City Council Meeting – August 4, 2026 (Recessed from August 3)
City Council Meeting – August 4, 2026 (Recessed from August 3)
The Columbia City Council reconvened the recessed meeting from August 3, 2026, at 9:00 AM in Council Chamber. The agenda included one new business item, introduction and first reading of 20 bills, five reports, public comments, and extensive council discussion on transit funding and other topics. Key actions included approving a resolution to advertise special obligation bonds, authorizing staff to pursue UDC text changes for the Broadway Diner, and directing staff to prepare legislation for a transit funding task force.
Consent Calendar
- Bills B206-26 through B225-26 were introduced and read for the first time as a group. These items will be placed on a future consent agenda unless removed at a council member's request.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Matthew Shacht (709 Lion Street, representing Vidwest and community media advocates) spoke against the FY2027 budget's proposed elimination of funding for community media (0.002% of the general fund). He expressed frustration over the lack of public meetings, noting a petition with over 670 signatures and a community media center with over 310 members. He requested the city communications department hold a public event and asked staff to present options for restoring funding.
Discussion Items
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R154-26 – Special Obligation Bonds for AMI Project: Utilities Director Aaron Keys explained that the resolution authorizes advertising the sale of up to ~$39.765 million in bonds for automated metering infrastructure (AMI). The bonds would be sold at a premium; actual sale and project approval would occur at a later meeting. The compressed timeline is due to pricing that may increase after October 1, 2026. Council members asked about the ROI (full ROI expected by year 3), natural attrition of meter reader positions, and why bond financing was needed instead of enterprise revenue. The resolution passed unanimously (6-0).
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REP41-26 – UDC Text Changes for Broadway Diner: Clint Smith (Community Development) presented a request to allow relocation of the Broadway Diner (a one-story modular structure) within downtown MDT zoning. Current code requires two-story buildings and street-front setbacks. Staff recommended authorizing planning and zoning commission to review potential text amendments. Council members discussed whether a PD rezoning might be more appropriate but agreed to staff's approach. Motion to authorize staff to proceed passed unanimously.
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REP42-26 – Pedestrian Safety Ordinance Education Report: Police Chief presented a summary of the three-month education campaign (April–June 2026) before enforcement began July 1, 2026. The campaign included 14 content releases, 7 videos, social media, and officer training. Since July 1, four citations were issued (all on July 1) and one written warning (July 9). Officers anecdotally report far fewer pedestrian-vehicle interactions. Council requested quarterly updates on enforcement; staff will bring a report in six months.
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REP44-26 – FAAC Annual Report: Finance Director Jim Liu noted this is the first annual report from the Finance Advisory and Audit Committee. Council member Sample asked about the 2025 single audit findings; staff confirmed all recommendations, including the prior year's recurring finding, are now in place. A timeline change for budget creation was noted.
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REP45-26 – Monthly Finance Report: Jim Liu presented pooled cash and investment overview. Operating cash at $224M (down 4% quarter-to-date), restricted cash at $95.9M (down 2%), and capital project cash at $208.6M (down 5%). ARPA funds at $4.4M remaining, to be spent by end of calendar year. Average investment yield is 4.16%. Council member Peters reported 81% business license renewal rate.
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Transit Funding Discussion (Council Comments): Council member Jackie Sample requested a work session on charging bus fares, citing a need for a definitive decision. Public Works Director explained that a dedicated revenue source is needed for transit expansion, and charging fares could help secure that. Council member Valerie Hartman noted that fare revenue is a tiny fraction of costs and questioned the value. Mayor proposed forming a task force to explore funding strategies, including regional partnerships, fares, and federal/state options. Motion: "Request staff to bring back legislation forming a task force not to exceed 18 months, with scope including recommended members (including PTAC), to advance the transit study timeline and explore fees and funding strategies." Motion passed (voice vote, no opposition).
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Council member Valerie Hartman also made a motion to limit special event permits by a single business to five per year, based on concerns about recurring street closures downtown. Motion passed (voice vote, no opposition).
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Office of Violence Prevention Update: DeMarcus provided an update on the gun violence problem analysis, noting a delay in sharing CGIS data due to Missouri Highway Patrol review (resolved in July). He confirmed the strategic plan is on track, and the No Cap group’s community engagement is a highlight. Chief Schloody clarified the police department has not delayed the project.
Key Outcomes
- R154-26 – Resolution authorizing advertisement of Special Obligation Bonds for AMI project passed unanimously.
- REP41-26 – Council authorized staff to proceed with planning and zoning commission review for UDC text amendments to allow Broadway Diner relocation.
- Transit Task Force – Council approved a motion directing staff to prepare legislation for a task force (not to exceed 18 months) to study transit funding and implementation.
- Special Event Permits – Council directed staff to bring forward legislation limiting special event permits per business to five per year.
- The meeting recessed from August 3 and adjourned shortly after council comments.
Meeting Transcript
Go ahead and re I don't know un recess our um first meeting in August 2026 uh as a reminder for those watching at home or on video later, we went to recess at around 1 30 a.m. last this morning. Um getting through most of our agenda, but we have a few more items on it. So I'll go ahead and we're gonna start with new business. That's where we left off. So Sheila, we need to call the roll since the attendance is different. Oh, to be safe, yeah. Um Sheila, we call roll. Miss Peters. Yes, Miss Buffalo. Here, Miss Carroll's not here yet, Miss Elwyn. Here, Miss Sample. Here, Miss Hartman here. All right, thank you. All right, so going into new business where we left off. Sheila, will you please read item 15426? Council 1542 is a resolution authorizing the offering for sale of approximately three 39,765,000 principal amount of special obligation bond series 2026 of the City of Columbia, Missouri associated with improvements to the city's electric and water metering infrastructure. Good morning, Director Liu. I think I'm taking this to you. Yes, good morning. So uh this is just authorizing uh the actual not the sale of the bonds, but but for us to advertise for the sale of the bonds. Uh we're estimating it'll be about 39 million dollars, even though the project is 42 uh the bonds will be sold at a premium, and so that premium will be paid for by the purchaser of the bonds. Uh and it it the reason it's sold at a premium uh is because uh the bonds will cost more than the phase value, basically. So the interest rate right now is going to be potentially be lower than when we sell the bonds, and so a premium is determined. Any questions for staff? Do you um if we could um since we did hold this off, can we ask um Aaron to come forward to say what is the point of the sale of the bonds for this? Good morning, Aaron Keys, Utilities Director. Uh yes, this is for the uh automated metering infrastructure project that we discussed at council work session uh here a number of weeks ago. Uh it is to implement that. Uh again, like Matthew said, this is just permission to advertise for the bonds. We'll be coming back at a later council meeting with all the contracts necessary to actually implement the AMI project. Uh so at that time is when you'll have the opportunity to vote whether or not you want to move forward with the AMI project, and then we'll have the sale of the bonds concurrently with that legislation. So if you were to defeat the AMI project, then we wouldn't sell the bonds. If you wanted to move forward with the AMI project, uh then we would be able to go ahead and sell the bonds. And the compressed timeline is due to the pricing uh that we've received on the AMI project. Uh we've been told that if it goes past October 1st, then the price goes up a considerable amount. So uh we're trying to move forward quickly on this uh to keep the pricing as best we can. And can you remind the council um why this isn't just included in our existing capital projects or uh enterprise revenue, any of those? Right. Ideally uh we would like to pay for it with cash uh out of enterprise revenue. Um but uh with all the extra power purchase costs on electric, uh we haven't been able to do that. And then with water, we've been catching up uh with trying to build cash in that account with our cost of service. So okay. Uh any other questions for council before we open for public? Yeah, Christina. So um can you remind us why um like if I remember that several meetings ago, the AMI thing. Can you remind us why if we're getting like we were going to get a return on investment like the first year? So why might people expect to see this? See this as proposed as a bond rather than just the savings. Right.
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