Doniphan Council To Revive Community Garden, Revise Citywide Yard Sale

The March 3 meeting of the Doniphan City Council highlighted key issues including revival of the community garden, changes to the annual citywide yard sale, and approval of a $14,930 bid for repair of the retaining wall in front of the fire department, just to name a few.

The busy session also included the presentation of an employee evaluation program, a decision that will turn an unsightly lot into a playground, and vandalism at Riverfront Park.

The city began the meeting with a discussion of one item of old business.

Alderman Riley March presented an employee evaluation program which he developed for the purpose of determining merit salary increases.

The program, which is computer based, calculates a score based on ratings for five questions relative to the employee’s job performance.

Alderman March will provide the department heads with a copy of the program so that they can decide on any changes they might like to make. The topic will be revisited at a future meeting.

The council approved a bid for $14,930 from Current River Reddi Mix, LLC, for materials and labor for repairing the retaining wall in front of the city fire department. The bid includes providing liability insurance.

The city had set aside $13,000 in the budget for this particular project, and previous bids were too high. However, the council felt this bid to be acceptable.

The council approved a motion to withdraw its lein on the property at 404 Jackson. The city has had the property since 2017 and invested $5,222 in demolishing a structure that was there. However, since that time, attempts to sell the property and recover the investment have been unsuccessful.

“The property is too small to build anything on it, and it is really not worth what we have in it,” said Mayor Dennis Cox. “I recommend we forgo the cost of our tear down, and let the school buy it,” he said.

The Doniphan R-I district is willing to pay the back taxes owed on the property, which Cox said is about $800 or so, and turn it into a playground for the Pre-K students.

Alderman March, who is on the Doniphan R-I school board, abstained from voting.

Among other discussions, it was noted that although sales tax was up for the month of February, use tax is still down, and overall tax revenues are down $38,000 compared to last year.

City Utilities Director Jarret Ficke reported vandalism of the restroom and a part of the fencing around the pickle ball field at the Riverfront Park.

He stated that weather has interfered with the hydrant on Walnut Street being repaired, but he expected someone to evaluate it this week. If it can’t be done this week, it will need to be postponed until summer when school is out.

Attorney Miller said the planning and zoning committee met and approved the developers’ plans for construction of one of the two housing projects, which is being funded through a grant obtained by Ozark Foothills Regional Planning Commission. The other developer’s plans were defered for now, due to a blueprint that was handed in late, but they will reconvene and go over that paperwork very soon.

City Treasurer Chasity Mathis said there has been interest in using the city’s community garden, which was initially funded by a grant.

There is no longer grant money left in the budget to fund the project. The garden has been unused for a couple of years, and now needs some work, said Mathis. She asked for permission to invest some of the city’s money to revive the project. The council approved spending $2,000 for soil and repair of the planters.

Mathis advised the council there will be changes in the upcoming citywide clean-up, which is scheduled in May, due to a decreased in volunteers

“We have been getting up to 100 pick-up orders, and the number of helpers has gradually dwindled,” she explained.

Therefore, residents will be asked to bring their items to the city lot, rather than have them picked up. There will be dumpsters available, and those who bring their trash to the drop off site will need to show a city water bill statement as proof of residency.

Old tires will no longer be accepted.

The issue of unmarked residences was brought up. Some of the homes no longer have numbers on them, which is a safety hazard during emergency situations. Ambulance drivers can’t quickly find the residence they are looking and must waste valuable time knocking on doors to locate the source of the calls.

There is no ordinance mandating that numbers be displayed; however, Miller suggested that the city make a list and go to each residence and explain the problem, and ask homeowners to volunteer to remedy the situation by putting numbers on their houses or mailboxes.