| Today's Feature Budget Process Begins.
Budget discussions for the 1999
fiscal year budget got underway Wednesday
evening. New Budget Committee Chair Jackie Boyer
opened the meeting with a reminder that the
purpose was to receive budget requests from City
departments, not consideration of the requests.
"You may ask the
department head why they are making a request,
but we will not get into a discussion of the pros
and cons of any issues tonight," said Boyer.
"I’d like to move through this as
quickly as possible. We have other opportunities
to discuss whether or not something is going to
happen."
Other members of the Committee
are Vice Chair Mike Harris, Art Dunaway and Donna
Harlan. Council members Trisha Burgi-Brewer, Don
Stearnes, Larry Ross, Bill Fortune and Charlie
Bastin also attended the meeting.
Engineering, Streets,
Administration, Fire and Police presented their
proposed budgets in the three-hour meeting. The
pace was brisk with Committee members asking
questions about specific line items and with few
diversions.
One diversion concerned the
compatibility of proposed computer hardware and
software purchases in various department budgets.
Boyer and Vice-Chair Mike Harris asked that City
Manager Tom Short oversee those requests and
determine that all departments are buying
compatible systems.
Another came during the review
of capital improvements requests made by the
Engineering Department. Bastin sought recognition
to speak and was forestalled by Boyer.
"I made the statement at
the beginning of the meeting that we’re not
going to have comments, we’re just receiving
reports," said Boyer. "If you’d
like to address the Committee on a particular
issue, we’ll do it later, okay?"
Bastin left the meeting at that
point and did not return.
A brief sidetracking occurred
later during the discussion of the budget for
Memorial Hall with Boyer mentioning to Short some
gutter and maintenance issues which had been
raised in the Memorial Hall Long Range Planning
Committee meeting.
Committee members were pleased
with the speed of the meeting.
"We’re doing
excellent," said Harlan.
"Let’s just keep it
rolling, " said Dunaway.
With the limited discussion and
interruptions, the meeting ran ahead of schedule
and adjourned at 9:30, having heard all reports.
The final one had not been scheduled to begin
until 9:45.
Some highlights of the budget
requests at this early stage include a new street
sweeper requested by Street Commissioner Tom
Shelley at a cost of $112,000. The new sweeper
would be a regenerative air system to replace the
current mechanical, broom-type sweeper. Shelley
pointed out that his proposed budget shows a
4.34% increase with this capital outlay,
otherwise his request would be below last
year’s budget.
The Police Department’s
budget includes the purchase of three marked
police cars for $60,000, six locking shotgun
holders for $1,600 and an additional lap-top
computer for $2,000. The Police Department did
not purchase new vehicles this past year.
A list of 28 Capital
Improvements Requests was submitted to the
Committee at a total cost of $3,789,000. The
Engineering Department submitted 24 of the
requests dealing mainly with storm water runoff
studies and improvements, road improvements, the
proposed incentive programs for contractors, and
city sidewalk repairs.
The remaining Capital
Improvements Requests were for three new storm
sirens at $32,000, finishing the fire
department’s south substation for $180,000
and airport relocation of $300,000. The Memorial
Hall Long Range Plan is included on the list with
no dollar amount pending the recommendations of
that committee.
Artists Kit Tuck and Brad
Kleindl Showing Through May 28
News release from artCentral
We have really been taking
advantage of this nice weather. We have moved in
another bookcase and table for our art library;
thanks to Ray's generous donation we had to have
more shelves.
Some spring planting was done
with generous plant donations from Karen Newport,
Annette Jones, and myself. We are trying to
spruce up the yard since we are on the ART IN THE
GARDEN walking tour. Plant donations are welcome.
If you want to help in the flower beds give us a
call or stop by.
We have new hours and hope
everyone will be understanding as we make some
changes, good changes though.
New hours; Wednesday, 10 a.m.
to 4 p.m.; Thursday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., Friday 10
a.m. to 4 p.m.; and Sunday, noon to 4 p.m.
Thanks to those volunteers who
keep our doors open, we appreciate you very much.
Anyone wanting to volunteer some time, we sure
could use someone on Monday a.m., Tuesday and
Saturday. Evenings are o.k., too.
Our Wednesday evening drawing
sessions are going to be every week starting May
1. These drawing sessions are from 7 to 9 p.m.
and cost each person five dollars.
We will now be having
Wednesday's Drop-in Drawing Jam. Artists can
bring their own objects to draw or take advantage
of what is out here, indoors or out.
You don't need to sign up or
commit to anything long term. Just come out
Wednesdays and have a good time. Fridays are the
painting group days.
Our show right now features the
work of artists Kit Tuck, Lamar, and Brad
Kleindl, Joplin.
Kit was born and raised in
Lamar and spent her adult life living and working
in the Far East. She paints, sculpts and designs
hand crafted jewelry, but is best known for her
"Terragami" pieces.
Terragami is taken from
"terra" meaning "of the
earth" and is a pun on the word
"tear" for the torn and woven paper
used in her art. "Gami" is from the
Japanese word "origami," the art of
folded paper.
Brad Kleindl has been throwing
pots since 1974, is a Professor of Marketing at
MSSC by vocation, but minored in art and
philosophy in his undergraduate program.
Producing pottery is his creative release. Being
strongly influenced by traditional Japanese
pottery, Brad's pieces reflect man's relationship
with nature by working with simple forms.
While many of his pots appear
to be utilitarian, they are designed to be
visually pleasing more than functional. "If
they carry any thing at all, they are designed to
carry a sense of familiarity or atonement to the
soul of the viewer."
Both of these artists are
wonderful and we welcome them to our humble
gallery. Be sure and come out. Their reception
will be May 8th from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
letter from ma.
I've sorted
notes found on scraps and bits of paper on my
desk and thought you might be interested in some
of them.
I could hardly keep from
laughing category: A young woman in the front row
of the choir sneezing in the middle of a number,
then stretching her mouth for a big yawn before
continuing with the song.
Same category: A man singing
"Away in a Manger" to children in
church, forgetting the words and ad-libbing
"The little Lord Jesus asleep in the
head." Any sailors out there?
I couldn't help but be
surprised category: A small boy scout sporting a
very black mustache. And it was real!
Frustrating category: Finding
the instruction book for every appliance in the
house except the one I need.
Worst thing I can ask Pa to do
category: Asking him to change his trousers after
he's dressed for the day. All those keys and nuts
and bolts that have to be switched make the job
just too much. Like a woman's changing purses, I
suppose.
Puzzling question category:
Little girl, after hearing her mother discussing
twins born to a friend asking, "How many of
those fertility pills do you have to take to get
just one baby?"
Why do they have the thing
category: Receiving no reply to a message left on
an answering machine, and upon inquiring, being
told, "Oh, we never pay any attention to
that stupid apparatus."
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