Carthage Council approves tourism and sidewalk grants, hears economic development update; discusses code enforcement and utility rates

The Carthage City Council on Tuesday approved a contract to support the Boots Court visitor center, accepted emergency contracts for Memorial Hall curtains and advanced a community revitalization grant to rebuild downtown sidewalks, while hearing a quarterly economic-development briefing and extended discussion of code enforcement and upcoming utility rate changes.

Jeff Meredith, with the Carthage Economic Development Corporation, opened the substantive portion of the meeting with a quarterly update on housing, childcare and business recruitment. "The housing study is available at choosecarthage.com/housing," Meredith said, and he told council the study estimates the city needs "approximately 326 homes in 5 years." He described childcare as a local shortage that reduces annual economic output: "Carthage loses $2,160,000 on an annual basis from economic output because we do not have sufficient childcare," Meredith said, and presented data showing Jasper County is a childcare desert with roughly a 3:1 demand-to-supply ratio.

Why it matters: Council members said the sidewalk grant and other investments are intended both to support downtown economic activity and to remove barriers that hinder recruiting businesses and housing. Several council committees also spent substantial time on how city code enforcement is carried out and on the fiscal implications of planned infrastructure projects.

Major votes and formal actions

- Boots Court visitor center contract (council bill 25-30). The council adopted an ordinance authorizing a contract with the Boots Court Foundation/Carthage Visitor Center for $36,000 annually beginning July 1, 2025, to provide tourism and marketing services. The measure passed on second reading. (Motion/second not specified in the transcript; outcome recorded as adopted.)

- Memorial Hall curtains (council bill 25-38). Council adopted an emergency ordinance authorizing a contract with A to Z Theatrical Supply and Services for replacement and installation of backstage curtains at Memorial Hall for $35,050. The item was advanced as an emergency because the quoted price was set to increase. (Adopted.)

- Downtown sidewalk revitalization grant (council bill 25-39). Council approved proceeding with acceptance of a Missouri Department of Economic Development Community Revitalization grant for the downtown sidewalk extension project. The grant is an 80/20 cost-share; the 80% portion was described in committee as "locked in at $750,000." Council voted to advance the measure to second reading and later adopted it. (Motion/second not specified.)

- Airport Drive and Fairview sidewalk contract (council bill 25-40). The public-works committee recommended and council moved forward a contract award to ATS Contractors LLC for sidewalk improvements along Airport Drive and Fairview Avenue. The ATS bid was read as $574,199.40; the item was budgeted for fiscal year 2026 and was described as an 80/20 cost-share project. (First reading/advance to second reading.)

- Claims. The council approved claims in the amount of $946,774.09 as presented by the committee on claims.

Other formal actions included a set of resolutions from the McKeown/McKean Brook hospital trust recommending disbursements (detailed below). Several ordinance readings were taken for budget adoption, utility rate changes and special-use permits; most of those were on first reading and were scheduled for additional review.

Economic development briefing: housing, childcare, retail recruitment

Jeff Meredith described the strategic priorities that the local economic development group is pursuing: workforce readiness, marketing and partnerships, housing and childcare. He said a May 29 housing breakfast drew roughly 50 attendees and flagged the housing study’s estimate that Carthage needs about 326 homes over five years. Meredith said the CDC (as he referred to the local economic development organization) plans to form a housing committee with industry and city stakeholders.

On childcare, Meredith said the county ranks among the state’s largest counties with an insufficient childcare supply. He gave two figures during his presentation: "we have basically 360 spots and there's 1,912 children under the age of 6 who could potentially benefit from childcare," and he said that gap translates to an estimated $2.16 million in lost local economic activity each year. He noted prior state ARPA-funded childcare grants had expired and that local nonprofit and private partners are pursuing new expansion plans and funding.

Meredith also reviewed retail outreach and Missouri Works incentives. He said the local CDC helped several companies that will create more than 300 jobs over six years and that the organization has secured roughly $3.7 million in direct grant awards for city projects since 2023; he said total funding and incentives attributed to CDC efforts since 2023 is about $6.52 million.

Council and committee reports: sidewalk projects, code enforcement and grants

Public works and the council’s committees reported several project-level updates. Vice Chairman Peterson (public works committee member) explained two change orders for the downtown square sidewalk project: bump-outs along the square will be made removable and the surfaces will be flat concrete rather than planted beds, and cast-iron grates will be added for ADA compliance. That change added roughly $2,000 and moved the contractor’s completion date to Aug. 8.

Peterson and Public Works Chair Schramm also summarized an ATS Contractors low bid of $574,199.40 for the Airport Drive/Fairview sidewalk project; the next bid was cited at $663,000. Committee members said the sidewalk work is budgeted for fiscal year 2026.

Code enforcement and nuisance procedures: city code and practical limits

Public works committee members reviewed Carthage’s nuisance code (Chapter 15) and enforcement procedures. The committee emphasized distinctions between the city’s nuisance categories: general nuisance (example: junk on property) and public nuisance (a hazard such as a fire risk, vermin or obstruction). Committee members summarized the enforcement sequence in code: notice and a public‑works hearing within five days of service, a five-business-day abatement window for owners after a finding of nuisance, and city abatement if owners do not comply. City abatement costs may be certified to the city clerk and recorded as a lien on the property; the code also allows misdemeanor prosecution for unresolved nuisances. For public nuisances, the city may obtain a municipal warrant for property inspection and may store or sell seized items after 60 days if owners do not reclaim them. Council members and staff repeatedly framed enforcement as balancing available city resources against repeatedly noncompliant properties.

Utility rates and planned capital work

Darren Collier, a board member with Carthage Water and Electric, and Kelly Nugent, chief financial officer with Carthage Water and Electric, presented a first reading of proposed utility rate changes. Collier said the average household impact would be about $2.92 per month — roughly a 1.1% average rate increase — described in the presentation as a 1.1% electric increase, a 2.6% water increase and a 0.9% wastewater increase. He cited several capital needs tied to the increases: an $800,000 water-main replacement on Central tied to MoDOT street work, roughly $400,000 to replace a structure at the wastewater plant that captures inappropriate solids, and an estimated $1.2 million line to serve a new economic development site. Collier said the utility also plans transfers to the city (the presentation cited transfers of a little over $1.5 million in aggregate as budgeted).

Public comment and community events

Several residents and nonprofit representatives used the meeting’s public-comment period to highlight local volunteer events and city-supported activities. Jackie Bouyer, president of the Kellogg Lake Nature Center, thanked city departments for support of the June 7 kids’ fishing day and said the event used about $4,000 of donated fish stock. Sally Stewart, representing Vision Carthage, reported on a successful Dumpster Day event and said a second fall Dumpster Day is planned; she also previewed a June 28 “Flowers After Hours” fundraiser. Lynn Andrews of the Bridgeport Foundation spoke about visitor-center hours and international visitor statistics as part of the foundation’s visitor-center partnership proposal.

Administration and personnel notes

Chief Hawkins announced the department’s "Blue Shield" certification application had been approved, making the department eligible for related grant funding. He also told the council he submitted a retirement letter that will take effect in December 2025. Councilmember Tom (given at the meeting as "Tom") announced he would resign his council seat effective at the end of the meeting and thanked colleagues and staff.

Resolutions and trust-fund disbursements

The council adopted three trust‑fund resolutions recommended by the local hospital trust: a $5,000 disbursement to Innovative Industries (Resolution 2,091) and two separate recommended disbursements of $75,000 per year for three years each (Resolutions 2,092 and 2,093) to support community health and service organizations; those latter grants included contingencies noted in the trust recommendation.

What to watch next

Council members directed several items for follow-up: second readings on the budget and the proposed utility-rate ordinance, completion of procurement and contracts tied to the sidewalk projects, and further committee discussion on personnel‑file access language (a proposed personnel records policy was returned to committee for additional review). Staff and committees also said they would continue work on housing and childcare strategies, and the CDC said it would form a housing working group.

Ending note

Council members and staff repeatedly praised volunteers and city staff for recent events — Dumpster Day, the kids’ fishing day and other civic activities — and emphasized the downtown sidewalk grant and related infrastructure work as central near-term priorities for economic development and safety.

Votes at a glance (selected, from meeting record)

- Council bill 25-30 (Boots Court/visitor center contract): adopted. Contract amount: $36,000 annually beginning 07/01/2025. - Council bill 25-38 (Memorial Hall curtains): adopted as emergency; contract amount $35,050. - Council bill 25-39 (Community revitalization grant for downtown sidewalks): adopted; 80/20 cost-share, 80% portion described as $750,000 (locked in per committee discussion). - Council bill 25-40 (ATS Contractors LLC contract for Airport Drive / Fairview sidewalks): committee recommended acceptance; low bid cited $574,199.40; advanced on first reading. - Claims: approved as presented, $946,774.09. - Resolutions 2,091–2,093 (hospital trust disbursements): adopted; amounts and recipients are noted in the meeting packet and were approved by roll calls reported at the meeting.

(See provenance for transcript excerpts.)