WESTPHALIA — Westphalia Mayor Tammy Massman was pleased with the Christmas on Main parade and event held on Nov. 27 but asked aldermen to think about putting in place a framework for minimum requirements for special-event insurance.

“We did not receive the liability insurance information and the certificate of liability until very late prior to the (Thanksgiving) holiday,” Massman said. “The (insurance) policy that was drafted and purchased was very minimal.”

The city’s liability insurance carrier asked that minimum requirements be put in place for future events.

“The city is at the mercy of whoever is purchasing the insurance policies,” said Massman, noting that if the city doesn’t set guidelines for minimum liability coverage or have the time to validate whether it is an accepted policy, aldermen will not be sure the coverage is adequate. “We continue to get requests for events that require special-event insurance, so we probably want to heed (the city’s insurance carrier) advice and revisit this at a future meeting.”

Massman would like to see that — at a minimum — the city receives the certificate of insurance 10 days prior to an event so the insurance can be reviewed and allow time for modifications if needed. 

“We, the city, should not have to request that information a couple of times,” Massman continued. “I think we need to put some of the ownership back on the committee organizers, and they need to do things in a timely fashion.”

Massman noted that she had to follow up on the insurance several times prior to the Thanksgiving weekend. There was also concern that several streets along the parade route did not have barriers and were unmanned.

“Traffic was still flowing through the venue while the parade was occurring, and that increased liability concerns,” Massman said. “Having event insurance in place is not going to help the liability issue if the traffic isn’t stopped while the event is happening.”

Massman would like aldermen to create a policy that could be presented to event organizers as a framework for events.

“There is a multitude of different things that come into play with special-event policies, and we just need a guideline for (event organizers), so we know we are adequately insured and enforce the idea that committees need to gather that stuff ahead of time and be proactive in getting information back to us,” Massman said.

“I think that is a good idea,” Alderman Jake Plassmeyer said. “(Event organizers) need to get their ducks in a row beforehand.”

Alderman Delbert Wieberg overheard a lady complain about the availability of bathrooms at the event since there were no port-a-potties, which is standard for the Westphalia Car Show in September.

Massman noted that if Christmas on Main becomes a yearly event, planners should come before the alderman three or four months before the event date.

“Months in advance is what these types of events require, especially if there are changes required,” Massman said, noting the change in the parade route requested in early November.

Wieberg noted he thought that the committee could use additional volunteers.

Alderman Lori Asel would like to see the city more involved in Christmas on Main.

“I think we get a lot of good press and the goodwill of a lot of people,” Asel said. “It was great for the community with all the pictures and things going online; it looks good for Westphalia. (The city) takes their plans and approves them, but we’re not willing to help with the insurance, which is a pretty expensive thing, and we have citizens trying to plan something for the city.”

Mayor Massman reminded aldermen that the city does not sponsor the event because of the increased liability for the town.

“It is not that each individual (alderman) can’t be part of it,” Massman said. “It is just not the city sponsoring the event.”

Massman noted that the Christmas parade in Linn is not sponsored by the city but by the Linn Lion’s Club. Asel plans to reach out and see how other area cities handle the expense of special-event insurance.

“The event itself was great,” Massman said. “There were beautiful floats.”

In other business, it was noted that the Westphalia Christmas Decorating Contest would be held on Dec. 11. Aldermen will pick the judges to decide the winners. Prizes will be awarded for first place ($50), second place ($40), third place ($30), fourth place ($20), and four honorable mentions. Aldermen are not eligible for cash prizes but are for honorable mention. 

Last year’s winners were Tyler and Brittany Plassmeyer (first place), Nicki Bax (second place), Mike and Melissa Kliethermes (third place), and Brian and Ashley Devales (fourth place). Honorable mentions were Elmer and Rita Bax, Anna May Holterman, Randy Wieberg, and Mark and Judy Kempker.

• Mayor Massman has put notices in the Unterrified Democrat for the April 4, 2023, election. Two two-year aldermanic seats (Wieberg, Stanley Heckman), a one-year seat (Plassmeyer), and a two-year mayor position (Massman) will be up for election. Interested candidates can contact Massman. Filing opens on Dec. 6 and runs through Dec. 27. 

Asel volunteered to blow up the ad in the local paper and post it in the City Hall window.

• Aaron Lachowicz from Mid Mo Operations reported that the city’s sewer system was running well.  

“Everything looks good,” he said. “You guys have a really tight system. Kudos to the guys that installed it.”

Mid Mo Operations had resumed inspecting the city’s manholes before deer season and found one behind Wieberg’s property whose lid was halfway off.

“We were getting a ton of inflow and infiltration from it,” Lachowicz reported. “We went ahead and fixed it while we were up there.”

Lachowicz added that he and his company would resume the manhole inspections in a couple of weeks and have an estimated 30 more to go before they are done. 

The Ultraviolet (UV) lights have been put away for the year. 

Lachowicz reports that he doesn’t believe they will need to haul sludge until the spring of 2023.

“That’s amazing,” Massman said. “That’s only one time this whole year.”

“Yup,” Lachowicz replied. “We are managing it a little differently.”

• Massman will reach out to the Missouri Department of Transportation on the stop sign that blew over by the Dollar General.

• Aldermen approved the following expenses for the month: city fund ($2,995.15), sewer system ($6,549.69), and special road district ($369.40).

• The city had the following receipts for the month: city ($8,330.81) and sewer ($9,979.72). There were no receipts reported for the special road district.

• Westphalia had the following balances in their accounts: city checking ($162,182.99), sewer system checking ($46,878.96), special road district checking ($29,813.92), and special road district savings ($5,113.15).

• The city holds the following certificates of deposit: city ($439,909.38), sewer system ($522,536.70), and special road district ($522,726.92).

• The next meeting will be on Dec. 27 at 6 p.m.