In a 5-5 vote, the Jefferson City Council voted down conversation about a previously undiscussed resolution recognizing the historical significance of Oct. 7, 1864, for the city.
Ward 3 Councilman Scott Spencer presented the resolution during new business at Monday night's City Council meeting.
Spencer's resolution, as he presented it, reads: "We as the City Council representing the citizens of the City of Jefferson recognize the significance of the historical date of Oct. 7, 1864, as a day that lives were spared due to General Sterling Price's decision not to attack the City of Jefferson in the American Civil War. This resolution in no way shall be construed as being sympathetic to the cause of the Confederacy. This date shall serve as a day of remembrance and reflection.
"The City of Jefferson must continue to look forward, but there are times when we must look back to see where we have been and how far we have come as a community. This is a part of our local history that is forever linked to our country's and should be remembered and revered for what it is; a celebration of life and a community spared from the ravages of war."
Spencer proposed the resolution, he said after the meeting, after Mayor Carrie Tergin had two pavers removed on Dec. 23 from an Adrian's Island plaza for concern they too closely resemble a Civil War monument the City Council removed in 2020 after weeks of contentious debate.
The bricks, which lay next to each other, had been purchased by city resident Edith Vogel and had been engraved with part of the language on the Sterling Price marker.
The original Sterling Price marker and the pavers stated: "Deciding against attack the confederate army under Gen. Sterling Price turned from Jefferson City Oct. 7, 1864."
The original marker was donated by the United Daughters of the Confederacy, which has ties to the Ku Klux Klan -- which the city's resolution to remove the marker specifically cites as the reason for removal.
However, Vogel's pavers stated they were from Union Camp Lillie. She is the current owner of what was Camp Lillie, which was a base for Union soldiers. In April, she put up a replica of the plaque from the original Sterling Price marker on the property.
Tergin said Dec. 23 she decided to remove the pavers on Adrian's Island because the messaging didn't align with the original intention of the pavers to be for names, and the Council had already made a decision about having the language on city-owned property.
Spencer said it feels like a moving metric.
"It just seems like that it changes from the messenger to the message," he said after the meeting. "On Aug. 20 (when the resolution to remove the marker passed City Council) it was the messenger. It just seems like the target keeps getting moved."
Ward 5 Councilman Jon Hensley questioned Spencer during the City Council meeting about why this wasn't something that could have been included on the Council agenda, which went out Thursday afternoon.
"If it was just a sentence or two, we can take that, but that seemed like a whole paragraph," he said. "If we were going to craft that together as a group, it might have been nice to know about it ahead of time. It appears that several members of the public were aware that this was going to be brought up tonight, but not everyone up here was aware."
Spencer said it was due to contemplation on his part on whether to bring the proposed resolution up at all. Most of the Council was present for the debate about the original marker, and therefore had the background on the topic already.
He and Spicer are the only two current councilmen who did not have their seats at the time.
"I get the connection for sure," Hensley said. "It seem though that it falls short of sort of calling it a local holiday, establishing something like that. But it's close."
The motion, made by Ward 4 Councilman Derrick Spicer, was to direct city staff to take Spencer's proposed resolution and work it into a formal one for the next City Council meeting.
City Attorney Ryan Moehlman said under state statute the city needs to provide at least 24-hour notice before voting on a resolution. Since it was not on the Council agenda, he said, members couldn't vote on the resolution itself.
The motion to put the resolution on the next Council agenda had an even split vote with Ward 1 Councilmen David Kemna and Hank Vogt, Ward 2 Council members Mike Lester and Laura Ward, and Ward 3 Councilwoman Erin Wiseman voting against it.
Spencer, Spicer, Hensley, Ward 4 Councilman Ron Fitzwater and Ward 5 Councilman Mark Schreiber voted in favor of it.
Under normal circumstances, when all 10 council members and mayor are in attendance, the mayor would decide a split vote. However, Tergin was not in attendance at Monday's meeting, which means the split vote failed.
Other business
In other business, the council:
• Approved two bids for historian or architectural historian services to David Taylor for $25,500 and Owen & Eastlake for $42,500 to conduct three studies into how the city's impact continues to impact it today and protections for the future.
• Authorized a renewal of year two with Evoqua Water Technologies for odor control products for an estimated $354,165.
• Authorized a supplemental appropriation from multiple city funds to the self-funded health insurance fund. The city staff is requesting a rule suspension so the bill can be voted on at Monday's meeting.
• Approved of a supplemental appropriation for an additional $125,000 to go toward a Capital Area Pedestrian and Bicycle Plan, bringing the project's budget to $252,359. Of the additional funding, $100,000 is an increased contribution from the Missouri Department of Transportation and $25,000 will come from the Parks, Recreation and Forestry Department.
• Did not authorize a real estate broker services contract with Bowman Realty. Wiseman motioned for city staff -- which the rest of the Council approved -- to approach one of the other bidders, Beth McGeorge/Remax, about establishing a contract. It will need reviewed by the City Council before being enacted.
Unfinished business
The City Council put on hold a discussion about the local nonprofit Transformational Housing taking ownership of 101 Jackson St.
City Attorney Ryan Moehlman said representatives with the Jefferson City Housing Authority reached out Monday to say Transformational Housing plans to make some changes to the proposal that wouldn't be ready for the Council meeting.
It was postponed indefinitely, which means it can come back before the City Council when the two organizations are ready to present it again.
The Housing Authority owns the property, but Transformational Housing's original proposal requested $10,000 to help repair the building's failing roof, which the Housing Authority sought the city's help to pay.