Noel Council Welcomes New Members
The Noel City Council welcomed new members at its meeting Tuesday night following the election.
The Noel City Council welcomed new members at its meeting Tuesday night following the election.
Mayor Lewis Davis started the meeting by sharing a letter from Alderman Allie Peck stating that she, regretfully, had to resign her seat because she had moved out of her ward. Davis said he had appointed Kim Wilson to replace Peck because there were not four on the board and the city needed four to conduct business.
Following a few items of business, the mayor asked for a motion to adjourn the meeting to swear in new officials. He thanked Alderman Billy Rose for his service, noting he has been on the council for about seven and a half years. Rose stepped down from the council table at that time, as he is no longer on the council, being replaced by Joshua Manning.
“It’s my honor to serve the city,” Rose said.
Next City Clerk Deborah Hopping swore in Alderman Joshua Manning and Alderman Faye Davis and Marshal Randy Wilson. Mayor Davis said Linda Glendenning was also elected to the board but had a commitment and was unable to attend the meeting. She will be sworn in today, he said.
A new meeting was opened with the new aldermen in place.
Mayor Davis said the council needs to discuss health insurance for its fulltime employees and the possibility of life insurance and retirement.
“We’re paying $60,000 for six employees and we just can’t afford it,” he said. The council scheduled a work session for June 18 at 6:30 p.m.
The mayor told the council that the new park property on Harmony Street has been surveyed and the city is going to salvage the fencing. The property was donated to the city by the Assembly of God Church. Rose also donated some playground equipment for the park, Mayor Davis said.
Regarding the city’s annual citywide cleanup and garage sale, Mayor Davis said he did not think the city needed to have a citywide garage sale with the covid-19 virus going around. He said he did think the cleanup was a good idea.
Street superintendent Christopher Craig said during his report that he would like to see the cleanup happen and that the street department’s backyard would be a good place.
He also reported that Tyson is donating a grill for the park.
Fire Chief Brandon Barrett reported that, on Memorial Day weekend, the department responded to 11 water calls that involved 23 rescues and one drowning. He also said a group of people recently went over the dam and had to be rescued. The department lost some equipment at that call, he said. He reported an ambulance the department has will not start at all, due to a bad high-pressure oil pump. The price to repair it is $3,500. He said the ambulance is a “money pit” and it is not cost-effective to keep putting money into it.
Wilson, in his report, said the Impala that belongs to the marshal’s office is paid off and he is considering putting a Crown Victoria up for bid. He said he had a meeting with Brian Phillips with Highway Safety regarding getting grants this year.
Mayor Davis said the Missouri Department of Transportation is coming to Noel because they have heard of vehicles getting high-centered on the railroad. The department is also supposed to do a traffic count and a speed check on Highway 59, he said.