This story is a continuation of reporting from Monday evening's city council meeting.

The Columbia City Council took on a packed agenda at its regular meeting Monday. In addition to homelessness and virtual participation, the council also discussed the perpetual instability of the Citizens Police Review Board (CPRB), the fiscal year 2023 budget and upgrades to the McBaine Water Treatment Plant.

Inefficiency within the CPRB persisted as a key thread throughout the meeting, resulting in Mayor Barbara Buffaloe’s decision to direct city staff to draft a report on creating a task force to review and propose solutions to the board’s dysfunction.

For months, the CPRB’s meetings have been rife with heated arguments and “inappropriate” conduct between members, said First Ward Council Member Pat Fowler, who has watched many of the review board’s meetings.

At the beginning of the meeting, the council passed a motion to pause appointments to the CPRB. The board only has six out of nine members after multiple resignations, including Michael Williams, who resigned Monday afternoon.

Buffaloe did not mention a reason for the resignation. Williams had served less than a year on the board.

In the first of three budget hearings, the council heard a staff report on areas of concern expressed by the council in a budget work session Saturday.

Notably, the report showed utility assistance spending increased significantly over the course of FY 2022. In FY 2021, the city spent around $70,000. In FY 2022, with two billing cycles still remaining, the whole budget of around $300,000 is expected to be used in its entirety, said Stephanie Browning, director of the Columbia/Boone County Public Health and Human Services Department.

As a result, the city manager’s office has requested to maintain this larger budget for utility assistance.

The council also had a second reading on amendments to water rates and Parks and Recreation fees.

City staff recommended an increase in water utility rates by 10% for base fees and up to 30% for certain residential tiers, based on the season and usage. There is also a proposed 15% increase to commercial water utility fees.

Base fees, after increasing by 10% in FY 2023, would increase by 4% annually in the following years.

First Ward Council Member Pat Fowler reminded the council they’re still waiting on a report from staff on how to support families struggling with utility late fees due.

“We know how great the need is,” Browning said to the council. She and Fowler agreed that utility assistance spending throughout FY 2022 demonstrated as such.

During the hearing, COMO Safe Water Coalition co-founder Julie Ryan said, “It’s a problem that we have to keep having this conversation … To account for years of negligence and failure is not fair to the ratepayer, especially if we’re not getting a darn thing.”

Fees in Parks and Recreation would also be increased in a separate amendment. ARC fees — which are below the market value — will go up, as well as the weekly fee for the Camp CoMo Kidz day camp from $125 to $135. The city would also increase baseball and softball field rentals. Classes for both children and adults could increase in expense by up to $50.

Recreational fee increases would generate an extra $25,000 for the city’s Park Sales Tax Fund.

City staff reported that $8 million in ARPA funds are sitting in an account but haven’t been incorporated into the budget by the council. Expenses for this amount will be discussed and approved by the council at a later date, city staff said.

The final two budget hearings will take place Sept. 6, where council members will introduce final amendments to the budget, and Sept. 19, where they will vote to adopt the budget.

The council also heard a notice regarding property tax rates collected throughout the city. The rates are neither higher nor lower than tax rates in FY 2021. Property taxes will comprise 8.5% of general fund revenue, equivalent to $9.5 million, according to Director of Finance Matthew Lue.

Tax reassessment occurs every three years.

The council held a public hearing for the upgrades proposed to the McBaine Water Treatment Plant during the meeting to discuss the plans and timeline for the project.

The plant, which disinfects water with chloramine, is expected to require $21.5 million in repairs. City staff and HDR, an Omaha-based design firm, were given the greenlight to finalize their designs for the first phase by every council member except for Fowler.

Repairs will include the addition of recarbonation to the softening process for enhanced water quality, replacing equipment that is no longer useful, filter modifications, and rehabilitation of the building itself.

Trent Stober, the utility management services director at HDR, detailed the phase’s four objectives: replacing aging infrastructure, restoring the plant’s water treatment capacity, improving current treatment performance, and preparing for potential future treatment enhancements.

Some residents, including Julie Ryan and Marie Brown of the COMO Safe Water Coalition, said these repairs should have been made years ago to ensure maximum safety and efficacy.

Fifth Ward Council Member Matt Pitzer asked why the plant was only receiving upgrades now, with project engineer Shawn Carrico saying in response that the engineering contract was delayed.

Reservations surrounding the project were largely due to its lack of a cost estimate, which Carrico said was undergoing evaluation due to a “volatile market” following the pandemic, which elevated the costs of construction and materials.

This makes replacing aerators, basin equipment, 2400-volt electrical gear, and chemical feed systems reducing iron and manganese from drinking water a more costly endeavor.

“This is what happens when you drag things on too long. You got a big problem with money,” resident Jack Meinzenbach said.

Sixth Ward Council Member Betsy Peters asked for the project’s time frame, which was also uncertain. While Ryan Saffels, the project manager for HDR, claimed the design was virtually done, the process of bidding and optimization would take between two and three months.

Meinzenbach also expressed concern surrounding the presence of contaminants such as microplastics in the water. Ryan, speaking on behalf of the coalition, shared the measures she’s taken to ensure the safety of her water.

“I have a whole home carbon filtration system in my home. I shouldn’t have to spend the money on that. And none of the people in our community should have to do that,” she told the council. “There has been no accountability for this plant being derated. And now we’re spending a lot of time having to restore capacity because nobody’s held accountable when it was derated.”

Carrico said that it “would be doable” to begin construction in summer 2023, with Director of Utilities Dave Sorrell adding that construction would take an estimated 24 months.

The Columbia City Council met Monday to discuss broadband grants and a new homeless center plan, among other agenda items.

Claudia Levens is a fall 2021 city and county government reporter studying journalism and constitutional democracy. She can be reached at levensclaudia@gmail.com, 847-422-3735, or @tochange13 on twitter.

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Studying digital and print journalism. Reach me at ejhcwh@umsystem.edu or on Twitter @EJHaas3.

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Assistant City Editor and covering the 13th Circuit Court for Summer 2022. Former Higher Education reporter. Studying Journalism and Psychology. Reach me at spbg5@umsystem.edu or in the newsroom at 882-5700

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Assistant City Editor for Summer 2022. Former City-County Government reporter. Studying print journalism and political science at MU. You can reach me at adissemk@mail.missouri.edu, on Twitter @KAdissem, or in the newsroom at 573-882-5700.

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