certain railroad crossings all were up for discussion during a regular meeting of the Sheldon City Council Tuesday at Sheldon City Hall.

Although some railroad crossing closures have been recommended by the Missouri Department of Transportation, the city of Sheldon won't be doing so. Lack of cooperation or assistance of other agencies in repairing the sites was a determining factor in the decision, Mayor Rob Sewell, council president Jerod Lamb, and aldermen Robert Moran, Larry Gardner and Clara Smith were present to consider the many items on the agenda.

A citizen hearing was added to the agenda, with the point in question being whether the city was responsible for reimbursing the citizen for repairing a sewer line.

After some discussion concerning the sequence of events leading up to the repair, Alderman Lamb said the city would not "dispute the fact that there was a root" in the city's portion of the line that was the cause of the backup and subsequent repair. As a result, the council agreed to pay for the repairs and there was further discussion on an exact figure. Alderman Moran expressed a concern with the possibility of this kind of payment setting a precedent in such cases. It was agreed that each case would be handled on an individual basis and a motion was made and seconded and the council voted in favor of paying 78 percent of the sum.

Next on the agenda, Daniel Lanning was present to raise the issue of the park board becoming an administrative body rather than serving in an advisory capacity. It was the park board's contention that their decisions were being over ruled and they wanted more autonomy. The negative council response to the idea of an administrative park board left the board few options. After discussing some specific incidents regarding the park board's decisions, there was a lengthy discussion regarding a building at the park, which was, by vote of the council, to be torn down during the recent improvements.

The building in question was partially dismantled and moved to a residence within the city. Council members expressed their concerns with this action because the building, as property of the city, falls under specific statues relating to disposal of public properties. It was decided that Mayor Lamb and alderman Moran would make contact with the state municipal league and determine the proper way to dispose of the building. The issue will be revisited.

The next item on the agenda was a proposed tax increase. A proposed increase equaling 1 cent per $100 in property valuation failed and the tax rate from the previous year was adopted and approved by the council on the second reading. The council then considered a motion to donate money to the school reading program. After a brief discussion, the motion passed with Mayor Sewell casting the deciding vote in an otherwise tied vote.

In other business, the council

* Conducted a discussion about a resident's having bees in the city limits. It seems the bees have become quite a nuisance for those folks at the park. The council agreed to take the issue under advisement and charged Mayor Sewell with the task of gathering information on the subject and making recommendations to the council.

* Heard a report from the fire chief relating to fire department issues. The council commended Fire Chief David May for his thorough report. Chief May told the council that he had been offered a couple of jobs that would take him out of the area, but there was nothing definite yet. He went on to say that he would have up to a year to get things in order before he left and would keep the council informed of further developments.

May also said his department was working on keeping the station up to standard and would be implementing a vitals check of his personnel at the request of the ambulance district. The check would be conducted by May as a certified first responder and give the ambulance district a base line of vital statistics for each firefighter. The vitals check for department personnel is a result of the emergency preparedness drill held in July.

* Tabled discussion of repaving fifth street as well as the agenda item of tractor repairs.

* Approved minutes from the July meeting and OK'd the treasurer's report.

A motion was made and seconded for the council to adjourn the regular meeting. The motion passed with all in favor and the council went into executive or closed session. "There were no votes conducted on employee or litigation issues during the closed meeting," according to City Clerk Becky Morgan.