Troy residents can now apply for a utility account as soon as 18 years old after a unanimous decision of the city council on Tuesday.

The council followed the decision of the state legislature, which reduced the minimum age to 18 earlier this year for utility buyers.

“A lot of students come in at 18 and if they rent off-campus they have to set up a utility account,” said Council President Marcus Paramore. “Now instead of having parents come in and do it, they can come in and have their own account.”
There will also be a new rate available to large-use utilities customers to access specialized monitoring of individual utilities systems.

Utilities Manager Brian Chandler said some large utilities customers who have been unable to view utility usage by facility requested the option to better understand where they could conserve power and water.

The council also approved an agreement between the Troy Police Department and Ward’s Yamaha Kawasaki for use of an ATV on an annual basis, with the department only responsible for providing insurance and maintenance, which Police Chief Randall Barr estimate would only cost up to $1,000 each year.

“We just became aware of this program; it’s something the Ozark police are doing,” Barr said. “We get to use this vehicle for a year and then return it and they sell it. And each year we would get a new vehicle.”

The police Department also brought forward a memorandum of understanding for two school resource officers at the Troy City Schools system – the police have provided resource officers for several years but had never had an official agreement in place.

Barr said the agreement lays out the duties and responsibilities of the resource officers and clarifies what they can and can’t do. It also ensures that the department can recall the officers for patrol if the department becomes short-staffed.

There are currently two school resource officers in place in the system and Barr said he hopes to add at least one more officer in the near future to ensure there is one officer for each school.

The school system has not yet reviewed the memo, but Barr said he will be speaking with Superintendent Dr. Lee Hicks soon and the agreement could be presented to the school board Monday for final approval.

The council unanimously approved a restaurant retail liquor license for What the Cluck wings to sell beer and wine on premises.

The restaurant stays open until 3 a.m. Thursday through Saturday, and the council advised that the kitchen must be open while alcohol is being served, which co-owner Ijtihad Muhammad said will be followed.

Councilwoman Stephanie Baker announced that there will be two community forums on education in the city schools system on October 7 and 8, with more details to come next week.

The Troy City Council will meet again on Tuesday, September 24 at City Hall. The executive committee meets upstairs at 4 p.m. and the council will convene at 5 p.m. in the City Council Chambers.