City Council Meeting 1-3-23—Councilors Ken Gregg, Andy Hellenthal and Talon Reed were sworn into office by City Recorder Angela Watson. Soon after, council elected Mike McClain as Council President to serve in the absence of Mayor Donna Bowen.
Council approved Police Chief David Towe’s request to hire Jessica Woodward as a new police officer. She is an experienced member of the Jackson County Sheriff’s Office and will be on patrol soon. Council then approved a list of potential hires for the Fire Department in case a vacancy occurs.
Council also approved the mayoral list of annual Council appointments for Committee Liaison posts as well as an extensive list of citizens who were appointed and re-appointed to city commissions. A full list may be found on the city website.
City Council Meeting/Work Session 1-17-23—The 2021-22 city budget audit was presented by KDP Accounting and received the highest possible level of assurance with no compliance issues found.
A new public complaint form for code violations was approved and Council discussed moving its work session meeting to 4pm.
Council outlined several projects for 2023 it may take on including continued updates to the Comprehensive Safety/Emergency Plans, a new museum at Old City Hall, Succession Plans for staff/department heads, development code revisions, Urban Renewal funding, and the Urban Growth Boundary.
Council had a lengthy Urban Renewal meeting during which it elected Councilors Steve Casaleggio as Chair and Andrea Thompson as Vice Chair. Council will be forwarding a major UR plan amendment to the public in February/March asking that its maximum taxing indebtedness be increased from $6 to $8.1 million. Projects the council may earmark for UR funding include a museum at Old City Hall, Brunner Building repairs, a new roof for Art Presence, a 3rd Street pedestrian plaza, a new water tank and a new fire truck.
Featured image: City Recorder Angela Watson swears-in l-r, Ken Gregg, Andy Hellenthal, Talon Reed – January 2023.