Council Recap: DEP Digs Into Data

Summary of the Excelsior Spring City Council Meeting from 4/18/22.

The meeting opened with a prayer, the Pledge of Allegiance, and approval of the minutes of the Regular City Council Meeting of April 4, 2022.

First on the agenda, a proclamation read by Mayor Sharon Powell signifying that May is Building Safety Month. The proclamation was presented to Excelsior Springs Building Inspector, Mike Thompson.

The council unanimously approved providing $7,000 in ARPA funds to match Downtown Excelsior Partnership’s marketing investment in Placer.ai technology which “uses cell phone data to deliver data to decision-makers to uncover local consumer behaviors to attract best-fit businesses and enhance local business performance.” DEP Director, Lyndsey Baxter said pacer.ai will use foot traffic data to learn the “who, what, and when” about visitors Downtown which in turn will strengthen their marketing efforts, and give insights to operating hours, merchandise offerings, and any gaps therein. The City’s use of ARPA funding allocation is applicable in this instance as there is a specific clause that addresses recovery from COVID impacts which can be used to address economic recovery.

In return for their investment, DEP is to provide the following services to the City of Excelsior Springs. Serve as the City’s first point of contact for economic development services, specifically those in Downtown Excelsior Springs. Produce materials that market and promote the City including a website and information listing sheets for available properties and prospective businesses. Prepare tourism analysis reports. Prepare event analysis reports. Determine the prime origin markets of visitors to the City. Determine visitor preferences. Attract more people to the downtown district while optimizing and measuring the return on investment of marketing efforts. Conduct leakage analysis. Check Retail and Tourism recovery score. Track total visitation to the community of Excelsior Springs with heightened attention to the Downtown Excelsior Springs Historic District.

Public Works Director, Chad Birdsong had three items on the agenda, two maintenance projects, and information regarding the Missouri Preventative Maintenance Program. The first maintenance project presented was the purchase of 400 residential water meters needed to replace existing meters currently in service but nearing the end of their service life. The second project was a request for repairs to a city-owned 2001 Caterpillar backhoe that is “in need of hydraulic repairs on most of its cylinders in order for it to be fully operational without oil leaks.” The third item presented by Birdsong for the council’s review was a notification that Mid-America Regional Council is administering the Missouri Preventive Maintenance program using MO Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2021 funds. Birdsong informed the council that Excelsior Springs would be allocated $57,878.00 based on the current population. The funds are specifically for cities and counties to conduct preventative maintenance activities and to address deferred maintenance needs such as mill and overlay or micro-surfacing projects of roadways in their communities. Birdsong said, “These funds will be used in conjunction with our overlay project currently underway which is primarily funded thru Transportation Trust with the Engineering provided by Lamp Rynearson.” All measures were unanimously approved by the council.

City Finance Director, Vonda Floyd presented a Consideration of Service Agreement for Payment Processing Services to the council. Floyd essentially informed the council that, Central Square Processing, the company the city uses for bank card payment processing would be transitioning to a new internal system. The transition to the internal Central Square Processing should be complete sometime in July 2022. In her letter to the council, Floyd stated:

The City of Excelsior Springs has two merchant accounts for bank card processing. One account is Online (card not present) the other account (card present) is for in person transactions. Both merchant accounts are integrated with our Central Square software by way of a “transaction manager” component in the software that has made bank card processing possible. Central Square has made changes to their processing system and as of Dec 31st, 2021 their transaction manager is being phased out. Their new client specific Fusion API platform will use Central Square Payments is the preferred provider to process bank card transactions.

There is an option to not change to Central Square Payments as the processor but it would require an extension of the Transaction Manager component at a cost of $12,000 annually. Additionally, Central Square processing includes complete transaction processing validations and vulnerability tests required for PCI compliance (data security standards). This compliance step must be managed seperately if using a different processor. The fees in the agreement are estimated to save the City an additional $4,891.57 annually, for annual saving anticipated of $16,891.57.

Central Square Payments is through BMO Harris Bank and Paya. Both Central Square and Paya representatives have assured me the transition will be seamless with no loss to processing ability.

Our current processor is Basys, who has stated in emails we are not under any agreement or contract on either Merchant account. There will not be any termination charges for moving away from their service to Central Square processing with written notification. The BMO Harris agreement was reviewed by the City Attorney, who wrote the Superseding Addendum to be added. If approved, the transition to Central Square Processing would be complete in July 2022.

View the full council meeting at the video link at the top of this story.