City alcohol sales debate dries up

The debate is over for now. By the narrowest of margins, 5-4, City Council March 25 voted against giving Dickerson Park Zoo permission to serve alcohol at its after-hours events and fundraisers.

The bill was amended at the previous council meeting, narrowing the proposal for sale and consumption of alcoholic beverages from select Springfield-Greene County Park Board public events to only those functions of the zoo and their participants.

The amended bill stated the alcohol would be limited to certain areas, clearly identified and restricted to adults, but council voted against it.

Possibly influencing the decision were the only two members of the public who addressed the issue at the March 25 meeting: area pastors Bruce McNeely and Allen Kemper, both in opposition.

Council members Bob Chancellor, Mary Collette, Denny Whayne, John Wylie and Shelia Wright denied the bill.

Voting in favor was Mayor Tom Carl-son, Gary Gibson, Teri Hacker and Ralph Manley, who at the preceding meeting said the bill "stinks" and that he strongly opposed it.

Rosewood Estates

Much discussion surrounded the first reading bill to approve the preliminary plat of Rosewood Estates, located on the south side of Sunset Street between Jefferson Avenue and a point west of National Avenue. Ten nearby residents spoke in opposition, fearing what they termed a "rental community" in their neighborhood.

Rosewood Estates is a Zimmerman Properties LLC development, similar to the Cedarwood Terraces townhouse community under construction at Kear-ney and Pickwick.

It would offer lower rates through special financing via Section 42 of the Internal Revenue Service Tax Code. Residents that rented for 15 years would have an option to buy.

If approved, the development would comprise 40 lots with 3.5 homes, including garages, per acre.

In Manley's opinion the development would "add value to the area."

The plan was reviewed by two outside engineers: Great River Engineering's King Coltrin and Heideman & Asso-ciates' Gary Butcher.

The Planning and Zoning Commission recommended denial and staff recommended approval because the plan meets all subdivision requirements, according to Fred May. A vote will be taken in two weeks.

First readings

Council heard a first reading bill that would rezone 2.5 acres of land at 3006 W. Battlefield Road from a general manufacturing district to a general retail district.

The bill is at the request of Schell Development Company LLC.

Another first reading bill would amend the city code to change the illegal blood alcohol content from .10 percent to .08 percent.

Resolutions

Council approved the adoption of the Boonville Corridor Blight Report and Redevelopment Plan for the 500 and 600 blocks of North Boonville Avenue, as well as the Capital Improvements Pro-gram for 2002 through 2007.

Both resolutions were supported by the Planning and Zoning Commission and city staff.

Yard parking

The bill to more strictly prohibit front-yard parking passed, permitting the Police Department to issue on-the-spot parking tickets for motor vehicles illegally parked in front yards in residential areas.

Consent agendas

All consent agendas passed unanimously. In that, City Manager Tom Finnie was authorized to accept a $450,000 COPS Technical Initiative grant from the U.S. Department of Jus-tice, Community Oriented Policing Ser-vices, to equip patrol vehicles with audio and video recording devices and providing security equipment for the South District Police Station.

Another consent agenda item was the approval of an agreement between Finnie and the Missouri Highway and Trans-portation Commission for the purpose of cost sharing the installation fees of a traffic signal at Kearney Street and Neergard Avenue.

Finnie also accepted a $1.5 million block grant from the Missouri Depart-ment of Transportation for funding the first phase of the general aviation airport to be constructed in Ozark by the De-partment of Aviation.

Another consent agenda item authorized Finnie to accept a grant from the Missouri Highway and Transportation Commission for the purpose of constructing a parking deck in Jordan Valley Park. This grant is in the amount of $1.5 million.

Finally, the city will provide half the funds to purchase 80 police body armor vests, or $12,560.

The remaining ex-pense will be covered by a Bulletproof Vest Partnership Program grant through the U.S. Depart-ment of Justice, Bureau of Justice Assistance.