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Record of Proceedings

Joplin City Council Informal Meeting: Sales Tax, Downtown Update, Snow Prep - 2024-12-16

City Council — Monday, December 16, 2024
BodyJoplin, Missouri
SessionCity Council
DateMonday, December 16, 2024
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 29:10

Original source
Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

Speaker numbers apply only to this recording.

Speaker 1

0:00

Good evening, everyone, and welcome to the informal meeting of the Joplin City Council.

0:05

We have three items or our agenda for this evening.

0:08

And why don't we go ahead and get started now with Mrs.

0:11

Hall's giving us a sales and use tax update?

Speaker 2

0:17

Good evening, Council.

0:18

Mayor.

Unassigned speaker

0:20

Um,

Speaker 2

0:20

tonight I'm presenting the December uh information, which is really for October.

0:27

If you'll think back to October before I go through the information, um that was right before the election.

0:33

Um I think

Unassigned speaker

0:35

uh

Speaker 2

0:35

as you're gonna see in the information.

0:37

I think everybody in this area, uh, nobody wanted to spend any money in October.

0:41

So uh December, we were down uh just over eight and a quarter percent from the same month last year.

0:49

So you can see for the year we're up three percent.

0:53

And then if you go to use tax, it was also down uh actually 25.6 percent.

1:05

So for the year we're up 3.1 percent.

1:09

And then uh marijuana text also down uh 46 percent.

1:15

So October was uh not a great month in Joplin.

1:20

We'll see how next month comes in.

1:22

But with that, I will be happy to answer any questions.

Speaker 1

1:26

Any questions for Mrs.

1:27

Haas Council?

Speaker 3

1:32

Mr.

1:32

Bord.

1:33

Thank you, Mayor.

1:34

What do you think contributed to the fact that October was?

Speaker 2

1:39

I think it was the pin pending election in November.

1:42

I think everybody was just holding on to their money and not wanting to spend any money, waiting to see how the election turned

Unassigned speaker

1:49

out.

Unassigned speaker

1:50

Thank you.

Speaker 2

1:57

Thank

Unassigned speaker

1:57

you.

Speaker 1

1:59

Our next item is the downtown Joplin Alliance quarterly update.

2:03

Good evening, Mrs.

2:04

Hahn.

Speaker 4

2:07

Hello, hello.

2:09

And my uh slideshow looks like it did not transfer completely.

2:12

So excuse any weirdness.

2:14

Um I'm gonna get us started.

2:15

Luke will wrap us up.

2:17

Uh, but we'll start today.

2:19

Start talking about the Empire Market.

2:21

Um we've got holiday market, of course, going on.

2:24

Um this Saturday will be our last holiday, last market of the year.

2:27

We won't have market on the 28th.

2:29

That's the only Saturday all year that we are closed.

2:31

Um,

Unassigned speaker

2:32

but

Speaker 4

2:32

we'll have Santa there this Saturday.

2:34

So if you have any small ones in your family, uh you want to bring out, uh, we've got a photographer there, free photos, um, so 10 to two.

2:41

And then we will also be open uh Christmas Eve the 24th for any last-minute shopping, last minute food items.

2:46

Um so we encourage you to come out for those.

2:49

Um

Unassigned speaker

2:49

I

Speaker 4

2:50

wanted to mention that we did also uh just join the Lion Co-op program through Missouri Southern.

2:55

So that is our groceries to graduate program where they can uh use it's basically a snap token so they can come out and use these tokens for any food items at the market.

3:04

So that helps um students who may all may have a little bit of hard time making all the ends meet while they're going through school.

3:09

Um so we're excited to be part of that program as well.

Unassigned speaker

3:12

Um

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Downtown Revitalization███████████████████████████████████35%
Public Works Update██████████████████18%
Economic Development████████████12%
Public Safety███████████11%
Public Engagement██████████10%
Stormwater Management███████7%
Parks and Recreation████4%
Personnel Matters███3%
Summary of Proceedings

Joplin City Council Informal Meeting: Sales Tax, Downtown Update, Snow Prep - 2024-12-16

The Joplin City Council held an informal meeting on December 16, 2024, to receive updates on the city's sales and use tax revenues, the downtown revitalization efforts, and winter weather preparedness. The meeting was a prelude to the formal council session scheduled for 6:00 PM.

Sales and Use Tax Update

  • Leslie Hall, presenting the December report (reflecting October 2024 data), reported a significant decline in tax revenue compared to the previous year. Sales tax fell by 8.25%, use tax dropped by 25.6%, and the marijuana tax declined by 46% for the month. Despite the October dip, year-to-date figures remain up 3% for sales tax and 3.1% for use tax.
  • Councilmember Bord inquired about the contributing factors. Hall attributed the widespread October decline to consumer hesitation surrounding the November general election.

Downtown Joplin Alliance Quarterly Update

  • Lori Hahn provided an update on the Empire Market, including ARPA-funded renovations, the new Lion Co-op program with Missouri Southern, and sidewalk cost overruns submitted to the City Manager for potential assistance.
  • Hahn reported challenges for downtown businesses in 2024, including an election-year slowdown, fewer new businesses opening, and persistent concerns from business owners about homelessness creating a negative perception of safety downtown.
  • Hahn highlighted new and relocating businesses, such as Wise Guys (relocated), House of Speeds Neon (opening 2025), and the Pennington building (esthetics/wellness). The Carnegie building is under contract, and a Brownfield assessment has been submitted.
  • Luke Gibson provided an overview of recent property sales and transfers in downtown, including Pearl Brothers (under contract for a health services pharmacy), 512 South Main (Aloe Fiber headquarters), and 214 South Main (under contract).
  • Regarding the Union Depot, Hahn noted no viable proposals were received, and the organization is working on a community-based reuse plan (potentially a food hall) to have a shovel-ready project for future grants. The group is also exploring temporary concepts such as a Route 66 green space or art attraction.
  • Council and the Mayor expressed appreciation for the Alliance's efforts, citing recent presentations from mayors of Conway, AR, and Oklahoma City, OK, who emphasized the economic importance of downtown revitalization.

Snow and Ice Removal Update

  • Public Works presented its winter weather preparedness plan, highlighting advanced training at the APWA Snow Conference, strategic material purchasing, and equipment readiness.
  • The city maintains approximately 1,500 tons of salt and 10,000 gallons of beet juice on hand. Four predetermined routes prioritize bridges, arterial, and collector streets. Residential streets are not plowed.
  • Pre-treatment with a brine and beet juice mixture is used when the pavement is dry to create an anti-ice barrier.
  • Councilmember Coppel asked about prior staffing shortages which required outside contract support. The department reported it is now at 85-90% staffing levels and will not need a contract for the upcoming winter season.

Key Outcomes and Next Steps

  • The City Manager will review the Downtown Alliance's request for financial assistance to cover sidewalk construction costs at the Empire Market.
  • The Downtown Alliance plans to reopen the submission window for the Union Depot's endangered properties program in the spring.
  • The council noted that a formal meeting would begin at 6:00 PM.

Meeting Transcript

Good evening, everyone, and welcome to the informal meeting of the Joplin City Council. We have three items or our agenda for this evening. And why don't we go ahead and get started now with Mrs. Hall's giving us a sales and use tax update? Good evening, Council. Mayor. Um, tonight I'm presenting the December uh information, which is really for October. If you'll think back to October before I go through the information, um that was right before the election. Um I think uh as you're gonna see in the information. I think everybody in this area, uh, nobody wanted to spend any money in October. So uh December, we were down uh just over eight and a quarter percent from the same month last year. So you can see for the year we're up three percent. And then if you go to use tax, it was also down uh actually 25.6 percent. So for the year we're up 3.1 percent. And then uh marijuana text also down uh 46 percent. So October was uh not a great month in Joplin. We'll see how next month comes in. But with that, I will be happy to answer any questions. Any questions for Mrs. Haas Council? Mr. Bord. Thank you, Mayor. What do you think contributed to the fact that October was? I think it was the pin pending election in November. I think everybody was just holding on to their money and not wanting to spend any money, waiting to see how the election turned out. Thank you. Thank you. Our next item is the downtown Joplin Alliance quarterly update. Good evening, Mrs. Hahn. Hello, hello. And my uh slideshow looks like it did not transfer completely. So excuse any weirdness. Um I'm gonna get us started. Luke will wrap us up. Uh, but we'll start today. Start talking about the Empire Market. Um we've got holiday market, of course, going on. Um this Saturday will be our last holiday, last market of the year. We won't have market on the 28th. That's the only Saturday all year that we are closed. Um, but we'll have Santa there this Saturday.

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