There was a lot of discussion, but members of the Trenton City Council tabled action on several items during a Monday evening meeting at city hall.
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The council tabled a proposal from the Trenton R-9 School District for a donation toward the purchase of portable bleachers, a decision on the possibility of putting a local use tax on a future election ballot and a proposal from the Trenton R-9 School District and North Central Missouri College to obtain ownership of Johnson and Griffin fields.
The bleacher proposal from the R-9 District was turned over to the council’s Administrative Committee for further study. The proposal, whereby the district would donate $10,000 toward the cost of the portable bleachers in exchange for special considerations outlined in the proposal, was discussed at length. Fourth Ward Councilman Jim Bush said he felt the length of the proposed agreement, 20 years, is too long and several councilmembers felt the district’s request to have three sets of bleachers placed at C.F. Russell Stadium from Aug. 15 to Nov. 15 and one set placed there from March 15 to May 15, was too much. Third Ward Councilman Chuck Elliott said that while he had been in favor of the proposal when it was considered last week by the Economic Development Committee, he now wonders why the city does not just pay for the bleachers and charge rent to anyone that wants to use them. He noted that the city has the money to pay for the bleachers and the rent could be used to recoup the cost. Third Ward Councilman Ed Spencer, who serves as a liaison to the Park Board, said he had also been in favor of the proposal, but became concerned after watching them be moved on Monday. He said he did not want to see them get torn up by having them moved often. Park Superintendent Jason Shuler agreed that the bleachers are “pretty unstable” when they are being moved.
“So we bought portable bleachers that aren’t portable,” said Mayor Dr. Nick McHargue.
City Administrator Kerry Sampson disagreed and said Trenton resident Steve Spencer has agreed to look at the bleachers to determine what steps can be taken to make them more stable when they are being moved.
The board did approve an agreement with the Trenton Lions Club in which the club will make a donation of $7,500 over a five-year period to the bleacher project. Under the agreement, the club would lease the ground under the current Lions Club concession stand. The club would donate 10 percent of the net revenues from concessions to the sponsor of each event at which the stand is open. The club also agreed to provide an affordable menu and to provide all labor and expenses necessary to operate the stand. Dr. McHargue questioned the length of the contract, which is for 99 years, but was told by Bush that 99 years is customary in agreements the city has with other entities.
First Ward Councilman Jacob Black noted that the Lions Club has an exclusive deal to provide concessions at the grandstand, with City Attorney Tara Walker indicating that is not part of the agreement with the city, although others said it might be an agreement with the North Central Missouri Fair Board. Black said the fair board has pledged $1,000 per year toward the bleacher project and is strapped for money. Bush, a member of the Lions Club, said the club donates 10 percent or a minimum of $500 to the fair board from concessions sold during that week. The vote to approve the agreement was 6-0, with Bush abstaining and Second Ward Councilman Larry Huffstutter absent.
Also tabled was the possibility of putting a local use tax on a future ballot. Bush introduced the subject, saying the city is missing out on tax money it could collect when someone buys an item like a vehicle out of state. Community Developer Ralph Boots said the Grundy County Commission has also discussed the possibility of putting a use tax on the ballot. Council members agreed to study the issue more and discuss it again at a future meeting.
A letter from North Central Missouri College President Dr. Neil Nuttall and Trenton R-9 Superintendent Becky Albrecht was presented. The letter, which had also been presented at last week’s Park Board meeting, proposes that NCMC and the R-9 School District obtain ownership of Johnson and Griffin ballfields and that the city construct a cloverleaf ball facility at a different location. Second Ward Councilman Mark Robinson said he is concerned that there are no legal agreements with the college for the use of Burleigh Grimes Field and noted that he recently learned the field is locked. Shuler said that since $130,000 was spent renovating the field, it is locked, with only those who have teams playing on the field having a key. Marti Williams, a member of the park board, was at the meeting and said the park board is still trying to digest the proposal, but that there is not any money to develop new fields at this time. Shuler acknowledged that the fields are so busy in the summer that it is hard to take a field out of service to make improvements and said that while a cloverleaf facility has been included in master plans, it did not involve “getting rid” of Johnson and Griffin fields. Council members brought up other projects that need funding perhaps more than ball fields, such as the tennis court project at Moberly Field, soccer fields and paying off the aquatic center.
Mrs. Williams said she did not feel the park board members would ever consider selling the fields unless they were able to construct new ones, but said the board did not want to be “short-sighted” about something that might be a good idea sometime in the future and that would be economically beneficial to the city due to tournaments and events that could be held at the fields. Bush said he is not in favor of giving up any land around the fairgrounds to construct new ball fields. It was agreed to let the park board continue discussing the proposal and then to allow the administrative committee to study it.
The council agreed to have Dr. McHargue to sign a letter of support for an application being submitted to the Missouri Housing Develop-ment Commission to rehabilitate the Village East Apart-ments. However, the letter will be signed contingent upon the developer, AMB Develop-ment, LLC of Grain Valley, agreeing that the property remain on the tax rolls on a cost approach basis for the term of the tax credits for the project. Boots indicated he has talked with Andrew Boling of AMB, who assured him that will be the case and who said he plans to use local contractors, pay prevailing wage and purchase items from local lumber companies. Boots said the $740,000 project is considered maintenance and would not affect the assessed valuation of the property, which includes 20 one-bedroom apartments located in five buildings. The rent for the units would not be affected by the upgrades.
In other business, the council:
• approved the appointment of John Kennebeck and Larry Crawford to the Board of Public Works.
• accepted the low bid for sand of $6 per ton from Missouri Sand at Gallatin, with the city to do its own hauling and a bid of $12.40 per ton for asphalt rock from Norris Quarries at Trenton.
• discussed, at the request of Bush, the possible need for a ordinance that would require those buying items such as copper, to gather certain information on the seller and to enter that information in a statewide data base. The purpose of the ordinance would be to deter people from coming into Trenton to sell stolen items to scap metal dealers and pawn shops. Bush said the St. Joseph city council is considering such an ordinance and told other councilmembers that if that city passes it, those attempting to sell stolen items will likely try do so in smaller communities that don’t have such an ordinance, such as Trenton. No action was taken.
• recognized Sampson and City Clerk Cindy Simpson for their work on the city getting an “A” rating on the certificates of issuance for the financing for water treatment plant improvements. Robin-son said that their work saved the city at least $715,000 and perhaps as much as $1.5 million on the financing.
• heard from Dyle Wilson, chairman of the airport advisory committee, that repairs to the runway are expected to be completed next week, with the runway to re-open on Sept. 19.
• learned that Building Inspector/Airport Manager Gary Beverlin has been working on the hangars at the airport and that he is waiting on news from the state on a demolition grant.
• heard a report from Utility Director Chad Davis, who discussed a full generator test that recently took place. He said that two 1937 units at the power plant failed during the last 10 minutes of the test. Repairs have been made and he thinks the units will be operable, however he noted that the units generate only about 1 megawatt of the 27 megawatts the city generates.
• learned from Street Supervisor Larry Griffin that the summer street project should be complete by the end of the month
• was told by Fire Chief Rick Morris that a pay-per-call firefighter is currently at the National Fire Academy in Maryland, taking part in a free course. He said it is possible that the State Emergency Management Agency will reimburse the department for airfare. He noted that he believes this is the first Trenton firefighter to attend the academy, which is operated by the U.S. Fire Service. Chief Morris also said the new fire truck worked “flawlessly” at a recent house fire and told the council the department was planning to hold an informal Sept. 11 ceremony at the station this morning.
• heard a report from Dr. McHargue about complaints of trash at C.F. Russell Stadium, where many young people gather in the parking lot. He also discussed a positive meeting he recently had with the Trenton Township Board. He said the board is not opposed to possibly moving the township building from its current location, but that after meeting with Mrs. Albrecht and R-9 Director of Transportation Dennis Gutshall, it was clear that the district is not interested in using the township property to construct a bus barn.
The next regular council meeting is scheduled for Monday, Sept. 24.