City Looks at Permits for Special Events, Passes New Dangerous Animal Ordinance

At the Feb. 6 public work session at , Assistant City Administrator Eric Sterman spoke to the board of aldermen about codifying a special use permit process for special events in the city.

The need for this came up, Sterman said, as the city worked to bring the O'Fallon Farmer's Market to its new home at .

"It only makes sense to look at how we handle these special events," Sterman said. "Requiring all vendors to get a business license is not the most efficient process."

The permitting process could then also be applied to events like Oktoberfest and . A new ordinance could require the event promoter to apply for the permit and make sure that all the vendors at the event meet city and event qualifications.

Sterman asked the board for input about what type of events would be covered and what ones would not, "like a kid selling Girl Scout cookies at the end of the driveway," he said, and noted that the board would need to decide which events they are comfortable having city staff approve, and which ones they would want to come before the board of aldermen.

City staff will be working on an ordinance with details on the permitting process for special events to present to the board at a later date.

Surveying public opinion at the March 12 Town Hall Meeting

Director of Public Works Derek Koestel presented an idea for surveying residents' opinions at the Town Hall meeting scheduled for March 12. He suggested that several displays be set up allowing participants to indicate the degree of their agreement or opposition to several issues.

Two of those issues are the and the new, items that are on the April ballot.

"Is this going to confuse things?" Koestel asked the board and expressed concern that the items that were not on the election might warrant a separate town hall meeting. Board members agreed that all the issues could be addressed in the survey.

The board also discussed changes to the city's website and sending a letter of opposition to the Missouri Fair Tax bill.

Highlights of the 7 p.m. board of aldermen meeting:

• The appointment of Dennis Zimmer to the Development Review Board and Judith Westerman to the Architectural Review Board was approved.
• An ordinance amending the city municipal code about animal regulations was approved. The new ordinance adds conditions for registering animals deemed dangerous with the city, and also adding fees for the redemption of impounded animals that are determined to not be rabid.
• An ordinance authorizing the consolidation of two adjacent parcels owned by the Chapel of the Lake was approved.
• An ordinance authorizing the disposal of two surplus police vehicles was approved.
• An ordinance amending the city municipal code on park board meetings was given a first reading.
• An ordinance to authorize agreements with Central Electric Power Cooperative and Cuivre River Electric Cooperative, Inc. for the purpose of receiving grant monies was approved.
• An ordinance to comply with the Missouri Ethics Commission to re-adopt a 1991 ordinance that establishes procedures to disclose potential conflict of interest and substantial interests for certain officials was approved.
• An ordinance to exercise the second year renewal option of the contract with Mandee Foods for the 2012 season for Founders Sports Complex concession operations was approved.
• An ordinance to adopt a budget revision was approved.
• A resolution authorizing destruction of certain records that no longer have any value and have exceeded their retention requirement was approved.