Board of Aldermen meeting recap

by Jake Hipsher, Grain Valley News Intern

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Grain Valley’s Board of Aldermen met for a regularly scheduled meeting on June 27th, with the presentation of the annual audit a part of a busy agenda.
     The Board approved a series of 2022-2023 liquor license renewals, and approved a temporary catering liquor license for MO Country to operate a beer garden at the Grain Valley Fair. The beer garden will be located under the pavilion area behind the Grain Valley Community Center.
     “MO Country graciously volunteered to do that for us [host the beer garden]. We’ve had a really good working relationship with the current owners,” Mayor Mike Todd said. 
     Butch Beeman, Managing Partner of Troutt Beeman & Co., presented a review of the recently completed audit. 
     “I will tell you that from our perspective, it was a very clean audit, it went well,” said Beeman. 
     Under resolutions, the Board authorized the City Administrator to submit an application for an ARPA grant, with the respective funds going towards replacing the box culvert on Duncan Rd, just east of Rust Rd. 
     The Board also approved the City's Capital Improvements Plan. Richard Tuttle, the city engineer, presented the features included in the plan. It includes significant improvements to roadways, trails, and other various points of infrastructure. It also detailed the addition of new vehicles, machinery, and equipment towards Grain Valley Public Works, Parks and Recreation, and the police department. 
     Reached for comment regarding the Capital Improvements Plan following the meeting, Todd said he was excited to review the completed plan.
     "A lot of the projects on there are ones that I talked about before the election and they really resonated with our residents.  Especially sidewalks and trails along Eagles Parkway and Buckner Tarsney and of course the Duncan Road/Buckner Tarsney intersection as well.  All of these projects dramatically improve quality of life and safety of our residents and in some instances make it a lot easier for them to even get into town.  Such a thing as the crosswalk improvements on Ryan Road leading to South Middle School/Stoney Point might not seem as big as some of the others, but that is still a much needed improvement.  I’m extremely proud of city staff for moving forward with the plans for all of these needed items."
      The Board also approved a resolution to enter into a 48 month lease agreement with GFI Digital for all printing and copying needs. 
     “Over the next five years, it should actually save $18,000. We’ve been testing it out for the past three weeks to a month probably, to make sure that it did everything we needed it to. The results have been good with that, so we’d like to move forward with that agreement at this time,” City Administrator Ken Murphy said.
     Additional resolutions approved addressed the replacement of fencing at three of Grain Valley’s water stations, located at Sni A Bar Pkwy, Royer Ln, and Cross Creek Dr. , and a resolution authorizing an agreement with McCown Gordon Construction to complete the new design and construction of the future police facility. 
     “We ended up interviewing three firms. After going through their RFQ submittals, the interview, and the cost side of it, we made the decision to go with McCown Gordon for that project,” said Murphy. 
     During staff reports, Tuttle went on to highlight the Public Works event that took place on June 23rd. 
     “I want to thank everybody for coming out and the sponsors. The weather was great, we had approximately 160 people come to the event. Papa Murphys [of Grain Valley] provided 56 pizzas to feed the folks who showed up,” said Tuttle.
     Todd gave more praise to the event by saying, “It was a nice turnout, everyone enjoyed the evening. The kids loved honking the horns on the equipment. I think I heard horns in my sleep for two nights afterwards.”
     Todd also discussed recent meetings with local developers to determine what Grain Valley can do best to contribute to the growth of the community.
     “The developer who does a lot of work in other cities did say that ‘Grain Valley was the easiest city to work with,’” Todd said. 
    The next Board of Alderman meeting is scheduled for July 11th at 7:00pm, located in the Council Chambers of the Grain Valley City Hall. 

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