Niesen Recognized, Grennan Sworn In

The West Plains City Council recognized their outgoing council member prior to swearing in recently elected member Ron Grennan during their April meeting. The council also approved five ordinances, two resolutions, and approved the first readings of two bills. 

 

The city recognized outgoing council member John Niesen for his work on the council. Niesen was appointed to the city council in 2021 to fill a seat vacated after the former mayor Jack Pahlman retired. He then won the seat in April 2022 for a three-year term against challenger Donnie McClellan. Niesen was recognized with a plaque, presented by Mayor Mike Topliff.

 

New council member Ron Grennan was sworn in by City Clerk Kellie Mayers. Grennan won the position with 34 votes over competitor Jarryd Alsup during the April 8 election. This was not his first run at a council position, previously running against incumbent Jessica Nease, who won reelection, and two others in 2022. Grennan won the election with 226 votes, 15 more votes than he received in 2022. 

 

The first of the five bills passed into ordinances was Bill 4793. This amends Chapter 50, Article II, Division 2, Section 50-83 of the city's code concerning dealing with protest petitions in zoning matters. The change makes it so that valid protested changes by the city cannot be changed except by a favorable two-thirds vote of city council members.

 

Next was Bill 4794. This ordinance approved amending the city budget for the fiscal year from January 1, 2025, to December 31, 2025. The amendment includes a net decrease of $928,156 for governmental funds and a net decrease of $764,876 for the utility funds. 

 

The third ordinance was Bill 4795. This is a state block grant agreement with MoDOT for the design of the fuel system at the West Plains Airport. The amendment increases city's part of the funding by $2,550. A resident asked the council why the city pays for things at the airport, which is located in Pomona. City Administrator Sam Anselm informed those gathered that the City of West Plains owns and operates this airport.

 

Bill 4796 is a request from Bill Adams of Adams Construction to rezone his properties, located at 923 and 925 Missouri Avenue from R-2 Urban Residential to M-1 Light Manufacturing. The property on the east side of Missouri Avenue borders Leonardo DRS on the back side and the property on the west side of the road borders one of the city's water treatment facilities. 

 

The final ordinance was for Bill 4797. This vacates a 25-foot alley located in the Hickory Hills subdivision and reserves a utility easement within the area. The alley is located on the south side of Sycamore Drive and between Westwood and Stoney Drive.

 

The city council approved an agreement for The Little Hut to offer alcoholic beverages at certain Civic Center events. This agreement, Resolution 2025-04, will allow the business to sell these beverages at the next five ticketed events in the arena and The Little Hut will pay twenty percent of their gross sales per event to the Civic Center. 

 

The next resolution, Res. 2025-05, also concerns the Civic Center. This approved an agreement between the Civic Center and Etix for ticket sales at the Civic Center Box Office. The current contract with Ticketmaster will expire on June 30 and the company is wanting to offer services to larger venues. As part of the agreement, the Civic Center will pay Etix $0.10 per ticket sold at the physical box office and, for online sales, fees of ten percent of the face value of the ticket, with a minimum of $1 and a maximum of $5. 

 

The first bill to receive a first read during the meeting was Bill 4798. This is a compensation plan for utility employees responding to mutual aid and develops a standard for invoicing communities that receive aid from the utility department. The second bill was Bill 4799 for rezoning a property at 702 Jefferson Avenue. 

 

The next West Plains City Council meeting will be held on Monday, May 19, 2025, with the regular session starting at 5:30 pm and livestreamed on the City of West Plains' YouTube channel.