Sheldon alderman disagrees with grass ordinance

Saturday, August 10, 2013

Nevada Daily Mail

Robert Moran lay aside his status as alderman and addressed the Sheldon board of aldermen as a citizen in the meeting Thursday.

After his motion to modify the agenda to include discussion on Sheldon's new abatement ordinance failed for lack of a second, Moran chose to speak during the public's miscellaneous hearing and left the board table.

"In my judgement, the bill 2013-04 on abatements is deficient," he told the board.

The Sheldon board of alderman passed the resolution during its June meeting to increase the fee from an overall $30 to $100 per lot, plus $40 per laborer per hour and a $50 administrative fee. A board consisting of one alderman and two volunteer citizens would oversee the abatement process.

Moran first voiced concerns over the abatement board. "The board who meets to do these abatements has no documentation approving them; they are volunteers. Because they are volunteers and because they have not been appointed officially, their authority is suspect. The decisions that they make may not hold," he said.

Moran added that someone who disagrees with the judgement of the abatement board has no way to appeal. "There is not an appeals process. That needs to be corrected," he said.

He next brought up the notification process for properties owned by nonresidents of Sheldon.

"It is not reasonable, I believe, for someone who is out of town and out of state to have a posting on their property without more notification that there is to be an abatement," he said. "So if you have someone who does not normally come here and has not received more notification than a sign in their front yard, and then they are to be hit with a tax bill in excess of $2,000 for that property, even if it is within the scope of the law, it is clearly not right. Because it is legal does not make it fair."

Moran went on to testify he has seen some workers sitting on the sidewalk or sitting under the trees instead of working.

"These workers are being paid not by city money but by a source of revenue at a rate of $40 an hour. Because it is a law doesn't make it right. It is deficient as a law; it is deficient in the execution; it is an unfair imposition on people who need to have better notification."

Mayor Jarod Lamb replied that courtesy letters are being sent even though it's not required.

"This bill was written by the city attorney and passed by majority of this board," he said.

In other business, the board of aldermen unanimously passed the tax rate of $0.7094 per $100 assessed valuation. The rate remains the same as last year.

In the Community Betterment report, Phyllis Sprenkle informed the aldermen of the Community Betterment Committee's several ongoing projects.

"One of the suggestions at the last meeting was to ask the city to buy some benches for Main Street. The Community Betterment Committee voted to ask the city to provide six benches on Main Street and spend no more than $100 per bench," Sprenkle said.

Moran purchased a $50 aluminum bench on sale as an example for the city.

The aldermen considered that bench as well as a $98 bench made of steel.

"I would like to see you purchase six of the $50 benches that would be in the community building for people to sit in. During the picnic, they could be pulled out looked and then brought back in," Mayor Lamb suggested. He added he would like to see six of the more expensive benches for Main Street.

The aldermen unanimously passed the purchase of six indoor $50 benches and two outdoor $98 benches.

Sprenkle also asked the aldermen if they would be interested in sponsoring a recycling grant for Sheldon.

"You can write up to $100,000; there is no matching. You can volunteer to match, but you don't have to. There is a preliminary report due Sept. 2. Your final application is due Oct. 1," she said.

Sprenkle suggested they start small and purchase a trailer with the grant. "The recycling center in Nevada could come pick that up, take it, unload it and bring it back," she said.

The aldermen unanimously passed a motion to sponsor the grant application for the city and school.

The trailer would be placed in a fenced off area near city hall and only be accessible during business hours.

Two people will have to travel to Springfield to make a presentation about Sheldon to the Drury University architecture students Aug. 21, Sprenkle said.

"What you're going to do is sell Sheldon. You want to wow them so that you get the best and brightest. I assume if they're architecture students, they aren't too shabby to start with, but we want to come across looking very good," she said.

The meeting is a preliminary step in the city's vision plan in which architecture students spend the entire spring semester in the community studying the infrastructure, people, community history, resources, assets, liabilities and values in order to help the city organize, assess, research, explore, evaluate, critique and prioritize ideas for consideration and or implementation for as long as 15 to 20 years.

Sprenkle reminded the board that a diverse committee of about 12 people will need to be developed for the plan as well.

Plans for the Community Development Block Grant program, a program that provides communities with resources to address a wide range of community development needs such as deteriorating businesses and residences, will proceed in November, she said.

Sheldon's application for the Land and Water Conservation Fund program, a program that provides matching grants to states and local governments for the acquisition and development of public outdoor recreation areas and facilities, hasn't been denied, she said.

"No news is good news at this point," Lamb said.

In other business, Moran brought before the board the possibility of engaging an arborist from the Missouri Department of Conservation.

"If we want the help of an arborist, then I think as a council we need to commit to that more than saying, 'Yeah we think it's a good idea.' That's going to mean taking some time to meet with the arborist, doing some research on our own and other things. If we really want to do this, then I will contact the arborist. If it's a passing thought, then I won't bother him," Moran said.

"I think they need to be native trees and they need to be purchased in this state, if not this county," Lamb said. "You need to inquire about the cost. I'm all in favor of having the arborist come. We need to do some tree work; we have some ailing trees."

In other business the board voted unanimously to:

* Approve the park board report, fire chief's report, maintenance report and sheriff's report. Officers on the re-formed park board are required to live within the city limits, but nonresidents can be voting members. A controlled burn will take place as soon as rain allows.

* Approve the waver of claims on behalf of the city of Sheldon for the Alice Donaldson Trust.

* Approve signing a contract with Vernon County to collect and manage Sheldon's taxes.

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