New council gets to work on street repairs, dangerous buildings

Members of the Houston City Council reorganized Monday following an election that saw the town elect a new mayor.

COUNCIL REORGANIZES

The council approved election results from the April 8 municipal election. Don Romines, Ward III alderman, gave a statement on the positive direction of Houston. Viki Narnacich, outgoing mayor, offered grace, humility and patience as words for new council members to live by. Outgoing council members were recognized for their service.

The new board formed, with Sheila Walker, Ward II, and Romines still holding their posts. In Ward I, Adam Vandiver replaced Fred Stottlemyre. In Ward II, Ann Tottingham took Tim Ceplina’s seat. In Ward III, Kim Bittle fills Angie Gettys’ post. Ceplina and Gettys did not seek reelection. Sam Kelley, who vacated his Ward I post, replaced Narancich as mayor. Stottlemyre, who did not seek reelection, was appointed to finish Kelley’s Ward I term. 

The members agreed to new committee assignments and appointed Romines mayor pro tem. 

CITY DETERMINES STREETS TO REPAIR

The council approved crack sealing Oak Hill Drive, paving Thomasville Road from Route 17 to U.S. 63, paving Holder Drive from U.S. 63 to Lilly Avenue, paving the north side of the storm shelter to the west sidewalk and seal coating the west side of the storm shelter. The project is expected to begin in the fall and will cost right around the $185,000 budgeted. Willard Paving of Lebanon will do the work. 

CITY TO ADDRESS DANGEROUS BUILDING

Lloyd Wells, city administrator, informed board members that the owner of a Grand Avenue building did not respond within 30 days to a letter informing them of the dangerous status of their building. Wells stated that the council must now send a letter or publish a notice in the newspaper. Robbie Smith, fire chief, stated that there is structural collapse within the building. There is broken glass and windows, open doors, no roof and other issues with the building. 

According to county records, the building is owned by The Living Way Ministry of Bible Health Inc., of which Floyd Mayberry is the principal owner. Sean Smith, city attorney, stated that no such corporation is registered in Missouri. It is possible that it is registered in another state. 

Other buildings that are in need of repair were discussed. 

OTHER MATTERS

• A special meeting will take place to compare three health insurance options at 6 p.m. Monday, April 28. The council would like for employees to not have a pay obligation after their deductible during emergency room visits. Another factor is deciding between a $1,000 or $1,500 deductible. The city’s outlay – which pays its employees’ health insurance premiums and those of dependents – will be around $65,000 to $75,000 monthly.
• A decision on a digger truck for the electrical department was postponed to the May 5 meeting. The truck will cost about $400,000. 
• A $31,825 bid from West Plains Fencing for fencing at the fire training facility on Opportunity Circle was approved. The funds will come out of the fire sales tax – of which $35,000 was budgeted for the project. 
• A $5,535.50 purchase order for sewer UV system parts was approved. 
• The council postponed making a decision on paying the remainder of the pool payments with fiber internet sale funds until the May 5 meeting. The loan was established in 2020, with the city paying $189,000 per year. The approximately 3% financing on the loan will be adjusted in October to around 6%. Paying the approximately $740,000 remaining on the note would save the city on interest. The fiber internet program recently sold for $2,150,000. 
• The utility committee will meet at 6 p.m. Wednesday, April 30 to coordinate an electric rate study. A recent electric distribution field inspection performed by the Missouri Public Utility Alliance (MPUA) showed that the city’s system has no major deficiencies. 
• Council members agreed to move meeting times to 5:30 p.m. starting at the May 5 meeting. 
• Fairgrounds and ball field land on North U.S. 63 will be zoned agricultural by the city. 

The meeting adjourned into closed session at 8:14 p.m.