Mountain View Board swears in new mayor, aldermen

New members of the Mountain View Board of Aldermen were sworn in on Tuesday, April 14 during a regular meeting. Karen Gaddy was sworn in as mayor followed by Toby Orchard for the seat of East Ward Alderman and Calvin Perry for West Ward Alderman.

 

The board quickly dove into the lengthy agenda by first postponing two bills that covering easements and procurements. The board appointed Gail Wallander as Mayor Pro Tem.

Other agenda items:

 

- Approval of minutes from March meetings including a change to the March 24 closed session minutes

- Approval of payment of the MPUA bill in the amount of $228,051.35 with only three payments left

- Approval of changing an account at West Plains Bank to an interest-bearing account for the Stability and Contingency Fund

- Approval of payment of the March invoice from Lauber Municipal Law (the city's attorney) in the amount of $1,125.50 and the city prosecutor of $3,605.50

- Approval of purchase of Sanitation Cylinder repair, PTO purchase, and oil cooler purchase in the amount of $3,760.73 for the cylinder repair which brought the total repair up to $8,300 from the $5,000 approved in March, PTO purchase for $2,270, and oil cooler for $2,024.47

- Approval of a free pool day for the Family Freedom Festival to be held July 4 in Mountain View. The pool will be open from 11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.

- Approval to postpone repairs to the Mtn. View Chambers HVAC to verify potential avenues of payment including a CD for building repairs that was donated to the chamber around March 2023

- Approval of electric department to install 15 brackets per week starting Wednesday, April 15 for the VFW Auxiliary-Military Tribute Banners

- Approval of acceptance of the lowest bid for the Buddy Lane low water crossing project awarded to L.P. Iron & Dirt in the amount of $17476.80

- Approval of bid acceptance to Pace Construction for the airport runway rehabilitation in the amount of $2,330,033.43

- Approval of first and second readings of Bill 1482 Ordinance 1802 for the 2026 pool rates changing Water Aerobics from $45.00 to $35.00; Water Aerobics season pass from $3 per session to $2 per session; and the cost of 6 lessons from $90 to $80

- Approval of pool policies to include a dress code for employees also amending the personnel policy to include red one-piece swimsuits for lifeguards with different colored lanyards for years of service.

- Approval of Planning and Zoning Right of Way and Excavation Permit Process with the amendments of Fees, Deposits, and Security: Per-Linear-Foot for Long Runs (with cap): Application Fee (non-refundable): $100; Permit: Linear Fee: $40 per (660) linear foot (cap $40,000 per project); Inspection: all inspections included; Restoration Security (bond, cash, letter of credit); fixed minimum $15,000 or 125% of restoration estimate, whichever is great (refundable after warranty).

- Appointments of Planning and Zoning Commission was postponed

In a two-hour closed session the board appointed Terry Thornton as the City Clerk with a pay raise of $5 an hour for a total of $25 an hour along with the appointments of Stetson Schwien as Police Chief, and Joey Gehlken as Volunteer Fire Chief. The board approved the appointment of Lauber Municipal Law as the city attorney and prosecutor and William T. Haas as the Municipal Court Judge.