On the heels of city and municipal elections two weeks ago, the first meeting of the new Joplin city council will take place tonight. KRPS’s Fred Fletcher-Fierro has more.

Link to watch the Joplin city council meeting live, both the informal and format

During their campaigns, new council members Kate Spencer, Mark Farnham, and incumbent council member Gary Shaw came out against Question 1, the 30-million-dollar bond that, if passed, would have renovated Joplin’s Memorial Hall.

Question 1 was born out of a citywide listening tour conducted by city manager Nick Edwards in 2020. The same listening tour revealed that Joplin residents favored establishing park security positions. Goal three of the parks and recreation master plan study was a result of the community survey, which indicated that the number one barrier to Joplinites using their parks is a feeling of insecurity.

Two new park rangers will be full-time and patrol the city’s 22 parks and greenways seven days a week. The new positions are estimated to cost $200,000 annually.

A link to the city council agenda can be found at krpsnews.com. The formal portion of the city council meetings gets underway at six tonight.