Driver's beware: Francis Street is now one-way. Effective today, traffic will only run east on Francis Street from Clare Street to Omar Avenue.
This was one of many agenda items approved Monday night during the regular session of the Mexico City Council.
Reading for consideration was given at the Dec. 22 council meeting, with City Manager Todd Thompson and Public Works/City Engineer Kensey Russell addressing the board.
"There is an inadequate street width on Francis Street, making it unsafe to meet another vehicle," Thompson reiterated to the board Monday night. This new ordinance amends Chapter 7, Motor Vehicles and Traffic, Article X, Schedule 4 of the Mexico City Code, plus comes with future promises.
"By changing the street to one-way, east from Clare to Omar traffic would have a better flow pattern by not allowing vehicles to meet ... and opens it up for future improvements," Thompson said. Letters were sent to residents of the neighborhood, advising of the change, and an informational meeting was also held, with no one attending, but Councilman Ron Loesch still required that area residents be given a one-day notification that the change went into effect. All council members agreed.
Signs were posted today, and door placards were hung on the four households in the block.
The council also approved adding three more streets to the city's emergency snow routes – which will include Hendricks from Kentucky to Jefferson; Breckenridge from Fairground to Green Boulevard; and Summit from Craig to Jefferson.
These streets are currently priority one streets for snow plowing and they help provide traffic connections, along with the other snow route streets to various and institutions of the community.
"This will allow us to declare a snow emergency and expand the list by three segments. We also met with public safety and they agreed it needed to be done," Russell told council members. Not every snow event requires an emergency declaration. This would be determined if there were at least "four inches or more of snow," he said.
When a snow emergency is declared, parking on emergency snow routes is prohibited to facilitate the plowing and clearing of the streets. The city plans to post this information on its Web site, plus send out post cards in the next couple of months, alerting citizens about the new snow routes. The information may also be broadcast on Mex-TV and radio, Russell said.
A request for a resolution authorizing the adoption of the 2008-2009 joint dispatch salary schedule also was presented to the board and accepted.
The council approved the schedule for general, public safety and exempt employees on Sept. 22, 2008. The resolution is a recommended salary schedule for joint dispatch  personnel – which was arrived at in part from the compensation and classification study completed by McGrath Consulting Group.
"The council conducted a study and has determined by reviewing all pertinent information that it is necessary and in the best interest of the City of Mexico to approve the attached salary schedule," Councilman Michael Myers said as he read the resolution. "Therefore the attached schedule is adopted ... and all other salary schedules previously adopted are rescinded."
The highest paid general-hourly employee is the city clerk/collector code administrator, at $34,777.60. The highest paid exempt employee is the city manager, at $80,100.80; followed by the deputy city manager, $71,281.60, and the public works/city engineer, $67,246.40. Dispatch employees’ pay ranges from $23,836.80 to $28,787.20.
A public hearing was also held to consider the submission of a Community Development Block Grant application to the Missouri Department of  Economics CDBG program. The city proposes to request up to $1,500,000 in CDBG funds for an Industrial Infrastructure Grant to provide water, sanitary sewer and roadway to support the Plant Science Research Facility – which will be located on a 10-acre tract at the south side of the city, just north of Hwy. 54.
The proposed project will provide new employment, of which at least 51 percent will be low and moderate income persons. Community Development Director Rita Jackson said conservatively this could mean at least 25 jobs.
Other agenda items passed during the meeting included:
• An ordinance authorizing the city manager to execute documents regarding the conveyance of real estate to Martinsburg Bank & Trust.
• A resolution authorizing the city manager to execute change order No. 1 to the contract with Plan B Development for the  Robin-son/North Jefferson 2008 Storm-water Improvement Project, Part of Project No. 08-2. The council accepted the change in the amount of $11,900 to the total base bid of $37,345. The increase was needed to correct an unexpected find when workers begin digging up the area. Additional materials and labor will be needed to correct the problem.
• Council members also approved the purchase of herbicides and ground serilants for the Parks and Recreation/Cemetery departments, in the amount of $6,113.50; and the purchase of patrol vehicles for public safety. The 2008-2009 budget allows $55,000 for the purchase of three patrol cars. Requests for bids were sent to five vendors, and only one was received from Pearl Motor Company. The council approved the purchase of two cars from Pearl for $30,294 – which includes the trade-in of two patrol vehicles. One of the patrol cars due to be replaced was involved in a traffic crash in Sept. 2008, and has already been replaced.
The regular meeting adjourned at 7:50 p.m., and council members went into executive session pursuant to the revised statues pertaining to legal actions, real estate and personnel.