Claycomo Board of Trustees Meeting - Ford to Expand; Ordinances to be Revisited

December 17, 2012

On Monday, December 10, the Claycomo Board of Trustees met for the first of its regular bimonthly meetings in December.

It was confirmed at the meeting that Santa will be riding the fire truck again on December 22 from 9:00 a.m. until he and his team have hit every street in the village. Be ready to spot St. Nick this Saturday.

Ford Motor Company had the big announcement of the evening. They requested a 10-year tax abatement for a new building to be added to their sprawling complex on eastbound 69 Highway. The facility will be largely for storage and assembly line part sequencing. The new facility is projected to cost $36 million and is slated to be up and running by next fall. The new building will be located on the southeast side of the existing complex and is drafted to take up 255,000 square feet. The request for tax abatement was the first step in a process that is expected to move forward without raising any eyebrows. Trustee Jim Stoufer said of Ford and Claycomo, "We’re joined at the hip." A representative from Ford referenced the $750 million investment made in Claycomo, and included that our facility has been here since 1954 and is the largest manufacturing plant by employee population in North America.

An ordinance previously banning pole barns was also revisited. Concerns raised by village resident Dan Baumli caused the board to rethink their ideas about the structures. Baumli is interested in adding a pole barn to his property. "They are much cheaper and they’ve gotten nicer than you are thinking," Baumli said. He referenced another resident who has one in place, grandfathered in from before the ordinance was on the books. Baumli also brought catalogs from Sutherlands to show an improved quality of material and aesthetics for this type of building. The board encouraged him to draw up plans and get estimates, and decided that they would ultimately consider his request. He will have to show the plans to be sturdy, well-anchored, and consistent with the look of his existing residence. The pole barn would also have to comply with all other village codes. Several board members noted that other villagers have approached with this concern before, but none had gone so far as to attend a meeting with information about the improvements to pole barns over the years.

Among the other topics discussed, a new business license for Soap n’ Salts was approved. That business will be an online endeavor only, but the proprietors, Rita Reynolds and Kathy Hughes, are Claycomo residents. Village street maintenance progress came up as well. The work has made it to Bryant Street. Per Claycomo Public Works, the hope was for the process to be complete this winter and all indicators point to work being done by February. The bills for village employee insurance, outstanding construction invoices, and the cost for preventative maintenance to our fire trucks were all approved for payment.

The Claycomo Board of Trustees consists of five members: Marina Barker, Jim Stoufer, Debbie Taylor, Greg Thompson, and Ben Watkins. The Board of Trustees meets on the second and fourth Mondays of every month at the Claycomo Community Building located at 28 S. Drake, Claycomo, MO. at 7:30 p.m. The meetings are open to the public.

Andie P.
Claycomo Branch