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Council approves consent agenda, OKs Bruner change order; city previews youth sports facility feasibility
Summary
Council approved the consent agenda including a Bruner Construction change order for City Hall conference-room projects and several ARPA-funded items; City management selected Sports Facility Companies for a feasibility study on a proposed youth sports facility and may seek a GO bond placement on the August 2025 ballot pending later council action. Resident public comments raised safety and curb-repair concerns.
The St. Joseph City Council approved its consent agenda after removing and later addressing item 18. The consent agenda included a mayoral nomination to the social welfare board, multiple budget amendments and ARPA-funded grants, leases for municipal-court space, and professional-service agreements.
Council later returned to item 18, a resolution authorizing a unit-price contract and change order with Bruner and Associates Construction Inc. d/b/a Bruner Construction and Crane related to City Hall Fourth Floor and First Floor conference-room projects. Staff described how the Fourth Floor bid allowed expansion to add First Floor scope and upgrades; the item passed on a council vote recorded as "8 ayes." A council member said the combined work would renovate both conference rooms without eliminating the originally planned Fourth Floor work and that the Fourth Floor would be expanded by about 14 feet and receive media and carpet upgrades.
During the clerk’s reading of first-reading bills, the clerk listed numerous ARPA-funded projects and other capital items (examples read aloud include a $150,000 ARPA agreement with Missouri Western State University for law enforcement academy equipment and transfers to various capital funds). One line in the clerk’s reading gave a figure for a managed Wi‑Fi services agreement that appears to be mis-transcribed in the record and is not reported here as a confirmed contract amount.
City management provided an update on a proposed youth sports facility: the city received four proposals and selected Sports Facility Companies (SFC) for a prospective professional services agreement. Pending council consideration of that agreement (anticipated at a December meeting), SFC would work with city staff and the community and is expected to provide direction by May 2025 about whether to place a general-obligation bond measure on the August 2025 ballot. May is the deadline to submit items for the August election.
In public comment, resident Vanessa Seward requested follow-up from the police chief about a two-year-old crash in which she said no ticket was issued to the other driver and alleged that fraudulent insurance information was provided at the scene. Seward also asked the city to install "Do Not Enter" signage at a troublesome corner and raised concerns about curb repair grants that require homeowners to front costs before partial reimbursement; staff said they would forward the traffic concern to Streets and arrange for post‑meeting contact with the police chief and relevant staff.
The meeting adjourned with no further business.
