Hannibal City Council considering amendments to event application, appointment procedures

HANNIBAL, Mo. — The Hannibal City Council talked trash and other potential amendments to the city’s event application at its meeting Tuesday night after April Azotea, 2nd Ward Council Member, voiced concerns for the lingering impact of high-traffic events on the downtown area.

“Main Street is my ward … the reason why I feel like it’s important to address this now is because I kind of foresee the same problems potentially popping up in the future,” she said.

The first issue she brought to the floor was that of designated handicapped parking — or lack thereof — at downtown events. She said citizens asked her where such parking could be found at a recent car show, but while a parking lot had been roped off for attendees, there was still no clear indication of reserved handicapped spots. Additionally, The show’s coordinators had roped off the parking lot without the council’s permission.

Azotea proposed that event applications must include handicapped parking plans to ensure all citizens are able to attend, then moved onto the issue of trash.

“There’s been multiple festivals where the trash cans downtown are overflowing (after the event has ended)… The amount of grease, food, trash all over the streets that is attracting mice and bugs is something that I would like to prevent,” she said.

City Clerk Melissa Cogdal stated that trash management is already included in the event application and that coordinators are responsible for cleaning up after their events, but suggested that someone from the city check on the condition of the area in the days following to determine if the coordinators followed through with their clean-up obligations. A record would be kept of those who fail to return the area as they found it and risk their event application being denied the following year.

Azotea was directed to work with Cogdal to develop amendment proposals for the application and bring them to a vote at a later date.

Later in the meeting, a routine appointment to the planning and zoning commission was halted by Azotea, who said she knew of others who were interested in fulfilling the position. The appointment in question was the second reading of a recommendation for approval from Interim City Manager Andy Dorian for Roger McGregor and Mike Dobson, Azotea’s predecessor, for terms to expire in June 2029 and May 2028, respectively.

According to the city’s charter, the planning and zoning commission consists of five members: one council member selected by the council and four qualified citizens appointed by the city manager to serve four year terms. Those who are interested typically inquire with the city and submit necessary documents for consideration. Materials are reviewed, a selection is made and a recommendation of appointment is brought to the council for approval, where members are given two opportunities to vote against the appointment.

Azotea stated that she’s heard frustrations from constituents about the lack of response from Dobson, both in regard to his seat on the council and his position on the planning and zoning commission, which he has held for roughly 15 years.

Hannibal Mayor Darrell McCoy said there have already been discussions with City Attorney James Lemon about changing the process within the charter, but as a charter change requires public approval, any changes to the current process would be months away, at best. 

After several minutes of back and forth discussion among the council, a vote was taken to table Dobson’s approval. With the exception of Azotea, the council voted against tabling the matter and moved on to voting on his appointment. The council voted in favor of Dobson’s appointment — once more with the exception of Azotea.

“I think it’s important that we don’t discourage anybody from finding good talent and bringing that good talent,” said Michael Fleetwood, 5th Ward Council Member. “We don’t want to create an inbred good ol’ boy network where the same people get appointed every time. We need new people, but we have to have a process to do it.”

The agenda item following was the first reading for a recommendation of Fleetwood’s appointment to the same commission.

A $23,000 engineering agreement with Klinger & Associates was approved for the Grand Avenue Bin Wall Repair Project. A bin wall consists of corrugated metal bins filled with soil that are put into the side of a hill to reinforce its structural integrity. 

Dorian previously stated the wall has had “significant problems” since it was built in the 1980s; as many as five bins have failed during the last several years, including one in the last few months that caused rock and debris to slide into Grand Avenue.

The first project objective, which has already been completed following the approval of a $15,500 contract with the same firm in April, was to determine the exact parts of the hillside that the city owns by conducting a boundary/topographic survey. The newly approved agreement will cover the next step, including design and bidding services. Funding for the project is paid for with the infrastructure tax.

According to Dorian, the city has placed the project for a bid two times over the year but both were rejected due to costs. 

Following comments from the city’s financial director, Bianca Quinn, the council heard the first reading of two ordinances regarding the budget for the next fiscal year (FY), ending June 30, 2026. 

The first was to approve budgets and appropriations for various departments, boards, commissions and agencies of the city for FY 2026, totaling nearly $35 million. The second ordinance was to pay the city’s officers and employees for FY 2026.

An ordinance to amend the city’s current budget (FY 2025) was also given a first reading. According to a more detailed description of the ordinance as outlined in the meeting’s agenda, the amendment was needed to reflect additional revenues and expenses:

• Increased costs for computer systems and trash collection services for Hannibal City Hall;
• Increased labor and tool costs for the Department of Public Works;
• Increased costs for tax assessment services;
• Increased costs for professional services in the law department outside of the city’s regular contract;
• Increased costs for personal protective gear for the Hannibal Fire Department (HFD) and mid-year emergency salary increases for HFD and the Hannibal Police Department;
• Increased medical claims;
• Additional retirement and resignation payouts than what was budgeted for;
• Unbudgeted capital projects;
• Mid-year and otherwise unbudgeted grant matches, as well as multiple grants for the Capital Improvement Fund;
• Insurance reimbursements;
• and additional legal costs incurred in the executive budget.

Additional revenues for both the general and the self insurance funds exceeded their additional expenses. The capital fund’s additional expenses exceeded its additional revenues by nearly $80,000, and were funded by revenue left over from FY 2024.

The council also heard McCoy’s recommendations of reappointments to the Mark Twain Home Board for Frank Salter and Kristy Trevathan, both for terms to expire November 2032, as well as his recommendations of reappointments to the Library Board for Raymond Lee and Laura Judlowe and a recommendation of appointment for Harry Graves, all for terms to expire June 2028.

The meeting concluded with the council heading into their eighth closed session of the year. The meeting’s agenda suggested the subject matter involved pending litigation and sealed bids and related documents regarding the sale, purchase or leasing of real estate by the city.

An special call administrative hearing regarding business closures is set for 5:30 p.m. Wednesday in Hannibal City Hall Council Chambers. 

A copy of the entire agenda packet for the council’s May 20 meeting can be found on the city’s website. The next meeting will take place at 7 p.m. in Hannibal City Hall Council Chambers on June 17.