Scott City council discusses joint 911 call center with Sikeston

At Tuesday night's Scott City City Council meeting the main topics of discussion centered around the possibility of working regionally with other police departments to begin a 911 call center, street improvements and cleaning the city cemetery.

City administrator Ron Eskew brought to the council the possibility of working with the Sikeston Department of Public Safety on a 911 control center. He said Scott County Presiding Commissioner Jamie Burger approached him about the idea.

Mayor Tim Porch pointed out city tax dollars would not support the center and that an agreement with mobile phone companies would have to go into effect before it would be possible. The council agreed and Eskew was asked to get more details on the possible project.

Other business

The council agreed to send a check for approximately $247,000 to the Missouri Department of Transportation so it can begin plans for improvements to Route K and Main St. MoDOT will be offering a bid in March and the city is hopeful construction will begin at the beginning of summer. Plans are in place to add a center turn lane to the road, widen it and improve drainage issues.

Police chief David Leeman discussed multiple items, first was instating reserve officers Kenny Massa and Tanner Hiett. Massa has worked with the department before and Hiett is recently graduated from the police academy. Leeman also discussed selling one of their Crown Victoria police cars that had sustained damage and replacing five guns for the department. The largest issue Leeman discussed was replacing the computers and filing system that contains the department's records. The machinery being use is out-of-date and if the computer crashes before it's replaced, there is no means of replacing that exact model and program. The council approved Leeman's request of working with a new company to purchase the necessary programs and filing system.

Also discussed was weekly-monitored cleansings of the city cemetery. Loved ones have been leaving glass statues, mementos and other unapproved items at the headstones that will cause issues come mowing season. The list of acceptable items is on the back of residents' water bills, and the cleanings will begin mid February. Porch is asking all unapproved items families wish to keep to be removed from the cemetery before that time.

Susan Laughlin Perez, chairwoman of the Scott City Missouri Historic Preservation Commission said the commission is in the final stages of preparing its historical museum, which it hopes to open in March. It will be accepting historical donations on various weekends from Jan. 31 through April 25. People can find out what the commission is looking for by contacting Perez at 573-334-7025 or through its Facebook page.

The next city council meeting is scheduled for Feb. 2 at Scott City City Hall.

smaue@semissourian.com

388-3644

Pertinent address:

215 Chester Ave., Scott City, Mo.