City commits to purchasing bunker gear, ladder truck for fire department

By Jessica Breger Special to the Monett Monthly

Several items from the Planning and Zoning Commission hearing, at least five motions on re-zoning and plat placements within the city, headlined the Monett City Council meeting in December. 

“The first five items tonight all came from the planning and zoning, and there’s a lot of actions here,” Mayor Randy Burke said. “The planning and zoning has been pretty busy of late, so here we are. We’re doing the first reading tonight of all these re-planning and reasoning issues. We’ll do the second reading in the January meeting.”

The council held the first reading for two new re-zoning requests for part of the “Schallert Trust-Owned Property” and 1509 Glen Street.

Burke said the Schallert Trust-Owned Property is just south of Country Club Estates on the west by Eisenhower.

Approximately 20% of that lot is going to be re-zoned for multi-family housing. Burke said project builders had clarified to the council that the homes will be duplexes.

Regarding the property at 1509 Glen Street, the council noted that the property and area surrounding it is zoned for industrial use. 

The council decided to approve the ordinance to move forward with re-zoning the property and stated they will be looking into re-zoning the entire area to better reflect actual use of the properties in its January meeting.

“Our community development director is going to be looking at that so we can get some uniform zoning,” Burke said.

The council also held first reading and approval of the preliminary plat for phase two of the North Hill subdivision, located between 17th Street and H Highway on the Lawrence County line. This project will also be placing duplex-style housing in the area. 

A first reading was also held to approve changes to regulations of Legacy Lot Overlay District.

“In this area in central Monett, most of the houses were built over 100 years ago,” Burke said. “Around 2018, the city adopted new codes and the lot requirements expanded.”

Burke said the ordinance would allow people who have homes in the area to be able to rebuild to the new lot sizes instead of being restricted to the outdated lot requirements of the district. 

The final planning and zoning item listed was to subdivide an established multi-family platt for two houses and multiple duplexes in the plat for Hubert and Gilbert’s Minor Subdivision.

Beyond Planning and Zoning recommendations, the council also focused on the city’s fire department, needs as they approved an agreement for Preorder of Firefighter Protective Clothing and the Purchase of a 107 foot Tandem Ladder Truck for the Monett Fire Department.

Council revealed that much of the current protective clothing the department possesses is nearing its10-year expiration time and the current ladder truck is 30 years old. 

Council agreed all required updating, and the agreement for gear will allow the city to buy the protective clothing at a discount. 

The bunker gear is set to cost  $109,920.35, with hoods, gloves, boots, belts and straps costing an additional $14,818.

The new Pierce Manufacturing Ascendant 107-Foot Quint tandem ladder truck is priced at $1,898,598. Burke noted that the city’s current truck is 30 years old and the lifespan of such vehicles is typically 25 years. 

Burke said this new truck will allow for better access to larger buildings such as businesses, apartments and hotels.

The city will retain the current 75 foot ladder truck and place it in reserve. Both purchases are to come out of the 2026-27 fiscal budget.

Regular City Council Meetings are held on the second Thursday of each month at 6 p.m. at the Monett School District Board Room, with video available on the city’s website the following day.