Oronogo’s 2nd Ward has gone from being one member short on the Board of Alderman to having none.

In a special meeting on Dec. 28, the board voted 4-0 to accept the resignation of Matt Kroutil from the seat he was elected to in April with eight write-in votes. 

The other 2nd Ward seat was vacated when Tammy Talent resigned on June 13.

What’s more, there will be no candidates for the vacant 2nd Ward seats on the April ballot.

The only candidates who signed up before the deadline were incumbents Rick Seeley (1st Ward) and Darrell Orender (3rd Ward). The terms of Mark Lloyd (1st Ward) and Kim Burnett (3rd Ward) won’t expire until April 2024.

In City Clerk Cyndi Jennings’ report to the board, she noted that Southwest Missouri Bank has filed its building permit for the new bank it has announced will be built on the southwest corner of Route D and Highway 96.

No marijuana sales tax on the April ballot

City Attorney Derek Snyder provided an explanation of how Constitutional Amendment 3, which made recreational marijuana legal on Dec. 8, 2022, affects cities.

The board did not, as other cities have done, place on the April 4 ballot an additional 3% sales tax on recreational marijuana.

There are no marijuana dispensaries in the city. According to Snyder, existing medical marijuana dispensaries will most likely be the first to be authorized to sell recreational marijuana. Moreover, state rules for recreational sales haven’t even been approved yet.

Chances are then that Oronogo won’t be losing out on a great amount of sales tax before the next opportunity to pass the tax, which will be Aug. 8.

The board approved by ordinance the $45,425 purchase of equipment and software to assist with meter reading and billing. The suppliers are United Systems and Software and Itron Technology.

Payments of $370,162 to G&G Construction and $31,868 to Allgeier, Martin and Associates were approved for the ongoing sewer improvement project.