By Dennis Minich
The Harrisonville Board of Aldermen gave approval Monday night for the Farmers Market and Junk in the Trunk events to be held on the square this summer. Both events are sponsored by the Love the Square organization.
The first farmers market will be held June 6. The events will be held each Saturday morning through September. Vendor slots are available at 7 a.m. and shoppers can visit from 8 a.m. to noon. The Junk in the Trunk is held the second Saturday of every month from 4 to 7 p.m. June through October.
The board was informed Love the Square has worked along with national farmers markets organizations as well as the Missouri State Health Department, the MU Extension Service and the Cass County Health Department to make sure all of the proper precautions will be taken.
Among the COVID-19 inspired safety precautions will be two handwashing stations; vendors will leave parking spaces between booths and will wear masks; entrances and exits will be used to help with the foot traffic flow and any vendor displaying signs of illness will not be allowed to participate.
Amanda Stites, a representative of Love the Square, said she is excited to get the events reopened.
“All the things we had heard were people looking forward to them and it is a great thing to help bring the community together,” Stites said. “I am a little relieved we are going to be able to open, even if it is going to be different.”
Both permits were granted 8-0 by the board of aldermen.
In other action, the board approved extending the contract with Municipal Waste Services for an additional year. The city and the waste company are in the final year of a three-year contract which will end Dec. 31. Under the extension, the company will continue to provide the service in 2021 at the same rate, $13.80 per month, as this year. Additionally, the company will offer yard waste pick up year-round. Currently, the service is not offered during the winter months.
The board approved the extension 8-0.
City Administrator Brad Ratliff said a meeting for residents with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and other state and federal agencies which deal with flooding is scheduled for 6 to 8 p.m. June 24. He said he hopes the meeting will be held at the community center.
Residents from flood-prone areas in the city have been asking for a such meeting for several months, but it was delayed by the Coronavirus outbreak.
