At a glance: Board of Aldermen approves right-of-way vacate policy, sales-tax repeal, sidewalks maintenance agreement and fee changes

The Warrenton City Board of Aldermen approved four ordinances at its March 18 meeting. All measures passed by roll call vote, 4-0, with two aldermen absent. The board took no vetoable executive action beyond enacting the ordinances and authorizing administrative steps described below.

Right-of-way vacation policy (Bill 11-25) City Administrator Brandy Walters presented an ordinance to add a right-of-way vacation policy to the municipal code and to establish a filing process for utility-easement vacates. Walters said the city had previously processed such vacates without a formal fee and recommended a $100 application fee to cover staff and filing costs. The board voted to adopt Ordinance Bill 11-25 by roll call (four yes, two absent).

Capital improvement sales tax repeal (Bill 12-25) Walters also presented an ordinance to repeal a 0.5-cent capital improvement sales tax that had been used to pay debt issued for a recently completed overpass. Walters said the final payment will be made on March 31 and that the city’s early repayment saved an estimated $2,400,000 in interest and allowed the city to keep a pledge to sunset the tax. The board adopted Bill 12-25 by roll call (four yes, two absent); staff will submit the repeal to the Missouri Department of Revenue as required.

MoDOT sidewalk maintenance agreement (Bill 13-25) Director of Operations John Strukoff presented an agreement with the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission (MoDOT) that authorizes the city to enter a maintenance agreement for sidewalks along Route 47 tied to the North 47 sidewalk project. Strukoff told the board the sidewalks remain on MoDOT right-of-way and the city’s acceptance is for maintenance responsibilities only; the agreement does not transfer right-of-way ownership. The board adopted the ordinance authorizing the agreement by roll call (four yes, two absent).

Application and review fees amendment (Bill 14-25) Director of Planning and Development Tim Burke presented an amendment to section 405.4 of the municipal code to change application and review fees. The amendments increase the commercial and residential variance fee from $125 to $1,500 and add a $100 processing fee for right-of-way vacate applications. The Planning & Zoning Commission recommended the change and the board approved Bill 14-25 by roll call (four yes, two absent).

Vote tally and attendance Each ordinance passed by a 4-0 roll-call vote. Board members recorded as voting yes in the roll calls were Alderman Lane, Alderman Crump, Alderman Quarter and Alderman Roemaker. Alderman Schultz and Alderman Cullum were recorded as absent for the votes.

Administrative items and next steps Walters said staff will submit the sales-tax repeal to the Missouri Department of Revenue. Strukoff said the MoDOT agreement had been under negotiation during and after construction and thanked staff for working with legal counsel to finalize the maintenance terms. Tim Burke said the fee changes had been posted and presented at Planning & Zoning, which recommended the amendments. The board held no additional public hearings on these items at the meeting.

All four ordinances were enacted at the meeting; the board did not send any of the measures to committee or table them.