2011-02-14 Reg - Laserfiche WebLink

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more flooding this year. She encouraged Council and everyone to write their State Reps in order to keep this their priority. Ms. Ricci said she would email the Council on the history of the Economic Sales Tax Board. She said it was started with a vote of the citizens on 06 and the first board sat in 07, with staggered terms and thereafter, four year terms. However, there was never any clarity as to who got the two year or the four year terms. She said in 2009 there were three members whose term expired. Ms. Ricci said prior to the Mayor’s last Council meeting there had not been a determination about members’ terms. Mayor Adams all of a sudden showed up with terms and voting out of members. Ms. Ricci said as to the Olive enhancements on May 20, 2010, she asked Ms. Riganti to email Phase Three to Council as it became clear at that meeting that there were three different departments working independently of each other and the million dollar investments in it cannot be seen. Mr. Price asked for clarification, if we are getting 1.9 million dollars for Wilson, Yes or No. He wanted to know if it is 1.9 or 900,000. Mr. Walker asked the Director of Community Development to address it. Mr. Price told Ms. Riganti he did not want an if-then theory. Ms. Riganti said it is a if-then process. If the city receives the grant in the amount of $987,000, then the City will have that amount plus the one million that was previously set aside by the Council which would total 1.9 million dollars. Mr. Price said that once that money is here there is no guarantee that one milion could be used somewhere else. He said if you get the grant is the one million attached to it. Ms. Riganti said the grant is for the match of the City’s buyout cost. She said the one million in reserves presently is for the City’s portion of the match but if the additional grant is received, the City will first use the $987,000 and whatever might be needed in addition to that from the one million set aside in the reserves. Mr. Price said it has been stated that you can help another 148 more people and he doesn’t understand if you have the same amount of money needed to help 26, how can you help 148. Mayor Welsch said as she explained at the last Council meeting, the City has put in reserves one million dollars as a match to a FEMA grant for the buyout of 26 homes on Wilson Ave. If we are lucky enough to get this grant from the Economic Development Department of the State of Missouri, the City will use the $987,000, plus the FEMA match, plus $13,000 from the City for the one million dollar match needed. Mayor said if the City gets the grant they will not need to use the previous allocated one million dollars. As she made clear at the last meeting it is her hope that U City can be put on a list with FEMA for an eventual purchase of an additional 148 homes that the federal government said should be bought out. Mayor hopes that the Council can allocate the one million dollars if not needed for Wilson to be in a pot that can be built up to ten million dollars to eventually for a three to one match for the thirty million dollars needed to buyout for 148 homes. She said she has never said or indicated that one million dollars would buyout 148 homes. Mayor said we need to start looking at the long term and start now in trying to build up money to have at least ten million for future matches. Mr. Price said Congressman Clay worked night and day and nobody had no knowledge of this switchero. He said they talked about one thing on Wednesday and on the following Monday it was something different. He doesn’t believe they are going to buy Wilson out. Mr. Price told the Mayor he did not trust her. He said he doesn’t trust the City Manager as far as can throw him. 16