The Howard City Council meets bimonthly on the first and third Mondays of the month. The following report was generated from the official minutes of the March 17 meeting, which were approved during their most recent meeting on April 7.
Mayor Richard Clark called the March 17meeting to order with Council members Martin Hunter, Shilo Crupper, Derek Cookson and Gary Harrod present. Council member Jerrad Pope was absent. Also present was City Clerk Joanna Hunter and Kendall Pierce and G. David Helms.
Mayor Clark invited D. Helms to address the Council. Helms spoke to his belief that the City should reinstate the City Police Department and his rea-sons for that, he also noted he would be available to be hired as police chief. Council thanked him for his time and noted they will discuss the topic.
During that discussion, council considered the costs that would be involved including equipment, vehicle, training, insurance, state requirements, and payroll.
The topic was tabled due to the city not currently does having the budget for police expenses.
Kendall Pierce with Professional Code Compliance then spoke with Council about his work to enforce the City codes. He requested permission to give two residents on his list an additional two weeks to show progress before beginning action, and six others that he has not had response from that he plans to proceed with notice-to-appear for court. Council noted that one of the addresses he gave had already cleared the lot. Pierce was going to inspect the lot later that week.
Council expressed appreciation to Pierce and agreed that several of the people notified had indeed cleared code violations on the properties and overall, it continues to be a successful project.
The council approved to purchase a post anchor for the stop sign at Randolph and Wabash that broke off in a windstorm and to accept the quote from MMI for the proposed 2025 street resurfacing project.
The council also approved: the March 3 meeting minutes and city bills totaling $30,337.97, as presented.
Other discussion included: Clerk J. Hunter will get bids for curbing in downtown business areas with options for partial blocks or full blocks; Looking to Code enforcement for spring grass/yard cleanup; Researching salvage yard type issues in city limits; Additional possible costs to start up and to maintain a police department; Guttering and leaf filters on Cox awning including trench and drain for downspout; Library activities; Possibly building sign post anchors for future needs.
The meeting adjourned at 8:02 p.m.
The council will hold its next meeting on Monday, April 21, at 7:30 p.m. at City Hall.
