Board Of Aldermen Approve Police Labor Agreement, Pavement Maintenance

​     The City of Grain Valley Board of Aldermen heard, discussed, and voted on numerous resolutions and ordinances during their August 12th meeting. Resolutions passed included annual street maintenance as well as the adoption of a labor agreement between the Fraternal Order of Police and the city.
     The board voted unanimously to authorize the use of Jackson County’s 2019 Pavement Maintenance Phase I contract for city street maintenance. City Administrator Ryan Hunt commented to the board that the $200,000 budget for the maintenance to be done was compiled from a previous street survey index.
     Resolution R19-34 is to provide an edge mill and overlay to Greystone Blvd., NE Erin Ct., NE Mary Ct., NE Katie Ct., NE Kim Ct., NE Jaclyn Dr., NE Hannah Ct., NE Amanda Jean Way, and to provide patch work on NW Woodbury Dr. Hunt shared that the street work would likely be wrapped up by the end of this September.
     The labor agreement reached between the City of Grain Valley and its sworn officers will run from 2019 through 2021. It’s the result of four years of labor negotiation and was unanimously approved by the board as well as being adopted by the Fraternal Order of Police on August 1st. “The meat of this agreement is the discipline and grievance policy. There are two steps to the grievance policy. The first step is the Chief of Police and the second step is the City Administrator. An appeal past that would go to arbitration. It’s a good negotiated contract,” Hunt said.
     Chief of Police James Beale also shared his thoughts on the resolution.
     “In my opinion, this agreement holds both sides accountable, both officers and the chief. Officer salaries when considering our cities size and economic base is fair compared to other local municipalities. Allowing officers to bid for shift is also an important ingredient of this agreement,” Beale said.
     The Grain Valley Police Department was also recognized during staff reports as completing a busy and productive last few weeks. Chief Beale thanked the Board of Alderman for their participation during the recent National Night Out on August 6th at Armstrong Park. The official head count for the event was 534 people. The purpose of National Night Out is to promote crime awareness programs and work to build strong relationships between the police department and its community.
     Also mentioned during the staff reports was the recent Active Shooter Training that the Grain Valley Police Department provided for the Grain Valley School District. 600 teachers and staff went through the training prior to the start of the school year. Participants went through lecture and scenario based professional development in efforts to ingrain reactions and thought processes into staff.
     In other business, the board passed City Ordinance 2472 amending the Code of Ordinances by adopting one new title regulating medical marijuana within the city limits of Grain Valley. Alderman Nancy Totton again expressed concern during discussion about the police having to deal with this situation and was the only dissenting vote. Hunt explained that this ordinance would treat medical marijuana as a pharmaceutical and be regulated in line with the Missouri constitutional amendment.
    The next City of Grain Valley Board of Aldermen is scheduled for 7:00 pm on Monday, August 26th at City Hall.

 

Police Chief James Beale reported August 12th to the Board of Aldermen on  the activities conducted by the police department the past several weeks, including the National Night Out event and active shooter trainings. Beale (center, facing group) and Grain Valley Police Department staff conducted active shooter training with 600 Grain Valley Schools teachers and staff prior to the start of the school year.                 
Photo courtesy City of Grain Valley