Board of Aldermen Meeting NOVEMBER 17, 2020
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| BY GREG WALTERS |
- PUBLIC COMMENTS: Tony Jacob was the only speaker during the Public Comments section of the meeting. He asked the Board to consider removing the filing fee for position of City Collector. The City Collector is paid $1 annually. The City Collector is a ceremonial position but is still required by State Law in Fourth Class Cities like Raytown.
- FILING FEES FOR PUBLIC OFFICE ELIMINATED: At a previous meeting Ward 1 Alderman Greg Walters asked that candidates for public office in Raytown be allowed to file by petition (in place of a filing fee). A motion was made to eliminate ALL filing fees. The Board voted by a vote of 9 to 1 to approve the bill. This change in city ordinances means anyone filing for office in the next April election will not have to pay a filing fee or turn in a petition to be placed on the ballot. According to information provided by City Clerk Teresa Henry, Raytown was the only city that still required a filing fee up until last the Board's action last Tuesday.
- LITTLE BLUE VALLEY SEWER DISTRICT CONTRACT APPROVED: The Board approved a new contract with the Little Blue Valley Sewer District for treatment of Sanitary Sewage. This new contract changes how sewer bills are estimated by the Sewer District. The old system used an average of twenty quarters to project sewer bill costs to residents. The Board approved a new method based on five year average. It is anticipated this change will lower the cost of Sanitary Sewer Billings to Raytown residents and businesses.
- GRANT AGREEMENT WITH MODOT: The Board had a first reading of a contract with the Missouri Department of Transportation for a $7,875.20 Grant from the State for a traffic study of 83rd Street from Blue Ridge Boulevard to 350 Highway. The grant is an 80/20 split of costs for the engineering study. There are three schools along 83rd Street in the target area of the study. The study will incorporate the needs of pedestrians in school zones in the Engineering Study.
- PURCHASE OF A ROAD WIDENER SKID STEER ATTACHMENT: The Board approved the purchase of a Road Widener Skid Steer Attachment for use by the Public Works Department. This equipment will improve repair of street cuts. Which will look better and last longer. The equipment is also anticipated to speed up repair work by automating what is currently being done manually. Cost of the equipment is $54,750.00.
- REDUCED CREDIT CARD FEE FOR PAYMENT ON SANITARY SEWER BILLS: The Board reduced credit card fees for payments on sanitary sewer bills from $3.00 per transaction to 2.5%. This reduction creates a pass thru of credit card fees charged by banks. Previously, the bank charge was rounded up to $3.00. Taxpayers can eliminate the fee entirely by paying sewer bills by check. There are not any bank fees on payments by check.
ELECTION
TRIVIA
Jackson County had to election questions on the last ballot. We have been patiently waiting for the final result of Question 1 and Question 2. For those who may have wondered, here are the total vote numbers for the election (winners are shown in bold type):
JACKSON
COUNTY, MISSOURI QUESTION 1: 911 TAX: This question asked voters to approve up to a $1.00 monthly tax on all
cell phones in Jackson County, Missouri.
YES – 97,126 51.38% NO – 91,899 48.62%
JACKSON COUNTY QUESTION NUMBER 2:
Should the statue of Andrew Jackson be removed from the front of
the Jackson County Courthouse?
YES – 53,409 . . . . . 27.88% NO – 138,148 . . . . 72.12%
1 comment:
EDITOR'S NOTE: In answer to the previous comment. We can control what we publish on our news page. If you check this week's Raytown Report you will see all of our content is strictly Raytown news. We are not going to tell our readers they cannot post what they want on the blog portion of the Raytown Report. As long as their is no vulgarity, and the content not questionable as to facts given, blogs will be accepted.
You are probably writing about the two lengthy blogs on the last election. Both were clearly opinion(s) sent to us. Both were factual. There was not a reason to post them.
We only have Presidential Elections once every four years. The 2020 Election was historical in many ways. The largest turnout in history. The most unique campaign(s) by the two competing parties in the midst of a Pandemic. The event is newsworthy to Raytowners.
We will keep our pledge to devote our editorial page of the Raytown Report to Raytown issues. However, people have a right to speak out on the issues of the day. Unless there is good reason not to hear what they have to say, the blog portion will remain an open arena for public comment.
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