After a second vote, the Jefferson City Council approved a proposal for rental residential duplexes on Shermans Hollow, after it rejected the proposal in October.
Last month, the Jefferson City Council voted to reconsider the matter following a public hearing.
Steve Lightner, the developer who will be building these duplexes, requested the council reconsider a preliminary Planned Unit Development Plan which calls for two one-story rental residential duplexes on 1 acre at 3410 Shermans Hollow.
After the council denied the plan by a 6-4 vote in October, Ward 4 Councilman Ron Fitzwater said he received calls from those who supported the rental properties. Council members said they only heard from those who opposed the proposal up until they voted and when Fitzwater asked for another hearing, the council approved.
As they did earlier, there were many Ward 4 residents who voiced stormwater concerns during Monday night's council meeting. Some members of the West Point Homeowners Association also spoke against the plan with concerns over rental properties being integrated with residential homes, and there were concerns raised about increased traffic with the duplexes coming in.
The hearings came following September's Jefferson City Planning and Zoning Commission, where commissioners unanimously recommended approval of the project to the City Council. At that time, officials with Central Missouri Professional Services, the project consultant, said the duplexes would be built at a lower grade, and stormwater would be directed toward Shermans Hollow so it can flow into the street inlets. They reiterated that at Monday night's meeting.
Fitzwater said after meeting with residents and the developer he felt comfortable approving the plan which passed on a 9-1 vote. The lone vote against was from fellow Ward 4 Councilman Carlos Graham who had voted against reconsidering the plan.
Also Monday night, the City Council approved a mass-notification system for the Jefferson City Police Department. The vote was 9-1.
The council approved a $22,000 agreement with Rave Mobility Safety after placing the matter on the informal calendar at a council meeting in November due to contracting concerns.
Ward 5 Councilman Jon Hensley had concerns the contract did not contain limitations regarding how Rave would use subscribers' information and worried the company might be able to sell the information.
City Counselor Ryan Moehlman contacted Rave and was provided more details which he said showed Rave could not trade or sell information about users to outside parties. Hensley asked to have city staff make sure to keep data from city transactions confidential included in the contract and the council agreed.
Individuals would opt-in to the service and create profiles that include information they may want emergency personnel to know, such as health conditions, garage door passcodes or spare key locations. However, subscribers would not be required to add such information.
If a subscriber calls 911, an operator would see his or her account and could give emergency personnel information. The system would include a 911 feature where if a subscriber called the police department but was unable to speak, the 911 operator could initiate a texting conversation.
The lone councilman to vote against the measure Monday night was Ward 3 Councilwoman Erin Wiseman who last month said she was against the bill because she felt there are other ways the department could inform the public, such as increased use of social media and continuing to send information to news organizations.
Nearly 8,500 accounts follow the police department's Facebook page, and more than 2,500 accounts follow its Twitter account. More than 4,100 accounts follow the Cole County Sheriff's Department's Facebook page. Police officials said Rave would allow the department to post to all social media accounts and send a cellphone notification all at once.
Police officials earlier said Osage and Boone counties, as well as State Technical College of Missouri, use Rave, and Lincoln University is looking to enter into a contract with the company for a similar mass-notification system.
The $22,000 cost includes support and maintenance of the system for a year. Cole County commissioners have been approached about funding half of the total cost.
The contract would be for one year, with the option of four yearly renewals.
In other business Monday night, the council:
- Approved a $333,844 land-lease agreement with Fischer Grain Farms Inc. for agricultural use of 501 acres. The agreement would be for one year with the potential of five annual renewals.
- Approved a $500,614 contract with MERA Excavating LLC for sanitary sewer replacements in the 1300 block of West Miller Street, 2100 block of Buehrle Drive and 500 block of Ellis Boulevard. The company would also do individual manhole replacements on Buchanan Street and Flamingo Road.