Maryville council purchases items for conference center

With the slated opening of the Mozingo Conference Center to be in November, the Maryville City Council approved the purchase of several items for the center during its regular meeting October 9.

Two TruGolf simulators were purchased for the new Mozingo Conference Center from Robertson Entertainment, California, MO, for a total of $106,400, including shipping and installation. The simulators, each expected to have a seven-year life, include 63 virtual world-class golf courses, a system that tracks balls and golf club head speed, an integrated swing analyzer, a practice driving range, access to online tournaments, a 174” diagonal screen and more. The simulator screens can also be used for television and will be available for party rentals.

It was approved to purchase 450 black banquet chairs, 150 white folding chairs and 85 tables of various sizes and shapes for $22,012.40 from Advantage Church Chair, Canton, GA.

The council entered into a $12,500 web development agreement with Hue Labs, Reno, NV, for redesigning the Mozingo Lake Recreation Park website. The improvements, made by the company that initially created the site, will address website functionality and updating the server and software. Assistant City Manager Ryan Heiland said the need for the upgrade is due to growth in online reservations.

Also, the council agreed to issue $9,500,000 worth of Certificates of Participation in April 2018 to finance the construction capital improvements including a new Maryville Public Safety facility, asphalt and concrete street repairs, equipment purchases and other items. The debt will be repaid using the one-half cent sales tax extension that was passed by voters in the April 2017 election.

The council renewed its annual agreement to ensure proper financial management of landfill closure with the Missouri Department of Natural Resources for $1,797,770, which is $39,742 lower than last year.

City Treasurer Denise Town presented information on the refinance of $2,445,000 in outstanding callable GO bonds from the Series 2009 issue that has a current average interest rate of 4.41 percent. The refunding will drop the interest rate to 2.25 to 2.35 percent, saving $217,000.

Maryville was approved for a STAR loan of $108,641 from the Missouri Highway and Transportation Commission for the apron rehabilitation project at the Northwest Missouri Regional Airport.

There was discussion about contracted liquidated damages with Ideker Construction, Mound City, for the runway 14/32 project of last year. The project ran more than 55 days which amounts to $41,250 in delay damages. Heiland presented two options to the council. The first option was to pursue the full amount the contract allows. The second option was to pursue collecting $13,650, which is the initial amount minus the $27,600 worth of base rock and rip-rap Ideker left for the city to use. The council voted 3-1 to accept the lower amount. Voting against the motion was Councilman Jerry Riggs; Councilwoman Renee Riedel was absent.

The airport will remain closed until Thursday, October 19 for apron project grading.

Other business

The Greater Maryville Chamber of Commerce’s annual Christmas parade will be 6:30 pm, Friday, December 1. It will begin at Second Street and North Main Street and will travel along Main Street, ending at Franklin Park. Chamber Executive Lily White requested the streets be closed at 4 pm that day to stage the parade. It was approved.

Planet Sub Managing Operator Shannon Johnson, St. Joseph, was approved for a liquor license for the restaurant, contingent on the occupancy permit approval. The restaurant is located at 217 West Fourth Street.

It was approved to purchase a $15,052 150 HP split-case high-service pump for the water treatment plant from Allied Systems Inc., Omaha, NE. The new pump will have an epoxy coating which should alleviate the problem of corrosion and rust.

JD Bishop Construction, LLC, Chillicothe, was awarded a $61,580 contract for concrete street repairs to the Parkdale subdivision, covering 7,859 square feet of concrete repair and 620 linear feet of curb work. Work will begin as soon as the city crew removes the broken concrete.

City Manager Greg McDanel stated in his report that the new employee health insurance group, Missouri Intergovernmental Risk Management Association (MIRMA), has met with employees to explain plan benefits and issue insurance cards.

He also announced that both golf courses and the clubhouse at Mozingo will be closed from Monday, October 16 to Monday, October 30 to allow staff to transfer the golf pro shop to the new conference center. Upon reopening, the tee time check-in will be temporarily relocated to the golf maintenance building located at 25053 Liberty Road.

The 10th annual Mozingo Haunted Campground will be from 3 to 7 pm, Saturday, October 28. Events include pumpkin carving, inflatables, food vendors and other games. Trick-or-treating will be from 5 to 7 pm.