News – Thursday, May 7th, 2026

Chairman of the Utility Committee Alderman Nathan Kinsey has called for a utility committee meeting to be held tonight at 6:15 at the City of Salem Auditorium. The committee will hear reports from the chairman, review a draft budget with capital improvement projects being noted, discuss water tower maintenance contracts, testing of meters through a contract service with Advanced Meter Services, LLC, replenishing the reserve fund as well as discuss rates for water and wastewater. Also at the meeting, the committee will discuss two code amendments dealing with backflow prevention device installation and inspections as well as the royalty and marketing agreement with the service line warranty program. In reports, the committee will review financial updates in the budget and the impact on each fund from the rate discussion, as well as discuss billing updates. The committee will review the MMMPEP and MPUA meeting notes and get work reports from the utility crews. They will also hear information about and discuss the current utilities construction in progress as well as planned capital improvements before the meeting is adjourned. The meeting of the utility committee tonight is open to the public.

The City of Salem’s Parks and Recreation Board met for its meeting Wednesday at the Old City Hall Auditorium. After the call to order, roll call, and approval of the minutes of last Wednesday’s meeting, the board reviewed and discussed the proposed budget. Finance Director Stacey Houston made adjustments to the proposed budget, including an increased sales tax projection of 2% based off of the current fiscal year. The increase put an additional $15,523 toward revenue; however, a $14,406 deficit remains, which will need to be reconciled by either cutting expenses or through the use of the prior year’s fund balance. Board member Luke Heithold sought clarification on the budget, including line item “Building Maintenance,” which has a proposed increase for heaters in the maintenance building, and line item “Pool Maintenance,” which has a proposed increase in order to fix a leak and pay for de-winterization. Heithold additionally sought clarification for the increase to line item “Special Services,” which in previous years had an average of approximately $1,400 but has a projected year-end of $7,500 and is budgeted at $5,500 within the draft budget for 2026-2027. City Administrator Sally Burbridge clarified that the item increase for the year-end is due to the recent parking lot resurfacing requiring an engineer to provide a no-rise certificate due to the parking lot location on the floodplain. With the plan to resurface the pool parking lot for 2026-2027, similar permitting may be required. Following discussion, the board approved the budget for the 2026-2027 FY, with the $14,406 to come out of Parks and Recreation Prior Year’s Funds. The vote was 4-0-2, with Heithold and board member James Taylor abstaining. The board then adjourned.

Kids’ Fishing Day at Maramec Spring Park is sure to be a great outing for young anglers and will be Saturday, May 16th, hosted by the Missouri Department of Conservation (MDC) in cooperation with The James Foundation, for children 15 years of age and younger. The Kids’ Fishing Day event will be held from 6:30 in the morning to 8:15 in the evening. The entire upper half of the spring branch will be reserved for kids 15 years of age and younger. Free daily fishing tags for children will be available to pick up Friday, May 15th, at the James Foundation Store and on Saturday, May 16th, at the Mill Pavilion by the big tent. Any car that has a child 15 and under gets into the park for free as well. A limited number of loaner fishing poles will be available, but children are encouraged to bring their own fishing poles and equipment. The World Bird Sanctuary will be on hand featuring live birds of prey to meet and greet. Everyone can enjoy free hot dogs and soda, along with attractions like archery. Maramec Spring Park, owned and operated by The James Foundation, is located on Highway 8 about six miles east of St. James.

A Salem Community Blood Drive is right around the corner on Tuesday, May 12th, to be held at the First Baptist Church of Salem at 201 North MacArthur Avenue. The event will be hosted by the Community Blood Center of the Ozarks with appointments encouraged to minimize wait times but walk-ins welcome. To make an appointment, call 417-227-5006. Donor rewards include a free t-shirt and voucher for several nearby attractions.