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Willard aldermen approve engineering agreements, adopt convenience-fee ordinance; donation platform tabled
Summary
The Board of Aldermen approved engineering work agreements for a drainage redesign and downtown revitalization and adopted an ordinance changing the city's convenience fee policy. A proposal to subscribe to a donor/volunteer platform was tabled.
Willard's Board of Aldermen approved two engineering work agreements, adopted an ordinance increasing convenience fees on certain electronic transactions and tabled a subscription to an online donations-and-volunteer platform during its regular meeting.
The actions formalize design work on a drainage channel adjacent to U.S. Highway 160 and fund engineering for downtown parking and sidewalk work. The board also voted to adopt an amendment to the city's convenience-fee ordinance for alternative electronic payments. A separate resolution to buy a one-year subscription to a platform called See My Legacy was tabled for further information.
Why it matters: the engineering agreements create paid contracts that will move design work forward, potentially clearing way for future construction and sidewalk improvements. The convenience-fee ordinance shifts credit-card processing costs away from the city, affecting how residents pay utility and other municipal bills. Tabling the donation platform delays rollout of a new tool the city had proposed to centralize fundraising and volunteer signups for parks and community projects.
Approved items and immediate details
- Work agreement with Alger Martin Associates (drainage design): The resolution authorizes a work agreement to design a drainage reroute along Missouri Department of Transportation right of way between U.S. Highway 160 and Proctor Road. The resolution was presented as engineering work (design) rather than construction; the title will be corrected to reflect that. Voting record (recorded on the meeting transcript): Alderman Beallier: yes; Alderman King: yes; Alderman Swatash: yes; Alderman Wilson: yes.
- Work agreement with CJW Transportation Consultants LLC (downtown revitalization/parking engineering): The board approved a $30,000 engineering scope to evaluate added parallel parking and phased sidewalk improvements from Hiller Street to Main Street and to produce cost and phase estimates. Voting record: Alderman Miller: yes; Alderman King: yes; Alderman Swatash: yes; Alderman Lawton: yes.
- Ordinance amending convenience-fee for alternative payments (second reading): The board adopted the ordinance to pass on increased card-processing costs to customers who pay by credit card, while preserving fee-free options such as check, cash or ACH. Voting record: Alderman Billier: yes; Alderman King: yes; Alderman Swatash: yes; Alderman Wilson: yes.
Tabled
- Subscription to See My Legacy (one-year): The board tabled action on a proposed 12-month subscription to See My Legacy, an online donation and volunteer-management platform. The quoted one-year price on the staff note was $22.49 plus $0.10 (the transcript shows a discounted fee figure); aldermen requested more detail on where donated funds would be directed and how receipts would be coded. Voting record on the motion to table: Alderman Hillier: yes; Alderman King: yes; Alderman Squatash: yes; Alderman Washington: yes.
Procedural votes
- The board voted to recess to closed session twice during the meeting, first under RSMO section 6.10.021(1) (legal) and later under subsections (1) (legal) and (2) (real estate). Recorded votes for the first closed-session motion: Alderman Villar: yes; Alderman Keane: yes; Alderman Swadesh: yes; Alderman Wilson: yes. Recorded votes for the later closed-session motion: Alderman Billier: yes; Alderman Heaney: yes; Alderman Swatash: yes; Alderman Courtland: yes.
What the board did not finalize
Several items were presented as first readings only (excavation/permit code changes; personnel policies including a merit-evaluation policy and a proposed uniform policy) and will return for future votes or additional revision.
Ending: The board directed staff to correct minor drafting issues in the drainage resolution (change "construct" to "design/engineer"), to return additional details for the See My Legacy subscription and to bring the remaining first-reading ordinances back for later consideration.
