[0:00] He's on a cruise. He's like, you can't
[0:02] study.
[0:05] » Good evening everyone. Welcome to the
[0:07] August 19th, 2026 city council meeting.
[0:10] Please rise and we will say the pledge
[0:12] of allegiance.
[0:15] >> I pledge algiance to the flag of the
[0:17] United States of America and to the
[0:20] republic for which it stands, one nation
[0:23] under God, indivisible, with liberty and
[0:26] justice for all.
[0:30] Thank you. The clerk will call the role.
[0:33] >> Council member Norris
[0:34] >> here.
[0:36] >> Council member Patel
[0:37] >> here.
[0:38] >> Council member Satel
[0:40] >> here.
[0:41] >> Council member Thornberg
[0:42] >> here.
[0:43] >> Council member Weshi
[0:44] >> here.
[0:45] >> Council member Bazada
[0:46] >> here.
[0:46] >> Council member Shear
[0:48] >> here.
[0:49] >> Council member Luther
[0:50] >> here.
[0:51] >> Thank you. We have all the council
[0:53] members this evening. Next item on the
[0:56] agenda. Agenda approval.
[0:58] >> So moved.
[0:59] >> Second.
[0:59] >> Motion's made by council member Luther,
[1:02] seconded by council member Bazada.
[1:05] >> For the approval of tonight's agenda,
[1:08] any changes, deletions?
[1:10] I see none. All in favor of tonight's
[1:13] agenda, say I.
[1:14] >> I.
[1:14] >> Any opposed? I hear none. Tonight's
[1:17] agenda is approved. Next item on the
[1:19] agenda is our public comment portion. I
[1:23] have Diane
[1:26] Shuy. Please come forward. State your
[1:28] name and address for the city clerk.
[1:33] » I'm Diane Shuy. I live at 11760
[1:36] Archerton Court in Harmon Estates. I
[1:39] just wanted to talk to you tonight a
[1:41] little bit about our preparedness for
[1:42] climate change because I don't think we
[1:44] have any. And I'm afraid it's here. We
[1:48] have extreme heat events. We have
[1:50] extreme rainfall and I don't see the
[1:54] city being prepared. Not that it's your
[1:56] fault because nobody is across the
[1:59] country. People are just waking up, but
[2:03] there are a lot of things that the city
[2:04] can do that wouldn't take a lot of
[2:07] money, which I'm sure you'd be happy to
[2:09] hear. We need to upgrade our green
[2:12] spaces so that we have a lot more shade
[2:14] than we have now. We need to think about
[2:16] the power grid. We need to think about
[2:19] drainage. All of these mundane things
[2:22] that if we attend to them now for
[2:25] disastrous consequences.
[2:28] This is not your normal stuff. This is a
[2:32] very different world we're going to be
[2:33] living in. And I'd like to help. Um I
[2:37] think there's a lot the city can do with
[2:38] its parks just in taking a little
[2:42] inventory. We have a lot of dying trees.
[2:44] We have a lot of upkeep to do. I know
[2:47] it's expensive, but I think we could
[2:49] round up some volunteers to help and get
[2:51] things cleaned up and prepared for at
[2:54] least being a central green space in an
[2:56] area. You can keep the city temperatures
[2:59] down if you improve the green space. And
[3:03] that includes we need to think about how
[3:05] much pavement we got and where the
[3:06] runoff is going.
[3:08] If you're interested, I'd be happy to be
[3:10] on a commission to study these things
[3:12] and report back to you. Um, but we
[3:15] really need to work on it and I'm very
[3:17] concerned. My phone number is up there
[3:19] on the mayor's desk and if you need to
[3:21] call me or talk to me, I'd love to talk
[3:23] to you. Thank you.
[3:26] >> Thank you for your comments and we will
[3:28] take them under adisement.
[3:31] Next item on the agenda, the approval of
[3:33] the August 5th, 2026
[3:36] city council minutes. Do I have a
[3:38] motion?
[3:38] >> So moved.
[3:39] >> Second. Motions made by council member
[3:41] Luther, seconded by council member
[3:43] Bazada for the approval of the August
[3:44] 5th, 2026 council minutes. Any changes,
[3:49] deletions?
[3:51] I see none. All in favor of the August
[3:55] 5th, 2026 minutes say I.
[3:58] >> I.
[3:59] >> Any opposed? I hear none. The August
[4:01] 5th, 2026 council minutes are approved.
[4:05] Next item on the agenda, we do have a
[4:07] consideration of a resolution 26-03.
[4:12] Council member Luther.
[4:13] >> Thank you, Mayor. A resolution of the
[4:15] mayor and city council of the city of
[4:17] Ridgen, Missouri, supporting the parks
[4:19] and recreation department's application
[4:22] for municipal park grant commission
[4:24] funds for phase two of park improvements
[4:27] at Hibush Park. Move to approve
[4:30] resolution 26-03.
[4:32] Second.
[4:34] >> Motion is made by Council Member Luther,
[4:36] seconded by Council Member Bazada to
[4:39] approve resolution number 26-03.
[4:43] Do you have any interest in reading the
[4:46] entire resolution?
[4:48] >> Oh, well,
[4:51] I can if you would like.
[4:54] >> Let
[4:58] I think I just read the entire
[4:59] resolution.
[5:00] >> No, just the the wherees. Oh, thank you.
[5:04] >> It's not in there.
[5:05] >> Whereas the city of Bridgton desires to
[5:08] continue the park improvements of the
[5:10] 55year-old Hellabush Park and whereas
[5:14] the contract for financial grant
[5:16] assistance will impose certain
[5:18] obligations upon the applicant,
[5:20] including the provision by it of the
[5:22] local sheriff project costs. And whereas
[5:26] the city of Bridgton's ultimate goal is
[5:28] to provide and maintain highquality
[5:31] outdoor recreation facilities for the
[5:33] enjoyment of its residents. Now
[5:35] therefore, be it resolved by the mayor
[5:37] and city council of the city of
[5:39] Bridgton, Missouri as follows. An
[5:41] application be made to the municipal
[5:43] park grant commission in the county of
[5:45] St. Louis for a grant in aid for a
[5:47] majority of the costs of the project
[5:50] reimburseable by the commission upon
[5:52] completion by the city. Section two,
[5:54] that a project proposal be prepared and
[5:56] submitted to the municipal parks grant
[5:59] commission. Section three, the governing
[6:01] body hereby authorizes the mayor and
[6:04] city clerk to sign and execute the
[6:06] necessary documents for forwarding the
[6:08] project proposal application and later
[6:11] execute an agreement for a grant and aid
[6:13] from the municipal park grant commission
[6:15] regarding said grant. section four that
[6:19] this resolution shall become a permanent
[6:21] part of the records of the city of
[6:22] Bridgton upon its passage and approval.
[6:26] >> Very good. Any further discussion?
[6:30] I see none. All in favor say I.
[6:32] >> I.
[6:33] >> Any opposed?
[6:34] >> I hear none. Resolution number 26-03
[6:39] is approved. Thank you very much. Next
[6:42] item on the agenda. We do have
[6:44] perfection of bills. First bill and only
[6:47] bill for perfection is 6558. Council
[6:50] member Norris.
[6:52] >> Thank you, Mayor.
[6:54] >> I'm playing with my toy over here, so
[6:56] bear with me. Uh move for second reading of bill
[7:02] number 6558.
[7:04] >> Second. Motion's made by council member
[7:07] Norah, second by council member Shear
[7:09] for second reading of bill number 6558.
[7:12] All in favor say I.
[7:13] >> I.
[7:14] >> Any opposed? I hear none. Please
[7:16] continue.
[7:17] >> An ordinance of the city council of the
[7:19] city of Bridgton, Missouri, authorizing
[7:21] the mayor and city clerk to execute an
[7:24] agreement substantially in the form
[7:26] attached tier 2 with Motorola Solutions
[7:29] for drone as first responder DFR
[7:33] program.
[7:37] Move that bill number 6558 become
[7:40] ordinance number 26-36.
[7:45] » Second.
[7:46] >> Motion's made by council member Noah,
[7:48] seconded by council member Satil. That
[7:49] bill number 6558 become ordinance 26-36.
[7:54] Discussion.
[7:57] » Council member Norris, can you turn your
[7:59] microphone on, please?
[8:01] >> Oh, I'm sorry.
[8:04] I will defer if chief did the chief give
[8:09] you any information to All right.
[8:12] >> All right. So, if you could defer to
[8:14] that, I would defer to the chief. Uh I
[8:17] mean,
[8:17] >> assistant,
[8:18] >> Major Dick Herbert,
[8:19] >> Major, I'm sorry.
[8:22] So, uh you know, we it it does go on and
[8:25] I mean, I'll just briefly say that, you
[8:27] know, it's not going to cost us
[8:28] anything, but you can continue.
[8:31] >> Yes, ma'am. So it would be a oneear
[8:34] trial period that leads into a fouryear
[8:37] contract. Uh the funds for that should
[8:41] we make that one trial period
[8:46] would be asset. So there's no budget for
[8:51] this
[8:53] that trial period we're going to be
[8:54] testing the effectiveness of it
[8:56] usefulness of it. Cities that have
[9:00] employed these cities jurisdictions find
[9:02] them to be
[9:06] they reduce the time to a call
[9:11] response time.
[9:13] Uh this particular device will be
[9:16] mounted on the roof police department
[9:19] and it will cover the entire city as
[9:21] well as parts of Maryland
[9:25] all the way out to
[9:28] So almost entire
[9:34] you know the biggest concerns that we
[9:36] hear and obviously we privacy concerns
[9:43] one of the things that that is so
[9:45] impressive about this technology is
[9:47] specifically to service that
[9:52] we will have a license pilot that is
[9:54] part of that that decision
[9:59] So that pilot actually
[10:03] when it's flying it'll be automatic. So
[10:06] it's tied into our system. So our pilot
[10:10] who will end up being our most select
[10:14] based on the criteria we set
[10:17] this call. It autonomous autonomously
[10:22] flies to that call based on coordinates
[10:24] in the system and that camera is aimed
[10:28] at the horizon.
[10:41] You know with this one one of the
[10:43] biggest things is you know we're looking
[10:46] at it not only to capture evidence our
[10:49] response time
[10:51] in
[10:53] the dangerous
[10:57] but also to reduce our responsity
[11:16] call that's also going
[11:19] because nine times out of 10
[11:27] » discussion continues. Council member
[11:29] Satel.
[11:29] >> Thank you, Mayor. Um, as a pilot myself,
[11:32] I'm kind of concerned since we have our
[11:34] airport so close and we're actually on a
[11:36] no-fly zone. Do we have to mean we have
[11:38] to contact the tower every time we just
[11:40] lift off the top of the roof or or
[11:41] what's Can you explain that a little bit
[11:43] here?
[11:43] >> Absolutely. So part of this contract is
[11:45] actually them assisting us in getting a
[11:48] waiver for that specifically for the
[11:51] police department.
[11:57] Excuse me. So they coordinate with FAA
[12:00] and with the airport to raise that
[12:03] ceiling for our use. So they would then
[12:20] » so kind of want to like a helicopter
[12:21] flying through our zone area the same
[12:22] thing going to a hospital or something
[12:24] like that then. All right. Thank you.
[12:25] All right.
[12:27] >> Thank you
[12:28] council. Any further discussion?
[12:32] >> If not the clerk will call the role.
[12:37] Council member Patel.
[12:39] >> Hi.
[12:40] >> Council member Satel.
[12:41] >> Hi.
[12:42] >> Council member Thornberg.
[12:44] >> I.
[12:45] >> Council member Weshi.
[12:46] >> Hi.
[12:47] >> Council member Bazada.
[12:48] >> I.
[12:49] >> Council member Shear.
[12:50] >> I.
[12:51] >> Council member Luther.
[12:52] >> I.
[12:53] >> Council member Norris.
[12:54] >> I.
[12:57] >> By vote of 8 to nothing. Ordinance uh
[13:00] bill number 6558 becomes ordinance
[13:02] 26-36.
[13:05] Next item on the agenda, consideration
[13:07] of new bills. Bill number 6559.
[13:11] Council member Norris.
[13:13] >> Yes, sir. Thank you. Move for first
[13:15] reading of bill number 6559.
[13:18] >> Second.
[13:20] >> Motion's made by council member Norris,
[13:22] seconded by council member Shear for
[13:23] first reading of bill number 6559. All
[13:26] in favor say I.
[13:27] >> I. Any opposed? I hear none. Please
[13:30] continue.
[13:31] >> An ordinance of the city council of the
[13:33] city of Bridgton, Missouri, amending
[13:35] chapter 205, offenses, article six,
[13:39] offenses against public order section
[13:42] 205.330,
[13:45] harassment in the city of Bridgton, code
[13:47] of ordinance. Move to table.
[13:50] >> Second.
[13:51] >> Motion is made to table bill number 6559
[13:54] by council member Nor, seconded by
[13:56] council member Shear. All in favor say
[13:58] I.
[13:58] >> I.
[13:59] >> Any opposed?
[14:00] >> Bill number 6559 is tabled. Next item,
[14:04] consideration.
[14:06] First consideration of bill number 6560.
[14:10] Council member Shear.
[14:12] >> Uh I move for first reading of bill
[14:14] number 6560.
[14:16] >> Second.
[14:17] >> Motion's made by council member Shear,
[14:19] seconded by council member Norris for
[14:21] first reading of bill number 6560. All
[14:24] in favor say I.
[14:25] >> I. Any opposed? I hear none. Please
[14:28] continue.
[14:30] >> An ordinance with the city council of
[14:31] the city of Bridton, Missouri,
[14:33] authorizing the mayor and the city clerk
[14:35] to execute a surface transportation
[14:38] block grant agreement substantially in
[14:41] the form attached hereto with the
[14:44] Missouri Highways and Transportation
[14:46] Commission Association with the
[14:48] replacement of the existing natural
[14:50] bridge
[14:52] road bridge.
[14:56] Move the table.
[14:58] >> I move to table.
[15:01] >> I need a second.
[15:02] >> Second.
[15:04] >> Motion's made by council member Sheer,
[15:06] seconded by Councilman Member Norris to
[15:08] table bill number 6560. All in favor say
[15:12] I.
[15:12] >> I.
[15:12] >> Any opposed? Bill number 6560 is tabled.
[15:16] We don't have any discussion items.
[15:18] Attorney's report.
[15:19] >> Uh just one thing to report, mayor. the
[15:22] uh the still on the rocks lawsuit uh was
[15:25] dismissed by the pliff uh this week. So
[15:28] that has come to a conclusion.
[15:30] >> Good. Thank you.
[15:34] >> Council communications. Council member
[15:36] Wishing.
[15:38] >> Thank you, Mayor. Um thank you all for
[15:40] coming out. I always uh like seeing
[15:42] people in the room and there's quite a
[15:43] few of you tonight. So um I actually
[15:46] don't really have anything. So back to
[15:47] you, Mayor.
[15:48] >> Council member Shear. Uh, thank you,
[15:51] mayor. Uh, I have nothing tonight.
[15:54] >> Council member Satel.
[15:56] >> Thank you, mayor. Uh, I want to thank
[15:58] those that attended tonight's Cove
[15:59] meeting. It was the hot topic really was
[16:01] about emotos and ebikes and stuff like
[16:04] that. So, I think the city and the
[16:05] police department's moving forward
[16:07] graciously on that to try to see what
[16:09] other municipalities and the state of
[16:10] Missouri is doing to make our city safer
[16:13] uh for the youth that are driving under
[16:16] 16 and the adults that are driving over
[16:18] 16 as well. Thank you.
[16:20] Council Member Norris.
[16:23] >> Thank you, Mayor. Of course, I do have
[16:25] something. Uh I attended the police promotion
[16:30] ceremony on August the 10th. It was a
[16:32] great honor, uh to attend with these
[16:35] officers, um and their families. I did
[16:38] appreciate that. Um this has been a busy
[16:41] week. Uh thanks, u to staff in preparing
[16:44] the 2026 budget review. Um Bridton is
[16:48] looking good. and I said we're moving
[16:50] off the of course we have to still be
[16:52] careful just like all of us have to be
[16:54] careful with our budget and I want to
[16:56] thank uh other director Kaine uh the
[16:59] parks division for providing more
[17:00] information regarding improvements at
[17:02] BMAC I do appreciate the support uh that
[17:06] we're giving for this additional
[17:08] technology for the drones uh our main
[17:11] concern is the safety of our police
[17:13] officers and I feel this will uh help
[17:15] them uh you know before they get into a
[17:18] dangerous sit situation, this equipment
[17:20] will uh give them some uh help and
[17:23] warning. So, I do appreciate this
[17:25] technology. Uh, of course,
[17:27] congratulations to the city manager and
[17:29] staff and working with the Seavoi
[17:31] properties to have a second shopping
[17:34] center in Bridgen. This is the great
[17:36] news we
[17:38] for our growth. Uh, and I appreciate
[17:41] having local ownership. I said that it
[17:45] is nice to have that. we can contact
[17:47] them if we see anything. It's hard when
[17:49] you have to call Chicago or New York.
[17:52] So, um timewise they they're in uh
[17:55] Brentwood and Chesterfield. So, that is
[17:57] great news for us. So, I do appreciate
[17:59] all the hard work and take care to
[18:02] everyone. Thank you.
[18:04] >> Thank you, Council Member Thornberg.
[18:05] >> Thank you, Mayor. I also attended the
[18:08] police uh promotion ceremony and it was
[18:10] great to see that the council chamber
[18:11] was filled that evening with family,
[18:13] friends, and city officials. Uh the
[18:16] promotions were welld deserved and it
[18:17] was a special evening to see all the
[18:20] offers off officers recognized for their
[18:21] work. So thank you for that. Um I
[18:24] attended the divein movie with my
[18:26] granddaughter at the outdoor pool last
[18:28] week and uh the parks department in the
[18:30] Patentville Fire District put that on
[18:32] and we thank him for that for doing that
[18:34] for the kids. And lastly, I also
[18:36] attended the concert in the park at
[18:39] Gentry Park and that was attended by
[18:41] over 200 people. It was a nice crowd, a
[18:43] beautiful evening, and I'd like to thank
[18:45] the parks department for all they do for
[18:47] the residents. So, thank you very much.
[18:49] That's all, mayor.
[18:50] >> Thank you, Council Member Bazan.
[18:53] >> I'll second uh Miss Norris and Mr.
[18:55] Thornberg. Uh August 10th, the promotion
[18:57] ceremony. There's nothing like seeing
[18:59] officers getting to be admired in front
[19:02] of their families. Uh it's a great first
[19:04] time ceremony, and I hope we do it time
[19:06] and time again. Uh thanks, Mr. Kaine,
[19:10] for the the BMAC presentation. I thought
[19:12] the second meeting was needed and I
[19:14] think that got a lot of information to
[19:16] anybody who had more questions. Uh
[19:19] lastly, thanks to all the department
[19:20] heads for putting together the midyear
[19:22] budget session. Uh we appreciate that.
[19:24] We need it and look forward to more
[19:26] information as the year goes on. That's
[19:28] all.
[19:29] >> Thank you, Council Member Patel.
[19:31] >> I think Mayor I think pretty much
[19:32] everybody has said everything that I
[19:34] would want to say, so I have nothing.
[19:36] Thank you,
[19:38] >> Council Member Luther.
[19:39] >> Thank you. you gave me some time to
[19:40] write a few things down. So, I I just
[19:43] want to say congratulations to St.
[19:45] John's Bank, a 100red years. It was one
[19:48] of the hottest days of the year to
[19:50] attend, but that's in my neighborhood
[19:52] and W 2's neighborhood. So, it was great
[19:54] to stop by and see other council members
[19:56] and see so many people there. And what a
[19:57] great celebration. They've been here a
[19:59] long time. The other piece is that we
[20:02] did have the Cove our code ordinance
[20:04] violation enforcement committee tonight.
[20:06] We we've set a schedule of meetings
[20:09] every other month through June. Our next
[20:11] meeting will be October 21st at 6 PM.
[20:14] And there are a lot of people to thank.
[20:15] We we were crowded in there. I want to
[20:17] thank Major Dick Herbert. Thank you very
[20:19] much for all of the information that you
[20:21] provided to us. I'll talk about that in
[20:22] just a minute. To public works director
[20:25] Gun and to ordinance officer Stone, to
[20:28] city administrator Kevin Bookout, the
[20:30] mayor and I think Bill from your team
[20:33] was there as well. and also to members
[20:36] of the our community, our friends and
[20:38] neighbors who came to speak out on a
[20:40] variety of issues. The topic tonight Oh,
[20:42] and also Council Member Norris for
[20:44] coming. Thank you. And so or the topic
[20:48] was I hesitate to call them ebikes.
[20:51] We'll call them non
[20:54] car vehicles on the road. I I don't
[20:56] know. Somebody needs to come up with a
[20:58] better name. And this was lifted up to
[21:00] us by the chief, our former chief, MSAD.
[21:03] And we we are just exploring this. I
[21:06] know that there was there's concern.
[21:07] I've heard people talk about bans. We're
[21:09] not talking about anything. We're
[21:10] exploring this. And thanks to uh the
[21:13] major, we have some information about
[21:15] surrounding communities. And as he said,
[21:18] you know, why why not reinvent why
[21:19] reinvent the wheel when we've got some
[21:21] good templates to use. So this is a
[21:23] conversation, the first start of a
[21:25] conversation. and it's very likely we'll
[21:26] have something to share with our
[21:29] attorney and also to share with council
[21:31] and other members of the community, but
[21:33] it seems to be something that we need to
[21:35] address proactively and and that's what
[21:38] we will do and uh we will follow our
[21:40] role our role as the legislative body on
[21:43] that. So look for maybe another meeting
[21:46] just about this once we get a little
[21:48] more information. But I just wanted to
[21:50] thank everyone for coming. It was a big
[21:52] meeting. That's not all that CO is going
[21:54] to do, but it seemed like a good way to
[21:56] start start the year, sort of sort of
[21:58] the school year, our our new year, too.
[22:00] So, thank everybody for coming. And then
[22:03] I I assume that the mayor is going to
[22:05] talk about Savoy's purchase of
[22:07] additional property. I think what they
[22:09] had to say about Bridton was very nice
[22:13] to hear. They're very much invested in
[22:15] Bridton. It sounds like they're going to
[22:16] be doing even more. So, it was it's very
[22:18] nice to hear good things about the city,
[22:20] particularly along that important retail
[22:22] corridor. Uh, I wondered if someone
[22:24] could mention our award that we will be
[22:26] receiving next month from MML, the M
[22:29] Missouri Municipal League. It's it's in
[22:31] print now, so I think we can talk about
[22:33] it with a terrific partner. And I would
[22:36] ask our city administrator if he could
[22:38] give us just a very brief overview uh or
[22:42] a summary brief summary of our midyear
[22:45] budget report and the status of the
[22:47] finance staffing finance office
[22:49] staffing. So that's it for me.
[22:52] >> Thank you.
[22:54] Staff reports. I'll start with Mr. Gun,
[22:56] public works director.
[23:00] Uh this week we had a quick meeting with
[23:02] Bluegrass. They're the ones that are
[23:03] cutting those four properties um that
[23:06] MODAT sometimes doesn't cut. Um we have
[23:08] six more mowings to go and then we'll be
[23:11] finished for the year. So fall is right
[23:12] around the corner. I was kind of
[23:13] surprised that they've done so much
[23:15] already. Uh we've had a lot of
[23:17] compliments on those four areas. So I
[23:19] think everything's going nice there. Uh
[23:21] pin your questions. That's all I have.
[23:25] >> Uh Mr. gun. I noticed here on uh one of
[23:28] the hillsides going north on 270. There
[23:31] was some work done on some I guess brush
[23:35] that was cleared. There was some rock
[23:36] put down.
[23:37] >> Correct.
[23:37] >> Did Bluegrass do that first?
[23:39] >> No, that was Mod because they had a huge
[23:41] erosion. Uh we were getting ready to
[23:42] clear that area. That's the last part
[23:44] that we had that was kind of wooded. If
[23:46] you remember two years ago, right across
[23:48] from um Olive Garden, there was a huge
[23:51] like brush pile and it took us a little
[23:53] while, but we cleaned that up. We've
[23:55] been working with MDOT. We cleaned up
[23:57] the area around the old circuit city.
[23:59] We've been spraying that with uh some
[24:01] herbicide to keep it from growing back.
[24:03] And the last part was that one uh little
[24:06] area on the hillside. Well, we started u
[24:08] to tackle that. We noticed that there
[24:10] was some a lot of erosion. Um some areas
[24:12] were as deep as 6 ft. So, we realized,
[24:15] hey, this is well beyond what I wanted
[24:17] to do. I needed to call Modi. It took
[24:19] mode out a little while, but once the
[24:21] right person saw it, he had, I think, 12
[24:24] guys out there and took him two days and
[24:26] they fixed it all. So, they took him a
[24:28] little while. They had to take all the
[24:30] brush off and then fill it full of rock.
[24:32] So, I'm fortunate that happened.
[24:36] Thank you. Any further questions of Mr.
[24:38] Gun? I see none.
[24:42] Major Dick Herbert, please.
[24:43] >> Nothing further to report, sir.
[24:45] >> Thank you.
[24:47] Brendan Kaine, parks and recre just want
[24:50] to thank the council for passing the
[24:51] resolution tonight. Um that is a
[24:53] requirement of our grant application
[24:55] that's due next week for the municipal
[24:57] park grant and that'll be for Hella Bush
[24:59] Park phase 2 which will be for a new
[25:01] playground which is is uh is needed out
[25:03] there. Um a little a little background
[25:06] on the grant. So we can apply every year
[25:08] Bridton is uh eligible for $465,000
[25:12] based on our uh population. Um, for a
[25:16] long time it was like every other year
[25:17] we would get it because we score low in
[25:20] the area of um, uh, park inventory per
[25:24] capita. So we have, I think, first or
[25:26] second park inventory compared to our
[25:29] population in St. Louis County. So what
[25:31] that shows in the scoring is that we
[25:33] don't have the need. I disagree with the
[25:35] scoring system, but that's a different
[25:36] conversation.
[25:38] >> Um, so we're hopeful to get it. We've
[25:40] gotten three in a row. So, if we get
[25:42] four in a row, that'd be that'd be
[25:43] amazing. But, uh, we'll see what
[25:46] happens. Fingers crossed. Uh, we had the
[25:48] annual SSM EMS tournament, softball
[25:50] tournament at BMAC today. It's our
[25:53] largest one-day event of the year.
[25:54] That's
[25:55] >> And, uh, we already had to reschedule it
[25:56] once and today we were, everybody was
[25:58] nervous with the weather, but we got
[26:00] lucky. So, uh, they were able to finish
[26:01] it and went well.
[26:04] >> Thank you. Any questions, council of Mr.
[26:07] Kaine? I see none. City Administrator
[26:11] Kevin Built.
[26:12] >> Thank you, Mayor. Um, real brief summary
[26:16] of the, uh, midyear budget meeting. Um,
[26:18] again, I wanted to thank Don. He's
[26:21] stepped in and done a great job. Uh, the
[26:23] M meeting really focused on where we are
[26:25] at this point in the year. Uh, I think
[26:27] the highlight is that we're we're always
[26:30] pretty conservative with our revenue
[26:31] projections on sales tax. Um it's shown
[26:34] that we're up a little bit in revenue
[26:37] which which has not been the case over
[26:39] the last five or six years. It's um it's
[26:42] grown very very slowly but we're up over
[26:44] last year which is a good sign. And I
[26:46] think each one of the department heads
[26:48] gave a presentation on where they are
[26:50] with their spending. And I think at this
[26:52] point in the year, we're right in line
[26:54] with where we expect to be. And I think
[26:57] the upside was the the increase in sales
[26:59] tax revenue at this point in 26 over
[27:02] this point from 2025.
[27:05] Um the staffing position, we have made
[27:07] an offer. The offer was accepted. Um,
[27:11] we're in the contingency phase, so I
[27:13] don't want to share much more
[27:14] information, but uh, things look great
[27:17] and, uh, we should have more to share
[27:19] probably next week.
[27:20] >> Thank you. That's great news.
[27:21] >> AB: Absolutely. Um, on the, uh, the
[27:25] award that the city is of Bridton is
[27:27] going to be getting from the MML. Uh,
[27:29] this was submitted to the MML uh, this
[27:32] spring and and the city of Bridton was
[27:34] chosen.
[27:36] Uh, I know sometimes uh incentive
[27:40] packages for developments uh have a bad
[27:42] name, but I think this was one that we
[27:44] were very creative and the council
[27:46] approved back in 2019. Um, Mayor Briggs
[27:50] and I uh met with uh Leonardo DRS that
[27:54] was wanting to come to the area and of
[27:55] course they were asking for real
[27:57] property tax abatement.
[28:00] uh we had made it a practice to always
[28:03] go to the school district and talk with
[28:04] them because it's it affects them. Um
[28:08] they had talked about how creative they
[28:10] want to be in STEM uh programs,
[28:14] engineering, internships and one of the
[28:17] things that jumped out to Mayor Briggs
[28:19] and I when we met with Leonardo DRS is
[28:22] they had indicated that twothirds of
[28:24] their employees are engineers. So, as
[28:26] part of the uh incentive package, we
[28:30] required Leonardo DRS to have a
[28:33] community engagement agreement with the
[28:35] school district to work with them with
[28:38] engineering and different STEM programs,
[28:40] whether it's judging competitions,
[28:44] uh, internships, shadowings, some over
[28:46] at the at Leonardo DRS, and it's turned
[28:49] out to be a great program. Patentville
[28:51] speaks highly of it. I think Leonardo
[28:53] DRS really enjoys being part of the
[28:56] community. So, I think it was a win. I
[28:58] think it was creative and I think I
[29:00] appreciate the council approving that in
[29:02] 2019 and just appreciate the uh
[29:05] attention that the city of Bridgen will
[29:06] get next month. Thank you. That's all I
[29:09] have. Mayor,
[29:10] >> uh Mr. Bookout and I discussed this. I
[29:12] think this is the first time that we've
[29:14] submitted and also the first time that
[29:16] this obviously the city uh was given an
[29:20] award. So, um, thank you for all your
[29:23] efforts. Um, my suggestion when we were
[29:26] talking about submitting was, uh, Gentry
[29:30] Park, Terry Briggs playground. But, um,
[29:34] maybe we can do that next year. We'll
[29:35] see what happens. Um,
[29:39] thank you. Any questions of Mr. Booka? I
[29:42] see none. I was going to try and get us
[29:44] out of here by 7:30, Council Member
[29:46] Patel. So, just give me like four or
[29:48] five minutes and we'll be finished. Um,
[29:51] first of all, thank you all for being
[29:53] here and also to those who will be
[29:54] viewing the uh meeting at a later time.
[29:57] Congratulations again to our police
[29:59] officers that received their promotions
[30:01] and participated in the pinninging
[30:03] ceremony August the 10th. I'm going to
[30:06] name them off real quick. Major Ryan
[30:09] Dick Herbert, Captain Matt Black,
[30:12] Lieutenant John Tender, Lieutenant Clay
[30:15] Dean, Sergeant Brad Cash, and Sergeant
[30:19] Matt Paxton. While on the police, um, I
[30:23] received a copy of an exceptionally
[30:27] wellwritten commendation letter from a
[30:30] Texas resident who has an aging parent
[30:33] residing here in Bridton regarding four
[30:36] of our officers. I don't want to steal
[30:38] uh Chief Loveall's thunder since u he
[30:41] probably hasn't received the letter yet
[30:43] and read it due to his schedule because
[30:45] I just got it today. The point I want to
[30:47] make though is that none of us here are
[30:49] looking for praise and thank yous. Uh
[30:52] they are very few and far between the
[30:54] complaints. But this commenation letter
[30:57] is one of the most if not the most
[30:59] sincere, thoughtful and touching
[31:02] four-page letter that I've written. I
[31:04] mean that I've ever seen. Once you learn
[31:07] more from Chief Level, I'm sure you'll
[31:09] agree that kudos for these four officers
[31:12] will be welld deserved. On the subject
[31:14] of drones, I don't know if you saw in
[31:16] the news last night, but um Walmart is
[31:19] considering uh delivery of smaller
[31:22] packages by drones, uh particularly in
[31:24] St. Charles and Maplewood. Keep that in
[31:26] mind. Uh the finance commission met last
[31:29] Thursday and they were presented with
[31:31] the unodudited
[31:33] financial statements for year ending
[31:36] December 31st, 2025 and the first six
[31:39] months of 2026. Several members of the
[31:42] finance commission recommended to
[31:43] administration that department heads
[31:45] should be made aware now that uh
[31:48] probably a minimum of 10% reduction in
[31:51] expenses should be made based on the
[31:53] 2026 budget when considering the 2027
[31:57] budget so that reserves will not be used
[32:00] for four years in a row. I attended the
[32:03] St. Louis Metro Mayor's meeting last
[32:05] Thursday. Our guest speaker was Emily
[32:07] Rominess from the St. Louis Zoo. The
[32:10] topic of her presentation was Wildcare
[32:12] Park, the 425 acre golf course and
[32:16] property purchased from pipe fitters and
[32:18] plumbers local 562 in 2018. I've left
[32:22] some information back there on the uh
[32:24] table in case you want some more
[32:26] information on that. Tomorrow I'll be
[32:28] attending the Municipal League of
[32:30] Metropolitan St. Louis special executive
[32:32] board meeting. Topics to be covered at
[32:35] this time are the St. County's recent
[32:37] changes in the process and policies with
[32:40] respect to the 1 cent and quarter cent
[32:42] sales tax distribution
[32:45] letter requesting an audit by the state
[32:48] auditor's office and also um the board
[32:51] of freeholder holders update.
[32:54] Also, the league will be sponsoring our
[32:56] annual golf tournament in conjunction
[32:58] with St. Louis area police chiefs
[32:59] association and also the St. Louis city
[33:02] management association. That will be
[33:05] Thursday, October 1st at 8 a.m. at the
[33:07] Florison Golf Club. This tournament will
[33:10] benefit Project 1078,
[33:13] which provides assistance and support to
[33:15] police officers and their families
[33:17] during times of crisis and need. I've
[33:20] left information back there on the table
[33:21] as well if you're interested. I'll be
[33:24] attending the quarterly clergy meeting
[33:26] and lunchon next Tuesday at New Life
[33:29] Church on Mark Twain Lane. Uh speaking
[33:32] about Savoy Properties, um we hope to
[33:36] see uh some new development over there
[33:39] starting within the next 18 to 24 months
[33:42] depending on the timing of the leases
[33:44] that are currently uh involved over
[33:47] there. I also want to say uh St. John's
[33:50] Bank uh they're they're having their big
[33:52] celebration at their home uh office on
[33:55] St. Charles Rock Road uh right near
[33:57] Brown Road in October. and I will pre be
[34:01] presenting a proclamation for council's
[34:03] consideration to present to them uh
[34:06] later on this year. Beat the heat. Visit
[34:09] our outdoor pool at Chantry Park uh
[34:11] during the reduced scheduled hours
[34:14] through Labor Day. And also don't forget
[34:16] if you're a golfer, please make your
[34:18] golf reservations at Barry Hillgolf
[34:20] Course by calling direct or through
[34:22] barryillgolf.com or golfnow.com.
[34:25] That's all I have unless council has any
[34:28] questions of me.
[34:31] I see none. Let's take a motion for
[34:34] adjournment.
[34:34] >> So moved.
[34:35] >> Second.
[34:35] >> Motion's made by council member Luther,
[34:38] seconded by council member Wesie. All in
[34:41] favor say I.
[34:42] >> I.
[34:42] >> Any opposed?
[34:44] We're adjourned. Thank you.