The City of Kirksville has received record amounts of rainfall in the past few years; almost twice the normal amount in both 2008 & 2009. The amount of water has overwhelmed the existing storm water system, much of which was developed prior to 1970. Many citizens who have never had to deal with flooding and storm sewer back-ups in their homes are now dealing with these problems. City Hall has received numerous complaints and concerns from citizens about these on-going issues.

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 authorized Recovery Zone Economic Development Bonds for various cities and counties across the country. Adair County was one of the counties designated to receive these bonds. City staff met with the Adair County Commission and they have agreed to let the City of Kirksville use these bonds, with voter approval, to fund the improvements to our storm drainage system. If approved, this project would address some public access areas with drainage issues, but it will also help improve the privately held areas with drainage issues that have affected so many citizens.

City Council and Staff will be at the public meeting to give a presentation about the Storm Drainage Improvement Bonds. The Council will then entertain citizen questions and comments regarding the bond issue. For additional information, contact City Hall at 660-627-1225.

Here are some highlights:

Kirksville Community Betterment, a committee of the Kirksville Area Chamber of Commerce, was able to demonstrate exceptional cooperation among the City of Kirksville, Truman State University, A.T. Still University of Health, K-REDI, the Chamber of Commerce and many local volunteer and service groups.

The Missouri Community Betterment (MCB) Program is designed to help Missouri communities enhance their life through overall community development, planning, and implementation. The MCB Program accomplishes this mission primarily by lending technical assistance to communities; by officially recognizing the participating communities and neighborhoods; and by awarding those that excel in the program.

So to find out what the gaps are, city staff last year compiled this list of activities that currently happen in town that would be of interest to seniors. I asked a couple folks in RSVP to help fill in the gaps by asking, “Could you please look over this list and tell me what is missing”

Here was the response:

• Fishing Group – fishing events, socializing etc.

• Senior Dances – at least every quarter.

• Bunco Fundays – could be included in the card & game sessions that need to be facilitated so that when newbies to the community drop by they are welcomed.

• Water Walking – Led by some one where each individual works at their own pace while walking, arching, lunging, and side stepping through the pool.  Excellent for those who have had joint replacement procedures.

• Fitness Programs for Seniors – Muscular Strength and Range Movement where you move to music through excersises designed to increase musculare strength and range of movement.  A class for more active souls for muscular endurance conditioning. A Cardio Fit class for those who are fit and active as well as those who are sedentary or unfamiliar with excercise

• Wii Play   Learning to play and competitions.  Golf, bowling, tennis etc.  Other communities have this and the game was donated by a local business.

• Slim and Trim after 60:  work with trainer and dietician to set realistic goals, safe workouts, and nutrition advice all geared specifically toward those 60+

• Weekly Senior Living Programs – have professionals come in and give programs – ie, Common Foot Ailments, Add energy to your 1st Aid Kit, Afternoon Delight:  Latest research to better care for yourself as you age, Beat the Cold or Flue: Common remedies/myths, Beat the Holiday Blues, Shopping Healthy, Eye Care, Cross Train Your Brain, Ask the Attorney, Meet your State Senator, etc.

• Learn a new skill Programs – have instructors to come in and do a basic class.  Perhap the person would want to pursue and join a club or continue with lessons at a business after attending these.  ie. Harmonica lessons, painting lessons, woodcarving lessons, tap dancing lessons, needlework lessons, gardening lessons, Line Dancing, scrapbooking and card making lessons, etc.

• Kirksville Restaurant Group – Dine out with other seniors once every month at a restaurant.  Meet at the restaurant and order from the menu with seperate checks.  RSVP to Parks and Rec and so reservations can be made.

• Zumba Dance Exercise

I think this is a pretty reasonable and pointed list. Some of these would have a cost associated, but others would be relatively easy to put together. What do you think? Is there anything else you would add?

I plan to bring this issue up in a future meeting of the LPRC, so I would love to have as much input as possible. You can comment by clicking the “Comments” link at the top of the article.

What we did was nothing more than bringing our local codes in line with the International Code Council – specifically the 2009 International Building Code, 2009 International Plumbing Code, 2008 National Electrical Code, 2009 International Residential Code, 2009 International Mechanical Code, 2009 International Fire Code, 2009 International Fuel Gas Code, 2009 International Property Maintenance Code, and the 2009 International Energy Conservation Code.

The last time this was done was in 2003.

The new sprinkler requirements are just one part of the 2009 International Residential Codes standards. It is probably an inevitability that these standards will be eventually be adopted across the country. The sprinkler requirement for residential dwellings is receiving the most attention nationwide and many states are passing extensions to address it.

In Missouri, the sprinkler issue has already been worked out at the state level with the Missouri Home Builders Association. This year, Governor Nixon signed a bill into law delaying this mandate until 2012, until which time builders will be required to offer it as an option only for new homeowners. In January 2012 it will be required for all new homes and, in return for signing this bill, the Missouri Home Builders Association has agreed not to ask for another extension.

Our city, of course, will be subject to that extension, as state laws supersede our local ones – so local builders will not be required to install sprinklers in new residential developments until January 2012.

It’s worth noting that sprinkler systems have been proven to save lives and the cost of installation is expected to drop dramatically once this is a standard across the board in all states. Our fire chief told us that this was true in Arizona, which adopted its own similar sprinkler code in the 80s and saw both a measurable increase in lives saved and decreased cost of installation. It also helps protect the personal property of others around a home that is on fire.

It is estimated that it would cost an additional $1.40 per square foot currently, which would add about $1,400 onto the cost of a 1000 sq-ft home. But the savings in insurance premiums would help offset those costs.

Like all code revisions, these requirements are only for new construction, and current homeowners would obviously not be required to retrofit their existing homes with sprinklers.

The council felt it was doing the best for the safety of Kirksville’s citizens by bringing our codes in line with the minimal international standards, while keeping in mind that Missouri Builders Association has already worked out an extension for the sprinkler requirements with the governor, which we will abide by. We felt it was best to align Kirksville with what is happening at the state level.

You can help by eating lunch at the Hy-Vee Gas station on Friday, Sept 13, 10:30-2pm. For $6, you get your choice of hotdog, hamburger or pulled pork, with chips, cookie and soft drink.

Proceeds will benefit the North Park Complex Shade Trees Campaign.

Apparently, because activities like hiking and biking are cheap, fun recreation, many of the cafes, shops, restaurants and wineries along the trail have seen a dramatic increase in business this year. Count me and Bich among the happy customers, as we rode a short portion of the trail (starting in Rocheport) earlier this summer and had a blast.

Although Kirksville will probably never be a stop along a trail to rival the KATY Trail, it does remind me that we do have so many natural resources in and around town to attract tourists looking to get away from their troubles for an inexpensive weekend or two.

This is one reason why I’m super-pumped about the FLATS initiative, spearheaded by Royce Kallerud. FLATS stands for “Forest Lake Area Trail System”, and it seems this is a project the whole community can get behind: a doable trail from the downtown to the 1000 Hills area. He has been presenting the idea around town and it has been met with universal enthusiasm. The first fundraiser at Ponderosa on Tuesday night was a success.

There is a long-range trail plan posted on the city website that has been in the works for a while. LPRC is going to spend some time talking about it next month. Melanie Smith said the most sensible goal is to focus on marked bike paths, creating a few east-west and north-south corridors through town that bike riders can easily follow. The other item is to educate cyclists and motorists on how to share the road safely along these routes. Royce has tapped into a tremendous amount of research on this subject, so there are some proven techniques we can follow.

We also cut the ribbon on the newest amenities at Spur Pond – ADA compliant access walkways and fishing dock. The next new amenity to go in is a fish cleaning station, thanks to a grant that was just awarded this week to DNR for the project.

Thank you to all who are making these things happen! We’re fortunate to have such great destinations in our own backyard.

There was lots of conversation about how generally thrilled everyone is, how this was a long time in coming, and how grateful we are to the citizens of Kirksville for passing a sales tax extension to help fund the route. MoDOT officials assure us that ground will break any day now on the northern half, so this truly is an exciting project.

The point of a local preference policy is to keep dollars circulating within our community. One way we can keep money from leaving town is to support businesses that distribute all or most of their profits back into people and businesses that are within our community. Corporate chains, although they may be locally owned and employ people from the community, often end up sending a good deal of their profits to corporate offices, or buying their products from non-local suppliers, for example. 

While the exact numbers change from study to study, the research appears to agree that the local economy gets a bigger bang for its buck from “local businesses” than “corporate chains.” For example: 

• A Chicago study found that locally owned businesses generate 70% more local economic impact per square foot than chain stores.
• A study in Maine found that every $100 spent at a local business generated about $45 of additional economic activity in the local area, versus $14 from a big-box store.

So the definition of “local business” in our local preference policy needs to include to the businesses that keep the most money WITHIN our community, while remaining relatively straightforward for city staff to research. Our current definition – that a “local business” is one whose corporate office is within 30 miles of the Kirksville city limits – keeps the chain stores – such as Wal-Mart – from getting a competitive advantage. We love those places and we’re glad they’re here, but if we’re going to give a bidding advantage to one group over another, we need to get the biggest economic bang for our buck.

The council realizes that our definition may not be perfect, so we’re always open to examining it. This meeting with MFA Oil on Monday will give us a good opportunity to consider whether it needs refining (no pun intended).

I just returned from a meeting in the city’s emergency management center in
the basement of the police department. More than 40 folks from every state,
city, county, local, and volunteer agency you could think of was
represented there, including Governor Nixon, State Representative Rebecca
McClanahan, and a representative from Wes Shoemeyer’s office.

Here is what was reported to the governor regarding Kirksville:

* Currently, we have estimated about 65 structures damaged from the storm.
10 would be described as total losses, while about 15 sustained “major”
damage. These are primarily residential structures.

* AmerenUE says 2,364 customers are without electricity today. They
estimate 1,400 will be restored by the end of the day, and the remaining by
noon tomorrow. 90 utility poles were damaged. More than 300 AmerenUE
employees and contractors are working.

* Water service appears to be functioning normally. Six sewer lift stations
were damaged in the storm – one of those is back up now and another is
functioning on generator power.

* The water tower on Brewington Ave was in the direct path of the storm and
damage to that is unknown. A professional is arriving in town today to
inspect it.

* A shelter was opened last night at Rehoboth Baptist Church (100 Pfeiffer
Ave). Families began showing up there this morning. Other affected
residents are staying with family and friends or in local hotels.

* The governor signed an executive order declaring a state of emergency,
and another executive order waiving DNR debris disposal regulations for the
cleanup.

* Two fatalities confirmed in Adair County, north of the Kirksville city
limits. The governor said there have been 7 deaths statewide from these
storms.

* The governor and our state legislators are out surveying the damage now.

You’ve never seen a more organized, cohesive group of officials, volunteers
and public servants working together to coordinate the disaster recovery
effort. Thank you to all who are working tirelessly to help our neighbors
in this time of difficulty and loss. Our hearts and prayers go out to you.