Exeter moves forward with city attorney, water changes in council meeting
January 23, 2019
Vinnie Roberts
On Thursday, January 10, the Exeter City Council had its first meeting of the new year. Many issues were discussed, prompting some policy changes within the city. These changes involve city court proceedings, repairs to the water and sewer systems, and water billing.
First, the council made a decision on the selection of the new city attorney. It was determined that city prosecutor and city attorney would no longer be served by a single attorney. Instead, current attorney Jim LeCompte would remain the prosecutor while Blake Fields will serve as the city attorney. Both have offices in Cassville.
Fields was one of two attorneys who put in a bid for the position, the other being attorney Darlene Parrigon, of Pierce City. Parrigon offered an hourly rate of $150, while Fields offered a flat rate of $100 a month for three months with an option to adjust the rate after the three-month period ends.
In addition, the city ruled that repairs and renovations would be made to the Exeter dog pound after learning that the city will have to hold stray dogs for five to seven days before employees can take the animals to Haven of the Ozarks. The city plans to add cedar chips to the concrete floor, as well as wire to the posts that support the pound, and add a new dog house in order to adhere to USDA regulations.
The city is also working on changes to the court system. Previously, all Exeter Court records were kept in house at City Hall. Under this new system, the court clerk will upload documents online in the Show-Me Court system. Exeter's records will not be fully available online until March.
“It will help us collect fines from people who have evaded us for years,” said court clerk Marissa Robbins during the meeting.
The system also posts cases to MoCaseNet, which allows plaintiffs and citizens to track court proceedings related to Exeter’s Municipal court.
It was also determined that, due to complaints from constituents regarding lack of night time patrol, Exeter Police officer Willie Stephens would be splitting his hours between nighttime and daytime at irregular intervals.
"He’s doing an awesome job with his day time hours at the crosswalk, and he does a lot,” said mayor pro tem Rhonda Scott. “There are always people who would like to see some night time patrol. It could be at his choosing what he needs to do so that it’s not a set time so people don’t get used to it.”
City council also approved funds to repair a supplemental pump within city well one. The pump was reportedly starting to fail. The pump cost was $125.
Additionally, the council approved funding to repair the sewer system. The sewer will require new solenoids, which will cost the city $200 and a new starter for an electrical panel that has shut down, costing $1,009.
Additionally, the sand filter pits at the Exeter sewage facility are full of sand that has been in the pits for upwards of 20 years, according to information presented during the meeting by Robbins. One pit no longer functions while the other barely functions.
Enviroline, Inc. has been brought on by the city to give an estimate on either rebuilding or replacing the sand pits.
Finally, council agreed to remove a long-standing guideline regarding water billing. Previously, the city wouldn’t commit to shutting off a citizen’s water unless the outstanding balance was over $200. However, the city did not adhere to the policy, opting on a regular basis to shut off water to most customers with a recurrent delinquent amount on their bill.
Moving forward, the city will issue a shutoff notice after the first missed payment, after which citizens will have ten days to pay their outstanding balance or their water will be shut off.
Vinnie Roberts
On Thursday, January 10, the Exeter City Council had its first meeting of the new year. Many issues were discussed, prompting some policy changes within the city. These changes involve city court proceedings, repairs to the water and sewer systems, and water billing.
First, the council made a decision on the selection of the new city attorney. It was determined that city prosecutor and city attorney would no longer be served by a single attorney. Instead, current attorney Jim LeCompte would remain the prosecutor while Blake Fields will serve as the city attorney. Both have offices in Cassville.
Fields was one of two attorneys who put in a bid for the position, the other being attorney Darlene Parrigon, of Pierce City. Parrigon offered an hourly rate of $150, while Fields offered a flat rate of $100 a month for three months with an option to adjust the rate after the three-month period ends.
In addition, the city ruled that repairs and renovations would be made to the Exeter dog pound after learning that the city will have to hold stray dogs for five to seven days before employees can take the animals to Haven of the Ozarks. The city plans to add cedar chips to the concrete floor, as well as wire to the posts that support the pound, and add a new dog house in order to adhere to USDA regulations.
The city is also working on changes to the court system. Previously, all Exeter Court records were kept in house at City Hall. Under this new system, the court clerk will upload documents online in the Show-Me Court system. Exeter's records will not be fully available online until March.
“It will help us collect fines from people who have evaded us for years,” said court clerk Marissa Robbins during the meeting.
The system also posts cases to MoCaseNet, which allows plaintiffs and citizens to track court proceedings related to Exeter’s Municipal court.
It was also determined that, due to complaints from constituents regarding lack of night time patrol, Exeter Police officer Willie Stephens would be splitting his hours between nighttime and daytime at irregular intervals.
"He’s doing an awesome job with his day time hours at the crosswalk, and he does a lot,” said mayor pro tem Rhonda Scott. “There are always people who would like to see some night time patrol. It could be at his choosing what he needs to do so that it’s not a set time so people don’t get used to it.”
City council also approved funds to repair a supplemental pump within city well one. The pump was reportedly starting to fail. The pump cost was $125.
Additionally, the council approved funding to repair the sewer system. The sewer will require new solenoids, which will cost the city $200 and a new starter for an electrical panel that has shut down, costing $1,009.
Additionally, the sand filter pits at the Exeter sewage facility are full of sand that has been in the pits for upwards of 20 years, according to information presented during the meeting by Robbins. One pit no longer functions while the other barely functions.
Enviroline, Inc. has been brought on by the city to give an estimate on either rebuilding or replacing the sand pits.
Finally, council agreed to remove a long-standing guideline regarding water billing. Previously, the city wouldn’t commit to shutting off a citizen’s water unless the outstanding balance was over $200. However, the city did not adhere to the policy, opting on a regular basis to shut off water to most customers with a recurrent delinquent amount on their bill.
Moving forward, the city will issue a shutoff notice after the first missed payment, after which citizens will have ten days to pay their outstanding balance or their water will be shut off.