An EF1 tornado that tore through Columbia’s recycling facility prompted the city to declare a local emergency.
City Manager De’Carlon Seewood declared the emergency Monday afternoon following the tornado that hit mid-Missouri on Easter Sunday. The storm resulted in multiple downed power lines and the decimation of the city’s Material Recovery Facility, according to previous Missourian reporting.
Seewood said the emergency declaration grants the city expanded powers during a crisis, such as suspending recycling. It also allows more resources to come into the city, including potential aid from the governor and the Federal Emergency Management Agency.
Crews from Rolla and Macon were able to help with clean-up because of the declaration.
“We brought in crews to help put up those lines, so it allows us to bypass our bidding process to bring people in to do that work,” Seewood said. “So it is really about trying to activate as much as possible in order to handle the emergency.”
The Columbia City Council unanimously approved the declaration of a local emergency Monday night. Although the city manager has the authority to declare an emergency, the City Council must vote to extend it for a longer period of time.
Discussions over what to do about city recycling dominated talk about the tornado Monday evening. All city recycling has been suspended indefinitely. All waste will now go directly to the landfill, even if it is placed in a recycling bin.
“The one thing I’d ask residents for is patience,” Seewood said. “It will take us a while to navigate through this, but we will make sure to communicate with citizens.”
The suspension of recycling will not decrease utility bills since consumers pay a flat solid waste fee, interim utility director Erin Keys said. She said she is excited to work toward rebuilding the Material Recovery Facility.
The city may look into creative ways to restore recycling services in Columbia, she said.
Crews from Rolla and Macon were able to help with clean-up because of the declaration.
“We brought in crews to help put up those lines, so it allows us to bypass our bidding process to bring people in to do that work,” Seewood said. “So it is really about trying to activate as much as possible in order to handle the emergency.”
The Columbia City Council unanimously approved the declaration of a local emergency Monday night. Although the city manager has the authority to declare an emergency, the City Council must vote to extend it for a longer period of time.
Discussions over what to do about city recycling dominated talk about the tornado Monday evening. All city recycling has been suspended indefinitely. All waste will now go directly to the landfill, even if it is placed in a recycling bin.
“The one thing I’d ask residents for is patience,” Seewood said. “It will take us a while to navigate through this, but we will make sure to communicate with citizens.”
The suspension of recycling will not decrease utility bills since consumers pay a flat solid waste fee, interim utility director Erin Keys said. She said she is excited to work toward rebuilding the Material Recovery Facility.
The city may look into creative ways to restore recycling services in Columbia, she said.
“So I think we want, and our community deserves, a quality facility that will last well into the future, and that’s going to take some time,” Keys said. “In the meantime, staff will look at opportunities to phase some recycling back in or partnering with other organizations in the area.”
The council met 7 p.m. Monday at the Daniel Boone City Building for its bimonthly regular session.
Monday was Jacque Sample’s first regular meeting representing the Third Ward. She replaced former councilperson Roy Lovelady. It also marks the start of Mayor Barbara Buffaloe’s and Fourth Ward councilperson Nick Foster’s second terms after the April 8 election.
Second Ward councilperson Lisa Meyer was absent from Monday’s city council meeting. Meyer is on medical leave for the entire month of April, according to previous Missourian reporting.
Airport parking updates
The Columbia Regional Airport parking lot will see 124 current parking spaces paved, along with 57 new spaces added to its west parking lot.
The project, which will cost an estimated $1.5 million, was unanimously approved by the council. The Federal Aviation Administration has agreed to reimburse the city $1.3 million toward the upgrade costs, according to a council memo.
“(The project) is going to improve the flow of traffic in the area,” airport manager Mike Parks said. “(Currently) people park however they want to park, and there’s not much we can do to the vehicles, so it stops the flow of traffic.”
The project will also add a new access drive, pavement markings, signage and lighting.
City finances update
Lower-than-expected sales tax revenue and rising employee wage and benefit costs may push Columbia to dip into its emergency funds over the next six years, projections show.
The city expects to spend $31.1 million from its cash reserves over the next six years, according to previous Missourian reporting.
Seewood has previously warned that a revenue shortfall could arrive as early as fiscal year 2026. He said the city will try to cut back its fiscal year 2026 budget to account for the increases given to employees, which will be required under a statewide voter-approved minimum wage increase.
“The first thing we are looking at is trying to reduce our current budget,” Seewood said. “The other thing we are looking at is positions that have not been funded for a long period of time and doing an assessment of whether those funds are necessary or not.”
The minimum wage in Missouri will increase from $13.75 an hour to $15 beginning Jan. 1, 2026. Starting in 2027, wage and employee benefits will adjust to inflation every year following.
The city expects its employee benefit reserve will plummet from a surplus of $7.1 million in fiscal year 2025 to a projected deficit of over half a million by fiscal year 2031.
The city is developing its fiscal year 2026 budget, which will go into effect Oct. 1, 2025.
