META  — A serious accident is likely to occur in Meta if something isn’t done to slow down drivers coming down Bertha Street, Alderman Otto Wankum told colleagues at last week’s board meeting.

“I want everybody to be aware of this, and I’ve noticed it before, several times,” he said. “But this one really kind of got me. I’d stopped at the post office, and about the time I got out of my pickup, I saw this car coming down Bertha Street at least 55 or 60 miles an hour. When he went over that hump, he just about lost it. I couldn’t get a license plate number or anything like that. That’s not the only one I’ve seen there, and somebody’s gonna get killed.”

Wankum added that other places around Meta are just as bad, including a straight stretch east of town. “I don’t know what it will take to slow them down,” he admitted. “I sure as hell hope that it’s not somebody getting hit. And quite frankly, with spring and summer coming on, you’ll have kids out there, riding bikes, walking, whatever, and somebody will get run over. If somebody had come around that bank corner at the wrong time, it would have been a big old t-bone there, and as fast as this individual was going, it would have been really bad. I’m throwing that out there so everybody can think about it and what we can do.”

Aldermen agreed that the culprit is people trying to bypass traffic and get through town a few seconds faster.

One suggestion was to install speed bumps. “I hope if we decide to do that, we make them big enough that somebody’s just gonna tear the hell out of something rather than go over it,” Wankum said.

City Attorney Nathan Nickolaus called that a two-edged sword, noting that while speed bumps slow down traffic, they can cause accidents and make maintenance efforts difficult.

“What do you think about contracting with the sheriff?” Nickolaus asked. “Maybe if you guys paid for some overtime, deputies work down here.”

He added that deputies could enforce speed limits on city streets with a contract. Deputies can write tickets for running violations on state highways, but local ordinances are another matter.

Bertha Street is part of Rt. B, which is a state highway, and laws should be enforceable.

“If you want more of a law enforcement presence, you’re going to have to pay for it,” he said.

“Most sheriff’s departments are understaffed,” Wankum noted.

“It’s like that everywhere, but I thought with overtime, you might have a deputy who wants to earn some extra money,” said Nickolaus.

Speeding motorists did not appear to care that a water leak was being repaired. “I had to flag a couple of them to slow down because they came around the back like a bat out of hell,” said Wankum, noting two people were flagging that day, one on each end of the area.

Nickolaus asked if the city posted signs during the project.

“The instructions I gave the two people flagging traffic this last time is that the number one goal is not to get run over,” Wankum replied.

Additionally, one end of the project already had a stop sign, so that should have been a clue to slow down, Wankum noted.

Aldermen noted the situation but took no action.

In other business, Wankum again broached the subject of damage at the city park, which he stopped short of calling vandalism.

“Last summer, we dealt with (people) messing up the gravel, spinning four-wheelers around, taking the chips out of the playground area, and throwing it all over underneath the pavilion, along with rocks with gravel,” Wankum explained. “I want to get ahead of this so we don’t have to spend X number of hours going back down there and repairing things that shouldn’t get shouldn’t have gotten messed up, to begin with.”

Maintenance staff spent two or three days cleaning up the pavilion.

Wankum encouraged aldermen to keep a watchful eye on the situation, promising to do his part. “I have no problem going down there and running their asses off,” he added. “I dealt with that all last summer. And it’s just not right because it costs the city money. Not that they care about that, I guess.”

He noted that when the new infield is muddy, someone has been tramping over it, leaving footprints.

“I think we got to tighten that up, too,” said Wankum.

City Clerk Deidra Buechter asked for clarification regarding purchasing additional security measures.

“We talked about adding another camera to get a shot of the parking lot,” said Wankum.

Currently, there are three cameras at the park.

Remote Computer Services (RCS) of Westphalia provided a bid for equipment and the labor to install it, but Buechter said the situation was confusing and needed to be resolved.

In November, aldermen approved the purchase of two new cameras for the ballpark, but the DVR didn’t have the memory to handle the additional footage. As a result, aldermen agreed to purchase a new DVR with more memory, two new cameras, and labor, not to exceed $2,500.

Wankum said the same people appear to be involved and described the truck used last summer to damage the park.

“We’ve got to tighten the screws down on that a little bit,” he said.

Alderman Ivie Helton agreed. “I’d rather spend a little extra money to put up a few more cameras so that all city property is monitored than be sitting here talking about what happened, and we can’t figure out who did it,” she said.

“How many cameras would you think would be needed at the ballpark?” Mayor Emily Sommerer asked.

“Honestly, I don’t know if I can answer that,” Wankum replied, deferring to RCS for expertise on the cameras’ coverage area. “I’m not sure that if you do even get them on camera that the sheriff’s department can do anything about it.”

“I think they can if we get a video of him doing it,” Helton noted.

Because someone was doing donuts on the pavilion, Buechter made signs prohibiting such activity. “They’ve got no business taking four-wheelers onto the pavilion,” Wankum said.

Signs will be made for the ballpark telling people to stay off the infield when it’s wet.

Wankum spoke to one individual about the situation, telling him that the city must clean up whatever mess is made.

“If the parents of those kids get upset about this, they can come talk to me,” said Wankum. “I’d be happy to exchange conversation.”

He also questioned the city’s liability should someone get hurt while damaging public property.

“You can be liable,” Nickolaus said flatly.

“Even if we post signs?” Wankum asked.

“You want to do as much of that kind of stuff as you can,” the attorney replied.

“Signs that say ‘not responsible for accidents,’” said Helton.

“You’re responsible,” Nickolaus countered. “You’re either responsible or not responsible. Putting up a sign saying you’re not responsible doesn’t change anything.”

Having said that, signs and trying to enforce ordinances help.

“You should bill their parents for the damage they caused,” said Nickolaus.

“I don’t know how much money we spend down there maintaining that, but it’s quite a bit,” said Wankum.

In other maintenance news, Wankum said hand dryers would be installed at the ballpark restrooms before spring.

Regarding the city’s lead service line inventory, which will be funded through American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA), Bartlett & West Engineer Blake Wilbers suggested the city solicit a Request for Proposal (RFP) to handle everything needed to get it started. That includes administration, construction, and paperwork.

Bartlett & West Engineer Dillon Feely is working on getting updates for the park and the stormwater projects.

Centertown, which is comparable in size to Meta, received $17 million for wastewater, and Buechter said the city would need an updated cost estimate for a new sewer system before moving forward. The last estimate was done in 2016.

A meeting will be scheduled to allow Meta officials to talk to the Centertown mayor and figure out how that town went about securing funds.

Centertown was awarded funds for a design study, and Nickolaus suggested asking for a $100,000 appropriation for such a study from US Congressman Blaine Luetkemeyer, who is pushing for municipalities in his district to pursue funds.

He added that the process is purely political, and Alderman Steve Sherrell reiterated that Luetkemeyer wants to help. “He drives through here every time he goes home,” he said.

Sherrell added that if the city puts off a decision, Meta will be on the waitlist for another year.

“Yeah, but I have a problem with approving money to spend and not having a lot of hard facts,” said Wankum. “Would you spend your money that way?”

“Well, we need a new sewer system here if we want to keep growing,” Sherrell replied, noting the last new house was built in Meta about 30 years ago.

Helton said that since the design is already done, it can be updated with a new cost estimate for use in other projects that come along.

Nicklaus confirmed the city could use ARPA funds for the sewer project. “Anything involving water systems is fair game,” he said.

Buechter noted that Meta had not spent any of the ARPA funds awarded to the city, and the 1% match required for the lead service line inventory would not be much.

Wilbers said updating the cost estimate wouldn’t take long, and the remaining ARPA funds could be used toward a match for the sewer system.

Aldermen agreed and approved the use of ARPA.

In water news, the board approved the purchase of a six-inch hydrant for $3,098.69 and a six-inch valve for $1,020.29 from Core and Main to replace a faulty hydrant across from the ballpark where the Royal Oak warehouse once operated.

In his report, Nickolaus spoke about House Bill 626, sponsored by Rep. Tony Lovasco, which would prohibit them from regulating people for unlicensed cars or junk cars parked on private property. “It’s a big thing for almost all my clients,” said Nickolaus. “You’ve always got some of these junk cars. It also has some really weird provisions in it that I don’t, frankly, completely understand. Basically, the city would not be able to prohibit anybody from making noise or air pollution on their property, except to the extent that it’s regulated by the EPA.”

Nickolaus recommended that aldermen speak with their representatives and encourage them to vote down the bill.

“It means a lot when it comes from elected officials,” he said. “If we can’t go after people for junk cars, that’s a problem.”

Nickolaus said the city’s problem is not too many ordinances on the books; it’s that Meta doesn’t have the resources to enforce them.

In open discussion, Buechter noted that at the time of the meeting, she was holding onto Dollar General’s business and liquor licenses because the latter had been paid.

“Dollar General corporate should get on the horn and resolve this,” said Buechter, noting she had called four times and spoken with the local manager.

• Meta Fire and Rescue Women’s Auxiliary is hosting a rummage sale on April 20-22 at the fire station. For more information, contact Samantha Helton.