HOLTS SUMMIT, Mo. - The Holts Summit Board of Alderman decided to end the local emergency order when the state emergency order expires this month at Tuesday's meeting.
Gov. Mike Parson's state emergency order is set to expire Monday.
At that time, the city will return to business as usual - to help residents impacted by COVID-19 and the related economic downturn, the city hasn't been disconnecting utilities or assessing penalties since March.
In late July, disconnections will restart.
Acknowledging the pandemic might have longer-lasting financial impacts, City Administrator Hanna Lechner suggested working out payment agreements on a case-by-case basis for anyone who asks for help with delinquent bills. This plan will be discussed again in July.
At the meeting, Mayor Landon Oxley and board members Sharon Schlueter and Susan Sundermeyer were sworn in.
Sundermeyer was elected this month to take the place of former lderman Thomas Durham. Schlueter, a returning board member, was chosen by her fellow board members to serve as mayor pro-tem.
In other business, the board discussed raising animal control adoption and intake fees.
Currently, the city covers much of the costs of adopting a pet - the adoption fee that customers pay for a 50-pound dog is only $50, while it costs the city $164.
"So we're losing money," Lechner said. "We're not even breaking even."
The board voted to raise the intake fee from $15 per day to $25 per day and adoption fees to match the cost paid by the city to Summit Veterinary Services.
Also during the meeting, the board passed resolutions related to loans and grants the city is receiving for its sewer project.
On Wednesday, the Missouri Department of Natural Resources announced it has awarded Holts Summit with a $50,000 Small Community Engineering Assistance Program grant to help the city evaluate the wastewater treatment system.
Along with the grant, the city is paying an additional $12,500 to pay for an extensive study to identify needed repairs and improvements. Kingdom City was awarded the same grant in February.
Work on the evaluation, which is expected to be completed in February 2020, has already begun.