Wright rejoins Chamois board as alderman

By Theresa Brandt
Posted 6/2/21

Former Chamois Mayor Jim Wright rejoined the board as an alderman after taking the oath of office at last Thursday’s meeting. He will fill the one-year seat that Rob Skaggs had temporarily …

This item is available in full to subscribers.

Please log in to continue

E-mail
Password
Log in

Wright rejoins Chamois board as alderman

Posted

Former Chamois Mayor Jim Wright rejoined the board as an alderman after taking the oath of office at last Thursday’s meeting. He will fill the one-year seat that Rob Skaggs had temporarily taken. Wright was the only one of the four write-ins during the April election that was interested in serving as an alderman. This leaves one seat still open. Mayor Elise Brochu tried talking Skaggs into taking the open seat but he declined.
In other business, aldermen voted to evict the “squatters” at the campground at the city park by whatever means necessary.
“We have someone who has been there for over two weeks without paying,” Brochu said.
After consulting with City Attorney Amanda Grellner, City Clerk Michelle Stanley put a notice on the trailer that the vehicle had to be moved within 24 hours or it would be towed. Stanley then called 4-J’s Towing to have the vehicle removed but they would not tow the trailer without a court order as advised by the Osage County Sheriff’s Office and the Missouri Highway Patrol. Stanley called Conservation Agent Chad Gray and learned that the same individuals had been run out of the Ben Branch Lake Camping area because the trailer was not registered.
State law requires the vehicle to be registered within 30 days of purchase. Stanley believes that the vehicle is still unregistered.
Aldermen approved calling the sheriff’s department and having the vehicle towed as an unlicensed vehicle and if that failed, to take whatever time was necessary to obtain a court order and have the trailer towed.
This has prompted Brochu to move forward with creating an ordinance for the campground and the city park.
“We need to have some things in writing about the campground so that we can have a campground and not a trailer park,” she said.
Brochu hopes to have a draft of a campground ordinance ready for review by aldermen next month.
* Stanley researched the cost of using different ball fields in the area and came up with a wide range of prices.
“Some fields charge $25 per game and some charge $15 per hour,” Stanley reported. “A lot of it has to do if the fields are prepped.”
Maintenance Supervisor Danny Kirsch noted that he sprayed the field and cut the grass but it was the players’ responsibility to drag the field.
“The lights cost $25 per month,” Brochu said.
“Well, we at least need to pay for the lights,” Alderman Matt Shockley said.
The board tabled the issue for this meeting and will roll the issue into an ordinance that includes the campground and the park.
* Area resident Judy Maxey is working to get the Chamois Farmers Market up and running again. She hopes to have various vendors of produce, baked goods, and homemade items for sale in the lot between the post office and the Chamois General Store from 8 to 11 a.m. on Saturdays.
“Alan and Betty Nolte are such a great draw and such dedicated vendors,” Maxey said, adding she hopes to draw a good variety of vendors and draw more people into town.
Vendors do not need to commit to every Saturday.
Aldermen decided not to charge the Farmers Market a fee to set up in town and hope that the Saturday event draws a crowd of vendors and customers.
“I think it’s a great thing and we need to make sure we encourage it,” Alderman Marty Gerloff said.
Maxey plans to collect a fee of $5 from each vendor in booth costs for the whole year. She will use the money to pay for advertising.
* The city of Chamois has not been able to find any companies willing to do a cultural resources survey for the water project. Stanley contacted several companies and only one company, Afendras Archaeology, LLC was willing but the firm would have to put the project off until September.
The city has been given a second list of archaeological firms and will begin contacting them to see if anyone can do the survey, which is required. The water project cannot move forward without it.
If the city must wait until the fall, Chamois will have to reapply for water project funding.
* Chamois is finishing up the paperwork required for the city marshal.
* Aldermen agreed to renew the Quickbooks accounting program for $450.
* New City Hall office hours will be from 8:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Monday through Friday.
* Aldermen approved expenses for the city in the amount of $7,078.01.
* The city has the following ending account balances: cemetery ($10,173.17), city cemetery ($19,797.03), city park ($1,663.59), general fund ($35,305.81), meter deposits ($20,565.69), sewer ($53,491.47), sewer bond reserve ($26,567.40), sewer repair ($6,899.22), water ($149,206.18), and water repairs ($28,834.01).
* Chamois holds several certificates of deposit totaling $12,066.90.
* The next meeting will be at 7 p.m. on June 17.