Mtn View City Council Discusses Holiday Dates, Library Fees

The Mountain View City Council met in regular session October 12 at the council chambers.    The city is considering changing banks from Simmons Bank to West Plains Bank, in an effort to move banking to a more locally based bank. With the council unable to reach agreement on the change, the issue was tabled for further discussion. 

 

An engineer was selected for the Stormwater Improvement Project. After the engineering selection process, Allgeier, Martin and Associates was deemed to be the best engineering firm to handle the project. Grant money for the project could not be disbursed until the engineer was selected.

 

As a result of the engineer selection, the council considered a resolution which authorizes the mayor to execute a professional services contract with Allgeier, Martin and Associates, contingent upon grant money for the Stormwater Improvement Project. The council heard concerns from citizens about the cost of the project, but the council assured those concerned citizens that the project will be paid for with grant money.

 

The council discussed plans for Halloween festivities in Mountain View. On October 31, there will be a Trunk or Treat event from 12:00 p.m. to 3:00 pm at the Chamber of Commerce building. The city is allowing trick-or-treating from 5:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. on Halloween. 

 

The date of the 2020 Christmas Parade was announced. The parade will be held December 19 at 6:00 p.m. The theme of the parade is Red, White and Blue. The Mountain View aldermen have been asked to be the judges of floats in the parade. 

 

Library fees were also discussed at the meeting. With no property taxes going to the library, fees may be increased to help cover costs of operating the library. Currently, a library card is just $3 for a lifetime. The council stated that, while they have been informed that a portion of city sales tax is allocated for the library, they have been unable to find that tax allocation. Neighboring communities have much higher fees for library services. West Plains, as an example, charges $25 annually for a library card for households outside of the city limits. If tax allocation for the library is found, library services would likely be free for residents within the city limits. If a tax levy is found to be needed, the measure would be brought before voters. At current, library operations, including employee payroll, costs approximately $11,000 each month.

 

The council heard from Kelly Beets of the Missouri Intergovernmental Risk Management Association (MIRMA).  MIRMA works to minimize losses that the city might incur. $5,428 was returned to the city from MIRMA for losses accrued by various city departments and services. 

 

At the close of the meeting, the council stated that they are working on other grants for city services. The council meets again November 9.