Columbia council meeting to focus on police, solar energy, high temps

Police officers, solar energy and high temps will be a prime focus Monday for the Columbia City Council.

This will all come from scheduled public comments Monday.

Donald Weaver, general counsel for the Columbia Police Officers Association, is requesting the council by Sept. 30 commits to a five-year plan to rescue police pension, ensure it is removed from the Missouri governor's watch list and achieve a funding ratio of at least 80%.

Resident Emily Piontek will push the council to create an incentive program for residents to invest in personal solar energy via a Solarize campaign, which bulk-busy solar to get cost savings on panels.

While the city has cooling centers in town during business hours, there are not as many locations available in the overnight hours, which is what resident Margaret McConnell will push for when she addresses the council.

Other business before the council Monday will be possible preliminary plat approval for Richland Estates No. 2 at Olivet Road and Richland Road. The subdivision development is adjacent to city residential properties. The proposal adds an additional 29.68 acres and rearranges the subdivision layout to include an additional 92 lots. Staff in a memo to the council recommend approval.

As Columbia/Boone County Public Health and Human Services staff has grown in the last 20 years, its location at 1005 W. Worley St. has not. An item on Monday's consent agenda could authorize an agreement with SSC Architects Inc. and Michael K. Swim for a phased renovation project to increase space for up to 121 employees. PHHS currently employs 104.

Charles Dunlap covers local government, community stories and other general subjects for the Tribune. You can reach him at cdunlap@columbiatribune.com or @CD_CDT on X, formerly Twitter. Subscribe to support vital local journalism.