[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.

Bridgeton City Council Meeting August 19, 2026

Agenda

Transcript