Joplin City Council Meeting Summary

Joplin City Council members fight back after a Four-State transportation department stops construction on a local roadway. KSN`s Courtney Cullor was at Monday night`s city council meeting, where the Rangeline Bypass was a topic of discussion. It`s what city council members are calling a disappointment. The Missouri Department of Transportation recently announced a decision to halt further funding for the Rangeline Bypass Project, but now council members are fighting back. Tonight, the Joplin City Council voted unanimously to call on MoDOT to reinstate the funding for the bypass project. MoDOT officials say the current economic downturn and less than expected transportation revenue is to blame. The department had hoped to receive a $450-million dollar bond, but instead will only get $254 million. The bypass is one of 50 projects that will not be completed because of the money crunch. And city council members are not happy about the halt in construction. City Manager Steve Lewis and a delegation of community leaders will appear before the commission of the department of transportation at their next meeting, in hopes of getting the project back on track. Also at city council tonight, Joplin residents can now place markers on graves of those who can`t afford burial fees. Its been a longstanding policy that restricts the placement of markers at graves sites of those less fortunate. In the past if you couldn`t afford to pay the burial fees, you couldn`t place a marker on the gravesite. Officials say the intent of the rule was to protect taxpayers. But tonight the city council voted on new policies and procedures that will change that. Calvin says the city has averaged about 5 indigent burials a year. The city`s current indigent burial ground is located in the northwest corner of Fairview Cemetery.