The city of Pittsburg approved a tax incentive for a new retail development featuring three major stores. The plan includes adding Ulta, Rack Room, and Five Below to the city’s shopping options, aiming to retain local shoppers and provide more variety. The agreement with a group representing the Pittsburg Town Center Shopping Complex redistributes the 1.5% local sales tax collected by three new retailers. 2/3 of it will go to the city. The other 1/3 will go to the developer to recoup construction costs, with a cap of $600,000 or 20 years of collections, whichever comes first. Officials expressed interest in the project after witnessing the success of Marshall’s, which was added to Pittsburg’s retail landscape in November 2022. “We’ve recently added Marshall’s, which has been extremely successful,” said Kim Froman, Director of Community Development and Housing. “We’ve seen a 23% increase in that shopping area since the addition of Marshall’s. So we’re really excited for that.” Froman believes that bringing in Ulta, Rack Room, and Five Below will enhance the local shopping experience and keep residents from traveling to nearby cities for their retail needs.
Source: KOAM News

The city of Pittsburg approved the purchase of two garbage trucks for a total of $489,996 to help operate a public trash service. They also approved the purchase of 500 96-gallon poly carts, 50 2-yard dumpsters, and 50 4-yard dumpsters for a total of $97,108. The city is investing in a publicly operated trash service in the wake of issues residents have been having with CARDS Recycling and Waste Management. Officials say the public service will be another option for residents. KOAM will continue following the progress and updates for residents concerning the City’s planned trash service.
Source: KOAM News

First responders like firefighters are known to be in dangerous jobs. But OSHA, the federal agency that set and enforces standards for workplace conditions is hoping to help make those work environments as safe as possible. According to OSHA, the “existing safety and health standards do not adequately protect the emergency response workforce from these hazards.” The federal agency has proposed a set of new regulations that would replace the current fire brigade standard implemented in 1980. “From what I can gather from OSHA is they’re wanting to combine a whole bunch of, like, 22 guidelines into one mandate. Mandate is a little scary,” says Kevin Theilen, Deputy Fire Chief of the Duenweg Fire Department.  Fire departments and associations across the country are now speaking out against the proposed standards, including the National Volunteer Fire Council and the Firefighter Association of Missouri. “No one is discounting that there could be room for improved firefighter safety, and the National Fire Protection Association plus other standards are a valuable guide in getting there but not as a club which could and “WILL IN SOME CASES” cripple some departments and potentially close others in low populated areas due to extraordinary budget limitations,” wrote the Firefighter Association of Missouri in a response to the OSHA proposal.
Source: KOAM News