FREEBURG — Freeburg trustees passed a surplus budget of $68,050 for the 2024-25 fiscal year at their meeting last Monday night. Trustees estimated revenues for the next fiscal year at $310,000, a little higher than last year’s estimated income of $308,478. The board approved expenses totaling $241,950, less than last year’s projected expenses of $406,985.

Trustees plan to spend less money on street repairs next year, from $305,165 in FY24 to $125,000 this year, with the bulk of the funds earmarked for sealing streets that have recently been repaired.

The board also budgeted additional money this fiscal year for new computers for the city clerk, water clerk, and public works director. Trustees also increased the line item for park repairs from $1,200 to $3,000.

It was noted that there would be no additional American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds or interest from that money available for the village to use this year. Trustees were glad they did not have to pull money from reserves to cover expenses for the upcoming year.

In other business, trustees approved Ordinance #205, which adopted a procurement policy for the village and authorizes village employees to make purchases within a designated range.

Village Attorney Nathan  Nickolaus created the ordinance and presented it at the January meeting, but trustees were unhappy with some of the amounts listed and had wanted to discuss it at the February meeting. Trustees agreed on several changes before Ordinance #205 was approved, including authorizing the water clerk, village clerk, public works director, and chairperson to make incidental purchases up to $200 without seeking additional approval.

Trustees also authorized the public works director to make minor purchases for Freeburg up to $500 without prior approval. The ordinance also allows the public works director to make emergency purchases with the approval of the chairperson. Ordinance #205 will go into effect immediately.

• Trustees also approved Ordinance #203, “which authorizes the issuance of combined waterworks and sewage system revenue bonds for the 2024 design phase for the village of Freeburg while proscribing the form and details of the bonds and provide for repayment and security of such bonds”.

Mayor Scott Knoll noted that financial advisor D. A. Davidson noted that Ordinance #203 was required for the village to move forward with the next steps of the Freeburg wastewater facility system improvements. He explained that the ordinance officially allows Freeburg to borrow the funds needed to start the design phase of the project.

Village Clerk Nicki Bax explained that D. A. Davidson also requested fiscal records from the village from 2020 to the present and information on the village’s water and wastewater customers with total gallons of water sold from 2019 to the present.

“It’s a lot of paperwork,” Bax added.

Trustees also passed Ordinance #204, a resolution “authorizing tax procedure for financial obligations for the village of Freeburg.” Approving this resolution was another necessary step in moving forward to get bids for the bonds for Freeburg’s wastewater improvements.

Alderman Shane Zimmer expressed a desire for the village of Freeburg to do business with local financial institutions if the rates were competitive.

Knoll noted that D. A. Davidson had already received bids from Mid America Bank and Legends Bank.

“He is going to reach out to local banks first, and then he’ll go out for bids with the bigger banks,” Bax explained.

Bids should be available to the board soon.

Bartlett & West is currently refining design parameters for the wastewater treatment facility and working with state agencies as needed for approvals and preliminary funding work.

• Trustees tabled discussions and decisions on Trailer Ordinance #189 for the second month in a row. The new ordinance was written by Nickolaus, and trustees wanted to have parts of the ordinance clarified and possibly changed to meet Freeburg’s needs.

Nickolaus was absent for the second straight month, prompting trustees to express frustration, noting that they had changed the date of the last meeting so that he could attend, and he was not at that meeting in person or available by phone.

• Presiding Osage County Commissioner Darryl Griffin and Osage County Sheriff Mike Bonham visited with trustees. Griffin noted that he liked to touch base with all the villages and cities in the county at least once a year to see if there was anything the county could do to meet the needs of that area. Griffin encouraged trustees to attend Meramec Regional Planning Commission (MRPC) meetings.

“I already represent you when I am there, but I don’t want you to miss out on anything,” Griffin said. “There are a lot of good people down there and a lot of good ideas.”

Griffin explained that one of the best parts of MRPC was the ability of the different communities to learn from each other.

“If you have any problems in your area, someone else might have the same problems and be able to help,” Griffin said. “I learn a lot down there.”

Bonham noted that he keeps a close eye on Freeburg since it’s his hometown, but he still likes to meet with trustees to maintain communication.

Bonham noted that he had heard a lot of complaints about people speeding on Hwy. 63 and has made a point of having officers in the area to help.

“We usually only have one deputy on for 613 square miles, so it makes it pretty tough,” Bonham said. “If we have an officer in Meta and they have to go to Chamois, that’s 45 miles. There is no way to get there fast.”

Bonham noted that last year, domestic assaults have been driving up incidents in the county, and he has no good explanation as to why or how to get ahead of the problem.

“Drug crimes are down 31 percent, but that’s because the marijuana laws are gone,” Bonham said. “If anyone thinks we are going to get rid of drugs, they should come and talk to me because we are never going to get rid of it.”

Bonham reported that thefts in the area are also down by 8%.

He explained that sometimes the justice system works slowly, especially when processing things like fingerprints and DNA samples takes months.

Trustees asked if there was anything the Sheriff’s Office could do about stray dogs in the village limits.

“The only time we get involved is if a dog bites a person,” Bonham explained. “The problem with enforcing ordinances for cities and villages is if we do it for the village of Freeburg, we have to do it for everyone, and we don’t have the manpower.”

Bonham acknowledged that village and city ordinance enforcement is a problem that many small municipalities face. “A lot of these are civil matters, and a lot of times there is a misconception about what is a civil law and what is a criminal issue,” Bonham explained. “We only deal with the criminal side of things.”

Bonham noted that the Osage County Sheriff’s Office has been upgrading equipment and technology and has received almost $4 million in grants over the last several years.

Trustees expressed their appreciation for the work that commissioners and the sheriff were doing and agreed they would talk to them about any issues that did come up.

• The board agreed to investigate a request from Rick Hilkemeyer to open access to either West Oliver or Cypress Street so he could have access to the farm property he owned.

Trustees were unsure where the village limits ended and if the area in question was even under their jurisdiction. Bax will investigate the issue and report her findings to the board.

• The following businesses had not renewed their business licenses or paid the fee for the year: Wieberg Roofing, Cadi Bullock’s (Home Daycare), Deeken Hardwood, Rose Hilkemeyer (home sewing business), Sam Welschmeyer (boat repair shop), Sam’s Custom Concrete, and Waylon Kleffner (roofing business).

• Trustees did not approve a proposal by “TextMyGov,” a company that sends texts to residents when official information needs to go out.

“All the towns in our area have received these proposals, and I choked a little bit when I saw the price,” Bax said. The program would have a one-time setup fee of $750 and an annual charge of $1,500 for the first year and each following year.

“I love this idea, but it’s simply not worth the price,” Knoll said.

While the program is easy to use, it still requires residents to be technologically savvy and willing to sign up for the information, which has been a problem for Freeburg residents.

Trustees proposed looking for less expensive ways to communicate with city residents.

• Board members will look into putting in several removable speed bumps to see if they would slow down traffic in key areas.

“I know of several stretches where people are just flying through, “Zimmer said. “Someone’s kids are going to get hurt.”

Trustees tasked Public Works Director Doug Hamacher with looking into the cost and what exactly is involved with installing the moveable speed bumps. He will report back at the next meeting.

• Knoll will talk to Verslues Construction about completing the project for Cyle Reinkemeyer as soon as possible. Trustees understand the Jefferson City company is backlogged but would like to have the project completed before spring rains cause additional problems for the Reinkemeyers.

• Water Clerk Cindy Struemph talked to the Missouri Department of Natural Resources (DNR) about whether backflow devices must be inspected annually. Hilke’s Ice Company owner Laron Hilke raised the question at the January meeting, noting he believed his business was being treated unfairly because not all the businesses in town were required to have the backflow devices inspected annually.

Struemph explained that while DNR required some businesses to have the backflow devices, it was less clear whether those devices had to be inspected annually.

Hilke noted last month that he thought annual testing regulations originated with the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) because businesses were producing ice to sell. However, Struemph noted that village water is only regulated by DNR.

Trustee Darryl Haller noted that the village’s ordinances are not clear on whether the inspections are required.

The village plans to check with the individual who inspects backflow devices and the Missouri Rural Water Association to see if they have any additional information.

• Trustees approved the following expenses for the month: general ($7,839.22), sewer ($877.23), and water ($8,179.83).

• Freeburg had the following ending balances in their accounts: purchasing ($182.13), sewer checking ($21,093.94), general revenue checking ($10,703.40), sewer money market ($306,275.49), general revenue money market ($456,806.20), water ($13,116.83), water replacement ($170.11), and water money market ($837,399.80).

• Water loss for last month was -1%. Hamacher explained that this negative number was due to problems with water meters not reading correctly or possibly an overestimation of water use by some customers.

The city pumped 1,285,563 gallons of water, according to the water report, and sold 1,294,100.

• The next regular meeting is scheduled for March 4 at 6:30 p.m.