​Board of Aldermen meeting recap

     Grain Valley’s new police chief, Ed Turner, took the oath of office at the beginning of the February 27th Board of Aldermen meeting.
     The Board then moved quickly through a series of resolutions, and approved the second reading of an ordinance to approve the renewal of a conditional use permit for Valley Speedway to operate a racetrack facility.
     Under resolutions, the board approved the purchase of four new garage doors and three openers for the Public Works maintenance building. The Board also approved an ordinance authorizing the City Administrator to enter into an agreement with Depth Security to conduct external and internal network penetration testing and wireless security testing to identify any vulnerabilities in City tech infrastructure or applications.
     The Board also approved a resolution to enter into an agreement with Tandem Paving Company to implement the City’s 2023 pavement maintenance program, providing edge mill and asphalt overlay to streets identified in the City’s CIP plan and 2023 budget. To view the roads included in this year’s pavement maintenance program, visit Projects - Community Development - Grain Valley, Missouri (cityofgrainvalley.org).
     Alderman Dale Arnold requested the City Attorney mention in open session the result of the suit against the Jackson County Election Board, prior to the Board discussing the result in closed session.
     As reported January 24th, the City filed suit in Jackson County Circuit Court requesting that the Jackson County Election Board use the district ward boundaries that were updated and approved by the Board of Aldermen on October 24, 2022 for the upcoming April 2023 municipal election.
     The approved ordinance was sent to the Jackson County Election Board on November 14, 2022, which JCEB contended did not provide adequate time to implement the change. Judge Marco Roldan agreed, stating the submission by the City “three weeks prior to first day for candidate filing for the April 2023 election did not give Respondents sufficient time to implement the Redistricting Ordinance, especially considering the inaccessibility of the MCVR (Missouri Centralized Voter Registration) system which continued beyond the first day of candidate filing.”
     The ward boundaries in place prior to the City’s approved changes on October 24, 2022 will be used for the April 2023 municipal election.
     To view the judgement, visit Microsoft Word - Proposed Judgment Grain Valley v. JCEB (mo.gov).
     Prior reporting: https://www.grainvalleynews.com/news/city-of-grain-valley-files-suit-against-jackson-county-election-board
     The next meeting of the Board of Aldermen will be held at 7:00pm on Monday, March 13th at Grain Valley City Hall.