Moberly City Council gives Parks go ahead for continued improvements

By Janet Morales

Parks and Recreation projects dominated action at Monday night’s City Council meeting.

In regular session, the council voted to approve bids for the refurbishment of the interior of the Municipal Auditorium. Improvements to the exterior of the building, including the replacement of all winds and doors, is complete. The next phase of work is broken into four components: accessibility, acoustical treatment, curtains, and painting.

The Moberly Park Board recommended, and the council approved, accepting the bid of 5 Oaks in the amount of $140,400 for the accessibility package. This will include the construction of an elevator, ramps associated with accessibility, upgrades to the main floor restrooms and construction of a new kitchen facility.

A need to get the auditorium ADA compliant as soon as possible was seen Saturday night. The building was the venue for the well-attended Miss Moberly Scholarship Pageant. One wheelchair-bound person, a relative of a contestant, waited in the cold alley for someone to open the “garage door” so he could have access to the ramp which leads to the main floor. The new ramps and the elevator will eliminate any such future situations.

Golterman & Sabo’s bid of $40,102 for the acoustical package, the low bid of $12,086 from Allied Theatre for curtains, and Shepherd’s Painting’s bid of $21,737.64 for plaster repair and painting of certain areas in the lobby and main floor of the auditorium, were all approved.

Councilperson Nancy Copenhaver asked Parks Director Michael Bork if there were plans to paint the stage. Bork responded by saying that some stages are painted a flat black when they are used a lot for dramatic performances. However, he said the stage in the auditorium sees less of drama use so plans are to refinish the stage floor instead.

Barring any unforseen delays, the interior renovations of the Municipal Auditorium, except for Phase 2 which includes the flooring, should be completed by June, according to Bork. Renovations are funded through the parks and recreation half-cent sales tax which was extended in August 2007.

Rothwell Park Lodge

In work session, the council agreed to send forward the bids for the parking lot at the Lodge in Rothwell Park. Mayor Pro Tem Bob Riley and Councilman Dick Boots asked for the reasoning in deciding to asphalt the parking lot rather than use concrete. Bork said with the limited use and light vehicles using the parking lot, asphalt would be sufficient and much more cost-efficient. He said installing a 5-inch layer of concrete would increase the cost by $40,000 and if road grade concrete were used with reinforcements, that price could soar another $30,000.

John Douglas 4-H Building

Councilman Boots also asked about leaving the Douglas building standing, inferring the site was an eyesore next to the newly constructed Lodge. Bork explained that the City of Trenton, who had considered purchasing the structure, found moving it to Trenton was not feasible.

“The structure is still strong,” said Bork. “It does have issues with mold, mildew and rotting wood.”

Bork said the structure could be stripped until it was essentially just a shell. With installation of new doors, the building could be a covered usable facility, he said. It could be used as a potential exhibit hall for the 4-H during the Randolph County Fair, or it could be rented out for such things as indoor garage sales or car shows. Maintenance would be low.

The quonset building sits on a concrete pad which would still be available for food vendors during fair time and a general “promenade area” if the building were removed.

Copenhaver asked about the feasibility of moving the structure to another location in the park. Bork said due to the size, it would have to be cut into parts to be moved and welding it back together would be difficult, at best.

“That is why Trenton decided not to do it,” he said.

Bork said no definite action had been made by the Park Board in regards to the building. He said estimates for its demolition is $6,000. But it could be brought back as a usable space for $9,000.

“Do you have the money,” asked Boots.

“Yes, we have it in the budget,” said Bork. “We sold our water slide for $7,000 so we have that money, too.”

Other action

In other action, the council repealed an ordinance and resolution and adopted a new ordinance in relation to the Tourism Advisory Commission. This action corrected or clarified certain guidelines regarding member qualifications, terms of office, and items to be funded, according to City Manager Andy Morris.

Receipt of bids will be accepted in the next regular session for the Urbandale trail project. With the acceptance of bids, Tom Sanders, director of community development, said the project may get underway by May and take approximately 120 days to complete.

Two members from Jacobs engineering provided an updte on the Ault/Rollins storm sewer project and the Reed Street combined sewer project during work session.

Upcoming events

Entities seeking approval for upcoming events include: YMCA annual 5K run on April 10; MACC annual 5K walk/run April 24; and a Cemetery Walk to raise for the 4^th Street Theatre project to be held May 15-16.

Visitors

Sadie Appling

Sadie Appling, a member of the Moberly School District Youth Council, took part in council proceedings as a youth representative and gave a brief update of Youth council’s activities.

Members of the Randolph County Youth Excel were in attendance. They had spent time earlier I the day with J.W. Ballinger learning some of the historical aspects of Moberly.

Nancy Thomas, DAR, made a presentation to the council regarding hanging signs on AmerenUE light poles in certain areas of town, such as N. Morley, which would honor active duty service members. Thomas was told by City Manager Morris that permission would have to be obtained from AmerenUE and MoDOT before the city could take on any type of involvement.

A presentation from Linda Tramontin of Helping Hands Across Missouri, a homeless advocacy group, was on the agenda but had to be postponed a second time due to scheduling conflicts.

The next meeting of the Moberly City Council will be Monday, March 15, at City Hall.