Ava City Council: Square Updates Delayed by COVID-19, City Water Losses Down 20%

by Michael Boyink/mike@douglascountyherald.com

On Tuesday, September 8th, the Ava Board of Aldermen convened for a business session at 5 p.m.

City Finances

City Treasurer Peggy Porter reported that the city’s finances were “very good” with $2.9M across its accounts.

All resolutions and ordinances were approved in 3-0 votes. 

Resolution #2020/09.08

Authorizing the mayor to sign an agreement with JB Construction to build a 50’x100’ concrete pad for the street shed.

Resolution #2020/09.09

Authorizing the mayor to update an agreement for joint use of poles with CenturyLink.

Ordinance 1083

Changing the zoning from L-1 Light Industry to B-3 General Business at the Ava Storage Location.

Ordinance 1084

Changing the zoning from L-1 Light Industrial to B-3 General Business at the location of 404 Hailey Street.

Ordinance 1085

Changing the zoning from B-2 Central Business to R-1 Residential  at 2103 W Hwy 76.

Ordinance 1086

Changing the zoning from 1/2 B-2 Central Business to R-2 Residential Two Family at 1300 Fuller Avenue.

Community Center/Senior Citizens Program

Mayor Loftin reported recent changes at the City Community Center, with a different board taking over running the programs within the building. Loftin said the Douglas County Council on Aging had received a $66,300 grant and had already begun scheduling activities within the building. 

SCOCOG Meeting

Mayor Loftin said the South Central Ozark Council of Governments (SCOCOG) had recently met, but lack of available funds from MoDOT meant there wasn’t much action on road projects in the area. Loftin said the only project on the group radar was erosion at the low water crossing on Y Highway at Cowskin Creek.

Square Updates

Mayor Loftin reported that work on the square had been delayed due to COVID-19 exposures within Hessling Construction, the contractor hired to complete the work. Loftin expected company representatives to be at City Hall on Wednesday morning to update the city and lay out a work plan.

Water Loss Report

Loftin reported a recent water loss report for the city showed a 9.2% loss rate, compared to losses in the 30% range two years ago. He attributed the improvement to more complete reading of the city’s meters, having fire crews track water usage, etc. 

CARES Act

Mayor Loftin said that the City of Ava had received $13, 288 in CARES funds from Douglas County.

Park Cameras

Loftin reported that the city had installed one video camera at the city park to evaluate it’s coverage and performance. He was happy with the results and intended in buying additional cameras, all in an effort to reduce vandalism at the park.

City Hall Phone System

Mayor Loftin said that after an eight-month process, City Hall was finally running on a new single-source phone system. The new system replaces one that relied on multiple vendors, which made troubleshoot difficult.

Water Tower Inspections

Lofin reported that recently-hired crews were able to inspect and clean out the south water tower, they hadn’t completed the project at the north water tower. Peggy Porter said the north tower was deeper than the contractor thought, and their equipment wasn’t able to reach the bottom. 

Closed Session

There was no closed session.

Attendance

Councilmen present were Billy Stewart, Noel Dye, Keith Jones, and Stan Lovan.

Video

Video from the Ava Board of Aldermen meeting will be posted to the Douglas County Herald’s website at douglascountyherald.com.

Next Meeting

City officials and aldermen will reconvene on September 22nd at 5 p.m. at City Hall. Meetings are open to the public.