The regular meeting of the Cole Camp City Council was called to order Thursday, September 19 in City Hall at 7:00 PM. First order of the meeting was to introduce the new City Attorney,
First under Old Business was voting on the Rock Island Trailhead. Steve Knox immediately made a motion to not fund the project and David Locke made the second, at which time the City Attorney intervened and stated the motion should be reworded to say "Shall we fund the Rock Island Trailhead". The change was made and the Mayor called for a roll call vote. Mindy Fox voted yes with the other three council members rejecting it with a firm no.
Next under old business were cameras. Mayor Burdick shared that video and audio cameras have been installed at various locations in City Hall but said the audio part is off during court sessions.
Under new business Number 1 was the request for qualifications (SS4A) opening. This was tabled until the October meeting.
Next up, a first and second reading of the sidewalk ordinance to be upgraded. There was a first and second reading by title only of Bill No. 2024-11. The matter was approved and became Ordinance 567. The old ordinance had been written in 1930 and actually addressed the issue of keeping board sidewalks repaired.
It is time to renew the Property/Liability Insurance for 2025. After some discussion, it was decided to seek several bids. Next up was LAGERS and is the annual evaluation which was postponed.
Last item under the new business was Equipment Lease Purchase agreement payoff. Mayor Burdick had studied the interest being paid and had discovered each department had enough in their budget to pay off their part of the agreement at the bank in the amount of $211,705.11. Knox made the motion to pay it with a second from Locke. The motion passed.
City Clerk Dawn Paul announced there were a number of historical items stored upstairs and thought they should find a better location. There were several Benton County R-I items that should be offered to the school and many large volumes of County tax records. Councilman Crider said maybe the museum would take the books to which, Dianne Peck, a Museum Board member, stated she would check but she doubted they would take them, due to limited space.
Paul and the council decided City Hall would not be open on Saturday in the future as that requires overtime pay.
Public Works Director Heath Roark shared that his part-time helper was now qualified to become full-time. Motion was made and passed to move him up to full-time.
Police Chief Canfield stated his department had 177 hours on duty during the three days of the Cole Camp Fair. The sheriff had sent two to three deputies each night. The fair went off peacefully without incident. The chief then stated he feels it’s time to regulate golf carts and ATV’s in the city limits The attorney said he will submit guidelines for the next meeting.
Chief Canfield brought it to the council’s attention that all streets entering Butterfield Trail have to have a stop sign and some of them are missing. He also noted there is a great deal of difficulty in keeping the street signs at Eickhoff and Pine Streets. As the street signs have changed from green to blue, it was announced if anyone desires one of the replaced signs they are available for purchase. The council was reminded the intersection at Maple and Junge Street is a 4-way and needs to be marked that way.
Councilman Knox said he had received a very heated complaint about people parking on a private part of the roadway between the old brick structure (once known as the Goetz Garage) and the Legion building. Chief Canfield said he would measure the roadway between the buildings to discern if it is truly private parking on the south side.
The new attorney had no report but Mayor Burdick said she had attended a Mayor/Clerk meeting in the Kaysinger area and had found it very informational. The mayor stated it is time to begin working on the budget for 2025 and it was decided to meet at 6:00 PM on Wednesday, October 2.
Under citizen's comments, Marge Lumpe rose briefly to thank the council for all the time spent on the Rock Island Trailhead project.
However, she concluded by saying, “To say I’m disappointed doesn’t begin to cover it”.
Wanda Brown took the podium and asked, “What is the timeline on cleaning snow and ice off the sidewalks?”
Brown continued, “Is there a rebate from Co-Mo Connect for TV that won’t be available anymore?”
Third and last was Jean Eckstein stating, “I too am deeply disappointed that there is not going to be a trailhead built.” S
She then questioned why they don’t at least do the engineering for the trail west and stated, "I’m curious why we are not going forward with this."
Following citizen comments, the meeting adjourned. The Cole Camp City Council meets the third Thursday of the month in City Hall at 7:00 PM.
