By Kyle Siegel
Staff writer
The Sedalia City Council met for a work session and regular council meeting on Monday, Aug. 20, where they approved the rezoning application for Ball Sedalia Properties, which operates in Sedalia as Rick Ball Ford.
The approval will allow for the rezoning of properties located at 814 State Fair Boulevard, 810 State Fair Boulevard, 2302 Kay Avenue, 2306 Kay Avenue, and 901 Herold.
The properties will be rezoned from a R-1 Residential to a C-3 Commercial zone.
This will allow Rick Ball to begin work on their new Ford Motors car lot, as well as an undisclosed car company lot.
The council also approved the vacating of Herold Avenue between Kay Avenue and West Highway 50.
The city and utility companies will still retain the easement rights for the upkeep and repair of their services.
The request to extend Kay Avenue from its current dead end status to State Fair Boulevard was rescinded by Rick Ball Ford after safety officials deemed the current entrance to the housing division would not cause any safety hazards to the current occupants.
The original rezoning application included the 900 State Fair Boulevard address, but that was rescinded as well after hearing the safety report about the 11th Street entrance.
The News-Journal had a chance to speak with Rick Ball Ford General Manager Ryan Ball about the council’s decision.
Ball was asked if the company was pleased with the council’s decision.
“Yes, we definitely are pleased,” Ball said.
During the council meeting Rick Ball spoke to the council, and those in attendance from the community, to help alleviate any concerns about the appearance of the neighborhood with the addition of the new dealerships.
“The standards are very high for any car dealerships, including new ones.
“We are trying to show as good of faith as we can for the neighborhood,” Rick Ball said.
Ryan Ball reiterated those sentiments.
“We want everybody to be happy, and we don’t want a bad reputation. We have always worked with people in the past. What we will do will be first class.
“It will be something for the whole town to be proud of when they see it,” Ball said.
Ball was asked when they plan to start the project.
“The first plan will be the Ford building. We are working with architects now, and we have it all surveyed. The Ford lot is the main thing right now,” he said.
During the pre-council meeting there was discussion and an agreement reached concerning a funding gap for the Convention and Visitor’s Bureau (CVB).
The current contract between the CVB and the Sedalia Area Chamber of Commerce ends on September 30.
This will leave a funding gap for approximately six weeks before revenues from the new lodging tax begin to come in.
City Administrator Gary Edwards spoke to the representatives of the CVB, as well as council members, concerning the total amount of revenue assistance that would be given upon council approval.
“We are suggesting that rent be added to salary,” Edwards said.
City staff recommended that a total of $4,800 be given to the CVB to cover salary and rent expenses over a six week period. That breaks down to $800 a week.
That is a figure that the CVB has determined will not cover all of their expenses during the gap time.
“The agreement that the council approved falls short of what we need,” Executive Director of the CVB Carolyn Crooker said.
According to Crooker to there are still some costs to consider, including insurance and some accounting issues.
“There will still be some hurtles,” Crooker said.
She added, “The tax begins collecting on October 1. The hotels start collecting that day, so they won’t have any for a while.
“It will take a little time. About November 15 will be when the money is available.”
The council also approved the new property tax rate for 2012. This is a yearly process.
The council approved the new property tax rate of $.9290 per $100.00 assessed value of a property. They also approved a rate of $.6524 per $100.00 assessed value for the Special Business District for 2012.
During the regular meeting, the council approved a change order for the #1Final for pipe cleaning and CCTV inspection of Sanitary Sewer Lines #2.
In April, the council approved a change order for the pipe cleaning and CCTV inspection for a deduction of $126,058.76.
Due to incorrect final quantities, the amount was misquoted. The new change order corrects this, deducting $128,016.83. This bring the contract price to a total of $282,923.17.
In other council news, the Sedalia City Council approved and accepted an agreement between the city and H.W. Lochner, Inc. for improvements to the Sedalia Regional Airport.
These costs are for the engineering and bidding services associated with the construction of taxi lanes for a future 10-Unit T-Hangar, and the construction of a paved hangar access road.
The total contract amount is not to exceed $29,250.00. Grant money will pay for the majority of the costs.
The council also approved an amendment to the State Block Agreement between the city and the Missouri Highways & Transportation Commission regarding improvements at the Sedalia Regional Airport.
The original agreement was approved in September of 2010. The total grant award was for $92,435.
The commission has now made available additional funding of $89,490 that may be used for runway construction. There is a required city match of no less than $4,710.
