STE. GENEVIEVE — The Ste. Genevieve Board of Aldermen has approved the appointment of Jasen Crump to succeed Eric Bennett as police chief.
The action came during last night’s regular meeting.
The aldermen approved the appointment unanimously without discussion. The approval was followed by a round of applause for Crump.
The action was taken after the aldermen voted to rescind a city ordinance which required the police chief to reside in the city limits.
Bennett resigned recently to take a job in the private sector. Before leaving he recommended Jasen Crump succeed him and also asked the board to consider removing the residence requirement.
The aldermen decided to alter its meeting schedule during November and December. Meetings will be held November 10 and December 8. Additional meetings could be scheduled if needed.
During his regular report Jasen Crump informed the aldermen that should Constitutional Amendment No. 3 pass November 8th, and recreational use of marijuana become legal, all current K9s in law enforcement statewide — including Ste. Genevieve’s K9 Mario — will be retired. They will be replaced by new dogs which will not alert on marijuana. The cost of replacing the dogs may be covered by insurance.
Steve Wilson of Alliance Water Resources, who operates the city’s water and wastewater treatment facilities was ask how the city’s water wells are doing during this drought. Wilson said they did drop a bit, but did not dip into what he called the danger zone. He said with the recent rain, the water in each well rose about three feet.
The aldermen considered bids for a pump replacement for the water treatment plant and approved one of them. The amount of the winning bid and the name of the company supplying it was not disclosed during the meeting, though Alderman “Buck” Jokerst said it was a local firm.
The aldermen gave first and second round approval to the following measures.
Bill No. 4519 — amending Chapter 200 of the city code — removing the requirement that police chiefs living the city limits — was given both first and second round approval.
Bill No. 4520 — authorizing the mayor to enter into an agreement with the Missouri Highways and Transportation Commission was given both first and second round approval.
Bill No. 4521 — calling for the general election of officers of the city of Ste. Genevieve to be held April 4, 2023.
The aldermen considered its 2023 repaving plan when it met in a work session session following the regular meeting.
According to the information sent to members of the board of aldermen, the city has $824,944 worth of repaving to do, at present value, with $325,000 in the budget to pay for it. That means some projects won’t get done unless the $499,944 difference can be found elsewhere:
The projects now under consideration for completion are:
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Mayor Paul Hassler suggested the city put a bond issue on the April ballot to “get some things fixed.”
That kicked off considerable discussion on financing street improvements.
Welch said the priority would be to repave those streets where the waterline repairs have been made.
That would include Rozier Street from Cedar to Park, North Fourth Street from LeCompte to Washington, Roberts from LaHaye to LaPorte and LaHaye from Sixth Street to Main. The water line improvements on some of the streets are dependent on ARPA Funds.
Alderwoman Kristi Cleghorn did not attend the meeting.
Last night’s meeting was shown live on SteGenTV Channel 991 and is now available on the SteGenTV You Tube Channel at https://youtu.be/BSZvXHeqz7Q