The Poplar Bluff City Council announced Poplar Bluff Regional Business Airport Director Gary Pride is retiring from his position after seven years at the helm. His last day will be Dec. 31. The application deadline for the job is this Friday.
Pride also presented the possibility of the city entering into an aviation project consultant agreement with Olsson Incorporated for the expansion of the airport.
“If you see me here it means we’re working towards progress at the airport,” he joked to the council.
The expansion and improvement would include new hangars, concrete, utility lines, and more. Members will vote whether to enter into phase one of the agreement consisting mainly of grant applications and paperwork.
The total cost to the city would be $20,000 for phase one.
In other business, the council approved the ban on the use of cell phones while driving in city limits. The measure was accepted without objection and is in accordance with state law.
Members also work shopped applications for grant writing and engineering services for the Community Development Block Grant for the drilling of a new well on Alice Street following a public hearing on the matter. Interim City Manager Lori Phelps recommended the use of Ozark Foothills Regional Planning Commission and Smith and Company Engineers.
The total cost of the project is projected to be $1.2 million and would provide redundancy to the city’s water system in the event of a disaster. The council additionally approved the appointment of Cindy-Lou Morgan and Jay Warren to the Animal Control Advisory Board and Ventilation, Air Conditioning, and Refrigeration Advisory Board respectively.
During the public input section, the council was challenged by resident Joseph Dial on several issues he said were pressing.
“The streets here in town… are just bad,” he remarked, retelling the story of finding three nails in his brand-new tire. “Roads in the city should be our top priority.”
Dial expressed frustration over the use of city money to pave the road leading to Brick’s Offroad Park this past summer. Next, he shifted the discussion to homelessness in Poplar Bluff.
Dial stated his home has been broken into three times by people he believed to be homeless, and he observed squatters in several homes around him. He asserted police had not been helpful in dislodging the trespassers.
Lastly, Dial said he would like to see more attendance at city council meetings.
“I can tell our community isn’t here to care,” he contended.
Phelps agreed to meet with Dial to discuss his concerns further.
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