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Record of Proceedings

Joplin City Council Informal Session - June 15, 2026: Financial Update, Downtown Alliance, and Sports Authority Reports

City Council — Monday, June 15, 2026
BodyJoplin, Missouri
SessionCity Council
DateMonday, June 15, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
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Transcript — Verbatim
0:04

All right, we'll get this informal session of the Joplin City Council underway.

0:10

And we have financial information update.

0:18

Evening, Mayor, Council.

0:20

Tonight I'm presenting June sales tax and use tax.

0:27

So for sales tax June of this month compared to last month, we're down almost 5.4%.

0:35

But for the year, we're up still almost uh three percent.

0:39

Uh about 2.92%.

0:41

So on use tax.

0:47

Also down for the month, uh just over 11%, uh, but we're still up for the year six percent.

0:55

Marijuana, we're down just over 38%.

0:59

But again, uh last June was one of those big big months.

1:04

It was just timing.

1:06

Uh so that is about the normal amount, uh, and we're still up about eight percent.

1:13

Any questions on any of the sales or use tax?

1:18

Okay, if not, I'll move to the May General Fund Financials.

1:24

Um operating revenue.

1:27

Uh, right now we are coming in over budget by 881,325.

1:34

Operating expenditures, we are under budget by 861,000.

1:39

Uh however, one-time revenue, we are under budget by almost 1.2 million dollars, but one-time expenditures were under budget by 1.6 million.

1:51

So right now uh we have a gain of about $862,000, but we have outstanding encumbrances of almost $4.2 million.

2:03

And then uh you'll see the graph, uh, which again shows that in order to balance our budget, we have to use uh one-time revenue to make it work.

2:14

So with that, uh, do you have any questions on the financials?

2:20

Okay.

2:21

Questions, I see none.

2:23

Thank you.

2:23

Thank you very much.

2:29

The downtown Joplin quarterly update.

2:36

Good evening, Mayor and Council.

2:37

It's nice to see everybody.

2:39

Um here just to give you our regular quarterly update today.

2:46

Um kicking off with the Empire Market.

2:48

We celebrated eight years in April.

2:50

Uh so we're starting our ninth summer and are now into peak season.

2:54

Tons of produce on the table.

2:55

If you guys have not been out lately, uh, it's definitely worth coming by and and checking it out.

3:00

Uh first quarter, our numbers were great.

3:02

Uh, we had vendor sales up uh more than 50 percent, and customer attendance was up 44 percent over the first quarter of 2025.

3:10

Um we have a wait list for vendors at this point, so market halls are full every week, and we're starting to set people up in the courtyard or out front, kind of experimenting with some other areas to be able to continue to grow and meet the demand of the the vendors.

3:23

Um beginning to look for some opportunities and researching funding for um renovation of the large covered garage.

3:29

We have a big 11,000 square foot uh garage area to the immediate west of the building.

3:33

It's attached to the building.

3:35

Um needs some significant work done, but it gives us a lot of future um growth potential.

3:40

So we'll be looking at that in coming years.

3:43

Um April, our staff and board um attended the National Main Street Conference.

3:48

It was held in Tulsa in honor of the hundred years of Route 66.

3:52

Um these are always great opportunities to connect with other communities who do what we do and to deep dive into some specific topics, bring back resources and expertise on downtown revitalization to Joplin.

4:03

Um in May, we partnered with the city, uh, the State Historic Preservation Office and Missouri Southern and hosted the State Historic Preservation Symposium, um, which was another great opportunity to learn about and to share what Joplin does with historic preservation.

4:17

Um and then coming up, we have the state conference um in July.

4:21

It too is located on Route 66.

4:24

Imagine that, uh, just down the road in Springfield.

4:26

And I'd invite you to attend any of these with us.

4:29

Um there's always a discount for city leadership, and um we would be we would love to have you guys.

4:35

It's it's really a good way to um learn a little bit more about what we do and then learn more about kind of the concept and the the nuts and bolts behind historic preservation and and downtown revitalization.

4:46

Um some advocacy things, some bills we were following during the legislative session that would be impactful to Joplin's downtown.

4:53

We are pleased that all three of these did pass.

4:55

Um the House Bill 3231 has an ascent incentive for the redevelopment of upper floors into housing.

5:03

So this could impact buildings like the US bank building, the YMCA building, the Joplin Furniture Company building.

5:08

We have a lot of big buildings in Joplin.

5:13

So they're still not quite sure exactly what that impact is going to be.

5:17

It was some sort of it's some sort of tax credit that could be stacked with historic tax credits potentially on the right project.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Historic Preservation██████████████████████████████████████38%
Sports And Recreation███████████████████████████████████35%
Fiscal Sustainability███████████11%
Budget Equity Analysis███████7%
Economic Development██████6%
Procedural███3%
Summary of Proceedings

Joplin City Council Informal Session - June 15, 2026

The Joplin City Council held an informal session on June 15, 2026, beginning at 11:30 AM. The meeting featured three presentations: a financial information update from city staff, a quarterly update from the Downtown Joplin Alliance, and a quarterly update from the Joplin Sports Authority. No formal votes or decisions were taken, as this was an informal session.

Discussion Items

  • Financial Information Update – City staff presented the June sales tax and use tax figures. Sales tax for June 2026 was down 5.4% compared to the previous month, but up 2.92% year-to-date. Use tax decreased 11% for the month, but was up 6% for the year. Marijuana tax revenue was down 38% for June (attributed to timing), but up 8% year-to-date. For the May General Fund, operating revenue was over budget by $881,325, and operating expenditures were under budget by $861,000. One-time revenue was under budget by $1.2 million, while one-time expenditures were under budget by $1.6 million, resulting in a net gain of $862,000. Outstanding encumbrances totaled $4.2 million. Staff noted that balancing the budget requires the use of one-time revenue.

  • Downtown Joplin Alliance Quarterly Update – Presented by Laurie Hahn. Key highlights included:

    • Empire Market celebrated its eighth anniversary in April; first-quarter vendor sales were up 50% and customer attendance up 44% over Q1 2025. The market has a waitlist for vendors.
    • The Alliance attended the National Main Street Conference in Tulsa and co-hosted the State Historic Preservation Symposium with the city and Missouri Southern.
    • Three state bills passed that benefit downtown: HB 3231 (ascent incentive for upper-floor housing redevelopment), HB 380 (reinstatement of the historic tax credit increase from 25% to 35%, and allowing nonprofits to apply), and HB 1867 (allowing Joplin to vote on a lodging tax increase for tourism projects, including Memorial Hall).
    • Downtown Master Plan RFP was solicited alongside the city's comprehensive plan; closes July 10, 2026.
    • Third Thursday events continue; four remaining in 2026.
    • Wine Share event held at the Mostograph building green space; August event at Briley's Farm Stop.
    • Empire Market hosting Pepper Fest in August as part of National Farmers Market Week.
    • Clean Team continues; electric box beautification project with Spiva and the city (27 locations, art submissions closed, jurying this week, installation in fall).
    • Endangered properties program: Friends of Joplin Memorial Hall formed 501(c)(3); contract awarded to Paragon Architecture for design and historic services (funded by a grant and matching funds). The design will be used for fundraising.
    • Survey of area west of Joplin Avenue nearly complete; one final public meeting to present findings on potential historic district designation covering 49 buildings.
    • Third Lofts Tour and Tip Top Toast had about 200 attendees; Carnegie Library was open for the first time in decades.
    • New businesses opened in 2026: Chandelier Boutique and Cafe, Tommy's Barber Shop, Inky Square and Albright Films, Green Standard Golf Lounge, Culture Cafe. Also noted Explorium and Joplin Historic Neighborhoods.
    • Mayor thanked the Alliance for their work.

  • Joplin Sports Authority Quarterly Update – Presented by Mr. Braggman. Key points:

    • JSA is a 501(c)(3) funded by city lodging tax; mission to attract sporting events for economic impact and quality of life.
    • Board member changes: Jan Hearn term-limited out; Patty Vavra remains vice chair; JT Weber appointed as chair; one open board position.
    • Financial audit for FY2025 (ended October 31, 2025) received a clean opinion with no findings or recommendations. Audit was completed by Ben Miller and approved by the board on January 8, 2026.
    • 2026 events listed: Missouri Christian Schools winter/spring/fall championships (largest events), H.O.A.T. and Premier Baseball tournaments, Ragnarok swim meet, AJGA golf tournament at Twin Hills, Southern Stampede cross country, and others.
    • Recruiting: disc golf, bowling, collegiate baseball (Sooner Athletic Conference, KCAC, Region 16 NJCAA), NCAA regional/national championships (working with Missouri Southern), Elks State Golf Championships (expected two-year bid).
    • UCI Bell Solutions Pump Track World Championships qualifier coming this fall (joint venture with CVB and Parks and Rec).
    • Shout-outs to Coach Lamb (OCC), Matt Hyatt (Joplin Schools), Jamie Burnham and Brian Sheding (Missouri Southern), and sponsors.

Key Outcomes

  • The council received the financial update and both quarterly reports. No formal actions were taken, as the session was informal. The council expressed appreciation for the work of the Downtown Joplin Alliance and the Joplin Sports Authority.

Meeting Transcript

All right, we'll get this informal session of the Joplin City Council underway. And we have financial information update. Evening, Mayor, Council. Tonight I'm presenting June sales tax and use tax. So for sales tax June of this month compared to last month, we're down almost 5.4%. But for the year, we're up still almost uh three percent. Uh about 2.92%. So on use tax. Also down for the month, uh just over 11%, uh, but we're still up for the year six percent. Marijuana, we're down just over 38%. But again, uh last June was one of those big big months. It was just timing. Uh so that is about the normal amount, uh, and we're still up about eight percent. Any questions on any of the sales or use tax? Okay, if not, I'll move to the May General Fund Financials. Um operating revenue. Uh, right now we are coming in over budget by 881,325. Operating expenditures, we are under budget by 861,000. Uh however, one-time revenue, we are under budget by almost 1.2 million dollars, but one-time expenditures were under budget by 1.6 million. So right now uh we have a gain of about $862,000, but we have outstanding encumbrances of almost $4.2 million. And then uh you'll see the graph, uh, which again shows that in order to balance our budget, we have to use uh one-time revenue to make it work. So with that, uh, do you have any questions on the financials? Okay. Questions, I see none. Thank you. Thank you very much. The downtown Joplin quarterly update. Good evening, Mayor and Council. It's nice to see everybody. Um here just to give you our regular quarterly update today. Um kicking off with the Empire Market. We celebrated eight years in April. Uh so we're starting our ninth summer and are now into peak season. Tons of produce on the table. If you guys have not been out lately, uh, it's definitely worth coming by and and checking it out. Uh first quarter, our numbers were great. Uh, we had vendor sales up uh more than 50 percent, and customer attendance was up 44 percent over the first quarter of 2025. Um we have a wait list for vendors at this point, so market halls are full every week, and we're starting to set people up in the courtyard or out front, kind of experimenting with some other areas to be able to continue to grow and meet the demand of the the vendors. Um beginning to look for some opportunities and researching funding for um renovation of the large covered garage. We have a big 11,000 square foot uh garage area to the immediate west of the building. It's attached to the building. Um needs some significant work done, but it gives us a lot of future um growth potential. So we'll be looking at that in coming years. Um April, our staff and board um attended the National Main Street Conference. It was held in Tulsa in honor of the hundred years of Route 66. Um these are always great opportunities to connect with other communities who do what we do and to deep dive into some specific topics, bring back resources and expertise on downtown revitalization to Joplin. Um in May, we partnered with the city, uh, the State Historic Preservation Office and Missouri Southern and hosted the State Historic Preservation Symposium, um, which was another great opportunity to learn about and to share what Joplin does with historic preservation. Um and then coming up, we have the state conference um in July. It too is located on Route 66. Imagine that, uh, just down the road in Springfield.

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