The Kirksville Socialite

Media Credit: Casey Millburg.

The Kirksville City Council met Monday night for a Study Session, in which they review and discuss issues they will be addressing in Council Meetings. Study Sessions are held on the second and fourth Mondays of every month at 5:30pm, and Council Meetings are held on the first and third Mondays of every month at the same time.

There were six items on the agenda at yesterday’s Council Study Session.

First up was a tour of the Adair County Humane Society, which took place prior to the actual Session and regarding which not much discussion was held.

Next up was discussion of the DREAM Organizational Structure. “DREAM” stands for Downtown Revitalization and Economic Assistance for Missouri, and provides technical and financial assistance for Missouri communitites to help them revitalize their downtown districts. Kirksville was selected as a DREAM community in 2007 in the program’s second year of existence, however there have been several obstacles blocking its successful implementation, such as a lack of organization and downtown business owners not attending DREAM meetings.  Discussion points:

• The KDIC (Kirksville Downtown Improvement Committee) should be the inititative’s proactive implementing body and the organization needs to both be seen as spearheading and actually spearhead revitalization.
• Encouraging downtown business owners to participate in the Kirksville DREAM plans, as previously stated, was another big problem stopping DREAM’s full implementation.  As city manager Mari Macomber put it, “Until downtown businesses take ownership [of the revitalization process] it won’t be successful. The city could push this thing the whole way if they wanted to, but it won’t be as successful as if the businesses take ownership.”
• There is a need to find the individuals who are most invested in the revitalization process and will give the project the driving force it needs

After the DREAM discussion, City Codes and Planning Director Brad Selby spoke about Historic Preservation of properties in Kirksville and the CLG (Certified Local Government) Process.  The CLG Process, according to Kuhns’ website, “is a recognition program that certifies that we wish to pursue historic preservation and have taken the steps to establish an historic preservation process with standards and guidelines overseen by a Commission.”  Discussion points:

• Brad Selby, the City Codes and Planning Director, talked about adopting a voluntary process by which property owners may nominate their own properties to be historicial properties or districts to be historical districts.  The downside of adopting such a process, according to Selby, would be that they might miss some properties if the owners can’t be persuaded to declare it. 
• The Historic Preservation Committee can make people aware that their properties can be considered to be historic, Selby said, and there are benefits such as tax credits and potential increased property value from the designation as well that would benefit these homeowners.

Next up was the discussion of the sale of alcohol on city property, specifically the Kirksville Regional Airport Hangar, the Ampitheater and North Park during adult softball games.  Discussion points:

• Councilman Aaron Rodgerson is very much against the proposal: he read aloud from 2 emails he and other councilmembers received voicing their opposition to the idea, presented a petition signed by 350 people who opposed the proposal as well, called the idea “a step in the wrong direction,” questioned whether there was a good reason for introducing this measure into the community or if it was just a revenue-generator, and said (in response to a comment noting that allowing the sale of alcohol at city facilities would bring in more people from the outside areas wanting to host events there) that it was “sad that people wouldn’t come to Kirksville unless beer is involved.”  Many times during his comments he cited the welfare of children as a primary argument against this measure.
• Some councilmembers found that the petition was misleading as it didn’t include specific details about the proposed initiative, however the petition was not an official petition and Rodgerson said its intent was mainly to gather feedback.
• The measure would allow for the sale of alcohol at special events, but the Council would have to review each request on an individual basis and has control over which events would be allowed
• Many members offered arguments for the proposal: Councilman Kuhns pointed out that Oktoberfest is held in front of Il Spazio with no negative results; that the events at which alcohol will be sold will be pre-planned and coordinated; responded to Rodgerson’s “revenue generator” question by saying that this is “about increasing the usage of our facilities, bringing in more people and making the area more robust”; and said that “for every 1 or 2 people who abuse alcohol, dozens more enjoy alcohol responsibly.”  Mayor Pro Tem Jill McCord noted that individuals requesting permission to have alcohol at events would have to meet with the KPD first.  Also, Councilman Richard Detweiler noted that he’s attended the Adair County fair for the past 10-15 (?) years and he’s never seen an alcohol-related problem there.

The Council then discussed annexation, specifically the idea that, if they see an area of natural growth occurring they can focus the city’s resources there and take advantage of it.  It was a pretty short discussion, and they noted the need to do cost-benefit analysis with each potential annexation situation.

The Study Session concluded with a discussion of the Council Newsletter, and the decision to accept KTRM’s proposal to document the beginning November 3rd at the cost of $170 per meeting for a trial run of their next 3 meetings.  They also discussed sidewalk construction delays.

Cheers, and if you want to contact the City Council please visit their website for contact information.  They’re cool people, they were playing with model airplanes before the meeting began and talking about how cute the animals at the Humane Society were, so don’t hesistate to email or call them if you’ve got a question or concern.

Casey