Aldermen vote to remove parking spaces downtown

Downtown Willow Springs will have eight fewer parking spaces after the Board of Aldermen voted last week to remove them. In the regular meeting on Oct. 27, Police Chief Wes Ellison approached the aldermen with traffic safety concerns and recommended removing eight parking spaces around the four-way stop at Harris and Main Streets. Chief Ellison said the two spots adjacent to each corner reduce visibility and create a hazard for downtown drivers. He presented the aldermen with a diagram of a recent accident in which a turning semi-truck clipped a car parked in the one of the spaces slated to be removed. 

There has been increased traffic, parking, and foot traffic in the downtown area, Ellison reported. Street Department Supervisor and volunteer fireman Shane Collins was also present. Collins commented that dump trucks and fire trucks also have difficulty turning at the four-way.  

After a short discussion on the importance of public safety, and the availability of other parking downtown, the aldermen voted unanimously to remove the eight parking spaces adjacent to the four-way stop. 

The removal date of the spaces is pending, but the aldermen did agree that a new handicap parking space will be designated to replace the one that will be removed from Main St. 

In other business, the Board of Aldermen instructed City Administrator Beverly Hicks to include a line item for Missouri Firefighters’ Cancer Pool coverage in the upcoming 2023 municipal budget draft. This insurance supplement would provide additional coverage for firefighters who fall ill with 17 types of cancers known to be associated with the fire service occupation. 

The aldermen discussed how important it is to show the volunteers of the Willow Springs Fire Department that that city “appreciates and supports them.”

The line-item Hicks will include in the budget will be $300,000 worth of coverage at a cost of approximately $760 for the year. This sum would cover all five of the WSFD firefighters who currently qualify for these benefits. 

City Administrator Hicks addressed the aldermen about the 2023 municipal budget. She voiced concern that inflation will likely cause rate increases for city services and recreation fees. The city has been absorbing the additional cost of providing services throughout the 2022 year, but that will not be feasible in the long-term, Hicks said.

The Cost of Living Adjustment (COLA) for 2023 is also expected to be 8.7%. Because of supply chain disruptions, Hicks suggested the upcoming year’s budget should look two-to-three years into the future to obtain heavy equipment and trucks as they become available. 

The 2023 budget work session was rescheduled for Saturday, Nov. 5, 2022, at 8:00 am.  No further action was taken Thursday night. The budget work session is open to the public. 

The meeting moved into closed session for legal, real estate, and personnel agenda items at 6:37 p.m. The closed session ended at 7:06 p.m. with no action taken. 

In other discussion:

-Structural engineer Gene Douglas addressed the aldermen and Main Street Willow Springs about the building at the corner of Main and Harris Streets. No action was taken by the aldermen. For details on this discussion, see the front page.