With that, Mayor Henry reported that Rice Road had been bladed and dust control had been applied. He thanked Bates County for the chemical application and is waiting for the snow to clear to see if it worked. On a related note, the city has received paperwork needed for the township to transfer ownership of Rice Road to the city of Butler which hopefully 'smooth out' maintenance issues.
MoDot has also been seen several times lately at the intersection of Fort Scott and Orange, surveying and taking measurements as plans are to widen the turn lane from southbound Orange to west Fort Scott. Increased truck traffic causes a pinch for traffic at certain times necessitating the changes. Mayor Henry has contacted MoDot and is awaiting an update on progress.
Alliance water manager Dustin Sterling went over the December operations report for the water plant and the wastewater treatment Plant. He mentioned that MIDCO divers had had inspected and repaired a leaking seam on the east holding tank at the water treatment plant. The divers also inspected the uptown water tower.
Current Butler CPA Audit firm Trout, Beeman and Company announced that they sold their business to Paul Hood who is headquartered in Tulsa, Oklahoma. They have approximately 175 employees with offices in Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas, and just recently Tennessee. Mr. Beeman indicated that he would continue to provide audit and tax services to the city. Councilwoman Doncella Liggins asked if the city would need to sign a new contract with the new firm and the Butler city attorney said he would look into it.
Jalyn Watson, Student Council Advisor with Butler High School has scheduled a mock city council meeting with council for February 26, 2026, at 10:00 am. Mid America Live plans to cover the event.
A brief discussion was held about the intersection of Fort Scott and Main streets. Due to parking near the corner, sight is limited at times and it was suggested that making the intersection a four way stop would help. More discussion will be held in coming days.
City Clerk Gayle Alexander reviewed costs associated with copy machines at various locations including city hall, the fire department, police department and city shop. She disclosed three bids for new equipment and the council voted unanimously to stay with Lakeland Office Systems which overall was the best deal.
It was noted that when getting notifications to Butler patrons, the Text Caster program appears to be the quickest way to get the word out when information needs to get to the public in short order. While such notifications are placed on the web site and the city of Butler Facebook page, all present agreed that since most everyone has a cell phone, Text Caster is the best bet. For those who would like to sign up, go to this link https://asa.textcaster.com/asa/d4fb7501-a173-487c-99dc-94c24fd2c6a5 or www.cityofbutlermo.com and scroll down until you seek the Text Caster link.
Before closure of the meeting, all present expressed condolences to the Eldon Neely family for their loss as Eldon had been involved with many aspects of the city over the years.
The Butler City Council meets on the first and third Tuesdays, 7 pm, at city hall and the public is highly encouraged to attend.
