Monday, September 11, 2023 the Rocheport Board of Alderpersons hosted Adrian Plank, District 47 Representative. The board gave the floor to Plank and he made known that anyone can and should call or email his office if they need assistance with governmental matters. He explained that if their office can help, they will. He brought a lot of free resource material for attendees which were printed by the State of Missouri, including the Missouri Constitution, the Missouri Roster, Missouri Resources, and the Official Travel Guide of Missouri.

Capital Info

The Rocheport Sky Stick and the 911 fiasco putting us at risk

Plank also addressed the Rocheport Sky Stick, the cell tower that has been standing with no cell equipment for several years now, and explained how the AT&T lobbyist will not return his phone calls to address getting service set up in our town. The main concern about the lack of this service is that all of our 911 calls go to Cooper County first. In other words, if someone in Rocheport has a heart attack, the 911 call goes to Cooper County, then back to Boone County before help is dispatched. I could drive down to the fire house quicker than this process. It is hard to know how this unwieldy system has become the set protocol and how it has been kept this way for as long as it has. Making further change might require citizens to also request this service from AT&T.

Bill 190 impacts income and property taxes

Bill 190 was another topic of the evening. State representatives are letting Missouri counties decide whether to freeze the property tax rates of seniors. This proposal has already been challenged in court, the Missouri house of lawyers using the verbiage “Social Security eligibility,” making it unclear who would qualify as a senior if this bill were to go through. Another concern is that funding for schools and community service could be impacted depending on how the county decides to implement the bill.

A MODOT representative was in attendance for public questions and comments

In attendance was the regional MODOT representative. Plank opened the floor to any questions about roads and signage. There was a lot of feedback from locals about the speed of vehicles and the lack of sidewalks. Alderpersons have reached out to MODOT in the past about options such as speed bumps only to be told that it can’t be done as state highway design guidelines do not allow this. When the alderpersons asked about alternative options such as a solar powered sign that displays a person’s speed, the cost was brought up as approximately $20,000. The response was a quick “no” to this since it’s on our town to fund any speed signs.

Another hot topic included the 240 Spur and the lack of clear visibility onto 240/40, a 60 MPH highway. The amount of vehicles using this alternative route due to BBs closure was reiterated to MODOT.

For any future concerns, the MODOT representative suggested calling their hotline first, then calling Plank’s office if necessary. Calling the hotline first provides you with a ticket number so that you are in the system when you call Plank’s office and then there is information on your inquiry.

Biscuits, Beats, and Brews, oh my!

Colin LaVaute rescinded the previous date for Biscuits, Beats, and Brews, a music festival held in Rocheport. LaVaute requested the event take place in Rocheport on Sep 29 – Oct 1 this year, moving it from Oct 6 – 8. This change of date comes after the LaVaute’s Treeline musical festival, previously held in Columbia, was cancelled this year.

LaVaute’s hope is to join some of the musical acts that were scheduled for Treeline with Biscuits, Beats, and Brews, which means it would become much larger this year. LaVaute spoke to the potential challenges of running the event and how they might be addressed. Basically, with larger music offerings, everything else becomes larger—more vendors (local vendors as well), more signs, more people, and more cars to park. These increases brings along with them the need for more security, more cops, more signs, more portable toilets, medical support, and a shuttle service so cars can be parked at the Les Bourgeois Winery. LaVaute called this a “bridge year” for the festival and said it might lead to the music festival outgrowing Rocheport in the future.

The Board of Alderpersons did not make a motion to approve right away. Instead, they took issue under executive session to discuss related legal matters. After the executive session, the board announced their approval. The new and improved Biscuits, Beats, and Brews is on its way! More details coming soon on this.

The rest was business as usual

The evening ended with the usual city business. Look for the minutes in next month’s post on Rocheport Times.