After a complaint from a school bus driver about trees along Skidmore city streets brushing the top of the school bus, the city council decided at the October 19 meeting to look into the city paying for trimming along right-a-ways.

City Clerk Jennifer Poland will contact Get ‘er Done Tree Service, Forest City, for an estimate. She will also check to see if the company is open to residents contacting them for private property services while it is in the city.

New city hall hours were approved. The hours are 8 am to noon, Monday through Thursday, and 8 am to noon and 1 to 5 pm, Fridays. The hours will start on Wednesday, November 1.

The council also voted to move city council meetings to Newton Hall starting with the Thursday, November 9 meeting. Poland will check with the municipal league to make sure the move is legal. The city hall building doesn’t have enough room for additional guests and spectators.

Two Skidmore property owners will receive letters about mowing tall weeds on their properties. The owners will have 20 days to take care of the situation.

New city resident Lou White approached the council about a water leak on her property. She had spent $2,400 on water line repair, as the line from her meter to the house had many small holes. She was hoping to recoup some of the sewer expense because the water had not made it to the house.

The council approved a $170 credit for White. This was $160 for water and $10 for sewer, which will be used against her future sewer and water bills. She will still have to pay the monthly trash bill to the city.

City Maintenance Operator Marvin Sumy and Poland have marked on a map how many street signs are needed.

In order to thank them, Sumy wants to find out who was responsible for mowing around the City of Skidmore sign located east of town on Highways 113 and V. None of the council knew who was doing this.

Cleaning of the old city hall building has been completed. Lime will be donated to the city hall association. An antique machine will be donated to the Skidmore museum.

Because Newton Hall has central heating and air, the decision was made to remove the baseboard heaters and a window air conditioner and bid them for sale.

The vending machine outside of city hall was vandalized at the same time as the incident at the Smoke House in Graham. This is the first time that this has happened. Discussion was held on buying a surveillance system. No action was taken.

No information has been obtained on the street improvement project. The city will probably have to wait until spring before any street repairs will be made.

Poland reported that citizens had either paid their water bills or made arrangements for the second month in a row. One resident has moved without paying the final bill.

USDA has a community facilities grant or low-cost loan which will be explored to determine if it can be used to buy Skidmore a newer pickup. Poland will also explore signing up Skidmore for the State of Missouri surplus equipment website.

KCP&L notified the city that the company will be changing to LED in 60 street lights. It is estimated it will take 10 days in November to complete.