Poplar Bluff Fire Department Station 1 will receive three new garage bay doors for the first time since 1978.
The Poplar Bluff City Council approved the purchase Monday, along with a bid to use federal grant dollars to repair air conditioning at Wheatley School.
The council accepted a bid from Poplar Bluff Overhead Door for $34,622 for the bay doors. Fire department Chief Mike Moffitt requested that members approve the measure early due to the lengthy lead times required for ordering the doors.
The council also considered a bid for heating, ventilation and air conditioning from Buffington Brothers Heating and Cooling of $34,800 for the historic Wheatley School. City Manager Matt Winters requested authorization for the expenditure of federal American Rescue Plan Act funds for the purchase.
“The facility currently has no air conditioning,” Winters advised, “This is... a historic building that we own, and the longer it goes without any air conditioning, you know the harder it’s going to be on that building.”
Council member David Boyer asked what the city had left of the ARPA funds. Winters informed, before the Wheatley School expense, $706,000 remained.
“I think it’s a good project. ARPA funds should be perfect for that,” Boyer remarked.
The council workshopped and approved the garage doors and the air conditioning unanimously in the same session due to the pressing nature of both measures, according to the discussion.
Members also discussed granting an easement for the warehouse owned by Mid-South Investments near the intersection of Cravens Road and Highway 142.
Winters noted the plant manager of Briggs and Stratton does not have any objections to the proposed easement. He explained the warehouse personnel have already been using the gravel driveway at this location but are seeking to make it officially sanctioned.
The council approved the measure to move to the voting session on Aug. 5.
Next, Winters requested the expansion of the Poplar Bluff Stormwater ARPA project. Initially receiving $5 million from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, the bids received for the project left a surplus of $1,124,181.
The change order would add additional stormwater projects to the effort to expend the remaining funding, which would otherwise expire. The council voted to approve the expansion.
City Planner James Sisk presented a request from the Planning and Zoning Commission to approve a permit to operate a faith-based, not-for-profit women’s maternity center. The property, located at 1407 North Fifth Street, is currently zoned C-1 General Commercial.
Sandra Shockley of Recycling Grace Ministries is the applicant.
Council member Mark Massingham stated about Shockley, “She’s got several other places and has really done a lot for Poplar Bluff.”
Members will vote on the matter on Aug. 5.
The council approved the following items for the Aug. 5 voting session:
• Entering into an agreement with the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission for the Transportation Alternative Program East Pine Street crosswalk.
• Submission of a grant application to the Missouri Department of Public Safety and the Missouri State Highway Patrol to fund new LiveScan equipment due to the existing system aging into obsolescence. Poplar Bluff Police Department Detective Jeremy Ellis did not give a specific amount, but told the council the five year program would be at no cost to the city.
• Amendment of the 2024 budget to accommodate the purchase of a new police radio system. The amendment substitutes $372,918 from the surplus of the new police station construction budget and $524,846 of ARPA funding in place of using the surplus of the injured personnel fund.
• Submission of a grant application to the Missouri Department of Transportation Aviation Section for the construction of two hangar bays at Poplar Bluff Regional Business Airport. Airport Director Gary Pride said the amount is nearly one million dollars.
For action items, the council approved the following measures:
• The intergovernmental transfer of the property located at 2212 Maud Street from the city to the Poplar Bluff R-I School District.
• Amending the governing instructions’ definitions of an apprentice electrician to match the plumbing board’s definition.