Members of the Houston City Council received updates on several projects under way in the community during a meeting Monday.
The council heard that warmer weather has allowed concrete pouring to continue at the city’s new wastewater treatment plant. An oxidation ditch floor has been completed, and a wall a week is targeted, City Administrator Larry Sutton reported.
Before the meeting, the council held a public hearing on the city’s request for a Community Development Block Grant to develop infrastructure at a proposed industrial park east of the Houston Area Chamber of Commerce Fairgrounds.
The total outlay is $870,000 – with the city contributing $233,750 in in-kind labor for sewer, water, road and electrical improvements.
In other matters, members:
-Okayed a remote airplane hobby group’s continued use of an area near the Houston Memorial Airport. Gravel also will be added at a parking lot.
-Heard Darrell Vandivort, water superintendent, outline water system projects required in the city.
-Opted not to repair a water leak at a children’s pool this year. An engineer will be hired, and a plan put in place to perhaps develop a water park there for the following year.
-Revisited bids for firefighting equipment after it was discovered two options had been included in the final pricing, and only one was required. That will allow the department to purchase additional radios with the almost $2,800 in extra funds. A grant made the purchases possible.
-Corrected some errors in a city ordinance passed in November 2009 that allows an annual increase of about 2 percent in electrical prices.
-Went on record opposing the “Fair Tax,” a measure under consideration in the Missouri General Assembly that would eliminate the state income tax in favor of an additional sales tax.
-Learned that Rowdy Douglas will leave the city’s police force to seek other law enforcement employment in the region.
-Heard that a new specialized truck for the city’s wastewater treatment plant is expected to arrive this week.
-Continue to work on a long-range plan to guide the council over the next several years.