Owensville residents will soon see familiar faces in new places when they visit City Hall, as a retirement, appointments, promotions and planning for a new hire were announced during the Aug. 17 Board of Aldermen meeting.

City Administrator Randy Blaske announced his retirement following the end of his July 1, 2027, contract.

In preparation for the role opening, Mayor Kevin McFadden asked Blaske to talk to current City Clerk Peggy Farrell about moving into his role. Following that conversation, a succession plan was established to move everyone up early, on McFadden’s request.

Kara Meyer, who presently holds the position of Deputy City Clerk, will transition into Farrell’s role.

Cashier clerk and receptionist Christine Thompson will move into Meyer’s role. She will continue to serve the Planning & Zoning Commission.

A transition period is planned from approximately Jan. 4, 2027, to July 1, 2027, for the staff to learn from their predecessor before fully taking over the role.

“I didn’t want to wait to end up finding out what chaos looked like,” McFadden said.

His goal is to allow everyone to get comfortable in their new positions at City Hall.

“I think the people that we’ve got moving up, I’ve got a lot of faith in them to accept the responsibilities and move forward,” said McFadden.

He noted that the early January target date could change depending on any delays related to implementation of new software at City Hall.

A job listing was posted recently for Thompson’s role and 25 applications were received. Candidates are interviewing with Blaske, Farrell, Meyer and Thompson this week.

McFadden also appointed Christine Yearwood to the Board of Adjustment as an alternate. While the Board of Adjustment meets infrequently, alternates are needed as a quorum is required.

The appointments and resolutions were all passed through motions receiving unanimous approval from the board.

“Don’t forget, you guys have got a wealth of knowledge at your disposal, so ask those questions,” McFadden said just before meeting closure.

Property tax levies set for fiscal year 2026

New property tax levies were set on Aug. 17 for the city of Owensville following a public hearing held and unanimous approval by the Board of Aldermen.

Existing and new levies, along with assessed valuation, were discussed during the hearing.

The total assessed valuation for 2025 was $46,976.468, including real estate values of $18,737,030 for residential, $16,280 for agricultural, $12,874,720 for commercial and $13,154,318 for personal property. The local railroad and utility amounts were $6,070 for personal and $2,150 for real estate. State railroad and utility amounts were $249,625 for personal property and $1,936,275 for real estate.

In 2026, the assessed valuation totaled $46,828,700, including real estate values of $18,838,510 for residential, $16,280 for agricultural, $12,733,170 for commercial and $13,013,804 for personal property. The local railroad and utility amounts are $410 for personal and $2,150 for real estate. State railroad and utility amounts are $228,628 for personal and $1,995,748 for real estate.

The 2026 general revenue levy will remain the same at .3402 cents per $100 assessed valuation and the debt service for parks will go from .4522 cents to .3418 cents, creating a lower total of .682 compared to the 2025 total of .7924 tax rate.

Projected tax receipts for fiscal year 2026 are $387,141 including $159,814 for general revenue and $227,327 for debt service (parks). This number is up $14,899 from $372,242 in 2025, including $159,814 for general revenue and $212,428 for parks.

The motion to approve the proposed levy was made by Ward 2 Alderman Matthew Kramme, seconded by Ward 1 Alderman Dan Breeden and passed with all in favor.

Public Works receives approval for $67K Ford F450 purchase

Owensville Public Works Department will have a new vehicle added to its fleet soon, following approval by the Board of Aldermen to purchase a 2027 Ford F450 diesel pickup truck from Hutcheson Ford of St. James.

During the city meeting, Public Works Director Derek Gruenloh requested to purchase the $67,473.41 truck — an item budgeted for this year. The truck will replace their 2012 Chevrolet one-ton utility truck which will be surplussed at a later date.

According to Gruenloh, he is still researching options for a service body, snowplow and lights as it will primarily be used for the snowplow and to pull around equipment.

Board President and Ward 1 Alderman Dr. Cathy Lahmeyer presented a series of questions to Gruenloh regarding the purchase including the reasoning for opting for a diesel.

Gruenloh shared that the diesel historically has gotten better fuel mileage and has a better cooling system for plowing snow and pulling equipment trailers, which is better on the transmission.

When asked if there were other models that would be suitable such as the F250 or F350, he shared concerns of the front-end weight rating being insufficient for a nine-foot snowplow.

“Well…I’m finally glad to see you guys get a Ford,” Lahmeyer said.

Additional bids were received by Laura Ford of Sullivan in the amount of $67,484 and $69,620.79 by Schicker Ford of Union.

The motion to approve the purchase as recommended by Gruenloh was made by Ward 1 Alderman Matthew Kramme, seconded by Ward 1 Alderman Dan Breeden and passed unanimously.

Zoning district updates in Owensville

One district has been removed and a new district has been added in Owensville city limits by a single ordinance unanimously approved.

City Engineer James Kolbe has been working with the Owensville Board of Aldermen and Planning & Zoning Commission over the past several months regarding two needed updates to the zoning code including the addition of the Rock Island Trail District (RIT) and the removal and mass rezoning of the defunct Old Town Commercial District (OTC).

According to Kolbe, RIT is needed due to the parcels in the area being irregular.

With board approval of Section 4 of the related bill, the district was created with the purpose of encouraging and promoting tourism along Owensville’s section of the Rock Island Trail to include lodging, dining, entertainment, retail sales and services and other businesses.

The land use table was updated to include permitted and conditional uses.

The other three sections of the bill related to defunct OTC.

Kolbe previously informed the board that any new business or change of ownership in OTC requires conversion to the Old Town District (OT) and that a mass rezoning of this district would proactively address those needs. He also shared that some of the impacted properties may also benefit as some conditional use permits will no longer be required.

Section 1 of the bill repealed regulations for the OTC district set in Section 400.230 of Article 2 of Chapter 400 of the municipal code and designated the section as “Reserved.”

An amendment to the land use table of Chapter 400 of the zoning code was made through Section 2, removing OTC and all references to permitted and conditional uses.

Property currently zoned as OTC was rezoned to Old Town District and the zoning map amended accordingly, per Section 3.

The motion to approve this bill was made by Ward 1 Alderman Dan Breeden, seconded by Board President and Ward 1 Alderman Cathy Lahmeyer and passed with all in favor.

OPD activity, code enforcement reports released for July

Owensville Police Department (OPD) Chief Scott Griffith reports that during the month of July, officers responded to a total of 549 dispatched calls, traffic stops and other assigned situations and conducted or assisted with a total of 71 traffic stops.

A total of 43 cases were handled, taken or investigated by an officer including allegations of animal abuse, ordinance violations, harassment, assault, stealing, fraud, peace disturbance and property damage with some leading to misdemeanor and felony charges. Others are still open and being investigated.

A total of 30 summons were issued through the city court and a total of 23 walk-ins occurred at the OPD facility.

Results of traffic stops conducted in July included one arrest, 13 citations, 47 warnings, five with no action taken and two with a disposition of other, handled by officer or complete.

The largest number of tickets were attributed to alleged failure to register or expired plates, peace disturbance and disorderly conduct with four tickets issued each and three issued for no insurance.

Owensville Code Enforcer Jeff Arnold reports five grass/clippings violations, one vehicle violation and one trash/junk violation with five corrected by warning during the month of July.