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(LISTEN): Columbia’s city council gives green light to Douglass park project; LGBTQ ordinance likely to come up soon

November 7, 2023 By Brian Hauswirth

Columbia-area residents play basketball at Douglas Park (2022 file photo courtesy of Columbia Parks and Recreation spokeswoman Tammy Miller)

One of the basketball courts at Columbia’s Douglass Park will soon be known as the “Coach Willie Cox Court”, under a $995,000 improvement project approved by Columbia’s city council Monday night.

The improvements will include major upgrades to the basketball courts, a skate park and renovations to the aging Douglass park family aquatic center. The voter-approved Columbia Parks sales tax will provide $400,000 for the project, while a state grant will provide another $495,000. Mizzou Sports Properties and the Columbia-based Veterans United Foundation are each donating $50,000 for the project.

Supporters say that since 2020, recreational programming such as Moonlight Hoops have not taken place at the park. Willie Cox, who passed away in 2019, served as the recruiting director for the Mizzou women’s basketball team.

Meantime, the chair of the Mizzou Democratic Socialists of America is calling on Columbia’s city council to approve a sanctuary city ordinance to protect its LGBTQ citizens. Mel Tully testified before the city council last night.

“To quote from the text, the ordinance would declare the city of Columbia a sanctuary city for the LGBTQ community, their families, their right to gender-affirming health care, their rights to free speech and expression,” Tully tells the council.

Supporters say Columbia residents support the proposed sanctuary city ordinance. They also say Kansas City’s Council has approved a resolution declaring Kansas City a safe haven for gender-affirming care. The council listened to Tully’s testimony but did not vote on the issue last night.

Columbia spokeswoman Sydney Olsen tells 939 the Eagle that Columbia’s legal department and the city’s Commission on Human Rights are both reviewing Tully’s proposal. Ms. Olsen expects them to bring something back to the council as soon as possible.

(LISTEN): Columbia’s mayor anticipates proposed new Office of Violence Prevention would convene various groups together

October 10, 2023 By Brian Hauswirth

Columbia Mayor Barbara Buffaloe (2022 file photo courtesy of city of Columbia’s website)

Columbia’s mayor expects city manager De’Carlon Seewood to submit a report to the council within the next month or two on what her proposed new Office of Violence Prevention would look like.

Mayor Barbara Buffaloe is proposing the creation of the new office, in the wake of the recent killing of a three-year-old child. She says many community groups, churches, nonprofits and others are working on violence prevention.

“And so from the city’s perspective, we can really help convene those groups together. And we have the data that we pulled together. We know what our police department needs assistance with. We know what our health care system needs assistance with and where they see the need. And so if we can just kind of convene around that, we can help organize everybody to work in the same direction,” Buffaloe says.

Mayor Buffaloe tells 939 the Eagle that city manager Seewood recently returned from the international city manager’s association meeting in Austin, and attended sessions where this very topic was addressed.

The mayor says she’s done talking about community violence and that it’s time for action. 939 the Eagle News asked Mayor Buffaloe if her plan would require an amendment to the city’s $533-million operating budget, which was approved in mid-September.

“Now in our fiscal year 24 budget, we do have over $100,000 for community violence assessment. That’s the sort of task that would fall within this office. And so I imagine there is the potential to use a little bit of that funds to help kind of brainstorm, put the foundation in place for what this is,” says Buffaloe.

The mayor emphasizes that other cities like Kansas City and Baltimore have similar offices, so there are models for Columbia to learn from.

(LISTEN): Top business leaders says child care is needed statewide to allow the workforce to return to work

October 8, 2023 By Brian Hauswirth

Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry President Dan Mehan (second from right) and Columbia Chamber of Commerce President Matt McCormick (to Mr. Mehan’s right) helped organize the October 4, 2023 child care forum in Columbia (photo courtesy of Missouri Chamber spokeswoman Megan Davis)

The Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry president says the Show-Me State is missing out on more than $1-billion annually due to child care issues, including a $280-million annual loss in tax revenue.

Chamber president Dan Mehan tells 939 the Eagle that bipartisan child care tax credit legislation is a 2024 priority of the business community across Missouri.

“The governor has been a great leader on this. People like (State Rep.) Brenda Shields, (State Sen.) Lauren Arthur have really led on this thing and made it a major issue for the next session,” Mr. Mehan says.

State Sen. Lauren Arthur (D-Kansas City) speaks on the Missouri Senate floor on March 24, 2021 (file photo courtesy of Harrison Sweazea at Senate Communications)

Representative Shields is a St. Joseph Republican, while Senator Arthur is a Kansas City Democrat.

The Missouri Chamber says a recent report shows 28 percent of respondents say they or someone in their household left a job or didn’t take a job due to problems with child care. A bill died on the final day of session in May due to a Missouri Senate filibuster on unrelated issues. The bipartisan bill would have increased the capacity of child care providers and would have helped businesses offer child care benefits to support the retention and recruitment of employees.

“Because it contributes to the success or failure in our workforce development in our ability to get people back in their jobs. And you need child care throughout the state to allow the workforce to return to work,” says Mehan.

Missouri Governor Mike Parson and Columbia Chamber of Commerce president Matt McCormick (left) brief Leadership Columbia participants on March 7, 2023 in Jefferson City (file photo courtesy of the governor’s Flickr page)

GOP Governor Mike Parson has made this issue a priority as well, saying 89 of Missouri’s 115 counties are considered a child care desert.

Meantime, the Columbia and Jefferson City Area Chambers of Commerce are teaming up with the state Chamber to push bipartisan child care tax credit legislation as a top priority for Missouri’s 2024 legislative session. The three organizations and the University of Missouri hosted a forum on the issue this week, where a Mizzou official recalled having lunch with Tiger basketball coach Dennis Gates. The official says Coach Gates told him that day that child care is a major issue for his assistant coaches. Columbia Chamber president Matt McCormick tells 939 the Eagle he’s not surprised.

“But you can take it to trying to recruit insurance agents, trying to recruit communications people, trying to recruit people to work in your warehouse. It doesn’t matter where it’s at, it’s if they need child care services, we’re struggling,” says McCormick.

Missouri’s 2024 legislative session begins on Wednesday January 3 in Jefferson City.

(LISTEN): Missouri lawmakers, business leaders optimistic about bipartisan child care legislation

October 5, 2023 By Brian Hauswirth

A veteran Missouri lawmaker who sponsored bipartisan child care tax credit legislation this year will pre-file the bill again on December 1.

State Rep. Brenda Shields’ (R-St. Joseph) bill died on the 2023 session’s final day in May due to a Senate filibuster on unrelated issues. Representative Shields tells 939 the Eagle that while the filibuster hurt, she had to wait three weeks to file the bill until the governor proposed the package in mid-January. Her 2024 bill will ready on January 3, which is when state lawmakers return to Jefferson City.

“I’ll talk with the (Missouri House) Speaker (Dean Plocher of Des Peres) to make sure that he assigns it to committee early. If we can get a head start on this and get this bill over to the Senate before spring break, I think we have really great hope to get it passed,” Representative Shields says.

Shields spoke Wednesday at a panel in Columbia co-hosted by the Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the University of Missouri and the Columbia and Jefferson City Area Chambers of Commerce.

State Rep. Kurtis Gregory (R-Marshall) speaks on the Missouri House floor in Jefferson City on February 28, 2023 (file photo courtesy of Tim Bommel at House Communicatons)

The Missouri Chamber says the Show-Me State has a child care crisis that is costing Missouri more than $1-billion annually. Republicans and Democrats in Jefferson City say child care is one of the most important issues facing residents statewide, and they’re optimistic they can push bipartisan legislation across the finish line in 2024. The bipartisan bill from Shields this spring was also sponsored by State Sen. Lauren Arthur (D-Kansas City). Representative Shields, who serves on the House Budget Committee, tells 939 the Eagle that she and Senator Arthur are passionate about child care.

“We know that that early development and the care of children is how we get people to work. People are afraid to leave their children if they don’t know that it’s quality, if it’s not reliable and if it’s not affordable,” says Shields.

There were also a number of other state lawmakers at the forum, including State Reps. Cheri Toalson Reisch (R-Hallsville), Willard Haley (R-Eldon) and Kurtis Gregory (R-Marshall).

Columbia’s mayor hopeful about proposed new office of Violence Prevention

October 3, 2023 By Brian Hauswirth

Columbia’s mayor says she’s done talking about community violence and wants to see action.

Mayor Barbara Buffaloe is proposing the creation of a new Office of Violence Prevention, and she outlined her plan during Monday night’s city council meeting.

Mayor Buffaloe tells our news partner ABC-17 that numerous cities have similar offices, including Kansas City and Philadelphia. Funding will be an issue, because the city council just approved Columbia’s new $533-million budget in September. There would have to be an amendment to the budget.

Columbia’s city council last night also voted to approve a resolution stating council intent to utilize $25-million in federal American Rescue Plan (ARPA) dollars, and directed staff to negotiate agreements for council consideration. The Columbia Police Officers Association (CPOA) is critical of Columbia’s city council on ARPA, noting that of the $2-million allocated for “community violence,” zero is allocated to law enforcement.

The Columbia Police Officers Association (CPOA) is also disappointed because the council has not allocated any ARPA dollars as premium/hazard pay for law enforcement officers and other essential workers who were unable to work from home during the COVID pandemic. The CPOA says these city employees risked their safety and health for everyone in Columbia, adding that the hazard incentive would have demonstrated to the community recognizes their ongoing sacrifice.