Maryville council has gallery of citizens offering suggestions

There were three discussion items on the brief agenda for the January 11 Maryville City Council meeting, however, the citizens’ gallery had several speakers interacting with the elected officials.

Half a dozen citizens interjected ideas, comments and questions throughout the meeting, which were at times pointed directly to council members and city leadership.

The first discussion item was a COVID-19 update given by City Manager Greg McDanel. The county is still in Category 1 due to the positivity rate. The face covering ordinance expires January 31 unless the council votes to extend prior to that date. The city has masks available.

Much discussion was centered on the positivity rate being of the entire county and not for Maryville only. Another question posed was the reasoning for Maryville City Hall to be closed for public entry if masks are worn and few regular visits are more than 15 minutes.

The next discussion item was the progress toward the water system malfunctioning with the taste issue. McDanel gave a lengthy report of the history of the issue dating back to 2017 again this month. He noted the city has spent $860,000 since the beginning in trying to eliminate or treat the water taste issue. The latest news is the chemical treatment that was recommended and planned for December 23 did not occur due to freight challenges. It arrived a week later and the lake had developed an ice cap. As soon as there is a thaw, the chemical will be applied. He also told about the final report from the engineering company which will be arriving to the council before the January 25 meeting and will include a possible new water plant with an estimated cost between $15-30 million. The current water treatment plant was built in 1959.

McDanel provided the final design for the $10.3 million BUILD grant project which will improve the South Main corridor from South Avenue to US Highway 71 Bypass. The bidding process for the general contractor will be let January 15 with all bids to be received for a February 15 opening. He noted 63 percent of all of the county’s economic activity occurs within this corridor. The city’s financial commitment with this construction is estimated to be $220,000.

At the beginning of the gathering was a public hearing for the annexation of property owned by Enel Green Power North America Inc., located at 320 Larry Lane, which was held with no one speaking.

Reports were heard from the Northwest Missouri State University liaison, Debrielle Merrill, who spoke about the arrival of students this week and the calendar canceling spring break and McDanel who told of a trail extension project from Munn Street to Torrence near Walnut through a MoDOT Enhancement grant of $184,000. He also said the traffic signal improvements to the downtown will be upcoming and a contractor fixing a street repair to West 16th because of a water leak.

The council went into closed session for several topics including preparing specifications for competitive bidding, personnel and litigation issues.