Myers Park For Sale for $2,500,000

The City Council voted 8-2 in closed session following the regular meeting Tuesday evening to accept bids on the remaining 90 acres of Myers Park with a minimum bid of $2.5 million. Bastin and Boyer voted against. The purchaser would be required to follow Myers Park Development Plans and bear any infrastructure costs. Any bids submitted will be opened on October 28, 1998. The City reserves the right to accept or reject all bids.

According to Mayor Johnson, the decision came after an offer of $20,000 for one acre of prime Myers Park property was dismissed.

The action by the Council was the first time an actual selling price has been set for the property.

71 A Agreement Barely Survives.

The newly elected Council members met in their first full session Tuesday evening at City Hall. New Mayor Ken Johnson led the meeting with seasoned authority garnered from his years of civic service.

The agenda included a reconsideration of an agreement with 71A Partnership which was narrowly defeated at the last meeting by the past Council. The agreement would allow the partnership of Mike Woody and Danny Ross to use fifty percent of all new sale tax revenue generated by the development to pay for up to $900,000 in street, sewer and water improvements and traffic control devices over the next fifteen years.

The motion for reconsideration was made by Donna Harlan and passed with the required two-thirds majority 8-2. Bastin and Whitledge voted against. Boyer then moved to amend the agreement by cutting the amount of reimbursement in half, capping the total commitment from the sales tax at $450,000. The motion resulted in a 5-5 vote by the Council which put the decision squarely in the Mayor’s lap. Harris, Ross, Fortune, Dunaway, and Brewer-Burgi voted against the amendment. Bastin, Whitledge, Boyer, Harlan, and Stearnes voted for. After a pause, the Mayor voted for the amendment. Action on the agreement was then tabled and moved back to the Budget Committee for further consideration.

Art Dunaway protested the delay in the action.

"What are we doing to these gentlemen?" asked Dunaway.

Danny Ross asked to be on the agenda for the Budget Committee during this evening’s meeting.

The proposed development would be south of HH, east of Highway 71 and tie in with highway 571 on the east. Initial plans call for several eating establishments, motels, a home improvement center, and office buildings.

In other action the Council approved by a vote of 10-0 a contract in the amount of $56,063 for the basic construction of the parking lot just south of the Police Station. The contract will not include any lighting or the actual paving of the facility. Paving will be done through the City’s contract with Blevins Asphalt Construction.

The Budget Committee meeting this evening will include discussion of outside agency requests for the upcoming year. These include the Park Board, Library, Chamber of Commerce, Main Street Carthage, Victorian Carthage, Over 60 Center and others.

During the Council members comment portion of the meeting, member Charlie Bastin asked for clarification on when Council members could speak during committee meetings when the member was not officially part of the committee. Bastin left a Budget Committee meeting, of which he is not a member, after being told discussion would be limited.

Mayor Johnson said that he understood that Budget Chair Boyer had set the rules at the beginning of the meeting and was within her rights to do so.

Bastin accepted the ruling but noted that was not the way some committee meetings were conducted.

Coach Selected for R-9 School

Bruce Humphrey has been selected as football coach for the Carthage R-9 School District. Coach Humphrey has established an outstanding record over the last thirteen years as a teacher and a coach. He has coaching experience at Fort Scott Community College, Fort Scott, Kansas; Morehead State University, Morehead, Kentucky; Hazard Independent High School, Hazard, Kentucky; and Nevada High School, Nevada, Missouri.

While at Nevada his teams earned such honors as regional and district champions and were ranked as high as sixth in the state (4A) while compiling a 33 and 18 record.

Coach Humphrey grew up in Webb City, Missouri, and attend Webb City High School where he was an all-conference, all-district and all-state football player. In college he captained and received all-conference honors as a quarterback at Fort Scott Community College, and Missouri Western State College in St. Joseph, Missouri.

Mr. Humphrey received a Bachelor of Science degree from Missouri Southern State College, Joplin, Missouri, and a Masters Degree from Morehead State University, Morehead, Kentucky.

Coach Humphrey and his wife, Karen, and son, Jake, will be moving to Carthage during the summer.

Commissioners To Meet

On Thursday, April 30, 1998 at 10:00 a.m. at the Jasper County Annex, Carthage, fifteen Southwest Missouri County Commissioners will meet at the semi-annual Southwest County Commissioners Alliance Meeting.

Jasper County is hosting the meeting. Commissioners from Barry, Barton, Cedar, Dade, Dallas, Greene, Lawrence, McDonald, Newton, Polk, Stone, Taney, Webster, Ozark, and Vernon counties have been invited to attend this meeting.

The program for this month's meeting is the impact of meth labs on Southwest Missouri Counties.

The 1998-99 Officers for the Southwest Missouri Commissioners Association will also be elected. The current officers are President, Darren Decker, Greene County; Treasurer, Cherry Warren, Berry County; and Secretary, Anna Ruth Crampton, Jasper County.

Just Jake Talkin'
Mornin',

The Mayor has come up with an application form for anyone wantin’ to put their name in the hat to serve on the various boards or commissions in the City. It’s a pretty simple thing ta fill out. Name, address, that sort a thing. The idea is ta have a pool of folks ta contact when various positions come available. No commitment, just interest is what they want right now. If a position comes available a decision of whether the time is right will have ta be made.

This fits in well with the plans of the Chamber’s Leadership Carthage goal of havin’ folks with some knowledge ready to step into volunteer positions. That program will not be in effect until the first class is completed next year. This idea will go a long way to work with the leadership program now and in the future.

This is some fact, but mostly,

Just Jake Talkin’.

by

Metcalf Auto Supply

Click and Clack Talk Cars

Dear Tom and Ray:

My four-cylinder 1997 Dodge Caravan has 20,000 miles on it. The dealer says I need new plugs ($60), plus I need to have the "throttle body" cleaned ($80). This sounds like the old gag from Mad magazine about replacing the "thelman wire." Is this throttle-body cleaning really necessary? Why isn't it recommended in the owner's manual? - Eleanor

TOM: Ah, spring is here, Eleanor. Leaves on the trees, birds chirping and car dealers taking their boats out of storage.

RAY: And I'm afraid this dealer's boat must need some work. That must be why he's hitting you up for some unnecessary maintenance.

TOM: After one year and 20,000 miles, you shouldn't need anything done to this engine. An oil and filter change very 5,000 - 7,500 miles should be plenty.

RAY: At 30,000 miles, you can consider changing the spark plugs. And at some point, you can clean the throttle body if it gets gummed up with deposits - which they do. But I find it hard to believe you need either of these procedures done now.

TOM: So I'd just take this incident as a sign, Eleanor - a sign to look for another mechanic, before you get a bill for a new "thelman wire."

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