The Perryville Board of Aldermen addressed several issues during its latest meeting Feb. 7.
The first of which, pertained to a public hearing for rezoning request from Christina A. Moll Revocable Trust to rezone 10 Henrietta Lane from R-5 (General Residential) to C-2 (General Commercial).
Brad Moll is requesting approval to rezone his property at 10 Henrietta Lane from an R-5 to a C-2 as he is trying to sell his property and buyers are looking for commercially viable purchases.
“I’ve had several inquiries from people who were looking to purchase it and start a business,” Moll said. “I can understand from those who want to buy it and not sure if they can move in.”
The board approved the change as presented.
As part of the consent agenda, the board set a public hearing for its next meeting Feb. 20. To review the City of Perryville budget for the 2023-2024 fiscal year. Also the board approved the Police Department pay plan modifications.
As previously discussed with the Board, salaries for the Police Department staff have fallen behind local markets. The city has seen several officers leave for neighboring communities in recent months (and years) and currently have several vacancies.
Department staff has suggested we attrit two vacant positions and, instead, distribute those salaries among the remaining, non-supervisory positions. The most pronounced challenges were at the entry levels, so this was easily done by accelerating employee
progression through the pay plan, meaning new employees would start higher and top out sooner than they do currently. Simply put, this was accomplished by eliminating the first three steps on the pay plan for our non-supervisory staff.
The board also addressed a parking issue along Star Street. The city has received several complaints regarding street parking along this narrow section of Star Street, particularly during pick up and drop off times at the daycare. Major Bill Jones has reviewed the area and recommends limiting parking to one side of the street for the first 150 feet coming off Bruce Street. In the future, this length could be extended if necessary.
The Board also approved the construction contract to make the weight
room at the Perry Park Center available to members 24 hours. The weight room is undergoing renovations that will add a new bathroom to the Parry Park Center’s lower level, adjacent to the weight room. It will also provide a one-half wall surrounding the area around the steps, extending the physical space for our workout equipment. These are the first updates in several years to the weight room and will allow for a better user experience, including afterhours access to the weight room.
Along with the renovations and move to 24 hour per day services for the weight room, the Parks Department is also adding a maintanence hotline, that patrons can call to help identify a problem in the weight room with equipment or otherwise.
Perks and Recreation Director Jim Cadwell, along with Brent Buerck and others will receive a message that something needs to be fixed upon a call.
“It should help a lot,” Buerck said. “That way we know immediately when something is wrong as opposed to some getting hurt first.”
The next meeting is scheduled for Feb. 20.
