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Council approves purchase of the ‘ShotSpotter’
SIKESTON — The Sikeston City Council approved the acquisition of a ShotSpotter gunshot detection program during its regular meeting Monday evening, Oct. 30 at city hall.
Sikeston Department of Public Safety Director Jim McMillen said through the Bureau of Justice Association’s Rural and Small Department Violent Crime Reduction Award, the Department of Justice gave the city $297,000 to pay the program’s costs for three years. The service costs $99,000 per year to cover two square miles.
“The area covered will be about from Dudley Park to the high school and west of the city limits,” McMillen said.
On Oct. 2, McMillen presented the ShotSpotter gunshot detection technology during the city council meeting.
McMillen said the system will focus on regions with gun fires and crimes using weapons in order to increase citizens’ safety.
According to McMillen, the program works by firing a gunshot within the target area, and the sound of the gunshot is detected by a microphone positioned at various points across the target region.
McMillen said an alarm is subsequently routed to the gunshot detection operations center for expert evaluation and verification. When a gunshot is confirmed, an alert is transmitted to Public Safety Communications, the officer’s data terminal, or, if wanted, their smart phone.
The city council approved the purchase of structural firefighting equipment. The Sikeston Department of Public Safety requested a purchase agreement with Danko Emergency Equipment to purchase seven new sets of structure firefighting gear.
According to Sikeston DPS Capt. Derick Wheetley, the purchase is to replace older gear that has reached the end of its service life.
“The cost of the gear came in at $31,277 for seven sets,” Wheetley said.
Council heard the first reading of a bill which, if passed at the next council meeting, will modify the prices that cable companies pay to utilize public rights-of-way.
Amanda Groves, city treasurer and financial director, said prior to August, the city could charge no more than 5 percent of total revenue for the use of the right-of-way.
“Now, a new law has been revised to reduce the amount by half percent per year until 2027,” Groves said. “In 2027, municipalities will level out at 2.5 percent.”
Groves estimated the shift will cost the city $272,047 in revenue over the next five years.
Council approved the installation of a fountain in Sikeston’s Malone Park. A sketch of the fountain and how it will look was shown to the council.
According to Jonathan Douglass, city manager, the fountain will not be anything like the splash downtown, but rather “a beautiful fountain.”
The Historic Downtown Sikeston Association addressed the city about the fountain project. Mari Ann Moyers of the Historic Downtown Design Committee met with staff members to discuss their wish to build a huge, circular fountain in the center of Malone Park.
According to Moyers, there will be a decorative fence surrounding the circular fountain and a concrete circular patio with seating for viewing the fountain.
“Within the addition of the healing garden, it will really finish out the park,” Moyers said.
Moyers said the fountain will be shipped from Florida, and they will hire someone to install it.
The project’s construction would be free to the city. The fountain will be on a recirculation system. The city would only be responsible for the fountain’s winterization and maintenance.
In other actions by the council:
| • | Amendment No. 3 was approved, which adds additional Missouri Department of Transportation funds to the Sikeston Airport’s new fuel farm. |
| • | Authorized a funding agreement with MoDOT for a bridge replacement on Compress Road, just west of the Sikeston Power Station and east of Sikeston P.A.W.S. The total project cost is estimated to be $970,616 with a local match of $97,062. |
| • | Amended the contract with the city prosecutor to pay for a prosecutor when there is a conflict of interest with the current city prosecutor. It is standard practice for the city to pay for the special prosecutor in such cases. |
| • | Accepted Hi-Tech Fire Protection LLC’s $19,943 offer to replace the sprinkler system valve in the Essex Building. |
| • | Council heard the first reading of a bill that will divide two land tracts at South Main Montgomery Plaza into three pieces if it is passed at the next council meeting. |
| • | A bill was heard on first reading that, if passed at the next council meeting, will remove two utility easements from a lot located in the South Main Montgomery Plaza neighborhood. |
| • | Council heard the first reading of a bill that would erase the south border line of a parcel of land in the South Main Montgomery Plaza subdivision if it were adopted at the next council meeting. |