News & Highlights

Level Billing Signups Now Being Accepted

City of Fulton residents looking for relief from high utility bills during the summer and winter months can now sign up for Level Billing. To qualify, residents must have lived at their current address for at least one year. The previous 12-month utility bill average then becomes the new monthly bill amount.

Time to signup for the program, however, is limited. The registration deadline is August 1. Those failing to sign up before the deadline will have to wait until May 1, 2013 to next enroll. Residents already participating in Level Billing do not need to take any action to remain in the program for the 2012-13 billing cycle.

To sign up for Level Billing or to receive more information, contact City Hall at 573-592-311.

City Administrator Awarded State-Wide Honor

Fulton Assistant Director of Administration Matt Harline has been presented the Richard R. Noll Outstanding Assistant Award by the Missouri City/County Management Association (MCMA). The award was presented to Mr. Harline at the annual MCMA conference on Thursday, April 19 in Kansas City.

The Outstanding Assistant Award is given annually to an assistant manager/administrator who demonstrates “excellence in leadership.” But Mr. Harline realizes such an honor could not be awarded without a strong supporting cast of employees. “It is very humbling to be honored by your peers this way,” said Harline. “I think it really says a lot about the quality of personnel throughout the city as much as about me.”

City of Fulton Director of Administration Bill Johnson feels Mr. Harline’s performance makes him more than deserving of such a recognition. “I am very proud of Matt for getting this award,” said Johnson. “He works very hard and everyday tries to make the community a better place to live. I am also pleased that the other city managers in the state recognized an employee from Fulton as being the best in the state. All the city employees are hard working and deserving…Matt just happened to be the one that got an award.”

Harline is only the fourth person in the award’s 21 year history to be from a municipality not in the greater St. Louis or Kansas City areas.

Human Rights Commission Meeting Cancelled

The Human Rights Commission meeting scheduled for Monday, April 30, 2012 at 5:15 p.m. has been cancelled. The next meeting will be held Monday, May 21 at 5:15 p.m.

Important Changes Coming to Fulton Area Community Television

Fulton Area Community Television has had a home on Channel 5 for Charter Cable subscribers for a decade. But beginning on April 25, FACT can be seen at a new location. It will now be found on Channel 991 as part of Charter’s Public Affairs Neighborhood Channel. This change was initiated by the cable company and not the City of Fulton.

In order to view the channel on your television set now on, cable subscribers must have digital cable, have a TV with a digital tuner, or purchase or lease a digital converter box. Subscribers with a cable-ready digital TV can find FACT on channel 108.28.

These changes do not mean that cable customers must upgrade their package to receive FACT as it will still be included as part of Charter’s Basic Tier.

Meanwhile, the city is proud to announce that FACT can now be viewed anywhere in the world via the World Wide Web. The city’s government channel is streaming live on the City of Fulton’s official website at fultonmo.org/factlive.

The city understands that not everyone subscribes to Charter Cable, which had been the only way viewers could watch FACT programming. This meant that many residents were missing out on valuable information.

Now anyone can have access to City Council meeting broadcasts, as well as other programming such as Fulton Community Focus and Fulton and World War II.

U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission to hold meeting at City Hall

The United States Nuclear Regulatory Commission will be holding two meetings concerning Ameren Missouri’s license renewal of the Callaway Power Plant. Both will take place on Wednesday, March 14. The first meeting will run from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. with an identical meeting taking place between 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. The purpose of the meetings is for the NRC staff to describe the license renewal process and to allow members of the public the opportunity to provide comments regarding environmental issues the NRC should consider during its review of the license renewal application. Both formal sessions will be preceded by an informal open house beginning one hour prior to each session for those who wish to attend. The open house will provide members of the public with an opportunity to speak with NRC staff. Members of the public may register to present oral comments at this meeting by contacting Carmen Fells at 1-800-368-5642, extension 6337, or by email at Carmen.Fells@nrc.gov by March 7, 2012.

HPC Seeking Historic Properties

The City of Fulton’s Historic Preservation Commission is attempting to identify historic homes inside the city limits. Residents and property owners are invited to attend an informational meeting to discuss the new simplified application process and exactly what the Fulton Historic Property designation means. The meeting will be held on Thursday, March 8 at 5:30 p.m. at the Kingdom of Callaway Historical Society, 513 Court Street. Please contact the City Clerk’s office at 573-592-3111 for more information.

City to Raise Money For New Animal Shelter

The City of Fulton has announced plans to begin a fundraising drive to build a new animal shelter. It will be a public-private partnership with the Kingdom of Callaway Chamber of Commerce Community Betterment Foundation. All donations to the foundation will be tax deductible. Mayor LeRoy Benton has set a goal of raising $250,000 in two years.

Engraved bricks be available for purchase beginning on March 1 at a cost of $50 for three lines of text. These bricks will eventually be laid around the new shelter as sidewalks or patio areas. Larger donors will be honored with a special wall dedicated to “Friends of the Shelter.” A location for the new animal shelter has yet to be determined by the Fulton City Council.

The current animal shelter, located in Veterans Park, is a former swimming pool bath house. It was converted into an animal shelter in the 1990’s, but as a temporary location. The current shelter is crowded and is in need of significant upgrades. The city staff has determined it’s better to replace the facility than renovate the current shelter. But because such city funds for a shelter will not be available for some time, a public-private partnership is needed.

New Abatement Ordinance Now In Effect

Temperatures might still be cold outside and the grass in your yard might be dormant, but spring will be here before you know it. And once the grass starts growing again, it’s important to know about the city’s updated ordinance for weed, grass, trash, and debris abatement.

If a property owner receives a notice that their yard is in violation of the city’s ordinance, the owner has seven days to begin correcting the issue. Previously, property owners had only five days to resolve any problems.

The most significant change, however, concerns abatement hearings. When a notice was previously sent to a violator, a hearing date was automatically set by the city’s health officer. Now, a resident must request a hearing with the city within seven days of receiving a violation notice.

If a property owner is found to be liable for the abatement and any removal costs, they have 45 days to pay the bill before a tax lien is placed on the violator’s property. Previously, property owners had only ten days to pay their bill.

Should the city be forced to correct any abatement violation, the property owner will be charged a minimum fee of $100 plus an hourly labor fee of $50 per hour for the employees work, as well as any equipment and disposal costs. To view the full ordinance, go to fultonmo.org/ordinances.

City To Purchase Wastewater Centrifuge

Dealing with wastewater sludge can be pretty messy. But soon that mess will be lessened as the city plans to purchase a wastewater centrifuge.

Wastewater sludge is currently dried in vacuum drying beds that have reached the end of their life expectancy. The city explored several other options and a sludge centrifuge proved to be the best solution.

Once the sludge has gone through the centrifuge, the final product is 20 percent solids. The old drying beds, meanwhile, had only eight percent solids.

This will allow the city to transport sewage sludge in one third the trips as previously required and with less chance of spillage. The sludge is used to cover farmer’s fields as fertilizer at no cost.

Snow Routes Being Marked With Signs

The city recently adopted an official snow policy to effectively deal with winter weather. Now signs designating emergency snow routes are being installed around town.

Emergency snow routes are priority roads that are to be plowed when 12 or more inches of snow has fallen. When an emergency snow event is declared, all cars must be cleared from the designated streets and are subject to being towed if they are not removed.

A map showing all of the City of Fulton’s emergency snow routes can be found on the city website at fultonmo.org/snowpolicy.