HERMANN — The Clara Eitmann-Messmer Center will be City Hall’s new partner in funding OATS transportation service within the boundaries of the Hermann hospital district.

Hermann Area District Hospital has been the longtime partner with the city of Hermann in funding the bus service, but hospital officials opted to bow out of the partnership as a cost-savings move. City Administrator Patricia Heaney Monday night told the city’s Board of Aldermen (BOA) that the Messmer Center quickly agreed to take up the slack.

“The Messmer Center happily picked it up to keep the service going,” Heaney said.

For the fiscal year that began July 1, the joint funding agreement was approved in legislation approved by the aldermen during its first regular session of the month. The estimated total amount of the funding is $20,500. The two organizations’ actual costs will be dependent on the amount of money paid by the users of the OATS system, which is headquartered in Columbia, Heaney explained.

The city administrator also told the BOA that she wants to do a better job of promoting the use of OATS by community residents. Riders pay a $2 fare each way. Further, she noted, OATS is moving from a cash payment system to a pre-loaded card-payment method as a way to reduce the amount of time a driver has to handle cash and make change for riders.

“Ultimately, they say, it’s going to expedite service,” Heaney said.In other matters Monday night, Mayor Bruce Cox announced that the city’s Sales Tax Holiday will be the first weekend of August (Friday, Saturday and Sunday) when local sales taxes will not be applied to certain back-to-school items.

In her regular report to the aldermen, Heaney asked for and received permission to begin the process of applying for two grants that will be awarded in the next couple years — one from the state for sidewalk improvements and another from the federal government to help upgrade streets within the city’s Flood Route. Both grants are awarded on an 80-20 basis with the city providing 20 percent of the total amount.

Winners of the grants won’t be announced for another year, Heaney explained, but that the deadline for applying is fast approaching.

“We need to start on them ASAP (as soon as possible),” the city administrator said.

Hermann fell short in an earlier state grant application for street upgrades, apparently out of a lack of low- to moderate-income residents in the areas being targeted. But with the help of Meramec Regional Planning Commission, City Hall found the federal Department of Transportation grant program that doesn’t take into consideration the income levels of residents.

“This is a much more likely possibility of us getting it,” Heaney said of the federal grant.

The sidewalk grant program would allow the city two years to spend the money while the federal street grant program gives recipients four years to use the funds.

Heaney said the city is fortunate to find a possible source of funds for street upgrades.

“Getting grant money for streets is rare,” she told the board.

Also during the half-hour session, city legislators acted on a handful of other items: Renewal of an outdoor seating permit for the Piano Bar on East 4th Street; approval of the low bid from Anixter Power Solutions for $51,232 for primary electrical cable; approval of a contract with Madden Media for ads associated with the city’s promotional publication; approval of a special event application for the HADH Auxiliary for a fundraising concert by Pilot Grove Sept. 9 at the Eitmann-Messmer Amphitheater on Guttenberg Street; approval of an amended special event application by the Hermann Music Boosters for the Wine & Jazz Festival at the Amphitheater on Aug. 19. In case of rain, the concert will be held at the Hermannhof Festhall.