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For the second time in as many months, Neosho will seek disaster relief dollars.
At its Tuesday meeting, the city council Ok'd a request from the finance department to apply to the Federal Emergency Management Agency for financial assistance to cover costs associated with May flooding. Thirty-eight Missouri counties, including Newton and McDonald, have been deemed eligible to seek public assistance in the wake of natural disasters ranging from tornados to flooding.
Last month, the council gave the go-ahead to apply to FEME for reimbursement on certain expenses incurred during the February blizzard.
Neosho finance director Martha Mundt told councilmembers Tuesday she wouldn't know how much might be awarded under the flooding application until all eligible expenses and damages were identified.
“We're still gathering that information,” Mundt said.
She said there were “debris issues” in the parks, that some of the gravel parking lots had been washed out, and that several streets had been damaged due to flooding. Permanent construction work on those streets ranged in the “tens of thousands of dollars,” Mundt said. Other expenses were minor, she said.
As to the status of the city's other FEMA application, the one related to the February blizzard, interim city manager Harlan Moore later told the Daily that all paperwork had been submitted but he didn’t know when the city would hear back on it. He said he hoped it would be by November or December at the latest.
“It’s not going to be a quick process,” he said.
Also discussed and voted on Tuesday was a proposal to surplus the city’s animal control truck.
Neosho had to let go of its animal control officer last year due to budget constraints. Since then, the truck has mostly sat idle, according to Moore.
“It’s very rare that the truck will even move,” he said.
Police chief David McCracken later noted that vehicles tend to devalue when they aren’t being used.
The pickup is a 2008 Chevy model 2500 with a custom factory-installed animal control bed. Its fair market value is $25,000-$30,000, which includes the animal control cage. Proceeds from the sale would be used to replace a police patrol car.
Moore said that officers still respond to emergency animal calls and utilize portable cages in the patrol cars, when need be, to haul animals to the Joplin Humane Society.
Councilman Charles Collinsworth asked what would happen should the situation call for something bigger than a squad car. McCracken said that the department has live traps, snares and tranquilizer guns as its disposal.
For the second time in as many months, Neosho will seek disaster relief dollars.
At its Tuesday meeting, the city council Ok'd a request from the finance department to apply to the Federal Emergency Management Agency for financial assistance to cover costs associated with May flooding. Thirty-eight Missouri counties, including Newton and McDonald, have been deemed eligible to seek public assistance in the wake of natural disasters ranging from tornados to flooding.
Last month, the council gave the go-ahead to apply to FEME for reimbursement on certain expenses incurred during the February blizzard.
Neosho finance director Martha Mundt told councilmembers Tuesday she wouldn't know how much might be awarded under the flooding application until all eligible expenses and damages were identified.
“We're still gathering that information,” Mundt said.
She said there were “debris issues” in the parks, that some of the gravel parking lots had been washed out, and that several streets had been damaged due to flooding. Permanent construction work on those streets ranged in the “tens of thousands of dollars,” Mundt said. Other expenses were minor, she said.
As to the status of the city's other FEMA application, the one related to the February blizzard, interim city manager Harlan Moore later told the Daily that all paperwork had been submitted but he didn’t know when the city would hear back on it. He said he hoped it would be by November or December at the latest.
“It’s not going to be a quick process,” he said.
Also discussed and voted on Tuesday was a proposal to surplus the city’s animal control truck.
Neosho had to let go of its animal control officer last year due to budget constraints. Since then, the truck has mostly sat idle, according to Moore.
“It’s very rare that the truck will even move,” he said.
Police chief David McCracken later noted that vehicles tend to devalue when they aren’t being used.
The pickup is a 2008 Chevy model 2500 with a custom factory-installed animal control bed. Its fair market value is $25,000-$30,000, which includes the animal control cage. Proceeds from the sale would be used to replace a police patrol car.
Moore said that officers still respond to emergency animal calls and utilize portable cages in the patrol cars, when need be, to haul animals to the Joplin Humane Society.
Councilman Charles Collinsworth asked what would happen should the situation call for something bigger than a squad car. McCracken said that the department has live traps, snares and tranquilizer guns as its disposal.
“I feel like we can handle most situations,” he said.
The council unanimously voted, on first reading, to surplus the truck, along with a copier machine that had been replaced at city hall.
In other business, the council:
- Approved, on final reading, a year-end budget adjustment for fiscal year 2009-2010 reducing budgeted revenues in the net amount of $3,903,999 and expenditures in the net amount of $9,099,756.11. This reflects actual revenues and expenditures for that fiscal year.
- Approved the upgrade of two police department duty weapons and the purchase of three additional Glock pistols from GT Distributors for a total cost of $1,582. McCracken said the purchase could be covered out of the $2,500 in proceeds from the sale of surplus weapons. GT Distributors is the sole source of procurement of Glock weapons for law enforcement agencies in Missouri.
- Approved a $10,469 bid from Swartz Tractor, Neosho, for a 72-inch mower for the newly created drainage maintenance crew.
- Approved a $16,575 bid from Swartz Tractor, Neosho, for a 30 horsepower tractor and five-foot brushhog for the drainage maintenance crew.
- Approved a bid from Steve Spicer Realty to sell surplus real estate, i.e. a home and surrounding land, located at 1017 Burr Crossing Road, at 3 percent commission.
- Held a public hearing, at which no one spoke, regarding an application for a state Community Development Block Grant on behalf of Crowder College. A staging area for FEMA trailers intended for displaced survivors of the May 22 Joplin tornado has been set up at Crowder’s truck driving skid pad. As a result, Crowder has had to move its truck driver training to another lot, which was paved at a cost of $172,000, according to Crowder President Dr. Alan Marble. The CDBG grant, which Crowder is ineligible to apply for on its own, would help cover that cost and at no cost to the city. The council unanimously approved the application.
- Approved, on first reading, amending the police department budget to reflect surplus sale revenue in the amount of $2,500.
- Approved, on first reading, amending the golf course budget to reflect an $8,000 donation from the Neosho Men’s Golf Association to purchase Rainbird irrigation controllers for the public golf course.
- Approved on first reading, Mayor Richard Davidson abstaining because he is involved in a current project, an amendment to Section 430.160 of the city code of ordinances to delete the words “unless otherwise provided” with the remaining paragraph to read “The following rules shall govern the design of improvements with respect to managing storm water runoff.” The change was requested by councilman David Ruth.
- Announced vacancies that exist on the board of appeals, golf course committee, park and recreation board and the planning and zoning commission. Anyone interested in serving on any of these committee is asked to please call city clerk Nora Houdyshell, at 451-8050, for details.
