McCoy sworn in as new mayor of Hannibal

HANNIBAL, Mo. — Before passing the torch to the city’s new mayor, Darrell McCoy, outgoing Mayor Barry Louderman bid the Hannibal City Council farewell at its meeting Tuesday night as a new generation of leadership was ushered in at City Hall.

“I want to thank the citizens of Hannibal for allowing me to be mayor the last couple years,” Louderman said. “It’s been an honor and a privilege to serve this city. I take it very seriously that we need to move the city forward, and I’m leaving it in good hands with this council.”

In his last act as mayor, Louderman presented plaques of appreciation to: former 5th Ward Council Member Colin Welch, who served from 2017 until his resignation in January; former 2nd Ward Council Member and Mayor Pro Tempore Mike Dobson, who served from 2010 to 2025; and former 4th Ward Council Member Charlie Phillips, who served from 2022 to 2025.

Louderman himself was then honored with a plaque of appreciation by City Clerk Melissa Cogdal.

“Thank you for stepping in at a really tough time for the council and … doing a really amazing job at getting everybody together and straightening it out,” she said.

After the oaths of office, McCoy’s first act as mayor was to clearly define a separation of powers and influence within the council.

“Effective immediately, the mayor will no longer be voting in day-to-day activities of the city council,” he said. “It’s important for me that the elected officials of your ward … really take ownership of that position, (they) really don’t need to be influenced by the mayor’s office.”

In addition to McCoy, Donald McMaster Bastian was sworn in as municipal judge for a two-year term. He ran unopposed.

Euhlan “Robbie/Wolfman” Leeders, Jr. was sworn in as 4th Ward Council Member after securing 87 votes in the April 8 municipal election, in which he ran unopposed. He replaces Phillips on the council.

Amy Powell came within 26 votes of Leeders — an impressive feat for a write-in candidate.

After defeating Tammy Riley in the April 22 runoff election, April Azotea was sworn in as 2nd Ward Council Member. She replaces longtime council member Dobson, who attempted to derail her campaign during a candidate forum in March.

After taking her seat between 1st Ward Council Member Scott Haycraft and 3rd Ward Council Member Robert Koehn, Azotea watched as the now-former councilman Dobson took to the podium during the public comment portion of the meeting — a ritual she became intimately familiar with in the eight years leading up to her council debut. 

“Little different being on this side,” Dobson said from behind the podium. 

He reminded the council that the demolition of St. Elizabeth’s Hospital played a key role in the voters’ passing of the infrastructure sales tax in 2022, which expires in roughly a year and a half. He said the project has been held off since the implementation of the tax, and that if the council hopes to renew it, they’d better follow through with their original promise to taxpayers.

“The last engineers’ estimate was about five, five and a half million dollars to tear down the old hospital,” he said. “My point of being up here tonight is to put it in the back of your mind going into the budgetary process, and I would ask that we keep that promise to the citizens that we move forward with that project.”

In his second act as mayor, McCoy issued a proclamation of May 4-10 as Missouri Local Government Week, following the same proclamation by Gov. Mike Kehoe.

A resolution authorizing a contract between the city and Bleigh Construction for $952,000 was approved for renovations to Central Park, which was selected by the Hannibal Parks Department and Park Board as the city’s major capital project for the year. The contract also allows additional fees of $24.50 per square foot of additional stucco replacement and $19.50 per square foot of masonry repointing.

Central Park is the city’s oldest park, and the century-old bandstand has been closed for several months due to structural failures. Unstable sidewalks and curbs present safety hazards, and the electrical pedestals are failing. Bandstand repairs will cost $465,000, while the rest will go toward replacements for sidewalks, curbs, electric pedestals and electric service.

Interim City Manager Andy Dorian said the Parks Department has been saving for the project for years. The costs are included in the upcoming budget for fiscal year 2025-26. Renovations will begin in July and are anticipated to be completed by fall.

Dorian also announced the city had received a subaward grant from the Missouri Department of Conservation for $16,600, with $12,600 used for video surveillance equipment, installation and maintenance to prevent unauthorized entry and vandalism. The remaining money will go towards an educational kiosk on bat ecosystem preservation, for which the city will contribute an additional $7,000. The project is estimated to be completed by mid-June.

Cogdal presented a schedule of the budget for fiscal year 2025-26, which was approved by the council and is as follows:

• Wed. May 7: Budget sent to Mayor McCoy, City Council and city departments
• Wed. May 21 at 5:30 p.m.: Budget workshop in the council chambers at Hannibal City Hall and is open to the public
• Tues. June 3 at 5:45 p.m.: Public hearing for the budget in the council chambers at Hannibal City Hall and is open to the public; first reading given to the council
• Tues. June 17: Final reading of the budget and a vote to approve by the council

The council approved requests from city collector Janice Magruder for the abatement of special taxes dating as far back as 1996 “that have proven to be uncollectible despite all reasonable collection efforts” in the amount of $365,452.76. A request to abate $6,375 in uncollectible vehicle registration sticker fees for stickers administered between 2014 and 2020 also was approved. 

Magruder provided the council with an update on collection efforts. As of April 30, 96 percent of real estate and personal property taxes for 2024 had been collected by the city, amounting to more than $2.9 million. 

The council approved a resolution to reiterate the city’s commitment to public safety as part of the Missouri Blue Shield Program, established in March by Kehoe. Cities with Blue Shield designation are eligible for state grants pertaining to law enforcement training and equipment. 

Passing such a resolution is just one of several pieces of criteria a city must meet to attain the designation. A full list of requirements can be found within the executive order that established the program.

Eric Graham, director of internal services, spoke to the council about switching plans for employee cellphones. Currently, the city utilizes three different carriers — U.S. Cellular, FirstNet and AT&T — at a total annual cost of $22,141.75. The council approved Graham’s proposal to consolidate the city’s cellphone plans into one and to switch carriers to T-Mobile, which is anticipated to garner an estimated $7,395.43 in savings per year.

The meeting concluded with the council entering into its sixth closed session of the year. The meeting’s agenda suggests the subject matter involved pending litigation and sealed bids pertaining to the leasing, purchasing or selling of real estate.

In other news, the council:

• heard an update from Cogdal on changes to city employee benefits pertaining to insurance costs;
• approved a request from Paul Ewert on behalf of Habitat for Humanity to forgive building permit fees;
• approved a request from Anna Lemon on behalf of Project Graduation – 2025 for an increase in noise level and an extension of allowable noise to 2:30 a.m. for a high school graduation party featuring a D.J. at the Jaycee’s Tanyard Gardens on May 22 into May 23;
• approved a request from Angie Wilcoxson on behalf of Hannibal Regional Foundation for road closures on July 5 from 5 a.m. to 9 a.m. for the annual Hannibal Cannibal 5/10/15K run and 5K walk;
• approved a request from Rickelle Pimentel on behalf of the Historic Hannibal Marketing Council for road closures, the sale of alcohol and electric and water service for the Twain on Main event on May 23-24 with an anticipated 10,000 attendees;
• approved a request from Hannibal Fire Chief Ryan Neisen to sell a 2003 Ford F350 with a snowplow and 94,000 miles that is no longer needed by the department via online auction, which will be facilitated by Purple Wave Online Auction Company; and
• prior to the swearing in of new officials, Louderman approved the appointments of Steve Viorel, David Jackson and Sherri Steinman to the Mark Twain Home Board, all for terms to expire in November 2032.