Maryville council weighs tourism board changes, water/sewer rate increases

Members of the Maryville City Council engaged in a lengthy, and at times contentious, discussion surrounding the Tourism Committee during its regular meeting October 25.

The discussion began with a request from council member Dannen Merrill to change the composition of the committee, expanding it from its current nine members to 11 members, with up to three of those being individuals who live outside the Maryville city limits but in Nodaway County.

Council member Tye Parsons opposed the idea, saying the committee seems to be doing what it was put in place to do with its current composition.

“We’re trying to solve a problem that doesn’t exist,” he said.

Following the back-and-forth discussion, the council voted 3-2 to have city staff draft an ordinance to expand the committee, with Merrill, council member John McBride and Mayor Benjamin Lipiec voting in favor and Parsons and council member Rachael Martin voting against. The council is scheduled to consider the ordinance change at the November 22 meeting.

Council members also discussed the water and sewer rate recommendations from NewGen Strategies & Solutions that were presented by City Manager Greg McDanel during the October 11 meeting. The firm had given the council three options, with the recommendation to raise the water rates by 25 percent and sewer rates by 50 percent beginning January 1 and then smaller rate increases the following years. However, the council directed city staff to draft an ordinance for the two-year phase-in option of a 13 percent increase for water and 28 percent increase for sewer for the next two years followed by three percent increases in 2024, 2025 and 2026 for both water and sewer.

In other business, the council approved the following:

• appointment of Erica Luke to the Maryville Park and Recreation board for the vacated position expiring June 1, 2023; Luke will replace Shannon Pruitt who moved out of the area.

• an ordinance to purchase a 2018 Takeuchi TL8CRW Compact Track Loader through a Government Obligation Contract with KS State Bank not to exceed $23,000 which was included in this year’s budget; the city has been leasing it since 2018 and now have the option to purchase it.

•  an ordinance to execute a contract with Warehouse One, Inc. for the purchase of industrial shelving not to exceed $11,609.73 which was also included in the FY22 budget; the shelving will store materials and supplies at the Water/Sewer Maintenance Facility at 1856 North Main.

In the city manager’s report, McDanel discussed the progress of the South Main improvement project. They are currently working to demolish the curbs, and once that is done, there will be three functional driving lanes moving forward. They are also installing construction cameras for citizens to view the progress of the project which will be broadcasted on the city’s website at maryville.org/southmain.

The council entered closed session for the purpose of real estate dealings.