CHAMOIS — Facing an Aug. 20 deadline to use nearly $85,000 in remaining grant funds, the Chamois Board of Aldermen, on Friday, Aug. 14, approved only a portion of a $206,850 contractor pay application after city officials questioned whether the billed work had been completed.

The city received Pay Application No. 13 from Mid-State Pipeline for $206,850 in work on its ongoing well project, but Mayor Shawn Mitchem and City Clerk Meghan Birmingham said the city has struggled to obtain updates from the contractor while problems with the existing well remain unresolved.

Birmingham said $84,557.44 remaining in the city’s Community Development Block Grant water-storage funding must be drawn down by Aug. 20 or the city will lose it. Although the overall grant agreement has been extended through June 30, 2027, that portion of the funding carries the earlier expiration date.

The deadline left aldermen weighing the loss of nearly $85,000 against concerns about approving work they could not verify.

Mitchem said the existing well continues to leak, sending water across residents’ yards and threatening the road. He said he has asked the contractor to address the problem and provide the city with information about the project’s progress.

“My biggest problem is, I don’t know where they’re even at on it because they won’t even call to give (us) an update,” Mitchem said.

Birmingham likewise said she could not tell the board what work had been completed because the city had not received regular project updates.

“I can’t tell you what work they did because we haven’t had a meeting since you guys became a board,” she said.

Officials also questioned figures contained in the pay application, including charges associated with rehabilitation of the existing well while the leak remains unresolved. The application listed $19,886.98 in retainage.

Rather than approve the full $206,850 application, aldermen ultimately voted to approve $84,557.44, corresponding to the amount of CDBG funding that must be used before the deadline.

The board also agreed to have City Attorney Rob Schollmeyer review the matter and communicate with the contractor. Alderman Darrell Chrisenberry said the city may eventually need to consider litigation.

“I don’t want to lose any of it either,” Chrisenberry said of the grant funding. “But at the same time, I don’t want to pay this. The majority.”

The board also approved the city’s 2026 property tax rate at $0.5801 per $100 assessed valuation.

City Clerk Meghan Birmingham told aldermen the prior-year tax rate ceiling, current-year computed rate, and rate ceiling were all $0.5801. She said the city had not increased the rate during her time as clerk.

The board approved the rate unanimously, but subsequently realized the required public hearing had not been advertised or held before the vote. The city will hold a tax levy hearing before its Aug. 25 meeting.

In other business, Birmingham reported that the Missouri Department of Natural Resources notified the city that slightly more than $5,000 remained available through its lead service line grant.

She said the city had not known the money remained because of personnel changes at DNR. Birmingham said she planned to attend a meeting the following week to determine what requirements the city would have to meet to use the remaining funds, including whether it could work with a different company or would need to seek bids.

The city hopes to use the money to investigate additional service lines whose materials remain unknown.

To allow the city to pursue the remaining funding, the board approved Resolution 2026-02, authorizing Mayor Shawn Mitchem to sign the necessary documents.

Mitchem also reported that the wooden restroom doors at the city park had deteriorated beyond repair. He said the women’s restroom door had pulled loose from all but its bottom hinge, and the wood at the bottom of the door was soft enough to squeeze.

He removed the door for safety and had been looking for inexpensive replacement doors, including contacting Habitat for Humanity and checking Facebook Marketplace.

Mitchem said replacement doors at Menards were approximately $196 each, or about $174 to $175 each after rebate. Board members agreed to check with their own contacts before the city purchased replacements.

The board also approved reimbursements related to the MR340 race, including $75.85 to Mitchem and $18.30 to Mike Edwards for mileage while purchasing supplies.

The next regular meeting is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. on Aug. 25.