Mayor: Commitments need to be met

SIKESTON -- Commitments related to the existing city sales tax need to be met before pushing for a new sales tax, according to Sikeston's mayor.

Mayor Mike Marshall said during the reorganizational Sikeston City Council meeting Monday that he recognizes the city has needs such as a new jail and infrastructure improvements but a new city sales tax should not be pursued while there are obligations remaining from the current city sales tax.

"And I think we need to follow through on that, first," he said. "We've still got some things we need to address with our current sales tax."

City voters approved a 10-year 1-cent sales tax in February 2004 to fund efforts by the Land Clearance Redevelopment Authority and the Sikeston Department of Public Safety along with an expansion for the Sikeston Area Higher Education Center, now officially known as Southeast Missouri State University-Sikeston.

City Manager Doug Friend indicated information relating to that sales tax will be ready for the city budget meeting scheduled for noon Tuesday.

Monday's meeting began with Council members accepting the certified final election results for the at-large, Ward 1 and Ward 4 council races and swearing Mike Bohannon in as the new at-large council member and Michael Harris, Ward 4, and Jerry Pullen, Ward 1, in for new terms.

Councilman David Teachout was then selected to be the mayor pro tempore.

In other appointments made during Monday's meeting:

* Council members agreed to retain Councilman Jim Terrell, Teachout and Harris as the Council representatives on the Professional Consulting Committee for the 2007-2008 term.

This committee reviews and makes recommendations on the award of all professional service contracts when the fees for these services exceed $10,000.

* Councilman Sue Rogers and Harris were elected as representatives on the Planning and Zoning Commission.

* Harris was elected as the council's ex officio representative for the Board of Municipal Utilities.

* Three members of the Council sit on the Department of Economic Development Executive Board: the mayor and mayor pro tem or their designees and one other Council representative.

Teachout said he would prefer not to name a designee. "I think really I'd like to sit on that," he said.

Pullen was selected as the Council representative.

* Council members elected to keep Rogers as one of Sikeston's representatives for the Sikeston/Miner Tourism Commission and to put Bohannon on to replace Harris who stepped down from his place on that commission.

Marshall also asked Missy Marshall, executive director for Sikeston Area Chamber of Commerce, to invite Pansy Glenn, executive director of Sikeston-

Miner Convention and Visitor's Bureau, to attend the Tourism Commission's meetings.

* Terrell was picked to serve as the Council's representative on the Department of Public Safety Advisory Board.

* A new appointment to the LCRA Commission to fill the vacancy created by Bohannon's election to the City Council was not made.

"We'll discuss that at our next meeting," Marshall said, as that will "give us some time to think about it."

The interim appointment will be effective through September 2009.