NEW MADRID, Mo. — The city’s new mayor and two new and two re-elected council members officially took office at the April 8 meeting.
Following the certification of the April 2 municipal election results City Clerk Paige Keene swore in incumbents Tommy Chism from Ward 1 and Ryan Riley from Ward 3 and newcomer Derek Lawfield from Ward 2 along with Nick White, former Ward 2 councilman who was elected mayor.
The first order of business for the new Council was the appointment of Jimmy Henderson as Ward 2 councilman to fill the one-year unexpired term previously held by White. In nominating Henderson for the position White said he believed that as a long-time resident of New Madrid, Henderson would bring knowledge to the Council.
Henderson’s nomination to the Council was unanimously approved.
In response to recent complaints about noise, City Administrator Aaron Griffin provided the Council with a sample of Sikeston’s noise ordinance. Griffin and Police Chief Joey Higgerson agreed the ordinance was effective in ending excessive noise from vehicles in Sikeston.
Higgerson also called the ordinance much easier to enforce than the city’s current noise ordinance. With the proposed ordinance if an officer can hear noise from the offender’s vehicle when it is more than 100 feet away it would be a violation. Because officers already carry tape measures in their vehicles, the distance would be easy to prove, Higgerson explained.
He suggested the Council may want to decide how many citations would be issued to a driver of a vehicle before it is towed for an additional violation. Also the Council was asked whether the new ordinance should be crafted to include ATVs and other vehicles.
A draft of the new ordinance will be considered at the April 22 meeting.
A lengthy discussion was conducted about the sale of real estate.
Local Realtor Harvey Graham spoke with the Council about a contract for the sale of two houses on Brush Prairie Street. Graham noted that a hike in interest rates has proved to be a stumbling block in the sale of the homes, which the city had commissioned in an effort to make more housing available locally.
Although the contract was below the price originally sought for the homes, Graham recommended the Council accept the offer.
Prior to approving the contract for the sale of the properties, Councilman G.L. Keene encouraged the Council to continue with its original vision of providing affordable housing as the community grows and industry develops locally.
“We need to move on but we need to strategically move on,” Keene said.
Calling the Council’s original vision as an investment in people, Keene added, “You can’t put a price on family … This Council needs to keep on working to make New Madrid an attractive place to live.”
In his report to the Council, Griffin announced the city has received a new transit van. Funded through a grant, the van is smaller than previous vans but should meet the city’s transit needs more efficiently and economically, he said.
Griffin also reported about the success of the LeveEclipse on the Mississippi Riverfront and his meeting with the Mississippi River Commission and Corps of Engineers on April 8.
In addition Griffin announced he was asked to become a member of the Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy Committee of the Bootheel Regional Planning and Economic Development Commission.
Explaining the role of the Commission, Griffin said serving on the committee would be beneficial.
“We will be developing an economic development plan for the six counties in the Bootheel for the next five years,” he said. “This will help shape the vision of the region moving forward.”