Joplin council to discuss loosening COVID-19 restrictions
Mar. 1—City officials will discuss whether to loosen COVID-19 restrictions at a meeting of the Joplin City Council today.
In particular, the health department director will be asked whether it is safe to lift the limit of 250 people at mass gatherings specified in the Joplin Response and Recovery Plan.
In August, the city moved to that step, which removed occupancy limits on businesses, restaurants, churches, theaters and other places but still required that social distancing be observed. That step also encouraged offering services remotely.
In other business, the council will be asked to approve a contract for construction work at the Joplin Senior Center to reconfigure the Meals on Wheels loading zone. Volunteers told the council in 2019 that the loading zone provided when the center was built in 2017 was too small for multiple drivers arriving and leaving with meals for delivery. They needed more parking spaces at the side of the building near the kitchen entrance and a canopy to shield them from the weather.
As a result, city staff had meetings with the Area Agency on Aging to get input on a plan for renovations. When the plan was put out for bids, the city received three. The lowest bid was by G&G Construction Co. for $109,469.50 and staff will recommend acceptance. If approved, the work would be completed by Sept. 15, according to a city staff report.
A contract for bulky waste disposal service including tires also will be considered by the council. According to city documents, the low bidder was Waste Corporation of America.
With contract approval, residents can dispose of up to 2,000 pounds of bulky items, limited quantities of construction/demolition debris, brush and tree limbs, and tires with the city paying half the cost. Disposal would cost $18 per car, truck or short trailer load and $22 for a long trailer. The city also operates a location where limbs, leaves and grass clippings can be taken for free.
The council also will be asked to approve a contract for $300,610 with Joplin Industrial Electric Co. for replacement of a generator at the Turkey Creek Wastewater Plant.
Public hearings are to be held on zoning questions. Joplin city staff seek to vacate a 75-foot street right of way about 670 feet long north of 15th Street between Connecticut Avenue and Murphy Boulevard. A request by Alan Bemo seeks to change zoning of property at 4307 Swede Lane from industrial to single-family residential for the construction of a house.
The meeting agenda also contains a notice for a vote on a closed meeting to discuss legal and real estate matters.
The council meets at 6 p.m. on the fifth floor of City Hall, 602 S. Main St.
