Gainesville City Council meeting held Oct. 15

Editor’s note: The Times staff was not able to be at this month’s city council meeting but is providing these minutes from the meeting. 

The preliminary minutes have not been approved by the city council. The council approves minutes from the previous month at their regular meeting; therefore, if there is any corrections, we will report on that after the Nov. 11, meeting. 

The Gainesville City Council met in regular session at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 15, at City Hall. The following members were present: Lana Bushong, Teri Edades, April Lynne, Treva Warrick and Dana Crisp, along with Mayor Deanna G. Reich.. Also attending were Gainesville Fire Chief Kevin Piland, City Water Specialist Jessi Price and City Clerk Lisa Goodnight.

1. Call Meeting to Order – Called meeting to order by Mayor Deanna Reich at 6:00 p.m.

2. Roll call – Five Aldermen were present. Amanda Rogers was absent. Mayor Reich present. Quorum achieved.

3. 2025-26 budget approval – Dana Crisp made a motion to accept the budget as presented and permission to City Clerk to make line-item adjustments. Treva Warrick seconded. All yeas. Motion passed.  

4. Consent Agenda – Lana Bushong made a motion to accept the Consent Agenda. April Lynne seconded. All yeas. Motion passed. 

5. Open Forum – 

a. Ray and Missy Grisham – Ray Grisham presented plans to the council for storage buildings to be rented. The property is located at 144 Elm Street. 

6. Fire Department Report – report provided. A donation of $250 was made to the Gainesville Volunteer Fire Department by Ray and Missy Grisham. The volunteers helped the Grishams with the burning of a large amount of lawn debris. 

7. Maintenance department report and water Department report – 

a. Maintenance department – N/A

b. Water department – DNR Water Project is continuing with successful results. 

8. Wastewater Treatment Facility – Levi Evans is currently in Operator class in Springfield. When that is completed, Levi will take the Operator test. 

9. City Park – 

a. Private Donation – N/A

b. Open/Close Hours – N/A

c. Gate – Alderman Lana Bushong reported the gate [at the entrance of the park] will be completed and hung within two weeks.

d. Log House (at park) – Mayor Reich reported that several people had inspected the log house. All who have looked at it have said the structure needs minor repairs but is a sound structure. 

e. Pavilion Power Box – N/A

10. Old Business – 

a. Nuisance ordinance – Lana Bushong reported that City Attorney Mucklestone is currently working on obtaining a probable cause statement for the open Nuisance Ordinance violation on Main Street. 

b. Legal Agreement – Treva Warrick made a motion to accept the retainer agreement with city attorney Jessica Blackburn. Lana Bushong seconded. All yeas. Motion passed. 

11. New Business – 

1. Grisham Storage Building Request – Treva Warrick made a motion to proceed with the necessary Public Hearing required to allow storage buildings in a residential zoning area. Lana Bushong seconded. Yea = Crisp, Bushong, Warrick and Edades. Nay = Lynne. 

2. Trunk or Treat/Christmas Parade Event Insurance – The Ozark County Chamber of Commerce has reimbursed the City for the cost of the event insurance for Gainesville Trunk or Treat. Brightspeed would like to cover the cost of the Christmas Parade event insurance. 

3. Lagers Retirement Program – N/A. There were no council members that would like to change the current Tier Level of Lagers Retirement Program. 

4. Housing Ordinance – The zoning ordinance does not specifically note the minimum allowable home size. The council has maintained the 900 square foot minimum for many years. Upon the advice of counsel, there will be an ordinance at the November meeting that will clear up any questions moving forward. 

12. Equipment

a. Maintenance Department – N/A

b. Fire Department – N/A

13. Enter Closed Session – Treva Warrick made a motion to enter Closed Session with an invitation to Jessi Price and Lisa Goodnight. Entered Closed Session at 7:08 p.m. 

14. Voting In Closed Session – N/A

15. Exit Closed Session – Treva Warrick made a motion to exit closed session. Lana Bushong seconded. All yeas. Exited closed session at 7:39 p.m. 

16. Adjourn – Dana Crisp made a motion to adjourn meeting. April Lynne seconded. All yeas. Motion passed. Meeting adjourned at 7:40 p.m.