Nevada city employees attend diversity training

While many government employees had Martin Luther King Day off, Nevada employees spent the day going to school.

The city uses this day for an annual in-service training for most city employees, Whitney Davis, the city's human resources director, told the city council during Tuesday night's meeting.

Davis told the council that 110 city employees took part in the training session, including one event centered on diversity. The city also hired a consultant to provide training that was tailored to Nevada and the city's policies for 35 supervisors.

Craig Hubler, city manager, said that it would have cost much more that the $2,000 they spent to have provided the training any other way.

To help city workers be able to better help the growing Hispanic community, Davis said that Donna Darnold, Cottey College Spanish instructor, worked with city employees to break through the language barriers that Hispanics face.

One of the presentations was from Kay Kuhlmann, director of the Women's Leadership Center at Cottey College, on the restoration of the Lincoln School.

Hubler told the council that other municipalities in the area are interested in receiving similar training and in the future they may extend the program to include these towns.

In other business the council: Approved letting Molly McGovern, who is under contract to the city as a grant writer, to prepare a Neighborhood Assistance Program grant application for Main Street Nevada. Mike Seitz, Main Street president, told the council the grant would be used to install historic-style lighting on East Cherry Street.

Adopted Resolution No. 1059 approving the $13,230 in matching tourism grants recommended by I.M.P.A.C.T Nevada Tourism. The seven grants for 2004 go to: Nevada Forensic Festival, Jan. 9 and 10, $1,100; Nevada Eagles Bi-State Convention, Oct. 22-24, $2,000; Regional Antique & Collectible Show, April 1, $2,500; Remember 2000, May-July and November, $1,800; Knit Out, Crochet Too, Sept. 18, $500; VC Extension Council Heart of America Show, May-June, $3,350; and Griffons Baseball Tourney, July 2-5, $1,000.

Accepted the bid of $3,220 from Renwick Insurance to continue the city's airport liability coverage from Old Republic Insurance Company for the period of Jan. 14, 2004, to Jan. 14, 2005. This is a $157 decrease in the annual premium from last year. This coverage is not available through MARCIT, which has the rest of the city's property and causality insurance coverage.

* Accepted the low bid of $11,700 from Carlini Construction for the demolition of the two-story brick building at the northeast corner of Austin Boulevard and Prewitt Street. Craig Hubler told the council that the building has been in disrepair for several years. The building has been cited and prosecuted as a dangerous building on two occasions over the past three years. The past owner is deceased and the current owners live out of state, which limits the city's ability to take legal action to force the owners to bring the building up to code, since they cannot be tried in absentia. When the demolition is complete the property will be sold for taxes that are due plus the demolition costs. The property is valued at $27,680 and has a total of $1,539.21 in taxes due.

* Gave final approval to a special ordinance transferring the ownership of a private sanitary sewer extension from Mike and Jane McKinney to the city. This sewer extension runs to the new state office building on Highland Avenue.

* Held a public hearing and passed on first reading a special ordinance annexing property owned by HSA Heartland Hospital. This will allow property owned by Dean Stutesman that adjoins this property to be annexed into the city limits. Stutesman wants to build a housing development on this property and he wants the development to be inside the city limits.

* Held a public hearing and passed on first reading a special ordinance accepting the final plat for a housing development on part of a 10-acre tract at West Hickory Street and Hoffman Street, owned by Dean Stutesman, who plans to divide part of the property into 21 building lots. The houses in the development would be between 1,300 and 1,500 square feet with attached garages and would for $85,000 to $116,000.

* Passed on first reading a special ordinance approving a development for Ashland Estates, which is a 10-acre tract owned by Dean Stutesman at West Hickory and Hoffman Street.

* Held a public hearing and passed on first reading a special ordinance to change the zoning on 10 acres of property at West Hickory Street and Hoffman Street from R-1, single family residences, to RP-1, planned single family residential development, at the request of Dean Stutesman.

* Held a public hearing and passed on first reading a special ordinance vacating an alley in the 500 block of south Lynn Street at the request of Janet Wray, who owns the property on both sides of the alley. This alley was never built or used.

* Adopted Resolution No. 1059 stating that the city has no objection to Barry Clark purchasing an access point to Austin Boulevard and moving it to a location between Barrett Street and Johnson Drive. The resolution requires that the owner of the property pay the costs of any future modifications to Austin Boulevard to remedy any future traffic congestion problems due to the access point. This is subject to the approval of Missouri Highway and Transportation Commission, Wal-Mart, adjoining property owners to any proposed new streets and approval of any new street by the city of Nevada. Approval for construction of these streets has not yet been requested.