Apr 10, 2008

The Ava Board of Aldermen convened for a very brief business session on Tuesday, and with only a few formalities slated on the evening agenda, the open meeting lasted nearly fifteen minutes. Council members approved a contractual agreement with the Southwest Missouri Office on Aging, a Missouri not-for-profit organization, that leases the Ava Community Center building each year. The contract was extended to June 30, 2009. The community center is located at 108 NE. Second Street, Ava. Director of Development Janice Lorrain reported the State Revolving Fund (SRF) loan application which was submitted last August, is presently under review by the SRF committee. Lorrain said paperwork associated with the application must be completed and submitted to the SRF by May 19. If the city cannot meet the May deadline, the application will not be considered for the November dispersement of funds. With several easements yet to be secured for the project, Lorrain noted it was questionable whether or not all the paperwork would be in place by the deadline. However, if the city fails to meet the timeline for this year, the application could be resubmitted for 2009. Lorrain said city administrators continue to research options for opposing the Sho-Me Power rate increase. City groups have attended a number of meetings on the issue. Acting on the request posed last council meeting, Lorrain informed the board that Dean Park of Barnes, Henry, Meisenheimer and Gende, has been scheduled to be in Ava April 22, with plans to meet with Copeland officials, and city administrators. Park, an electri¬cal engineering consultant from St. Louis, will also attend council meeting that evening and address questions posed by the aldermen as well as discuss options and/or solutions to the problem. City administrators hope Park will provide additional insight into the situation, and help officials better understand the repercussions of any action(s) they may chose to pursue. The Sho-Me rate increase which went into effect April 1, has been deemed a harsh development for this area. The scope of the increase creates a hardship on local industry and serves as a penalty for growth, dissuading expansion within the community. The new formula also impacts residential rates with an increase. Lorrain informed council House Bill No. 2494 has been introduced to the 94th General Assembly by State Representative Darrell Pollock and co-sponsor Representative Don Wells. The bill is presently being reviewed in the Special Committee on General Laws, and states, "HB 2494 allows certain munici¬palities receiving services from a regional electric cooperative to appoint members to the governing board of the regional electric coop¬erative". State Representative Van Kelly was also listed as a supporter of the bill, along with approximately 31 other representatives. Lorrain said Kelly has provided support to the issue and attended several meetings with the City of Ava and other communities. Lorrain commented it was encouraging to have legislative support. During the meeting, positive remarks were offered by council on the efficient clean-up of city brush. Council commended city crews for a job well done, and councilman Burrely Loftin noted employees did an excellent job of handling the vast amount of limbs and brush. Mayor Leon Harris noted crews had cleared 300 loads of brush and debris. Mayor Harris announced Spring Clean-up is scheduled for the week of April 24 – May 2. Pick-ups will be conducted on the east side on Monday-Tuesday, and on the west side, Wednesday-Thursday. Friday is the final day for pick-up, Harris said. Municipal Court Dockets for December 2007, January 2008 and February 2008, were approved as presented, and monthly bills were approved for payment. Council members attending the meeting were David Norman, Ric Engelhardt, Burrely Loftin and Judy Lovan. The next council meeting is Tuesday, April 22, 6:30 p.m. at City Hall. The meeting is open to the public.