Lack of 13 commission candidates forces change of plans

By Jessica Breger Special to the Monett Monthly

Monett City leaders made a decision in February to cancel a planned reorganization of city government.

In the November 2025 Council meeting, the city Council approved an ordinance calling for the April election asking the question “Shall a Commission be Chosen to Frame a Charter” and if passed, elect 13 commissioners to draw up the charter.

Now, that election proposal has been cancelled for a lack of 13 qualified applicants. While 25 applications were taken, only 14 were submitted. Of the 14 submitted, two applicants withdrew, and one was denied due to insufficient signatures. 

The matter was discussed during the Jan. 22 City Council work session, where options on how to move forward were discussed.

The Council could proceed with an 11-member commission, but this option would fall into a legal gray area, as the proposal was for a 13 member commission. If the Council chose to move forward, it could also open up a write-in process to fill the last two spots.

Council could also choose to use Missouri state statute chapters 77 and 78 to transition to a Council Manager form of government with a five-member Council. This option would require a petition of 25% of voters in the last mayoral election to pass.

The third option the Council discussed was to simply try again. Mayor Randy Burke said the timing of the proposal may have had an impact on the results, suggesting that trying again, not during the holiday season could result in better community involvement. 

“It was a pretty tall order — Monett’s never done anything like this before.” Burke said at the Jan. 22 meeting. 

“Trying to fill at least 13 candidates, I was hoping to get 20 and do it in a six-week period that included both the Thanksgiving holiday and the Christmas holiday.” 

Council said comments from residents included concerns about not having time to dedicate to being part of the commission, or perceived lack of qualifications for the task. 

Council members reiterated that as a member of the community, each resident is qualified to have an opinion on how the government is run. 

Burke said he still feels like the charter is the way to go given the involvement the city did receive. 

Council decided to end the process for the motion on the table with further discussions planned to find the preferred path forward.

At the regular February Council meeting, Council members revisited an issue that was brought before them in the January meeting regarding rezoning efforts on West Hazel Street. The rezoning project was first brought before the city in 2021.

It was explained in the meeting that Planning and Zoning had recommended the rezoning to the Council but it was never officially approved. 

Even without the official approval by Council of the rezoning in 2021, the GIS (Geographic Information System) maps were changed to reflect the re-zoning into multi-family use. 

Three options to move forward were presented for the motion: Council could either approve the rezoning, deny the rezoning or recommend that the issue go back to Planning and Zoning for another hearing. 

“Having looked at this, it really looks like spot zoning,” Burke said. “So we really have three options. We can say yes and go ahead and do it, which wouldn’t make any sense to me because we’ve got other stuff on our agenda about clearing up spot zoning. The second option is to send it back to Planning and Zoning, and the third option is to say no and right now and deny the petition and the builder can resubmit an application.”

The Council once again heard from the public on the matter. Multiple residents on the street came forward all expressing concern for the safety and comfort of existing residents should the multi-family housing be erected on the street.

The Council ultimately chose to deny the motion to re-zone the property to multi-family.

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.