No action taken on councilman’s fireworks complaints

By R.D. HOHENFELDT
Managing Editor/The Ozarks Almanac

Councilman Kelly Long tried again Monday night to cut down the number of days people can shoot fireworks in the city limits, but he didn’t have enough help from  other councilmen to get the job done.
“Independence Day is the fourth of July,” Long said. “Why allow it (discharge of fireworks) on July 1, 2, 3 or 5?”
Long, Ward 3 representative, has in past years tried to persuade council members to diminish the days of celebration, owing to complaints from his constituents, in particular one neighbor who goes to work at 3 a.m. weekdays.
“As my neighbor pointed out to me, July the fifth is not Independence Day,” Long said. “It (was) Wednesday.” And Wednesday was a workday for most working men and women in Rolla like the neighbor.
Long said other holidays are not extended with nuisance celebrations.
“I took my children trick-or-treating on Halloween,” he said.  That is Oct. 31, not Oct. 27, 28, 29, 30 and Nov. 1, 2 or 3.
Using sales tax figures and industry spending figures, Long presented a case that, at most, just 1,890 people bought fireworks in Rolla during the selling days allowed by city code, June 30, July 1-7.
The city code, specifically Chapter14 allows the discharge of fireworks on July 1-5.
Long said he would be willing to allow it on July 3 as well as July 4, but he indicated he wouldn’t stop there. Although he emphasized that he does not want anyone to think that he is completely opposed to discharging fireworks, he said, “My goal is to celebrate the Fourth of July on July 4 from 9 a.m. to midnight.”
There was some push-back from the mayor and other councilmen.
“People enjoy it,” said Mayor Lou Magdits IV about the discharging of fireworks on and around the fourth day of July.
Councilman J.D. Williams, Ward 5, noted that the purpose of allowing the sale of fireworks after the holiday itself is to get rid of stock inventory.
And Councilman Don Morris, Ward 4, said the sellers collect sales tax that is remitted to the city.
Councilman Long said he received complaints, in addition to his working neighbor, from pet owners and combat service veterans.
“One veteran told me that he can go to Lions Club to see the display and it doesn’t bother him,” Long said. That’s because the display is staged and the discharges are expected. The intermittent, unexpected and relentless explosions, especially at night, are disturbing to the veteran.
Regarding sales taxes collected, Long said the amount of taxes is relatively minor.
Councilman Jonathan Hines, Ward 1, said that although fireworks fans discharge the explosives for five days of the year, “there are 360 days they don’t.” He indicated that he could live with that.
But Long continued, and entered a motion to limit the sale of fireworks to July 1-4 and the discharge of them to July 3-4.
Councilman Matthew Crowell, in the discussion after the motion was entered, asked if it might be more logical to limit the sale of high-decibel fireworks rather than all of the explosives. That led to a discussion of the need for additional manpower to go into the various vendors’ tents and selling places--there were apparently six of them--and check each item.
That was judged too time-consuming and expensive.
The motion failed.
Long then attempted another motion, limiting the sale to June 30-July 5. That, too, failed to pass.
In other council action or discussion:
* The council held a public hearing and heard first reading of an ordinance that would rezone some lots from C-1 to C-3 between Faulkner and Rucker avenues, east of Bishop Avenue (U.S. 63) and south of Black Street. The rezoning would allow for the construction of an “enhanced Sonic drive-in,” said Steve Flowers, city codes enforcement officer, who presented the request from Sonic owners to the council.
Final reading and a vote will take place at the next council meeting, the first Monday of August.
* On a related ordinance proposal, first reading was heard on the vacating of Faulkner Avenue for 100-plus feet to tie in the lots fronted by Bishop Avenue with those fronted by Faulkner. This would allow a future replatting of the lots into one lot so the main building, a storage shed, a playground and volleyball court can be constructed without being separated by a street or crossing lot lots. The preliminary site plan puts a building squarely on what is now Faulkner Avenue.
* The council set aside the final reading of an ordinance to allow an agreement with the College Hills West Sewer District,
* A Complete Streets Policy was approved.
* First reading and final readings were heard and an ordinance was passed to authorize and agreement with the Missouri Department of Transportation to amend the airport business plan.
* First reading was heard of an ordinance to limit parking on 11th Street between Jimmy Johns and Infuze Credit Unit.
* Fire Chief Ron Smith presented a city Life Saving Award to firefighters Dillon Barnes and Dalton Hayes for saving the life of Kent Summers at Route 66 Summerfest.

Editor’s Note: watch for more details about the council meeting here at the Ozarks Almanac/Ozarks Chronicle this week and in the first issue of the Phelps County Focus newspaper, which will be published Aug. 2.

Sonic seeks property rezoning for new restaurant

R.D. HOHENFELDT
Managing Editor

Rolla City Council Monday night will hear the first reading of an ordinance to rezone three lots and half of another, all between Faulkner and Rucker Avenues mid-block between Black Street and Highway 72.
Owners of Sonic have asked for the rezoning from C-1 (neighborhood business district) to C-3 (highway commercial district) zoning.
In addition, the Sonic owners have asked for a portion of Faulkner Avenue to be vacated, so the three lots in the area to be rezoned can be joined to lots between Faulkner Avenue and Bishop Avenue (U.S. 63), to make way for a new and expanded Sonic restaurant.
“The current Sonic would be closed,” Michael Calkins, a part-owner of the local Sonic franchise, told The Ozarks Chronicle/Ozarks Almanac after the Rolla Planning and Zoning Commission meeting Tuesday afternoon. “We plan on more parking bays, a drive-through and a playground.”
Calkins said the plan is to make the restaurant a “destination spot.” He said the expanded restaurant would, for instance, be a place to hold children’s birthday parties.
Asked if there is a timeline for the project, Calkins said, “It all depends on what happens next.”
What happens next will be decided by the Rolla City Council on the rezoning and the street vacating. That will likely take at least two council meetings.
The council will take up the commission’s approval of the rezoning request at the Monday night meeting, but council policy is to hear only the first reading (except in emergency situations) to give the public time to hear about impending ordinance changes and offer opinions to their ward councilmen. That means final reading and a vote on the rezoning change won’t take place until the meeting on the first Monday night in August.
There will be a public hearing on the rezoning change at the Monday night meeting. It is likely that the public hearing at the council meeting will be a lot like the public hearing at the commission meeting, with neighbors offering no opposition to the rezoning but questioning the need and the fairness of the vacating of the street.
City Codes Enforcement Officer Steve Flowers presented the requests to the commission, a task that usually fell to the community development director. John Petersen retired from that position at the end of June, so Flowers will fill in until a successor is hired.
Flowers noted that D.L. Rogers Corp., of  Grapevine, Texas, a suburb of the Dallas/Fort Worth metroplex,  was the primary applicant for the rezoning and the vacating.of the street.
The legal description of the area to be rezoned is Lots 3, 5 and 6 of Block 7 of Cowan’s Addition and the west half of Lot 4 of Block 7 of Cowan’s Addition.
Flowers said there are some buildings on those lots currently; they will be demolished. He said the vacating of the street will not include placing a curb across the street. The Rolla Fire and Rescue Department has asked that no curb or obstruction be placed there that would make it difficult for emergency vehicles to enter.
The site consists of 0.88 acre, excluding the street right-of-way that could be vacated. That is 34,397 square feet. The main building will be 1,817 square feet, There will be a 256 detached storage building. The rest of the property will hold landscaped areas, 57 parking spaces, a 1,500-square-foot playground and a 2,250-square-foot volleyball court, according to the current site plan.
There was no opposition to the rezoning from the audience during the public hearing. Some members of the audience asked about expanding the rezoning to all the lots between Faulkner and Rucker avenues on the west and east and Black Street and Missouri 72 on the north and south.
Flowers explained that the people with a vested interest in the other lots had not applied for the rezoning, and commission Chairman Don Brown briefly outlined the procedure obtaining a rezoning.
What concerns a couple of the neighbors is the closing of that short section of Faulkner Avenue. Tom Lin and Sundra Lin, owners of a lot between the property in question on the south and Zane’s Tires on the north, both spoke to the commission.
They explained that they plan on building a business on their lot, which fronts Bishop Avenue and has Faulkner Avenue on its other side. Tom Lin noted that customers of whatever business they build will have to turn north only, going to Black Street if the Sonic vacating is granted. If that request is not given, customers could turn south and go to Missouri 72 (where they would have to turn west only, due to an esplanade dividing the traffic.
Sundra Lin questioned the fairness of closing the street, noting that leaving the street open will help all of the driving public while closing it will help only the owner of the property, the Sonic franchisees.
Commissioner William Lindgren asked Flowers if the city would be reimbursed by Sonic for vacating the public right-of-way. Commission Chairman Brown interjected that he remembered no remuneration for any vacating of any street.
Lindgren said that it was his opinion the commission should go ahead and follow Flowers’s recommendation that they approve the vacating of the street to “put it in a larger forum.” That is what they did with only Commissioner Monte Shields voting against the approval.
Approval by the commission, an advisory body, is actually a recommendation that the council approve the measure.

Council approves Buehler Park master plan

R.D. HOHENFELDT
Managing Editor

With nary a no vote, the Rolla City Council Wednesday night approved a resolution affirming its support of the Buehler Park  Master Plan that includes a dog park.
No roll call vote was cast on the resolution, but the room was quiet when Mayor Lou Magdits IV called for opposing votes.
Eleven councilmen were present. Missing was Ward 3 Councilman David Schott, who in previous meetings had posed questions about building a dog park in Buehler Park. Schott would have been there if the council had met on its regular night, Monday, but the council reset the meeting because some members had indicated a desire to take a long Independence Day holiday weekend; Schott had rearranged his schedule, taking off Wednesday for a trip rather than Monday, thinking the council meeting would be held on its regular schedule.
Instead, he sent a letter that was read by Mayor Magdits prior to the vote. In that letter, he said the Buehler Park site makes perfect sense if the purpose of the dog park is to show hospitality to travelers who stop in Rolla to rest and eat. A different site, one with more available property and nearer to residential areas, would make perfect sense if the purpose of the dog park is to serve local residents and taxpayers.
Schott acknowledged that both purposes have benefits.
The dog park is one improvement proposed in the master plan for the 3.2-acre park on the west side of the city near where the Westside Marketplace will be built.
A few other improvements are new playground equipment, bathrooms, water line, electric upgrades for the pavilion, fence along Kingshighway and walking trail around the park.
In other business or discussion:
* The council heard about a plan to turn Pine Street into one one-way lane with angled parking spaces on both sides. Currently it has two one-way lanes with parallel parking spaces on both sides. City Administrator John Butz said the Rolla Downtown Business Association members like the idea, and he asked council members to think about the change.
* The annual city audit report was presented by Tammy Alsop, representing Hochschild, Bloom & Co. LLC, CPAs. Alsop said the audit shows the financial statements to be accurate and the auditors gave the city the highest ranking for its records.
* By an 11-1 vote, the council approved an ordinance on plugging of existing wells. Councilman John Meusch, Ward 4, voted against it.
* Unanimously, the council approved an ordinance to disallow parking on the short stretch of Elm Street between IHOP and Breaktime, which are on US 63.
* Also unanimously, the council approved an ordinance allowing a contract with the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission for the construction of handicapped walkways.
* No action was taken, but the council heard a report from Nell Davis, a Missouri University of Science and Technology student who is an intern for the Public Works Department, on a Complete Streets Policy. The council will take time to study the policy before voting, possibly at the next meeting this month.
* First reading of an ordinance was heard that if approved would set up an agreement between the city and the College Hills West Sewer District.
* Heard on first and passed on final reading was an ordinance allowing a contract with McConnell and Associations for tennis court improvements. The council took similar action last meeting, but City Counselor Carolyn Buschjost further reviewed the documents, found she had questions and made changes that both the company and the city agreed to support.
* Mayor Magdits appointed, and the council ratified, the following people: Monte Shields to another term on the Planning and Zoning Commission; Dr. Janece Martin to another term on the P&Z commission, and Terry Harris to the Tax Increment Finance Commission.
*Mayor Magdits noted the Transportation Development District Board had met earlier in the day and had authorized distribution of money, including reimbursement to the city for certain actions previously taken.

Rolla City Council holding public hearing on Buehler Park

Monday night’s Rolla City Council meeting will open with a public hearing on the Buehler Park Master Plan that was unveiled at the May 15 meeting.
Council members presumably have received much feedback from the public in those intervening three weeks.
Three weeks ago, the council and administration asked that residents attend the hearing scheduled for June 19, so a crowd might be likely at tonight’s meeting, which could turn out to be a long one.
In other business or discussion on Monday night’s agenda:
* The council will hear first reading of an ordinance limiting parking on Elm Street next to the new IHOP restaurant and Breaktime convenience store.
* First reading will be heard on an ordinance to authorize a contract with the Missouri Department of Transportation for handicapped accessibility improvements.
* First reading will also be heard on an ordinance to authorize plugging of existing wells.
* A motion to authorize destruction of certain city records will be heard and voted on.
* Also taken up will be a resolution regarding a bank depository services bid.
* A resolution to authorize a contract for the resurfacing of the Ber Juan Park tennis courts will be heard. The bid was accepted three weeks ago.
* The council will vote on Ted Day’s reappointment by Mayor Lou Magdits IV to the Enhanced Enterprise Zone Board.
The public hearing on the Ber Juan Park Master Plan will be used to answer the mayor’s question posted three weeks ago: “What are we going to do with that facility that has been under-invested in for many years?”
As I reported in the Rolla Daily News after the meeting:

He posed that question after pointing out that traffic going past Buehler Park will increase over the next few years with the extension of Missouri 72 out to a point near the park, along with the construction of a shopping center across the interstate from that site, as well as a plan to divert traffic from U.S. 63 to the interstate in that direction.
The mayor said the city staff and the parks and recreation advisory boards have been wrangling with a master plan for several months. Although that basic plan for improvements has been formulated--the mayor described it as a road map, apparently indicating that direction could be changed at any time--the council will have to vote on each spending package as they come up over the next few years.
“What we’re looking for in two weeks is your blessing” on the whole concept, the mayor said. That blessing, or vote, could come in two weeks, following a public hearing, or it could take place at the first July meeting, scheduled for July 3, but likely to change because it is sandwiched between the weekend and the Independence Day holiday on Tuesday, July 4.
Floyd Jernigan, Rolla parks and recreation director, presented the specifics of the plan.
First, the renovations and their current price tags:
* New playground set or pieces, retaining the dinosaur theme and the existing trees as much as possible): $70,000-$90,000.
* Bathroom: $50,000.
* Water line: $3,000.
* Pavilion electric upgrade: $3,000.
* Fence along Kingshighway: $8,000.
* Parking lot overlay ($35,000 plus 415,000 for additional parking.
* Walway trail around the park perimeter: $40,000
* New parks signage (stone), $4,500
* Parking lot directional,$1,500
* Replace civic club sign (depending on clubs’ donations)
* Pavilion renovation (new paint, etc.): $4,000:
* Security lighting: $1,000.
The time line as laid out by Jernigan:
* Phase 1: Water, sewer line improvements, parking paved, this summer, already budgeted.
* Phase 2: Restroom, pavilion upgrade: summer 2018
Phase 3 playground: summer 2019.
* Phase 4: Signage, security lighting, fencing, summer 2020 or later, depending on completion of Highway 72 extension.
* Phase 5: Walkway trail, summer 2021.
Now, here’s the potentially controversial part of the plan: It includes a dog park, about a half-acre of the park  in the back, in what park supporters call “the meadow.”
Jernigan said the dog park would be fenced from the rest of the park and it would be fenced into three parts, an area for small dogs, an area for large dogs and an area in between that would be a rotation area. From time to time, as the need arises, either the large dog area or the small dog area would be shut off and the dogs would use the rotation area while the designated area recovers.
Jernigan said the dog park would be completed when the private group finishes the financing for its construction. That group will continue to pay for maintenance costs of the dog park, at least for the fencing, and the city and volunteers will help with the labor.
Although he presented it, the plan is not solely Jernigan’s. Work on it started over a year ago with a staff review of parks needs in April and May 2016. An open house was held in June last year to give the local residents a chance to see photos of the degraded condition of the park equipment. The residents also were invited to write on cards their desires for the parks.
In August, the city came up with a list of 14 possible dog park locations. That list was narrowed to seven in October. Also in October,  the Parks Advisory Commission heard presentations from the public and the city staff about Buehler Park and a dog park.
The Parks Advisory Commission talked about these issues again in January. Then in February, another open house for public comment was held.
At its March meeting, the Parks Advisory Commission reviewed the open house comments and talked about options.
Finally, on April 12, the Parks Advisory Commission met at Buehler Park for a walk-through and question-and-answer session with the staff.
There were some questions Monday night.
Fifth Ward Councilman Brian Woolley asked if the park is large enough to warrant a walking trail.
Jernigan said more walking trails ranked No. 4 in the comments from the public at the open houses, He said the walking trail is at the end of the timeline, and the council could change course if it found that a walking trail indeed was out of place there.
Councilman David Schott, Ward 3, indicated his concern that the dog park would be used more by outsiders than by local people. These outsiders, he said, would be travelers stopping in Rolla to rest, eat, stretch, perhaps let the dogs run and use the walking trail themselves.
The other Ward 3 council representative, Kelly Long, said if the concern about outsiders using the dog park is used as an argument against it, spending on the entire park might be in jeopardy, for the same argument of outsiders’ use could be made for the pavilions, the playground and the hoped-for restroom.
In response to a question from Matthew Crowell, Ward 2, Jernigan noted that with the Missouri 72 extension, there will be a reconfiguration of Kingshighway in front of the park, a change that will result in about half an acre of land going to the park, about the same as the size of the area the dog park would take on the other side of the park.
Crowell said it sounded like there would be no loss of land with the construction of the dog park, and there would be no loss of public funds on the construction of the dog park if it is paid for by the private fundraising group.
Councilman J.D. Williams asked about the site on Lions Club Drive next to where the new Rolla Animal Shelter is said to be going.
Mayor Magdits said that if the dog park is built there, it is highly likely it will have to be done with city taxpayers’ dollars. Moreover, he said, as yet there is no funding for a new Rolla Animal Shelter.
There was some more back-and-forth on that topic, and by the time the discussion was over, the question seemed to be framed this way: Which would Rolla residents prefer: 1.)  a dog park in Buehler Park, paid for and maintained by a local support group with private funds or 2.) a dog park on Lions Club Drive next to the as-yet-non-existent new animal shelter, paid for with thousands of taxpayer dollars?
Voters, taxpayers and residents have an opportunity to contact their council representatives before the June 21 meeting. They also have an opportunity to talk to the council at the public hearing on that night.
One who will speak against the dog park is Tom Sager, a Buehler Park supporter who has invested much time and money in that park facility. He said after the council meeting that he favors a restroom, water line, parking, a fence to protect children from traffic and even a walking trail. What he does not support is a dog park at Buehler Park.
He opposes fencing anywhere but on the perimeter. He opposes having a dog park in proximity to children’s playground, for fear a dog could get out and hurt a child.
Kent Bagnall, the driving force behind the fund-raising for the dog park, presented  a case last year to the council for a dog park at Buehler Park. He attended the meeting Monday night and indicated he would be present for the public hearing. He left after Jernigan’s presentation, and was not available for comment after the meeting.

Council accepts bid for street overlay, makes appointments

The Rolla City Council Monday, May 15, accepted a bid of $189,994 from Donald Maggi Inc. for city Public Works Project No. 401 for street overlay and handicapped curb ramp improvements on Salem Avenue. This was the low bid, and it is contingent on the approval, too, of the Missouri Department of Transportation, which is administering the federal funds that will be passed through to the city for this project.

The council also heard first reading of an ordinance authorizing a contract with Donald Maggi Inc. Final reading and passage will be at the first meeting next month.
In other business, the council approved the appointment by Mayor Lou Magdits of Diana L. Ahmad to the Library Board, succeeding Tom Sager whose term expires June 1. She will serve through May 2020.

The council also approved appointments of Councilmen John Meusch, Don Morris and Matthew Crowell to the Finance/Audit Committee.

The appointments of Morris, J.D. Williams and Walt Bowe to the Environmental Services Committee were also approved.

Rezoning requests have no public opposition at hearings

There were no comments for or against two rezoning proposals in public hearings held by the Rolla City Council Monday night, May 15. Both rezoning requests were recommended by the Planning and Zoning Commission last week.

The council heard presentations from Community Development Director John Petersen on both rezoning requests, then held public hearings and heard first reading of the ordinances. Final readings and passage will occur at the first meeting in June, three weeks hence.

Taken up first was the requested rezoning of 2100 Vichy Road from R-1 (single family district) zoning to C-0 (office district) zoning.

“This zoning allows an office environment only,” Petersen said. No sale or rental of goods will be allowed. Such a zoning allows for offices for, say, accountants, architects or attorneys.

Or, in this case, engineers. Joe Heberlie, of Missouri Engineering, told the council prior to the public hearing that his mother-in-law, Carol Ann Parks owns the house, wants to sell it, and his company needs it.

Councilmen questioned Petersen about parking. He said there was room enough on the lot to allow for the required parking spaces, about half a dozen.

The other rezoning request was for one lot in a gated community at the intersection of White Columns Drive and Crinoidal Court.

That rezoning request, if approved, will bring Lot 9 of the Kayser North Hills Resubdivision No. 2 into compliance with Lots 1-8 and 10, which were rezoned from R-1 to R-3 last year to allow for the construction of the gated community that is being called The Lodges of Rolla.

The planning commission recommended the council approve the rezoning ordinance;

Later on the Monday night agenda, the council heard first reading of another ordinance on the Kayser North Hills Resubdivision. No public hearing was required on this ordinance.

The owners, Rolla Investors LLC, want to make the 10 lots into one lot, so they have submitted a new plat for a subdivision to be called Rolla Investors No. 1. This move will include the vacating of adjacent Crinoidal Court right-of-way and the utility easements for the 10 lots.

That ordinance was recommended unanimously by the planning commission.

Dickey Bub gets final clearance for outdoor displays

The Dickey Bub saga appears to  be over.
Monday night, May 15, the Rolla City Council heard final reading of an ordinance amending a previous rezoning ordinance that started the saga, or at least a mini-saga.
The vote was 10-0 to allow Dickey Bub Farm and Home, newest tenant of the Forum Plaza shopping center to put merchandise outside the store.

When the store moved in last month, products were put outside on the parking lot perimeter along the 10th Street side and the west side next to an empty former convenience store.

That was not allowed in the restrictions the council added a year ago to a rezoning ordinance sought by the owners of Forum Plaza, Super Market Developers. Then, the property was rezoned to C-3, highway commercial district.

“There were visual concerns,” City Administrator John Butz said, reminding the council that the city is in partnership with the Super Market Developers in the Community Improvement District taxing board, so the city  is “concerned about the economic viability” of the shopping center.

That's why the city had restricted outdoor storage to the south side of the building. Also, the city required the outdoor display area be fenced.

Super Market Developers, needing a tenant, went along with restrictions.

According to testimony given a couple of meetings ago by Dickey Bub owners, though, those restrictions weren't adequately communicated to them by Super Market Developers.

“Dickey Bub has been very accommodating,” Butz told the council Monday night. His written agenda commentary explained further: “Initially, during the store’s start-up and opening, the materials stored outside were extensive. Once aware of the restriction, Dickey Bub reorganized the outdoor merchandise display and shifted much of (it) to the southern and western boundaries of the parking lot and back indoors.”

Dickey Bub owners told the council in previous meetings that they wanted  permission to add the storage along the southern side of the parking lot next to the 10^th Street. They noted that what will be outside the fence will be seasonal merchandise, much of it for the spring and summer growing season.

They got that permission with passage of the ordinance Monday night.

In addition, the displays in front of the store are allowed

The new ordinance that ends the saga states: “The storage, display or sale of merchandise outdoors shall be limited to the area south of the building and north of Tenth Street, and immediately adjacent to the west side of the building. In addition, storage of outdoor merchandise shall also be permitted in an area 60 feet by 15 feet immediately north of Tenth Street … but at no time shall the height of merchandise, seasonal or otherwise, exceed six feet in height.”

Parking spaces must number 160.