New Council Has First Meeting
Published: Tuesday, April 28, 2009, C-T

Chillicothe’s 101st City Council met for the first time Monday night and addressed issues ranging from the city’s fire code to improvements at the municipal airport. This was the first meeting of the council since the swearing-in ceremony April 15. New to the city council are 1st Ward Councilman Sid Cornell and 4th Ward Councilman Paul Howard. Joining them are Councilman-at-Large Darrel Rinehart Jr., who was elected to another term, and 3rd Ward Councilman Tom Douglas, a former councilman who was also elected earlier this month. Second Ward Councilman Maurice Zion was absent.

Brian Johnston, chief executive officer of Hedrick Medical Center, gave his quarterly update for council and said that the hospital had a good first quarter in a number of areas, including a 100 percent in its nurse retention. He said the hospital continues to improve on its emergency room wait time. Johnston said that the hospital has recently signed on new physicians: Dr. Greg Miller, who will start at Hedrick Family Care in August; and Dr. Salwat Shami, who will start in September, also at Hedrick Family Care. Also recently, orthopedic surgeon Corey Trease, M.D., of the Orthopedic and Sports Medicine Center in St. Joseph, Mo., has joined Hedrick Medical Center and will have two clinic days and one surgery day a month at HMC. Johnston told council members that Hedrick Family Care has expanded its evening and weekend hours to better serve the public by giving them an alternative to having to go to the hospital’s emergency room. He also said he feels confident that a second obstetrician/gynecologist will be signed on by the end of this week. Recruiting a second OB/GYN has been a priority of the hospital for several years. Johnston also said that he is in the process of recruiting one more physician.

The council on Monday tabled a proposal amending the existing fire code ordinance to clarify the list of items acceptable for burning. The proposal would have combined elements of a previous ordinance with the city’s current ordinance and clarify that only natural cover material such as leaves and tree limbs (2 inches in diameter and smaller) could be burned. The new ordinance called for allowing open burning year-round from 8 a.m. until 8 p.m. and to be supervised by someone at least 15 years of age. No decision was made primarily because the council wanted the ordinance to address recreational burning — such as the use of fire pits and cook-outs. The council also discussed changing the permissible time from sunrise to sunset rather than 8 p.m. year-round. A revised bill is expected to be considered at the council’s next meeting.

As the emergency management co-assistant, Booth will work with state and federal governments to ensure the proper paperwork is completed and keep the four entities up to date on emergency management drills, according to City Administrator Dean Brookshier. He will work 20 hours a month and each entity is contributing $2,500 annually for Booth's salary. The contract is effective immediately.

In other business Monday night, the council approved a contract with the Livingston County Ambulance District. The city currently has a contract with the district and no changes were made in the new agreement.

Council members on Monday also discussed two railroad issues. The first was to extend its contract with Montoff Transportation regarding railroad material salvage. Several years ago the city sold 29 miles of railroad right-of-way between Chillicothe and Brunswick to Montoff. Montoff made the purchase in order to salvage the rail and road ties. The city accepted the property back from Montoff last year with the stipulation Montoff would clear the land as per the previous agreement, However, the property is still not clean and the company now has 90 days to get it cleared.

Also Monday, the council approved extending and amending the railroad agreement with Motive Rail. Motive Rail contracts with the city to operate the shortline railroad which serves the industrial park. The current agreement, which is a 5-year contract, is due to expire. The city's railroad advisory board recommended that the city renew the contract.

Mayor Chuck Haney presided over Monday night's meeting. Also Monday, the council:

• Agreed not to have meals brought in before each regular city council workshop meeting. For the last nine or ten years council members were offered dinner meals prior to their 6:30 p.m. workshop meetings. Eliminating the meals, based on the regular two workshop meetings a month, the city will save around $1,800 annually.
• Approved a contract with Mid-Continental Restoration, of Fort Scott, Kan., for Phase 2 of the City Hall masonry restoration project. Three bids were received ranging in price from Mid-Continental's bid of $39,881 to $125,475. The other bid was $68,880. This company is already doing the first phase of the project (brick work and water proofing) and was able to keep its bid lower than the other bidders because its equipment is already in Chillicothe, Urton said.
  
  CAPTION: Work continues on the Chillicothe City Hall building. On Monday night, the council approved a contract with Mid-Continental Restoration, of Fort Scott, Kan., for Phase 2 of the City Hall masonry restoration project. The company is already doing the first phase of the project (brick work and waterproofing). C-T Photo / Laura Schuler 04 29 09
  
• Renewed a franchise agreement with Green Hills Telephone Company. No changes are proposed.
• Approved the payment of invoices, $208,111.34, and payroll, $111,222.18.
• Approved several personnel matters during an executive session held following the regular council meeting. The council approved the hiring of Brian Peters, Carrie Downey and Meghann Perry for the Green Hills Golf Course clubhouse. They also approved the promotion of Firefighter/Paramedic Aaron Minnick to the position of lieutenant with the Chillicothe Department of Emergency Services.
• Approved an ordinance accepting an aviation project consultant agreement with Bucher Willis and Ratliff for a new runway at the municipal airport. Federal money received this year is intended to be used to buy land for the runway. The money is funneled through the Missouri Department of Transportation and requires a 5 percent local match. This project has been in the works for about eight years.