[0:00] Get ready here. We are calling the meeting to order.
[0:04] Alderman Cockrell? Yes. Palmes absent. Potter?
[0:11] You're muted.
[0:12] Pot, unmute.
[0:13] There we go. Milner?
[0:15] Yes.
[0:15] Bundy?
[0:16] Yes.
[0:17] Yes.
[0:18] Okay. Please stand for the pledge of allegiance.
[0:21] I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic
[0:27] for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and
[0:33] justice for all. Thank you. Any comments this evening?
[0:38] Seeing none, we'll go into the legislative session and the consent agenda.
[0:42] Does anything need to be withheld from the consent agenda?
[0:49] Hearing none, do I have a motion?
[0:51] So moved.
[0:54] Second. Second.
[0:54] Alderman Cockrell? Yes. Milner?
[0:56] Yes.
[0:56] Bundy?
[0:57] Yes.
[0:57] Strout?
[0:58] Yes.
[0:58] Potter?
[1:00] Yes.
[1:00] Motion carries.
[1:01] Okay, we'll go into the regular agenda, have first reading for bill number
[1:04] 2026-062.
[1:07] An ordinance approving a cost share agreement with the Missouri Department of
[1:10] Conservation.
[1:12] Amy?
[1:14] We had the opportunity to consult with the Missouri Department of Conservation on
[1:18] the landscape plans for a Variety KC park, and in that conversation, the staff
[1:23] suggested that we should apply for cost share funds.
[1:26] So we applied for the funds for the landscaping, which includes 44 trees and then
[1:32] the wildflowers in the landscape beds.
[1:36] So they've agreed to award just over $20,000 to us
[1:41] for the landscape cost, which is equal as about 50% of the cost of the
[1:47] landscape.
[1:48] That's phenomenal. Great.
[1:51] That's great.
[1:52] That's awesome.
[1:53] Thank you.
[1:54] Thank you. Move to accept first reading of bill 2026-062 and place it on second and
[1:59] final reading.
[1:59] Second.
[2:01] Milner?
[2:02] Yes.
[2:02] Cockrell? Yes. Strout?
[2:04] Yes.
[2:04] Bundy?
[2:05] Yes.
[2:05] Potter?
[2:07] Yes.
[2:07] Motion carries.
[2:08] Second reading.
[2:09] An ordinance approving a cost share agreement with the Missouri Department of
[2:12] Conservation.
[2:15] Move to approve bill 2026-062 and enact said bill as ordinance.
[2:19] Second.
[2:21] Milner?
[2:22] Yes.
[2:22] Strout?
[2:23] Yes.
[2:23] Cockrell? Yes. Bundy?
[2:24] Yes.
[2:25] Potter?
[2:26] Yes.
[2:27] Motion carries.
[2:29] Okay. We got a pretty small agenda, so Andrew, it shouldn't take too long here.
[2:34] Okay. What do we got this evening, Amy?
[2:40] I just have one quick thing. I just wanted to give you guys an update.
[2:43] We have a retirement coming up in November.
[2:44] It's Lori Boje, who is the manager of the community center over there.
[2:50] We have reached out to the YMCA to give us a proposal to take over the contract for
[2:54] that whole building, and does not have any employees over there.
[2:57] It is quite pricey, so Noelle and I are in the middle of analyzing all of that,
[3:01] coming up with some additional options, and at the next meeting, we're probably
[3:04] going to give you guys some options and things to talk about and discuss where we
[3:08] want to go with the community center.
[3:09] So just wanted to give you a heads up on that.
[3:12] And then other than that, we have a couple other things to talk about for previews
[3:16] tonight as well.
[3:17] Okay.
[3:17] So.
[3:17] So let's start with the Platte County Partnership Grant.
[3:20] Cool.
[3:25] Good evening again. As you may recall from our FY27 budget
[3:31] presentations, we identified several capital improvement projects where we would
[3:36] seek outside funding to offset the city expenditures, and this E.H.
[3:41] Young Riverfront Park was one of those projects.
[3:43] And so there's an opportunity now to apply for the Platte County Partnership
[3:49] Grant, which is up to a million dollars.
[3:52] We've also already received the $50,000 outreach grant from them for the
[3:58] restroom. But this particular application would be focused on the nature play
[4:04] area at E.H. Young. And I know it's kind of a small image, but basically the
[4:10] area circled there in red, the oval along Line Creek is where we would add the
[4:16] nature play area. So several embankment slides and other
[4:21] features there in the trees. So a very different destination than
[4:27] what we have there currently with our existing playground.
[4:32] This improvement was supported by the master plan update, and also the park board
[4:37] has been instrumental in providing input on the plan.
[4:42] The overall budget for the park, including the restroom, is 2.7 million, and we
[4:48] would be seeking the full million dollar grant from the county to see
[4:55] if they would award us that amount.
[4:57] So if this is something that you would be supportive of us applying for, we'll
[5:02] bring a resolution to your next meeting on August 18th.
[5:06] Okay. So yes, we
[5:11] know that this is in the next phase of E.H. Young.
[5:15] We've talked about where we're at with the different phases down there, that
[5:20] this is what the park board thought would be the...
[5:24] It's a destination through the trees, it's through the forest area, and it's really
[5:28] a unique experience that we're going to be providing people.
[5:31] So, I think it will be well attended and people will love it.
[5:36] Again,
[5:38] having the opportunity for this grant is huge, and I think we should apply for it.
[5:42] So any other comments?
[5:46] I agree.
[5:46] I agree. If we can get a grant for it, I'll be looking forward to it.
[5:51] If not, I would not be.
[5:55] Okay.
[5:56] Same.
[5:57] Okay. Do we need any kind of vote or anything? Just we're okay.
[6:01] Yeah, we'll just bring the resolution next time.
[6:04] Just didn't want to continue down the road of applying-
[6:07] Yeah. Okay
[6:07] ... if it wasn't going to be supported, so. Thank you.
[6:10] Take it off.
[6:11] Thank you.
[6:11] All right, who's going to talk to me about e-bikes?
[6:14] Paul is.
[6:14] I am.
[6:16] Okay.
[6:16] So we're looking at regulations concerning electronic bicycles, electronic
[6:22] motorcycles, and other similar devices.
[6:26] I think staff, like other cities, have seen an increased use of these devices,
[6:31] especially amongst younger people.
[6:36] And there have been, at least in other cities and I think here, some concerns about
[6:40] safety, about the way these devices are being operated and where they're being
[6:45] operated, the speeds at which they're being operated.
[6:50] One thing, it's important to distinguish, a lot of people just
[6:55] shorthand it to e-bikes, and it's probably well enough.
[7:01] But as we get into this discussion,
[7:05] there is a distinction between electronic bicycles, which do provide
[7:11] some limited motorized assist, but it's also pedal assist.
[7:17] So in my mind, an e-bike is a traditional bicycle that does
[7:23] have a motor
[7:25] assist to it, but you're still pedaling.
[7:28] And quite honestly, in other communities,
[7:32] the problems aren't with the 12-year-olds who are going fast, even on an
[7:37] e-bicycle.
[7:39] The problems are arising on electronic motorcycles.
[7:44] These are these things that are not pedal assist. You can find them...
[7:51] I think Lowe's sells them. With the rise of these batteries, you can
[7:57] put a battery on anything nowadays. So they're being marketed to young children.
[8:03] One of the issues from a code drafting challenge is our definition
[8:09] of motorcycle. So these e-motorcycles will go 30, 40-plus miles per
[8:15] hour, and you've got 12-year-olds on them.
[8:19] The problem with our code definition is the
[8:25] definition of what is a motorcycle was written before the rise of all these
[8:30] batteries. So typically, the motorcycle is defined in terms
[8:36] of Engine displacement of cubic centimeters.
[8:41] So you'll hear
[8:43] language about 50cc's. It gets into the displacement of
[8:49] the air-fuel mixture with the piston and the
[8:52] cylinder. But of course, the battery doesn't have a piston, it doesn't have a
[8:58] cylinder. So our legacy definition of what is a motorcycle,
[9:03] 50cc's or whatever, doesn't really apply when you're talking about a
[9:09] supercharged lithium battery. So that's one of the things we're working through, is
[9:14] to figure out the right way to define these e-motorcycles.
[9:19] We don't have any specific regulations yet.
[9:23] Other communities have already adopted some regulations.
[9:28] Over on the east side of the state, there's one community, maybe O'Fallon, which
[9:33] was very strict. Other communities have just tried to dial it back.
[9:38] Mid-America Regional Council is trying to work on coordinating some sort
[9:44] of approach as well. But we're just starting
[9:49] that. And our goal isn't to prohibit responsible
[9:55] use. I think everybody wants kids outside doing things.
[10:01] I'm a proponent of bicycles, even if they are e-bikes.
[10:05] But other communities have determined that it's appropriate to have some reasonable
[10:10] rules.
[10:13] I don't know, Chris isn't here tonight, so I can't speak for the police department
[10:18] here. But I know in some of our other clients,
[10:23] mainly these e-motorcycles. It's not the 13-year-old who's thinking
[10:29] he's in the Tour de France riding a pedal assist bike really quick.
[10:32] A lot of it are these e-motorcycles.
[10:36] So that's on the horizon.
[10:41] It's kind of a sticky web.
[10:43] Because again, I
[10:46] love the whole idea about them, but again, I don't want somebody riding it too
[10:52] fast, by an elderly person that's walking on the trail.
[10:55] And again, I think enforcement's going to be very difficult, and
[11:00] a lot of it's going to be based upon
[11:04] just people wanting to do the right thing.
[11:07] Yeah. Cities have struggled with...
[11:10] Again, and part of the sticky widget part is, and that's why
[11:16] I started out, it's important not to just
[11:21] consider e-bikes as everything. Because the
[11:27] state already regulates e-bicycles into class one, two, and three with speed
[11:33] maximums and whatnot. At least in other cities, that's really not the issue we're
[11:38] seeing. It's really, we're seeing 12, 13 year olds, 14 year olds, basically
[11:44] on motorcycles going 30, 40 miles per hour down the sidewalk.
[11:50] That's the
[11:52] issue in some other cities, is do you want a 12-year-old going 35 miles on a
[11:58] motorcycle down the sidewalk?
[12:01] So those are issues other cities are dealing with.
[12:05] But then apparently you can get bikes that just won't go any more than 20 miles an
[12:10] hour.
[12:11] Right.
[12:11] So we can regulate the type of bike.
[12:14] So that goes back to the e-bicycle, and the state already has
[12:20] regulations on those. And so we'll be looking to bring our city code into alignment
[12:26] with the state law on the class one, two, and three bicycles.
[12:31] And then
[12:33] we'll bring forward a proposal, but ultimately, you are going to have to decide
[12:38] about the e-motorcycle. And we'll present some
[12:43] information to try and give you an apples to apples on
[12:48] the equivalent of some of these devices
[12:53] compared to what we all would think of as a dirt
[12:59] bike or a motorcycle. Something that we can wrap our head around a little bit
[13:03] better.
[13:05] Okay.
[13:07] I have a question.
[13:08] Yeah.
[13:10] So I don't see a lot of the motorcycle and e-motorcycle type things in Riverside.
[13:15] I do see a lot of scooters, electric scooters and
[13:21] whatnot. Well, let me ask first, does Kansas City and Overland Park there, where
[13:25] they said they were going to put the same thing on scooters, and my second question
[13:31] is, have we considered something along those same lines as Kansas City with the
[13:34] scooters?
[13:36] So I don't know what Kansas City, I haven't studied their ordinances yet,
[13:41] especially Overland Park. But we intend to
[13:46] address the bicycles, the motorcycles, and other similar motorized
[13:52] devices, and we can certainly look at scooters as
[13:57] well.
[13:58] Let's get all the information, Andrew, and then we'll put it all together and see
[14:02] where we're at. But it's definitely something that we need to give our full
[14:05] attention to before we say yes.
[14:07] Yeah. I know Overland Park, they just created it, and they had a couple deaths
[14:11] already in the past year from these things.
[14:14] And so I know Overland Park did something.
[14:16] I don't know what it is, but they've restricted them.
[14:19] Yeah.
[14:19] Almost like fully, I think.
[14:21] I thought, was it a motorcycle or was it an e-bike?
[14:23] Well, I understand that. No, I think these-
[14:25] So we need to figure out what exactly-
[14:27] When these kids, like I said, are 10, 12, 14 years old, and they don't know street
[14:30] rules, and they're just flying all over the place.
[14:33] Yeah.
[14:33] Well, I'm sitting in my office last Thursday or Friday, and a motorcycle comes
[14:38] flying down the sidewalk. It was a young kid.
[14:41] And he turned into the skateboard
[14:45] park. But he wasn't on the street, but he was flying down the sidewalk.
[14:48] Yeah.
[14:49] So that was kind of scary. The sound of the motorcycle
[14:54] got my attention that I got up and looked out the window.
[14:57] So it was a pretty good size thing. All right. Well, then let's do that.
[15:03] Let's get all the information before we go further with that one.
[15:07] All right. Appreciate it. So now we're going into our department reports.
[15:11] Do we have anything for community development this evening?
[15:13] Nothing this evening.
[15:14] Finance?
[15:16] I
[15:20] put a physical copy of the budget in front of you. Thank you.
[15:23] And it's also posted on the website. And so if you have any questions, let me know.
[15:28] Great.
[15:28] Yeah. This looks great. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Mitch.
[15:31] I really appreciate that.
[15:32] Appreciate your work.
[15:33] Well, it was done by Greg.
[15:35] Oh, Greg.
[15:36] Well, that's true.
[15:38] It's for integrity.
[15:42] Anything for fire?
[15:43] Nothing for fire,
[15:45] ma'am.
[15:45] Police and... I don't see anyone. So, okay. Public works?
[15:49] Nothing.
[15:52] Legal?
[15:53] Nothing.
[15:54] Okay. I don't have anything. I've actually enjoyed my last couple
[16:00] weeks, just kind of regrouping from all the chaos. So it's been good.
[16:06] I hope everybody went and voted today, and we'll see how that fares in just here a
[16:10] little bit, but that's an important thing.
[16:12] We did have, at 4:30, and I don't know what the numbers were, but at 4:30, I was
[16:18] 733, so I was really pleased about the turnout here. So it was heavy.
[16:23] And a lot of people were here after me.
[16:25] So anyway,
[16:29] I don't have anything else, so I'll go to Alderman Cockrell.
[16:34] I don't have anything, so thank you. Okay. Alderman Miller.
[16:37] Thank you, guys, Board of Alderman, and Mayor, and Amy, and fire and police for
[16:43] coming to Park Hill South last week. I always appreciate that time together.
[16:46] It's very unifying. And I was telling them it feels like I'm bringing my work
[16:52] family into my home over there.
[16:54] Mm-hmm.
[16:54] And so I like to impress them, and so I was frantically vacuuming.
[16:57] I'm like, "How is the floor not vacuumed?" And, "How is the stuff on the counter?"
[17:01] So I'm trying to get it all ready. But it's just a great time for me to have y'all
[17:05] into our home at South Hill. So I really appreciate you guys coming in.
[17:08] It was a great time. But just appreciate you. That's it.
[17:11] It was great. Thank you. And I think it's really beneficial for us to have those
[17:15] relationships.
[17:15] Yeah.
[17:16] So thank you. Okay, Alderman Drop.
[17:20] Just enjoy the rest of your little bit of summer we have left before kids go back
[17:23] to school.
[17:24] Yeah.
[17:25] That's true. Alderman Bundy.
[17:28] Nothing from me tonight.
[17:29] Okay. I knew it'd be short and sweet tonight, so I'll take a motion to adjourn.
[17:33] So moved.
[17:33] Oh, one more thing.
[17:35] Oh, Andrew, you have a-
[17:35] Yes. Andrew, do you have anything?
[17:38] Nothing for me.
[17:39] Okay. I'm sorry. Yes. One more thing, and you'll find it here, is your
[17:46] scope of work for Woodruff, our marketing company. This is for the next year.
[17:51] We will be bringing this back for our 18th next meeting.
[17:54] Paul will have a resolution. But I wanted you to go through all the parameters of
[17:59] it and get familiar with it before we vote it and talk about it on the 18th.
[18:04] So now I'll have a motion to adjourn.
[18:07] So moved.
[18:08] Second.
[18:10] Miller?
[18:11] Yes.
[18:11] Cockrell? Yes. Conner?
[18:14] Yes.
[18:14] Bundy?
[18:15] Yes.
[18:15] Jack?
[18:16] Yes.
[18:17] Thank you.