Too-low fines reconsidered by Sweet Springs Board of Aldermen

Mayor Ray Kinney reported that Sweet Springs has no ordinance regarding minors in possession of alcohol. This has meant that for any given offense by a minor possessing alcohol, the city has spent up to $900 in court costs to prosecute, usually bringing a sentence of two years probation and a fee of $23.50, meaning it costs up to 36 times as much to prosecute the crime as the city receives in fines.

Similarly, Kinney continued, fines for violation of the city's ordinance that requires dog tags are "too low for anyone to be worried about getting a ticket."

Alderman Billie Clevenger noted that there is a higher fine associated with making an illegal turn than speeding.

"The reason we're losing money in the court system is because the fines are old," Kinney said, and asked board members to look over the city's ordinances in their free time so they could bring up suggestions of how to deal with this problem in future council meetings.

The board voted to write an ordinance prohibiting minors from possessing alcohol. The fine will not exceed $500.

Board members voted to put money collected from the transient guest tax into a savings account. The decision of what to do with this money will wait until the board is aware of how much money will be available.

The board approved Sweet Springs resident Bob Hollrah's request to hold turkey shoots every Sunday of October 2009 in the city's park, though Hollrah was asked to ensure the return of picnic tables that will be loaned for the event.

The board voted to put the city's audit for the coming year up for bid. Last year, a company in Concordia performed the city's audit for $3,800. Clevenger suggested the board place ads in the newspapers of Sweet Springs, Concordia, Sedalia and Marshall.

City Clerk Ronda Nienhueser told the board that the cost associated with placing an ad for a public works director in one newspaper was $152.50, bringing up the question as to how much money could actually be saved by putting the audit up for bid.

Kinney noted there was no problem with last year's audit.

The board voted to continue Sweet Springs Revitalization's lease of the old library building for 20 years. SSR will pay the city $1 per year and be responsible for maintaining the building's interior and paying utility bills. The city will be responsible for upkeep of the building's exterior.

Captain Bruce Hoyes gave the board a report from the fire department. He said that during February, the fire department had responded to two traffic accidents, one call for mutual aid at the church in Elmwood and four natural fires. He referred to February as a busy month.

He also told the board that the city was unprotected from fire for approximately eight hours the day before, as Pumper 2's starter ceased to function. He raised the question of when the city would purchase a new fire truck.

Kinney responded that the board is waiting for the federal government to release the money for which the city applied through Sweet Springs Inc.

Sweet Springs Police Chief Richard Downing gave the board the monthly report from the police department.

In the month of February, he said, police dealt with 256 walk-ins, 357 call-ins, two domestic calls, one alarm, four agency assists, one call of property damage, two calls of theft, two warrant arrests, two suspicious subjects, three Ministerial Alliance calls, two counts of recovered property, one call of tampering with an automobile, one call of burglary, one fingerprinting and three accidents.

"Basically, a real quiet month," he said.

He then asked the board to look into purchasing ITI as the Computer Aided Dispatch system for the police department. He explained that Marshall, Concordia and the Saline County Sheriff's Department all used ITI, and he expected that Slater will soon follow suit. Many law enforcement officials, including Marshall Police Chief Mike Donnell, hope that when the Saline County 911 Dispatch Center goes live it will also use ITI.

Kinney said a look at the budget would be necessary before such a commitment could be made.

The date for the public hearing on the city of Sweet Springs' budget was set as Monday, March 30, at 3:30 p.m. at the city hall, 324 S. Miller St. All are invited to attend.

Anyone under 18 interested in playing baseball this coming summer is asked to attend a meeting 6:30 p.m. Sunday, March 15, at the city hall.

Vivian Wiley was the only board member absent.

The board's next regularly scheduled meeting will be held Monday, April 13, at 7 p.m. at the city hall.

Contact Geoff Rands at marshallreporter@socket.net