Minutes - City Council

City of Columbia, Missouri

Meeting Minutes

City Council

City Hall

Monday, May 18, 2026

7:00 PM

Regular

Council Chamber

701 E. Broadway

Columbia, MO

I. INTRODUCTORY ITEMS

The City Council of the City of Columbia, Missouri met for a regular meeting at 7:00 p.m.

on Monday, May 18, 2026, in the Council Chamber of the City of Columbia, Missouri. The

Pledge of Allegiance was recited, and the roll was taken with the following results:

Council Member VALERIE CARROLL, Council Member VERA ELWOOD, Council

Member JACQUE SAMPLE, Council Member CHRISTINA HARTMAN, Council Member

BETSY PETERS, and Mayor BARBARA BUFFALOE were present. Council Member

NICK FOSTER was absent. City Manager De’Carlon Seewood, Deputy City Counselor

Becky Thompson, City Clerk Sheela Amin, and various Department Heads and staff

members were also present.

Mayor Buffaloe explained there were not any minutes to approve as the May 4, 2026

meeting minutes were not yet complete.

Mayor Buffaloe explained B136-26 would be removed from the agenda at the request of

staff, and understood Council Member Carroll wanted B123-26 to be removed from the

consent agenda.

The agenda, including the consent agenda with B123-26 being moved to old business,

and B136-26 being moved from the agenda completely, was approved unanimously by

voice vote on a motion by Mayor Buffaloe and a second by Council Member Peters.

II. SPECIAL ITEMS

SI5-26

Life Saving Ribbon Award, Ribbon of Meritorious Service Award, and

Commendable Performance Recognitions.

Police Chief Jill Schlude described the response to the active shots fired incident that had

occurred the night of Sunday, January 4, 2026 at the 4800 block of Clark Lane, and

recognized Officer Quittin Brown with a Certificate of Commendable Performance, Officer

Katherine Guise with a Certificate Commendation for Commendable Performance, and

Officer Nathan Harrell with a Certificate of Commendation for Meritorious Service for their

actions in securing the suspect and providing life-saving aid to the victims until EMS

arrived.

Police Chief Jill Schlude described the response to

a shots fired incident that had

occurred the evening of Thursday, January 29, 2026 near McKee Street and Alan Lane,

and recognized Officer Nicholas Howard, Officer Devin Jens, and Detective Malique

Dameron with Certificates of Life Saving Commendation for locating the victim and

providing life-saving aid until EMS arrived.

SI6-26

Recognition of the Youth Advisory Council Graduating Seniors.

Council Member Sample stated she was the City Council liaison to the Youth Advisory

Council (YAC) this last year, explained the YAC included high school students who gave

their time to meet at least once a month, but had also met outside of regularly scheduled

meetings at times to plan this year’s hugely successful Youth Summit, and noted she

was sorry to lose this year’s seniors and could not wait to see what they accomplished in

the future. Mayor Buffaloe recognized the seniors, Grace Harris, Ahlam Alamin, Xi Kang,

Mira Tosh, John Yu, and Alex Hiles along with City Manager Fellow Lacey Salazar, who

had served as the staff liaison to YAC.

III. APPOINTMENTS TO BOARDS AND COMMISSIONS

BC5-26

Board and Commission Applicants.

Upon receiving the majority vote of the Council, the following individuals were appointed to

the following Boards and Commissions.

COLUMBIA HOUSING AUTHORITY BOARD

Oliveri, Rigel, Ward 4, Term to expire May 31, 2030

CONVENTION AND VISITORS ADVISORY BOARD

Waterman, Don, Ward 5, Term to expire September 30, 2027

FINANCE ADVISORY AND AUDIT COMMITEE

King, Garlandra, Ward 4, Term to expire December 31, 2026

PARKS AND RECREATION COMMISSION

Lewandowski, Stephen, Ward 4, Term to expire May 31, 2029

Young, Ellen, Ward 4, Term to expire May 31, 2029

PLANNING AND ZONING COMMISSION

Grabau, Andrew, Ward 4, Term to expire May 31, 2030

Stanton, Anthony, Ward 1, Term to expire May 31, 2030

YOUTH ADVISORY COUNCIL

Bach, Gavin, Boone County, Term to expire June 1, 2027*

Beucke, William, Ward 5, Term to expire June 1, 2029

Bhandari, Niva, Ward 5, Term to expire June 1, 2029

Crumbliss, Emily, Ward 5, Term to expire June 1, 2027

McRae, Jack, Ward 2, Term to expire June 1, 2029

Shah, Shawmikh, Ward 5, Term to expire June 1, 2029

Tahan, Melissa, Ward 5, Term to expire June 1, 2029

*This was corrected from 2029 to 2027 during council and staff comments at the end of

the meeting.

IV. SCHEDULED PUBLIC COMMENT

SPC23-26 Colin Skinner - Vidwest Studios Funding.

Colin Skinner, a lifelong resident of Columbia, stated he had struggled to find something

he truly loved until he found Vidwest Studios, which fit his personality and dreams so

precisely, explained he had started by joining a writers workshop about a year ago, but

had since started a writers group and a limited liability company for future productions

with the goal of making consistent local film production a reality in Columbia, noted his

first sketch comedy production was in final edits and his next short film was in the

pre-production phase, pointed out Vidwest allowed for the creation of art, collaboration,

local businesses, networking, and technical skills, and provided reasons for people to

stay in Columbia versus moving to larger cities, commented that Vidwest would not have

the finances to train workers or acquire the equipment necessary for strong production

without City funding, and asked the Council to continue to support this endeavor, which

had been created by and for Columbia.

SPC24-26

Jim Windsor - Affordability, Transparency, and Fairness.

Jim Windsor, 200 Manor Drive, commented that he was glad to hear the consultant say it

was good to keep the base charges down during the cost of service discussion because

it helped with affordability, displayed a table that showed the actual base water and

electric amounts, which included the base charge, the addition of the 7.5268 percent

PILOT, and sales tax, provided low and high end calculations before using anything for

the five utilities, explained most people were likely paying about $75 before using

anything, showed the consultant recommended rate increases for sewer, solid waste,

and water, understood there was

a recommendation for a six percent electric rate

increase along with a recommendation from the Water and Light Advisory Board for an

increase in the power cost adjustment from 15 percent to 25 percent, which would be

extremely detrimental to very large industrial customers and opposite of what the utility

had been recommending in terms of efficiency, believed real transparency built trust and

enabled better decision-making, while window dressing only increased mistrust and

confusion, stated the documentation of the annexation of the water plant had indicated

there would not be a fiscal impact, but the water utility was paying another $400,000 per

year in property tax equivalent, which would likely increase due to the improvements at

the water plant, suggested the Council address that issue, noted the sewer and solid

waste utilities had started paying gross receipts tax without the authorization of Council

to his knowledge, which had resulted in about $2 million more in fixed costs for each and

would affect the base cost, and indicated he hoped the Council would receive answers to

the questions he had raised and would address the transparency issue mentioned.

SPC25-26

Grace Harris - Youth Advisory Council Annual Report.

Grace Harris, Chair of the Youth Advisory Council (YAC) and a senior at Hickman High

School, stated the mission of YAC, which was to empower the youth in the community to

get involved and develop the skills necessary to lead a better future, noted the three areas

of focus this year involved sustainability, safety and security, and wellness, listed the

various accomplishment of YAC this year, which included a honeysuckle removal event, a

meeting with Columbia Public Schools Superintendent Klein to discuss how YAC could

become more involved in the schools to reach more people, a meeting with the Coalition

of Community Violence to discuss youth life in Columbia, an Instagram takeover that

generated a lot of views and engagement, a Youth Summit at the Earth Day event that

allowed them to collect data regarding their areas of focus, and sending an official letter of

support to the Missouri General Assembly sponsoring two bills the YAC felt should be

passed associated with safety and security, and provided their recommendations, which

included outreach and representation so every high school had equal and significant

representation along with a seat at the table as that was lacking, a Youth Conference to

allow youth to connect with internship opportunities, job opportunities, volunteer

organizations, and resources in the community while networking and meeting other high

school students, another social media takeover, and ensuring they had dedicated people

in the future like they did this year in terms of members, the staff liaison, and the council

liaison.

V. PUBLIC HEARINGS

PH16-26

Consider removal of tracts owned by Burrell, Inc. and Edenton Ridge

Apartments, LP from the boundary of the North 763 Community

Improvement District.

Discussion shown with B120-26.

B120-26

Authorizing removal of tracts owned by Burrell, Inc. and Edenton Ridge

Apartments, LP from the boundary of the North 763 Community

Improvement District.

The public hearing was read by the City Clerk, and the bill was given second reading by

the City Clerk.

Deputy City Counselor Becky Thompson provided

Council questions.

a staff report, and responded to

Mayor Buffaloe opened the public hearing.

There being no comment, Mayor Buffaloe closed the public hearing.

B120-26 was given third reading by the City Clerk with the vote recorded as

follows: VOTING YES: CARROLL, ELWOOD, SAMPLE, HARTMAN, PETERS,

BUFFALOE. VOTING NO: NO ONE. ABSENT: FOSTER. Bill declared enacted,

reading as follows:

PH17-26

Proposed construction of HVAC and interior lighting improvements at the

Armory Sports and Recreation Center; providing for the design and

construction of the proposed project using a guaranteed energy cost

savings contract.

The public hearing was read by the City Clerk.

Sustainability Manager Eric Hempel provided a staff report.

Mayor Buffaloe opened the public hearing.

Dana Dunn, a representative of Ameresco, explained the City had issued an RFP for an

energy services company in 2023 and had awarded the contract to Amerersco in March

2025, stated the Armory Sports and Recreation Center was last remodeled in 2000 so

the HVAC was 26 years old, and listed what would be included in the project, which

would cost a little over $2 million and generate a savings of a little more than $165,000 in

the first year.

Dani Perez stated this information was transparent and well-organized, believed it was a

project the people wanted as it would preserve a public space, felt this was what was

meant by investing in people as the improvements to this property would benefit the

people, and noted she would like to see more projects like this.

There being no further comment, Mayor Buffaloe closed the public hearing.

The Council made comments.

Mayor Buffaloe made a motion to proceed with the proposed construction of

HVAC and interior lighting improvements at the Armory Sports and Recreation

Center, and allow for the design and construction of the proposed project using

the guaranteed energy cost savings contract. The motion was seconded by

Council Member Carroll, and approved unanimously by voice vote.

PH18-26

R104-26

Consider the FY 2026 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and

HOME investment Partnership Annual Action Plan.

Discussion shown with R104-26.

Adopting the FY 2026 Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and

HOME investment Partnerships (HOME) Annual Action Plan.

The public hearing was read by the City Clerk, and the resolution was read by the City

Clerk.

Housing and Neighborhood Services Director Bill Rataj provided

responded to Council questions and comments.

a staff report, and

Mayor Buffaloe opened the public hearing.

Dani Perez expressed confusion with regard to why the public comment was open until

later in May but this resolution had to be voted on now as it showed bit of

incompetence due to the lack of syncrasy, noted confusion regarding the comments

associated with the ten slots when it came to potential programming for the homeless,

wondered if there had been efforts to communicate with the homeless for their input, and

asked if outreach other than BeHeard and the newspaper had occurred because many

young people did not read the newspaper.

Traci Wilson-Kleekamp agreed with the comments of Dani Perez.

There being no further comment, Mayor Buffaloe closed the public hearing.

The Council asked questions and made comments.

R104-26 was read by the City Clerk, and the vote was recorded as follows:

VOTING YES: CARROLL, ELWOOD, SAMPLE, HARTMAN, PETERS, BUFFALOE.

VOTING NO: NO ONE. ABSENT: FOSTER. Resolution declared adopted, reading

as follows:

VI. OLD BUSINESS

B37-26

Amending Chapter 16 of the City Code by adding a new Division 22

related to the regulation of electronic gaming machines.

The bill was given second reading by the City Clerk.

Deputy City Counselor Becky Thompson and Police Chief Jill Schlude provided a staff

report, and responded to Council questions.

Tyler Travers, a Fourth Ward resident, expressed his support for this ordinance, listed

other cities in Missouri that had passed

a similar ordinance, commented that the

Missouri Attorney General had reiterated that these machines were illegal, noted

passage of this ordinance would allow local law enforcement to remove any machines

that might remain, pointed out the State Legislature would likely continue to try to

legalize these machines, encouraged the City to coordinate with other local governments

to lobby to implement a grandfather clause if that occurred to allow the ordinance to

remain in effect for Columbia, and stated Darin Pries, the Executive Director of the

Central Missouri Community Action, had asked him to share his support for this

ordinance since he could not attend the meeting.

The Council made comments.

B37-26 was given third reading by the City Clerk with the vote recorded as

follows: VOTING YES: CARROLL, ELWOOD, SAMPLE, HARTMAN, PETERS,

BUFFALOE. VOTING NO: NO ONE. ABSENT: FOSTER. Bill declared enacted,

reading as follows:

B119-26

Calling a special election on August 4, 2026, on the question whether to

impose an additional sales tax of one percent for the purpose of improving

city public safety services.

The bill was given third reading by the City Clerk.

Police Chief Jill Schlude, Fire Chief Brian Schaeffer, Finance Director Matthew Lue, and

Assistant Finance Director Jim McDonald provided a staff report, and they along with City

Manager De’Carlon Seewood responded to Council questions and comments.

Dani Perez commented that public safety was a very broad term, felt this was a police

and fire department tax versus a public safety tax, questioned why fire and police were

lumped together for this funding, believed the police was too much of a monolith for which

certain aspects of their load and burden should be redistributed into new systems and

programs, wondered if the tax should have conditions, such as ensuring police training

centered around critical race theory and included training on how officers could regulate

themselves in addition to situations, understood 50 percent of those surveyed were in

favor of this tax, questioned whether they were supportive of the tax for both fire and

police, wondered how many black voices, and reiterated the need to lighten the heavy

load of the police by redistributing their load.

Eugene Elkin, a Second Ward resident, suggested the Council think seriously about who

would be impacted by this tax increase, which included seniors, low-income persons,

and the homeless, believed this was the wrong time to put forward a vote for a tax

increase with the increases in the cost of living, suggested the City review and cut its

budget, and wondered how many more people would become homeless if this tax

passed.

Traci Wilson-Kleekamp, a representative of Race Matters, Friends, agreed police and fire

had been neglected in terms of infrastructure needs, but believed that was true of the

needs of the general public as well, felt there was a structural problem with thinking,

planning, and a lack of process, provided the discussion about solid waste and sewer at

the pre-council meeting as an example because the 2021 study had not been utilized for

comparison purposes, stated that asking for a sales tax passed on the losses to poor

people, wondered about an alternative that would not affect the poor as much if they were

into equity, questioned whether they were practicing or performing equity, and noted she

would not vote in favor of this in order to force something more viable, equitable, and

sustainable.

Susan Maze, a First Ward resident, commented that this was a sales tax, understood

the City was reliant on sales taxes, which meant they endorsed a regressive tax system,

pointed out the electric and water rates had recently increased, stated it was not

surprising that more police officers were needed due to growth, suggested the City plan

better in terms of growth, noted the 7.9 percent rate was not across all retail locations as

those within TDD and CID areas charged more, explained there were very few places she

could spend less than 10 cents on the dollar in sales tax in Columbia, and reiterated she

wished the City would plan better as this sales tax would negatively affect poor people.

Brenda Campbell,

a Second Ward resident, felt the financial information shown was

misleading as it had not identified the income levels in dollar amounts for low income,

middle income, and high income families, explained most people did not make the same

amount of money as professors so a one percent increase in the sales tax could make a

difference, stated she and her husband were retired so their income rarely increased,

believed it was bad timing with the recent increases in groceries, gas, etc., understood

the police were having difficulty filling positions, and wondered if the money collected by

this sales tax would just sit due to unfilled positions.

The Council made comments.

B119-26A was given fourth reading by the City Clerk with the vote recorded as

follows: VOTING YES: CARROLL, ELWOOD, SAMPLE, HARTMAN, PETERS,

BUFFALOE. VOTING NO: NO ONE. ABSENT: FOSTER. Bill declared enacted,

reading as follows:

B121-26

Establishing an administrative delay on the acceptance or processing of

applications relating to the establishment or expansion of a data center

facility; providing an exception for acceptance and processing of an

application under certain circumstances.

The bill was given second reading by the City Clerk.

Community Development Director Clint Smith provided a staff report.

Eugene Elkin, a Second Ward resident, had heard a center in Idaho would use more

energy than the entire State now used, did not believe there was anything to gain, felt

data centers created a lot of loss in terms of electricity, water, and human life, and

suggested the Council really consider whether data centers were a good fit for the world.

Tyler Travers, a representative of Renew Missouri, a non-profit that worked on renewable

energy and energy efficiency, stated his support for this temporary pause and hoped the

Planning and Zoning Commission would come back with conditional use permit

requirements that mandated renewable energy to protect people’s health and the

environment along with consumer protections that would require data centers to cover

their own costs so that burden was not placed on ratepayers.

Dani Perez stated her support for this delay, suggested they use this time to create

protections as data centers had negative health, climate, and economic impacts,

commented that if billionaires wanted data centers, they could be placed in their

backyards versus in Missouri, and reiterated the need to create protections so data

centers were not established here.

The Council asked questions and made comments.

B121-26 was given third reading by the City Clerk with the vote recorded as

follows: VOTING YES: CARROLL, ELWOOD, SAMPLE, HARTMAN, PETERS,

BUFFALOE. VOTING NO: NO ONE. ABSENT: FOSTER. Bill declared enacted,

reading as follows:

B122-26

Granting the issuance of a conditional use permit to the Cook Family

Revocable Living Trust to allow the operation of a short-term rental on

property located at 2208 Concordia Drive; providing a severability clause

(Case No.106-2026).

The bill was given second reading by the City Clerk.

Community Development Director Clint Smith provided a staff report, and responded to

Council questions and comments.

David Bell, son of the resident owner of 2211 Concordia Drive, commented that his

mother was across the street from the subject property, separated by one street that was

a thoroughfare for traffic coming off of Broadway into the subdivision, expressed concerns

with regard to traffic, noise, the ability for police to arrest people creating disturbances at

night, ensuring disturbances did not occur more than once, safety in terms of children

due to the elementary schools in the area, the lack of ownership by those at the subject

property, setting a precedent, and parking on the street versus in the driveway, and

questioned the qualifications of the Planning and Zoning Commission members in making

a decision on this request.

Stan Campbell, a Second Ward resident, who spoke on behalf of his mother-in-law,

Barbara Bell, stated his mother-in-law had raised her family to believe in a sense of

community, neighborhood, and stability, indicated concern about

a short-term rental

across the street due to strangers and traffic, noted he had spoken with some residents

on Concordia Drive and Loch Lane and all but one, who had abstained, had indicated they

preferred not to have a short-term rental in their neighborhoods, pointed out the memo

said there was not a technical reason a short-term rental would be incompatible with the

surrounding neighborhood, but felt they needed to look beyond technicalities as this

would impact quality of life and the character of the neighborhood along with the

community due to the inability to be able to come to know short-term residents, and

urged the Council to vote no.

Kent Cook explained he and his wife, Lori, had owned the subject property since 2015

and had primarily used it for long-term and mid-term rentals, explained they intended to

use the property as a short-term rental when they had a gap between leases, stated they

did not intend for it to be a short-term rental all of the time, which was why they had

agreed to fewer nights per year, and noted they were cognizant of the neighborhood and

had been good landlords with good tenants, which they planned to continue.

The Council asked questions and made comments.

B122-26 was given third reading by the City Clerk with the vote recorded as

follows: VOTING YES: CARROLL, ELWOOD, SAMPLE, HARTMAN, PETERS,

BUFFALOE. VOTING NO: NO ONE. ABSENT: FOSTER. Bill declared enacted,

reading as follows:

B127-26

Authorizing an air services agreement with Allegiant Air, LLC; amending

the FY 2026 Annual Budget by appropriating funds in the amount of

$82,000.00.

The bill was given second reading by the City Clerk.

Airport Manager Mike Parks provided a staff report, and responded to Council questions

and comments.

B127-26 was given third reading by the City Clerk with the vote recorded as

follows: VOTING YES: CARROLL, ELWOOD, SAMPLE, HARTMAN, PETERS,

BUFFALOE. VOTING NO: NO ONE. ABSENT: FOSTER. Bill declared enacted,

reading as follows:

B132-26

Amending the FY 2026 Annual Budget by appropriating funds in the

amount of $1,425,000.00 associated with development of the North Village

Park located at 210 Orr Street.

The bill was given second reading by the City Clerk.

Parks and Recreation Director Gabe Huffington provided a staff report, and responded to

Council questions and comments.

Nickie Davis, a representative of the Downtown CID, expressed excitement for this project

as it would allow The District to bring family-friendly events downtown, explained this had

been on their priority list since 2012, noted parks in urban areas were good for mental

health, and hoped the Council would support this request.

Tootie Burns, an artist, a member of the park committee, and a member of the North

Village Arts District Board, stated this discussion had started at least 20 years ago,

noted this was an amazing opportunity for the downtown area, explained this was a

special location that required special considerations and development opportunities,

understood the Parks and Recreation Department staff had worked hard to ensure the

development of the best park for downtown, and noted the North Village Arts District was

thrilled about the opportunities the park would provide for more programming as well as

the expansion of existing programming.

The Council made comments.

B132-26 was given third reading by the City Clerk with the vote recorded as

follows: VOTING YES: CARROLL, ELWOOD, SAMPLE, HARTMAN, PETERS,

BUFFALOE. VOTING NO: NO ONE. ABSENT: FOSTER. Bill declared enacted,

reading as follows:

B123-26

Granting the issuance of a conditional use permit to Dirk Mai and Aylya

Marzolf to allow the operation of a short-term rental on property located at

802 N. Sixth Street; providing a severability clause (Case No.107-2026).

The bill was given second reading by the City Clerk.

Community Development Director Clint Smith provided a staff report, and responded to

Council questions and comments.

Aylya Marzolf, owner of 802 N. Sixth Street, explained she and her husband had been

living in the property and renovating it when her husband was offered a job in Los Angeles

that they could not pass up and their solution had been to turn it into a short -term rental,

which it had been for two years, noted her family of four visited Columbia multiple times

per year and for months at a time, which they would not be able to do otherwise since

they could not stay at a hotel or at her sister’s for weeks at a time, commented that the

notices regarding the short-term rental regulations had been going to the Sixth Street

address instead of their Los Angeles address, which had since been remedied, felt the

short-term rental process had been confusing and difficult to navigate, understood there

was a concern of short-term rentals limiting affordable housing, pointed out there were 13

properties for sale and more than 10 for rent in the neighborhood, indicated they took

great care in terms of their guests by looking at reviews, ratings, and asking why they

were coming to Columbia, believed their home was an asset to Columbia as a place for

guests to stay while spending money at local restaurants, bars, stores, music venues,

etc. rather than it being empty on the market, stated there had not been any complaints

from the neighbors, reiterated they cared about the neighborhood and Columbia, and

asked that they be allowed to continue to operate.

Susan Maze, a First Ward resident, commented that she had not received notification of

this request even though she lived in the house on the top corner of the slide that was

being displayed, emphasized that there was not a way to register a complaint with the

Housing and Neighborhood Services Department about housing issues, such as noise,

even with video evidence without a police report, which could not be obtained if the police

did not show up, explained she knew this because she had tried on several occasions

before finally giving up, noted the person who had spoken in favor of this request was a

landlord who did not live in the neighborhood, pointed out this would be the eighth

licensed short-term rental in the North Central neighborhood if approved, pointed out North

Central was an affordable neighborhood as a four bedroom home two doors down from her

had just been put up for sale for $199,000, understood some of the homes the prior

speaker had referred to as still being on the market had income guidelines along with a

good credit rating, which was difficult to accomplish when making late payments due not

making much money, and stated short-term rentals were causing major issues around

affordable housing.

Pat Fowler a resident of Sixth Street, provided a handout with the addresses of other

short-term rentals in the neighborhood, including some that had been administratively

approved, explained she had not received notice of this request either, and read a

statement from her neighbor, Mara Aruguete, who lived immediately across the street

from this property, which indicated she was opposed to this short-term license

application due to the disruption of community stability, the negative impact on

Columbia’s affordable housing stock, and the lack of property maintenance in that the

constant turnover of transient guests made it impossible to establish neighborly

relationships, the conversion of existing long-term units into short-term rentals continued

the depletion of the affordable housing inventory available to permanent residents, and the

neglect of the subject property in terms of an overgrown lawn and the lack of basic

landscaping, and urged the Council to reject the application and to prioritize the

protection of affordable long-term housing options to ensure the stability of the

community.

The Council asked questions and made comments.

B123-26 was given third reading by the City Clerk with the vote recorded as

follows: VOTING YES: ELWOOD, SAMPLE, PETERS, BUFFALOE. VOTING NO:

CARROLL, HARTMAN. ABSENT: FOSTER. Bill declared enacted, reading as

follows:

The Council made additional comments to which staff responded.

VII. CONSENT AGENDA

The following bills were given second reading and the resolutions were read by the City

Clerk.

B124-26

B125-26

Designating a portion of Business Loop 70 within The Business Loop

Community Improvement District as “Historic Hwy 40.”

Authorizing a right of use permit with The Curators of the University of

Missouri for construction and maintenance of a hot water distribution pipe,

steam pipe, chilled water distribution pipe, storm sewer, control conduit,

domestic water pipe, electric duct bank, and or/electric manhole within

portions of the Sixth Street right-of-way.

B126-26

Authorizing an easement agreement with Union Electric Company, d/b/a

Ameren Missouri, associated with the rerouting of City’s Overton

Substation 161 kV electric transmission line to the new Cooper Substation;

directing the City Clerk to record the conveyance.

B128-26

B129-26

Amending the FY 2026 Annual Budget by appropriating funds in the

amount of $167,641.69 for transmission repair of an aircraft rescue and

firefighting vehicle.

Amending the FY 2026 Annual Budget Appendix - Authorized Full Time

Equivalent (FTE) position identification summary to add and eliminate

positions in the Police Department; amending the FY 2026 Classification

and Pay Plan by adding a classification.

B130-26

Amending the FY 2026 Annual Budget Appendix - Authorized Full Time

Equivalent (FTE) position identification summary; amending the FY 2026

Classification and Pay Plan by adding, reassigning, and revising

classification titles to designate union representation associated with the

recognition of the Columbia Police Civilians Association as a bargaining

representative of the Police Department.

B131-26

Authorizing an agreement with Columbia Community Land Trust, Inc. to

transfer City-owned real estate located at 1107 N. Eighth Street and 1109

N. Eighth Street to be used for owner-occupied affordable housing units.

R97-26

R98-26

Setting a public hearing: proposed construction of Fire Station #10 located

at 1020 S. El Chaparral Avenue.

Authorizing an agency partner agreement with the Institute for Community

Alliances associated with access to the homeless management

information system.

R99-26

Authorizing a fixed base operator agreement with AMS of Missouri, LLC,

d/b/a Airline Maintenance Service (AMS), for the provision of aircraft fuels

sales services at the Columbia Regional Airport.

R100-26

Authorizing agreements with Alexander Mendez, Travis Baker, and Kirk

Seese for the display of artwork in the North Village Park associated with

the “Sculpture on the Move” rotating public art program.

R101-26

R102-26

Authorizing an artist’s commission agreement with Matthew Moyer

associated with the Flat Branch Park public art project.

Authorizing a short-term license agreement with the Board of Trustees of

Boone County Hospital, a/k/a Boone Hospital Center, for the use of parking

areas located along Jack Estes Way for the 2026 Fourth of July “Fire in the

Sky” event at Stephens Lake Park.

R103-26

Expressing support for the Historic Survey of the Benton-Stephens

Neighborhood Phase III; authorizing submission of an FY 2026 Historic

Preservation Fund Grant Program - National Register and Survey Grant

Application to the Missouri Department of Natural Resources - Division of

State Parks (Case No. 163-2026).

The bills were given third reading and the resolutions were read by the City

Clerk with the vote recorded as follows: VOTING YES: CARROLL, ELWOOD,

SAMPLE, HARTMAN, PETERS, BUFFALOE. VOTING NO: NO ONE. ABSENT:

FOSTER. Bills declared enacted and resolutions declared adopted, reading as

follows:

VIII. NEW BUSINESS

None.

IX. INTRODUCTION AND FIRST READING

The following bills were introduced by the Mayor unless otherwise indicated, and all were

given first reading.

B133-26

Repealing Ordinance No. 026277 which authorized a First Amendment to

Redevelopment Agreement with Broadway Lodging Two, LLC and

Columbia TIF Corporation Two relating to the Broadway Hotel Phase Two

Redevelopment Plan and Project and the issuance of tax increment

revenue notes to provide funds to finance and refinance certain

redevelopment project costs; approving revised documents thereto.

B134-26

Authorizing a second amendment to the tower agreement and

memorandum of lease with Cellco Partnership, d/b/a Verizon Wireless,

relating to the lease of City-owned property located at 1313 Lakeview

Avenue (Grissum Building).

B135-26

B137-26

B138-26

Authorizing the reconstruction of Fire Station #5 located on the east side of

Hector Place and south of Ria Street; calling for bids through the

Purchasing Division.

Authorizing an intergovernmental agreement with the County of Boone,

Missouri relating to the Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant

(JAG) Program FY 2025 Local Solicitation.

Authorizing an amendment to the agreement with The Business Loop

Community Improvement District to fund a shared commercial kitchen

program and scholarship assistance.

B139-26

Authorizing a subordination agreement with Providence Walkway Housing

Development Group, LP, UMB Bank, N.A., and The Central Trust Bank

associated with the Providence Walkway development project; authorizing

a deed of release, a fourth deed of trust, and promissory note with

Providence Walkway Development Group, LP; authorizing a fourth

amendment to the 2024 affordable housing funding agreement, a first

amendment to the CDBG grant funding agreement, and a first amendment

to the HOME investment partnerships program funding agreement with the

Housing Authority of the City of Columbia, Missouri and Providence

Walkway Housing Development Group, LP; authorizing a full deed of

release to Columbia Community Housing Trust; directing the City Clerk to

record certain documents.

B140-26

B141-26

Amending Chapter 2 of the City Code to create an Airport Department;

amending Chapter 19 of the City Code as it relates to unclassified service;

amending the FY 2026 Annual Budget Appendix - Authorized Full Time

Equivalent (FTE) position identification summary; amending the FY 2026

Classification and Pay Plan by adding, reassigning, and retitling

classifications.

Amending the FY 2026 Annual Budget in the total amount of $9,398,731.56

for third quarter appropriation of funds.

X. REPORTS

REP25-26

2026 Community Summit Report.

Mayor Buffaloe made a motion to table REP25-26 to the June 1, 2026 Council Meeting.

The motion was seconded by Council Member Sample, and approved by voice vote with

everyone voting yes, except for Council Member Peters who stepped out during the vote

on this item.

REP27-26

REP28-26

REP29-26

Monthly Finance Report.

Finance Director Matthew Lue provided a staff report, and responded to Council questions

and comments.

Intra-Governmental Fee Charges.

Finance Director Matthew Lue provided a staff report, and responded to Council questions

and comments.

Youth Advisory Council Annual Report.

Mayor Buffaloe explained this report had been provided by Grace Harris earlier in the

evening under scheduled public comment.

XI. GENERAL COMMENTS BY PUBLIC, COUNCIL AND STAFF

Eugene Elkin, a Second Ward resident, commented that the passage of the added sales

tax item would compound the issues for the poor, suggested they remember where they

came from, noted there was a cost to put the sales tax issue on the ballot, and asked

that a report be provided each month with regard to departmental expenditures for the

public.

Susan Maze, a First Ward resident, commented that three of the six items listed by the

Police Chief involving the citizens survey related to homelessness, i.e., parks, trail, and

downtown, did not believe a sales tax would help with those issues, noted more police

officers would mean more homeless would go to jail, causing the need for a larger jail,

explained every time an officer was involved, the impacted unsheltered person had all of

their things taken from them and had to start all over after three days in jail, and pointed

out the sales tax increase would not address that issue or assist the unsheltered person,

the people working with the unsheltered, or the police.

Les Gray, a First Ward resident, understood the annual surveillance technology report

had been published and wondered when it would be presented to the Council.

The Council and staff discussed various topics to include the loss of people to suicide,

the fact these incidents could be triggering for those with mental health experiences or

those who care for people with mental health experiences, understanding support was

available by calling 988, encouraging people to support one another and to reach out for

help, the need for mental health funding, the fact that nine adults had recently been

certified as informed community specialists through the Adverse Childhood Experiences

for Practical Community Application training coordinated by the Office of Violence

Prevention, the consideration of a mental health commission or specific mental health

initiatives being added to existing commissions, agreement with an earlier speaker who

indicated many of the concerns within the survey were related to homelessness,

acknowledging the need to protect the public health funding that positively affected

homelessness, the benefits of the recent council retreat, including future calendaring

discussions, discussions on the format of regular council meetings, and movement of the

council members around the dais, participation in Bike, Walk, and Wheel Week along

with how that transportation affected the central neighborhoods, the density calculation

for short-term rentals in terms of whether that addressed the concerns as they likely

needed a measure of available housing and available affordable housing along with how

density was calculated as owner-occupied short-term rentals were different than

investor-driven short-term rentals, acknowledgement of items on the agenda tonight that

had involved collaboration and innovative thinking with different departments working

together, the Ward 3 Let’s Talk Local that was scheduled for tomorrow at 5:30 p.m. at the

American Legion and would include

discussion on the I-70 improvements,

acknowledging people were struggling and placing the public safety tax on the ballot

would allow the voters to determine the outcome, and the need for an after action report

involving the recent 911 outage.

Council Member Hartman made a motion for an after action report involving the 911

outage so the community was aware of what had occurred and what would be done to

address concerns, including actions of the City of Columbia. The motion was seconded

by Council Member Peters, and approved unanimously by voice vote.

The Council and staff continued to discuss various topics to include internal controls,

operational risks, compliance activities, and technology governance in terms of how they

were independently evaluated and monitored.

Council Member Hartman made a motion for a report regarding whether the City had

historically maintained internal audit or information systems audit functions and, if so,

when those functions changed, the current methods used to evaluate internal controls,

operational effectiveness, process compliance, and technology governance, the risks and

limitations associated with operating without

a dedicated internal audit function, the

distinction between services provided by external auditors and functions traditionally

associated with an internal audit, benchmarking against similarly sized municipalities,

potential staffing or service models for internal audit capabilities, including co -sourced or

contracted

approaches,

and

the

estimated

costs,

benefits,

and

governance

considerations associated with establishing or expanding internal audit capabilities. The

motion was seconded by Council Member Carroll. After discussion, the motion was

approved by voice vote with Mayor Buffaloe voting no.

The Council and staff continued to discuss various topics to include thanking the

Columbia Police Department, the University of Missouri Police Department, the University

of Missouri Administration, Student Life at the University of Missouri, and the Office of

Neighborhood Services for their efforts in making this year’s Stop Day a safer experience,

understanding the annual surveillance report would come to the Council in June, the fact

the short-term rental regulations had been put in place to provide a pathway for existing

illegal short-term rentals to potentially become legal, the acknowledgement that

improvements would be needed to the short-term regulations in the future at the time the

regulations were passed, thanking staff for working on changes to the short-term

regulations, the opportunity for the public to meet the Communications Director

candidates on May 20 at 5:00 p.m. at the Columbia Training Center on Walnut Street,

and correcting the terms of the recently appointed Youth Advisory Council members so

that Gavin Bach and Emily Crumbliss were appointed to terms ending in 2027 while the

remaining five members were appointed to terms ending in 2029.

XII. ADJOURNMENT

The meeting was adjourned without objection at 12:12 a.m.