Good afternoon, everyone. Please see below for this week’s update.
Key Meetings
-On Monday, I attended the monthly Chamber meeting with the mayor to give an update on various projects. Attached to this week’s update is the monthly report from President O’Brian on ED activities for the month of March.
-Later that afternoon, Parks Director Garrie, Assistant Director Bloomberg, and I met with representatives from the Blasters to talk about the upcoming season and the transition that will take place when they assume control of the facility in May.
-On Wednesday, Director Haase and I met to discuss next steps in light of the recent meeting with the state auditor’s office to give their follow-up review.
-This morning, I spent some time at South Middle School as a participant in their Career Day program for their eighth grade class, discussing my role in the community, the programs and services we offer, and different career opportunities in the field of local government.
-Earlier this afternoon, Planning Director Bolander, Assistant Director Robyn, and I met with representatives from the Urban Institute, to give feedback on the National Disaster Resilience Competition, which if you recall was a competition among communities affected by natural disasters from 2011-2013/14 to receive additional CDBG-DR dollars. We ultimately chose not to participate in the competition, but they wanted our feedback on the competition and the process anyway.
Miscellaneous
-In addition to the monthly economic development update from Rob, I’m also including our regular update from public works on the many projects they’re working on.
-Yesterday we extended an invitation to the office of U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx to come to Joplin for the opening/dedication of the overpass on 20th Street. We have asked for some time in August, the original anticipated date for completion of the project. We are still on track for an earlier completion date and would open the overpass for use prior to the dedication event, but considering that a significant portion of the project was paid for using DOT TIGER dollars, we thought it appropriate to extend the invitation. The request has been forwarded to their scheduling office to se if the secretary can attend.
-On Wednesday, Fire Station #5 was struck by lightning, which resulted in minor damage to some electronic equipment in the station. No one was injured and the repairs are being made, and we are working through Human Resources to keep our insurance carrier informed, should we need to file a claim. Thankfully no one was injured.
-As you may have read, new trash rates for Joplin residents became effective today. We are continuing to roll out information about how residents can sign up for the curbside recycling option if they want to participate, but we are looking at June 1 st for a kick-off of the curbside recycling program. A website will be up soon to allow residents to enroll online, but for now they can call 800-431-1507 or 800-627-1717 to sign up. Additional information provided by Republic Services will also be going out to households in the mail over the next couple of weeks.
-As I mentioned last week, the Use Tax Committee will meet on Thrusday, April 7th at 6:00 p.m. here at City Hall to start discussions about that issue. There are/were two House bills dealing with this issue submitted during this session. HB2809 would have prevented cities from collecting any sales taxes on titled equipment if they failed to adopt a use tax prior to the end of 2016, which could have resulted in an estimated loss of $2.5 million for Joplin. The hearing for that bill was scheduled for Tuesday of this week, but was cancelled. The other bill is HB2140, which if signed, would extend the deadline for cities to put the issue to voters from 2016 to 2019. That bill was voted out of the House and is now in the Senate. I will keep you posted on the progress of that bill. At this point we are proceeding as if our deadline to put the issue to voters is still 2016.
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