Hannibal City Council Tables Sale of Murphy Motors Property

(Hannibal, Mo)—The former Murphy Motors building remains city property, for now, after the Hannibal City Council voted Tuesday night to table the resolution approving the sale.

City Attorney James Lemon advised the council to postpone action on sale of the property to Bill Martin, saying the counter offer has “more than a few small details” that need further review and discussion, possibly in closed session. The council followed Lemon’s advice, tabling the Resolution for three weeks.

There are a number of covenants and agreements contained in the sales contract, including the City's right to repurchase the property under certain circumstances.

Martin was present at the meeting.  He asked the City to include him in future discussions.  Martin proposes to develop the property into the Moses Bates Mercantile and Pub.

In other business, the council approved the purchase of a new radio voter receiver for $8,000 for the Police Department. Police Chief Lyndell Davis told the Council the voter is critical to emergency communications.  It operates similar to a cell phone tower system, constantly switching portable radio transmissions to the best available tower. Davis says  the current voter receiver installed in 1999 is outdated and has outlived its expected work life.

A Resolution to spend $27,000 for engineering fees related to renovations at Chris Walton Field in Huckleberry Park is approved.  Parks and Rec Director Andy Dorian told the council the baseball-softball field has become run down due to severe water seepage onto the field and deteriorating asphalt in the viewing area.

A second Resolution received a bit of discussion after Andy Dorian said the total cost of dredging the riverfront marina could be $70,000 to $100,000.  Councilman Mike Dobson asked how many slips were rented last year.  Dorian said the number has been declining, somewhere around 20, but dredging is an expected cost of maintaining a marina on the Mississippi, and the marina's depth is dangerously low.  In the end, the council unanimously approved spending $10,500 for engineering fees related to dredging.

An easement between the City and General Mills regarding fiber optic conduit installation is approved.

The Council also approved a Resolution to pay up to $29,420 to Ed Rutherford Roofing for repair of the Park Maintenance Shop roof.

The next council meeting is February 5th.