Council member at-large Steve Davis will serve as mayor and Ward 4 representative Shane Cornman as mayor pro tem for the next year, according to unanimous votes Monday of the Poplar Bluff City Council.
Davis has served as mayor pro tem for three years, while Cornman was re-elected to his Ward 4 seat for a second term in the April 6 election.
“My main focus will be the continued support of our local leadership,” Davis said after the council meeting. “Our town has many good leaders and department heads and they’re doing a lot to help Poplar Bluff grow and become its very best for the citizens and the region.”
Both Davis and Cornman list completion of the new Poplar Bluff Police Department on Shelby Road and the selection of a downtown location for city hall, along with completion of that project, as priorities.
“If possible, I would like to see a new (city) hall built at the corner of Pine and Second,” Davis said. “The city now owns that entire block. This would include the administration offices, court and council chambers.
“There would be sufficient parking and green space which could blend with other plans for downtown. Maybe a collaborative effort between the city, library district, and park department could be a possibility as far as a green space project.”
Davis and Cornman also cited concerns over city finances with the failure of the use tax measure April 6.
The city will have to make do with the current revenues, for now, Cornman said.
“Hopefully, we will be able to get the use tax measure passed eventually and this will make things more equitable for our local merchants and also bring in the much needed revenue our town needs to service its continued growth into the future,” Davis said.
Cornman and newly elected Ward 2 representative Jerrica Fox were sworn in before the votes for mayor and mayor pro tem.
Fox ran unopposed for the seat previously held by Ed DeGaris. DeGaris was recognized during Monday’s meeting for his 12 years on the council and decades as a Poplar Bluff police officer.
Fox has previously served on the council as a council member at-large.
In other business, council members voted to hold another workshop session to discuss residency requirements for city employees.
Proposed changes would allow employees other than the city manager and Municipal Utilities staff to live outside Butler County.
Currently, the city manager is required to live inside the city limits, as would an assistant city manager, if one was named. Municipal Utilities employees are also required to live within a 12-mile radius of the intersection of highways 60 and 67.
Other employees are required to live within Butler County.
City manager Matt Winters said recruitment has been difficult and a poll of approximately 40 other Missouri cities found many do not have a residency requirement.
Council member at-large Chris Taylor asked if the decision could be made by department, citing safety concerns for fire department response times.
“I have a few concerns,” Taylor said, explaining that if a firefighter was responding from 45 minutes to an hour away it could cause an issue. “You’re looking at the safety of the people that are fighting the fire, and the citizens of this community.”
Council members asked that they be provided with written statements from heads of city departments regarding their thoughts on the matter.
Cornman asked Winters if fire Chief Ralph Stucker was the only department head to have a concern about the policy change.
Winters said that Stucker had expressed concern about the matter.
Council members also discussed an agreement between the city and the Missouri Department of Transportation for a grant to expand the Wolf Creek Trail.
The council voted to allow the police department to destroy antiquated records as allowed by state law and to annex into the city property located at 700 Shelby Road, owned by Bell Real Estate.
Editor’s note: Find continuing coverage later this week of the city’s recognition of DeGaris, Fox’s new role as Ward 2 representative and other significant changes to the council following the April 6 election in our print editions and online at www.darnews.com.