The Hannibal City Council has selected Sean Hampton to assume the role of Fire Chief,  effective January 1. Hampton has been Assistant Chief since 2011. The appointment comes after current chief Bill Madore announced plans to retire after a 20-year career. Madore’s last day will be December 14.

In other business:

• The council voted to accept a grant from the Missouri Department of Conservation for training city employees on planting, trimming, and care of tree inventories. The $3,908 TRIM Grant will provide funds for hiring a tree expert to conduct the training.

• Trees were also on the mind of Parks and Recreation Director Andy Dorian. Dorian told the council 90 percent of trees in parks are trimmed or removed by internal staff. Occasionally, professional expertise is needed due to size or location. The council approved a cooperative agreement utilizing Townsend Tree Service in those cases. Townsend also provides tree maintenance for the Board of Public Works.

• A Second and Final Reading was given to a Bill eliminating the Street Department Secretary and combining those duties with the DPW Management Assistant.

• Although there was a quorum present to legally conduct business, the absence of three councilmen (Knickerbocker, Dobson, and Locke) on Tuesday led to dissension regarding the closed session. Third Ward Councilman Kevin Lionberger moved to postpone the closed session business until the next meeting, when more members would be present. Fourth Ward councilman James VanHoose agreed with Lionberger. Mayor Hark and 5th Ward Councilman James Hark voted to hold the meeting as originally planned. The 2-2 deadlocked council resulted in the tabling of the closed session until the December 15 meeting.

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