Future of YMCA-Run Civic Center, Police Cameras and Tax Levy Before Lebanon Council

Lebanon City Council Faces Full Evening of Meetings Aug. 24

The Lebanon City Council will consider Civic Center management, police technology, housing development incentives, subdivision agreements, street improvements and several other proposals during three separate meetings Monday, Aug. 24.

The evening begins with a special meeting at 5:30 p.m., followed by a work session at 6 p.m. and the regular council meeting at 6:30 p.m. All three meetings will be held in the Stanley H. Allen Council Chambers at City Hall, 401 S. Jefferson Ave.

The agendas and supporting materials are available online:

Special meeting agenda and documentsWork session agendaRegular meeting agenda

We will be present for the 6 p.m. work session and will report on the council’s discussion. We will also broadcast the 6:30 p.m. regular council meeting.

Special Meeting — 5:30 p.m.

Closed discussion concerning legal matters and contract negotiations

Work Session — 6 p.m.

Proposed transition of YMCA Civic Center operations to city managementAutomated license plate reader transparency ordinance

Regular Council Meeting — 6:30 p.m.

Public commentsHunger Action Month proclamationDinner Under the Downtown Lights street closureGeneral Fund and Parks property-tax leviesReplat at 517 Murphy RoadTallgrass Estates final platRezoning of Lebanon R-III property at 777 Brice StreetFire Department software purchaseInfill housing development-fee waiverTallgrass Estates development agreementRidge Creek development agreementConsulting service agreementsStreet Fund transfer for overlay projectsAtchley Park parking-lot projectLANEG drug task force grantCity employee retirement-match increaseUtility code revisionsLive broadcast of the regular meeting

Meeting 1: Special meeting at 5:30 p.m.

Special meeting set for closed session

The council will begin the evening with a special meeting devoted primarily to a closed session involving legal matters and contract negotiations.

The agenda cites provisions of Missouri’s Sunshine Law covering confidential legal discussions and contract negotiations. It does not identify the legal issue, contract, company or other party involved.

No public comments, presentations or open-session votes are listed. The council is scheduled to establish a quorum, enter closed session and then adjourn.

Transition to the work session

After the special meeting adjourns, the council will move into its 6 p.m. work session. Unlike the closed special meeting, the work session will focus on two publicly listed policy topics: future management of the Civic Center and transparency rules for automated license plate readers.

Meeting 2: Work session at 6 p.m.

Civic Center management leads work session

At 6 p.m., the council will turn its attention to a possible transition of Civic Center operations to direct city management.

The work-session agenda does not include a financial analysis, staffing proposal or transition date. At the council’s Aug. 10 meeting, however, City Administrator Troy Schulte said staff would present information about operating the YMCA facility as a city community center. The YMCA is expected to make a separate presentation in September.

The timing suggests the Aug. 24 discussion will be an early evaluation of the proposal rather than a final decision.

The approximately 100,000-square-foot Civic Center includes a 675-seat theater, recreational pool, fitness area and multipurpose space. Bringing those operations under city management could have significant effects on personnel, programming, maintenance costs and the city budget.

Council members may seek information about the future of existing memberships and programs, projected operating revenue, facility hours, staffing requirements and the responsibilities currently handled by the YMCA. They may also consider whether to wait for the YMCA’s September presentation before moving toward formal action.

No vote on the proposed transition is listed for the work session.

License plate reader rules also scheduled

The council will also receive information about a proposed transparency ordinance governing the city’s automated license plate reader system, previously referred to by council members as the “Flock cameras.”

Automated readers record license plates, locations and times, allowing police to compare vehicle observations with investigative alerts. A transparency ordinance could establish rules for access, retention, interagency sharing, auditing and public reporting.

The work-session packet does not include a draft ordinance. The discussion may therefore focus on what safeguards council members want staff to include in a future proposal.

Potential issues include who may search the system, how long information should be stored, whether each search will be logged, when records may be shared with other agencies and what consequences should follow unauthorized use.

The item is listed under “Information Provided by Staff and Future Action,” indicating that a finished ordinance would likely return to the council at a later meeting.

The work session will conclude with a council round-table discussion. It does not include a dedicated public-comment period or any listed votes.

We will attend the work session and report on the council’s discussion of both the Civic Center proposal and the license plate reader ordinance.

Transition to the regular meeting

Once the work session adjourns, the council will reconvene at 6:30 p.m. for its regular meeting. This is the portion of the evening when public comments, public hearings and formal votes are scheduled.

Members of the public will have an opportunity to address the council during the public-comment period at the beginning of the regular meeting.

The Civic Center and license plate reader issues are not listed for action during the regular meeting. Instead, the council will shift its attention to taxes, housing developments, city contracts, street and park projects, grant funding and employee benefits.

We will broadcast the 6:30 p.m. regular council meeting.

Meeting 3: Regular council meeting at 6:30 p.m.

Regular meeting includes public comments, hearings and development proposals

The regular council meeting will begin at 6:30 p.m. with an invocation, the Pledge of Allegiance and public comments. Those wishing to address the council may do so during this public-comment portion of the meeting.

Mayor Jared Carr is also scheduled to issue a proclamation recognizing Hunger Action Month and Hunger Action Day.

The consent agenda includes approval of the Aug. 10 work-session and regular-meeting minutes, payment of city warrants, a downtown street closure for Dinner Under the Downtown Lights on Sept. 26 and the disposition of certain Police Department records.

The downtown event application calls for Commercial Street to be closed between Jefferson and Madison avenues from 2 to 9 p.m.

Four public hearings scheduled

The council will conduct four public hearings before considering related legislation.

The first concerns the 2026 General Fund and Parks property-tax levies. Staff is recommending a General Fund rate of 24.79 cents per $100 of assessed valuation, unchanged from 2025. The Parks levy would remain at zero because the city receives revenue from the stormwater control and local parks sales tax.

The General Fund levy is expected to generate approximately $687,502.

Two hearings involve final subdivision plats:

A replat at 517 Murphy Road would combine seven lots into one. According to city staff, the owner intends to construct a two-story rehabilitation or halfway house for women and their children who are working toward independent living.The final plat for Tallgrass Estates at 20800 Ostrich Drive would allow the first phase of 30 single-family homes to move forward. The developer plans to use four house designs during construction.

A fourth hearing concerns a request from the Lebanon R-III School District to rezone property at 777 Brice St. from RS-2 to RS-1 residential zoning. The stated purpose is to place all district-owned property in that area under the same zoning classification.

Fire Department software returns for consideration

The council will reconsider a proposed purchase of First Due software for the Lebanon Fire Department. The item was tabled at the Aug. 10 meeting.

The proposed contract with Locality Media, doing business as First Due, totals $24,510. That includes $20,800 in annual fees and $3,710 for initial setup.

Fire Department staff says the system would consolidate incident reporting, inspections, equipment records, training, scheduling and incident management into one platform. It would replace or reduce the department’s reliance on several separate programs, including ESO Suites and Tablet Command.

The city budget includes $34,410 for Fire Department software maintenance and renewals.

Two-year infill housing incentive proposed

Council members will consider waiving city development fees for qualifying infill housing projects for two years, beginning Sept. 1, 2026, and ending Aug. 31, 2028.

The incentive would apply to owner-occupied, single-family homes priced at $300,000 or less on lots created or platted before 2010. Construction would have to begin within 12 months of receiving the required permits, and the incentive would be limited to two contiguous lots.

Waived charges would include demolition and building permits, utility hookup fees and electric meter-base fees. Developers would still have to obtain all required permits and meet city construction standards.

City staff estimates the waiver could save a builder several thousand dollars per home. The proposal is intended to encourage affordable infill construction and the voluntary replacement of deteriorated properties.

City assistance proposed for two subdivisions

The council will consider separate development agreements involving Tallgrass Estates and Ridge Creek Subdivision.

Tallgrass Estates is planned as a 30-lot first phase with homes expected to sell for approximately $270,000. Under the proposed agreement with L.C.R. Real Estate Inc., the city would construct streets and water, sewer and electric infrastructure.

The developer would pay $225 per linear foot, while the city estimates its materials and labor cost at $350 per linear foot. The agreement also calls for the city to waive half of certain permit and utility connection fees for as many as 30 homes over five years. Sidewalk costs would remain the developer’s responsibility.

The second agreement involves Bryant Estates LLC and a 30-home development in Ridge Creek Subdivision near Rolling Hills Road and Daytona Avenue.

In that project, the developer would install the infrastructure instead of the city. Lebanon would provide a subsidy equal to 40% of qualifying infrastructure material costs for up to 30 homes over four years. The city would not subsidize labor, sidewalks or walking-trail construction.

Tax levy and subdivision plats could receive final approval

Eight council bills are scheduled for both first and second readings, allowing them to receive final approval Monday night if supported by the council.

The measures include the General Fund and Parks tax levies, the Murphy Road replat and the Tallgrass Estates final plat.

The council will also consider agreements with eight consulting companies for engineering, surveying, architecture, geographic mapping and related services. Staff says expanding the pool of available consultants could reduce delays when existing firms are occupied with larger projects.

The recommended firms are Burns & McDonnell; Cochran; Esterly, Schneider & Associates; Garrett Engineering; Lortz Surveying; Miller Engineering; Palmerton & Parrish; and Paragon Architecture. The proposed agreements would run for one year with an option for an additional one-year renewal.

$200,000 street-fund transfer proposed

Another council bill would transfer $200,000 from the city’s undesignated Street Fund balance to cover gravel-street overlays and an overage on the FY2027 street-overlay program.

The previously approved paved-street work finished at approximately $734,032, about $12,377 above the original purchase order. Staff attributed the increase to changing oil and asphalt prices.

The gravel-street work is estimated at $167,004 and would cover Frisco Avenue, High Street, Mayfield Street, East Street, Mizer Street, Fifth Street and part of an alley between Springfield Road and Clough Street.

The city projects that approximately $2.33 million would remain in the undesignated Street Fund before the proposed transfer.

Atchley Park parking lot redesign reaches council

Council members will consider a $275,200 proposal from Willard Asphalt to redesign and rebuild the front parking lot at Atchley Park.

The project would create 66 parking spaces and improve traffic flow serving the playground, shelter and dog park.

The project was originally budgeted at $240,000. Staff proposes covering the difference by moving $40,000 from the Atchley Park Indian Creek Playground project.

Drug task force grant requires approval

The council is also scheduled to consider accepting state grant funding for the Lake Area Narcotics Enforcement Group, commonly known as LANEG.

The Lebanon Police Department serves as project manager for the regional drug task force. The funding package includes approximately $191,024 in state money and $132,746 in federal money, for a combined total of about $323,770.

The grants require no city match. Monday’s ordinance concerns the state award; the federal agreement is expected to return to the council after the city receives it.

Employee retirement match could increase

Another proposal would formally increase the maximum city retirement contribution available to qualifying employees from $100 to $125 per pay period.

Employees must contribute at least $25 per pay period to the city’s 457 deferred-compensation plan to receive a match. The city provides a dollar-for-dollar contribution up to the maximum.

Funding for the increase was included in the FY2027 budget. City staff says the improved benefit is intended to strengthen employee recruitment and retention. Employees become fully vested after five years of service.

Zoning and utility changes set for first readings

Two additional ordinances are scheduled for first readings only, meaning final approval would normally occur at a later meeting.

The first would rezone the Lebanon R-III School District property at 777 Brice St. from RS-2 to RS-1 residential zoning.

The second would revise Chapter 46 of the city code concerning utility service. The city recently adopted a Utility Terms of Service Manual intended to consolidate policies currently scattered across the municipal code, written manuals and historical practices.

The proposed ordinance would remove provisions now covered by the manual and add other language consistent with it. Staff says the manual will make utility requirements easier to communicate and update, although council members previously expressed concerns about maintaining appropriate oversight when policies are moved outside the city code.

The regular meeting will conclude with comments from staff, the city counselor, city administrator, council members and mayor.

All three agendas are labeled tentative and may be changed before the meetings.