The Reporter newspaper, Camdenton Missouri

The Reporter covers Miller, Morgan and Camden County in Central Missouri's Lake of the Ozarks and is published once per week on Wednesdays.

Published April 29, 2015

Camdenton swears in newly elected board members

By Jeff Thompson
CAMDENTON - Monthly reports took up the bulk of a short Board of Aldermen meeting last week but only after City Clerk Renee Kingston swore in its “newly” elected officials two weeks after the April 7 election.

Mayor John McNabb along with Aldermen Steve Eden, Dan Hagedorn and Sandy Osborn - all incumbents - took their oath of office and settled back down into their usual spots.

The only new business city officials faced was approval to solicit bids for a new sludge holding basin for the sewer treatment plant and the filling of 14 vacant aquatic facility positions.

According to City Administrator Jeff Hancock, the holding basin project had been part of the city’s 2014-2015 budget but approval from the Missouri Department of Natural Resources was delayed.

The new basin project schedule calls for construction to begin June 23 and be completed by Oct. 21.

“Completion of a new sludge holding is a high priority and needs to be completed as soon as possible,” Hancock stated in a report to the board.

In addition, the board approved the hiring of 14 individuals for the City Park’s Aquatic Center for lifeguard, admission and concession positions.

Parks Director Larry Bennett and Aquatic Center Manager Chris Beauchamp interviewed a total of 18 applicants for the seasonal positions which are contingent on completing the necessary lifeguard certification class.

Opening day for the Aquatic Center is the Saturday before Memorial Day.

In other business at the April 21 board meeting:

• Mayor John McNabb gave a brief update on the city’s Veteran’s Memorial Monument Committee activities.

The 10 member committee - including Aldermen Sandy Gentry and Sandy Osborn - was formed at the board’s April 7 meeting in response to months of haggling between city officials and residents concerning a name change for Camdenton Memorial Airport.

McNabb said the committee is looking at ways to fund the monument which is expected to cost approximately $5,000 to $7,000.
• Plans for the “Friends of the Park- Family Fun Day” at the City Park set for Saturday, May 16 continue to take shape, according to Parks Director Larry Bennett. The event will be held from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and contain a wide variety of family activities. “I am still confirming a few activities and the time they will occur so follow up information will be distributed citywide the first week of May,” Bennett stated in a report to the board. “The rain date will be the following day, Sunday, May 17.”
• The Fire Department responded to a total of 57 emergency calls in March, according to Fire Chief Drew Stark, “which is a decrease compared to March 2014 when we responded to 76 emergency calls.”

Year-to-date totals were similar in decreased numbers: 168 emergency calls for 2015 so far compared to 188 calls at the same time last year.

• Conversely, Police Chief Laura Wright noted a slight increase in motor vehicle accidents in March (13) compared to the same time last year (seven). However, DWI arrests for March dropped by 50 percent compared to 2014 (two arrests in March 2015, four arrests in March 2014), according to Wright’s report to the board.
• In addition, Wright noted that the DWI docudrama at the Camdenton High School is scheduled for next month.

“Officer (Chris) Williams is coordinating the Docudrama on Tuesday, May 4 at the High School from 12:30 to 3 p.m.,” Wright stated in her report. “It is planned every other year and is scheduled in close proximity to prom and graduation as a reminder to students of the dangers of driving impaired.”