VIENNA — Vienna officials during the June 10 city meeting worked out more details of an agreement between the city and the Maries R-1 School District for leasing the park for athletic activities.

Mayor Tim Schell said he had talked with the Maries R-1 administration about charging the district to use the ballfields at the city park. The city will invoice the school by Aug. 12. The city and school agreed to a $3,000 annual cost after finding it cheaper than a per-use agreement.

The agreement will include preferential scheduling on the lower and upper diamonds, the selling of concessions and the use of the park for cross country events. The city will not be responsible for purchasing chalk and lining the fields.

Schell said the school was unsure if it could charge to get into the games as part of previous agreements to use the city facilities. He asked if anyone knew if it would be possible.

Utilities Superintendent Shon Westart said not allowing groups using the fields to charge for entry to the games was a stipulation of a grant the city received many years ago from the Department of Natural Resources. He said he was unsure of the exact wording and if it was still in effect, but he knew the school charges for tournaments at the park.

Schell said he had told school administrators that the district cannot turn away or charge people who want to use the park.

“But it seems like they should have the opportunity to recoup some of the fee that we’re charging,” he said.

Westart said people coming and going from the park would not be a problem during games if the school only blocked off parking around the upper diamond. Schell suggested that the district could set up ticketers near the bleachers instead of at the parking lot to avoid confusion.

Schell asked the aldermen if they had a problem with allowing the school to charge entry for games if it took the proper steps to ensure people wanting to access other park facilities could do so for free.

The aldermen agreed that they did not have any issues with the idea. Schell said he would let the school know the city’s decision.

“I think we’re one of the only towns around that doesn’t charge,” Alderman Rita Juergens said.

“I’ve had three kids go through multiple sports, and we’ve always had to pay almost everywhere we went,” Schell said.

Later, Schell said he and Westart had looked at the concession stands at the upper diamond and they needed to be replaced. Some residents have had issues with the restrooms closing in the winter.

Westart said when the city put siding on the concession area years ago, termites had rotted the front of it. At that time, city officials had discussed building new restrooms though the only major work at the building in the time since has been the installation of a new roof. Now, the roof is leaking and part of the ceiling has caved in. Westart recommended that the city take down the building.

In the past, Westart said, the city had planned to construct a new building for restrooms and concessions. The new facility would have handicap-accessible sidewalks and climate-controlled restrooms for year-round use. Recent mild winters have encouraged more people to visit the park after the city has shut down the restrooms for the season.

Schell asked for feedback from the aldermen about building new restrooms and concessions.

Juergens asked if the city could leave the restrooms open year-round and not have more concerns about vandalism.

Westart said city employees check the restrooms every day, and the city has cameras to monitor the park. Regardless, vandalism is not a persistent problem at the park.

“It would be nice if a family wanted to go out there, like when we have those January days sometimes when it’s 75 degrees out, to have restrooms for them to use instead of winterizing those,” Schell said.

Westart estimated the project cost would be around $160,000. He said at least one local organization could be interested in helping to sponsor the project because it had worked with the city before on park plans.

“I don’t have a problem with it if we can budget it in,” Juergens said.

“If it’s doable and affordable, I have no issue with it,” Alderman Chuck Davis said.

Schell addressed another issue later in the meeting. The phone line at City Hall does not work during rainy days. Schell suggested getting a cell phone for City Hall to avoid problems associated with landlines. The city does not have a contract with its landline provider.

Juergens asked if canceling the city landline would affect the police department landline.

Police Chief Shannon Thompson said the Vienna Police Department line never went down. The issue was always with the main city line. If the police department’s phone number stayed the same, he did not expect any problems.

The aldermen told City Clerk Angie Combs she could look into getting a new phone line for City Hall.

During the meeting, Schell said a First Street resident had contacted him with concerns about water drainage from nearby construction. He and Westart looked at the area while it was raining and they found no issue with rainwater drainage at the site. Schell told the builder that if there is any further issue they may need to install a culvert, but he did not expect it to present more issues going forward.

Another resident had called Schell to let him know that the trash service had missed her home on Eighth Street. He said he took care of it, and he planned to contact the service to let them know about the issue.

Schell asked Thompson to send out more property nuisance letters for locations on Chestnut Street and Highway 63 for grass growth. He said the previous letters the city had sent out had seemed to work.

Alderman Freddie Shiver asked if the city has an ordinance addressing unlicensed vehicles because of a boat parked in town with no license plate.

Thompson said he thinks an unlicensed boat would qualify under a nuisance ordinance though other agencies may not agree. He said he would send a letter for the boat, too.

City officials expected to meet with a field representative from United States Sen. Josh Hawley’s office, but he did not make it to the meeting.

During the meeting, the city renewed its annual contract with the Vienna Senior Center. It also renewed its adopt-a-planter sponsorship with the Vienna Chamber of Commerce. The chamber placed the planters, made by Vienna High School FFA students, around town.