Mountain View Aldermen Met Twice

The Board of Aldermen for the City of Mountain View met on March 14 and 17 last week. 

Beta Technologies Rescheduled to Tuesday

The special session on Thursday was scheduled to accommodate a representative of Beta Technologies, a company that hopes to install chargers for electric airplanes at the Mountain View Municipal Airport. The representative was ultimately not available for Thursday’s meeting, and is scheduled to meet with the city government on Tuesday, March 22 at 5:30 p.m. in the municipal courtroom. There will be an opportunity for public comment. 

Meetings Monday and Thursday

In the regular meeting, the board voted to amend the rates at the golf course, and subsequently passed an ordinance amending the rates in the special meeting on March 17. Green fees for the weekend are $18 for 9 holes, $17 for seniors and $9 for juniors. On weekdays, it is $13 for nine holes, $10 for seniors and $8 for juniors. For eighteen holes, green fees are $18 on weekdays, $14 for seniors, and $10 for juniors. On the weekend, the cost is $23, and $18 for seniors, $12 for juniors. 

Tournament fees are now a minimum of $500, but the golf course superintendent is empowered to negotiate fees at his discretion. 

At the March 14 meeting, the Board of Aldermen unanimously passed ordinance 1708 authorizing the city to participate in a Missouri firefighters' critical illness risk pool. According to the draft minutes of the meeting, Mayor Pruett explained this measure was necessary because the state of Missouri requires municipalities to carry cancer insurance for certain firefighters. 

Changing policies at the Howell County Department of Health mean City employees would have to pay for immunizations for the first time. The Aldermen unanimously voted to reimburse city employees the $25 cost of hepatitis A & B and tetanus immunizations. 

Mayor Pruett began to discuss the promotion of a city employee in open session at the March 14 meeting, but that matter was quickly tabled because employee promotions are to take place in closed session, per Missouri Sunshine Laws. A closed session followed the March 17 special meeting. 

The Council considered bids for the airport PAPI lights project. Two bids were received, and the board voted to accept the low bid from Strukel in the amount of $86,477. In the Thursday meeting, it was necessary to ratify this decision because Mayor Pruett read aloud the wrong name of the party receiving the bid in Monday's meeting.

“There were so many papers spread out up here,” Pruett said Thursday. 

The board voted unanimously to award the bid to the intended contractor, Strukel. 

Returning to the March 14 meeting, the board heard from the director of the Chamber of Commerce about the Let’s Grow Together festival scheduled on April 30. In Thursday’s meeting, Assistant Police Chief Stetson Schwien approached the board about closing the streets to accommodate the festival from 8:00 p.m. on April 29 to 8:00 p.m. on April 30. This request passed unanimously. 

Asst. Chief Schwien approached the board on Monday regarding two grants totaling $3,000 to fund overtime pay for safety and traffic work. A unanimous motion empowered the police department to move forward with the grants.