The process of developing a new comprehensive plan for Oronogo has begun, and citizens are asked to provide their input by answering questions on a survey.

There’s a link to the survey on the city’s website, https://www.oronogomo.org.

The Harry S Truman Coordinating Council staff is working with a city committee to write the plan, hopefully using survey responses as a guide.

Survey topics include land use, recreational facilities, trails, business development, and what issues facing the city are the most important.

New housing continues to get a boost in the city from Schuber Mitchell Homes. The Board of Aldermen on Monday approved the final plat for Phase 3 of the Greystone II subdivision. That means the Schuber Mitchell can now start building on 12 more lots. Building has already begun on phases 1, 2 and 4. That leaves Phase 5 yet to be approved, for a total of 130 lots.

Meanwhile, Schuber Mitchell engineers are also working on the first phases of Hawthorn Hills, a continuation of the Jason Place subdivision north of Highway 96 that will have more than 500 lots.

The city has to upgrade the capacity of its sewer system to accommodate all of the new houses. 

One step in that process is to replace a gravity sewer line that serves the northeast part of the city. The board voted, at the recommendation of the engineer, to partially pay Justin Best Construction Co. $80,000 for work that’s been done already. The total cost of the project is $212,126.

Police Chief Steven Weaver told board members that his officers are “working” Ivy Road and Grant Street to reduce speeding. A radar trailer has raised concern about excessive speeds on Ivy Road. And he said he’s received complaints about speeding on Grant Street, which passes by the city park. However, he said, “We don’t want to be known as a speed trap.”

The board received one bid for the police department’s 2014 Charger that won’t run. It was from an out-of-town firm in the amount of $1,080, and it was accepted.

An ordinance following EPA guidelines by requiring HVAC contractors to be certified before obtaining a license was approved.