The Jefferson City Council met Tuesday in regular session.

Most of the meeting was spent on discussing a proposal plan to address dead or dying trees on private property. City Administrator Scott Peterson said removing dead or dying trees on private property is the responsibility of the property owner. However, if the tree is not removed, it can be deemed a nuisance and be handled with abatement. He suggested having educational information for all residents, followed by a letter sent to homeowners that were identified and requesting it to be removed. 

If by February there are trees that are left, then the city would seek bids from contractors to remove the remaining trees. Starting in April, the contractor would remove the trees and homeowner would be responsible for reimbursing the city. Peterson noted that the homeowners who can’t afford or won’t pay would be done through a special assessment for financing where, the expense would be repaid over several years.

Following the proposal, several concerns were raised. Those concerns included not getting a contractor by the deadlines, the city spending lots of money sending certified letters, among others. It was suggested to look at drafting a letter that would educate the public to start the process and examine what other communities have done with this topic. 

Additionally, the Council held a public hearing about granting an easement to ITC Midwest to access a Hardin HIlltop substation, and then following the hearing, the Council approved the resolution and ITC Midwest paid $515 for the easement. They also approved the fifth change order of $156,971 to Shank Construction for the Wastewater Treatment Plant improvement project as presented, a $12,500 funding request to the Bell Tower Community Foundation for additional marketing, and a sidewalk plan for the next few years to replace the intersections with handicap accessibility.