The day of meetings

When I woke up this morning, I told my wife not to expect to see me much. Today is a “day of meetings” – I have four community-related meetings to attend in my capacity as city councilmember.

Bright and early at 7:30, I headed to the Chamber of Commerce for the Governmental Affairs Committee meeting. This is a Chamber committee and, although Jill McCord is our official council representative to the committee, we were all invited to attend to be introduced to the group and learn about its focus and business. So Richard, Martha and I joined eight others at the table in the Chamber conference room.

The purpose of this committee is to keep Chamber Board, membership and community informed of important city, county and state level issues, and serve as liaison to state government officials in matters of community interest. The committee monitors and facilitates progress of the Community Strategic Plan and informs members and business on legislative issues. It is responsible for, among other things, the Candidates’ Forum, Kirksville Day at the Capitol, and the TGIF series.

This morning, we discussed updates on the Jefferson Street construction project, airport carrier negotiations and the Hwy 63 alternate route. Gene Schneider gave a report on the county – that they are hiring a new deputy and buying a new car, and also working to bring the older county records to a “legible” condition. John Rein, from LaPlata, gave a brief update on the Silver Rails Resort project and the Green Theater. Heidi Templeton suggested the City try to put more events and meetings on the city cable channel.

Then at noon I walked over to City Hall for the Airport & Transportation Commission, to which I am the council delegate. David Hall gave an update on the air service to Kirksville Regional airport. He MODOT sent out the order yesterday selecting AirChoice One as our carrier, which is the carrier the city recommended. They are scheduled to begin in 90 days or Sept 1st. It will be a 9 passenger aircraft, although it’s now “up in the air” which particular aircraft we will go with. We hope for the aircraft that Craig Shorten presented earlier (the Caravan) over the non-local craft (Navaho) because it is a local interest and we would have more control over scheduling and such. The flights would now go to St. Louis instead of Kansas City.

Mari Macomber also presented on the Jefferson Street construction project that Council voted to adjust the budget for last night. To recap, the lowest bid (from Mihalevich Concrete Construction) was over our budgeted estimate by almost $100,000. This is due to a few good reasons – the price of asphalt and traffic control costs bid were greater than anticipated; fuel costs are up; and, after taking core samples, it was decided that the street needed much more than just an overlay. So the street is going to be torn down to the dirt and completely rebuilt, which means we’ll get a much better street. Also, ATSU is chipping in $98,000 for the portion of the work in front of their property, because they considered it an important asset to the University thoroughfare. They are the only property owners to do so.

That’s about it for now. Tonight, I am attending the Kirksville Downtown Improvement Committee (KDIC) meeting at 5:30 at the Adair County Annex, and then heading over to Village 76 around 6:30 to hear the results of a senior report.