Fiscal issues and planning and zoning requests were the focal points of the last meeting in 2022 for the City of Mount Pleasant City Council.
First up was a pay request for Watson Commercial Construction, the contractor for the community center. The $115,000 pay request was made to continue the work on the center, which was reported to be more than halfway completed. Mount Pleasant Mayor Tracy Craig told the council that he had toured the facility under construction and that he was “pretty pleased” with the progress. City Manager Ed Thatcher noted that he had also been through the building and was also pleased with the progress of the construction. The pay request was approved unanimously by the council.
The city leaders then heard from MP Police Chief Mark Buhman who came to the council to request their approval to dispose of surplus items and allow them to be sold. The agenda item was approved by the council, with the monies garnered from the sale of the surplus items to be put into the general fund.
The council then heard a proposal to upgrade to a new software system to handle court records, payroll and financials, to replace the old system that has been in use for the last ten years but is no longer viable. The cost of the software upgrade was approximately $154,000, with the city able to use ARPA funds to pay for the upgrade. The new system, provided by Tyler Technologies, was defined as having all of the necessary modules by City Manager Thatcher, who had experience with it while working for other municipalities. The upgrade will also include a mobile app that can be used by city employees, and local residents, for things like paying water bills and reporting issues within the city. The work to begin the upgrade was expected to start after the first of the year.
The council also heard a pair of rezoning requests, including a rezoning of about 205 total acres for Priefert Manufacturing to allow the progression of a major new construction for the company totaling 1.6 million square feet of usable workspace for storage purposes and manufacturing operations. Councilman Tim Dale noted his appreciation for Priefert and their investment in the community before he made the motion to approve the zoning request. The item passed unanimously.
The other zoning request was for a planned development of 45 townhome lots along Tennison Avenue, directly behind Tractor Supply and just south of Walmart. The development is planned to be fee simple, with two access points on Tennison. That zoning request was also approved unanimously by the city leaders.