The Houston City Council met Monday with the chancellor of Missouri State University in West Plains to begin discussions on bringing a campus to the community.
A key component of the plan would be construction of a building to house MSU in Houston and development of a letter of intent between the city and MSU. Dr. Drew Bennett visited with the city council.
Last year, voters narrowly turned down a measure to bring Ozarks Technical College to Houston.
Mayor Don Tottingham is expected to appoint a committee comprised of council members to work with the university to develop the letter of intent, which is a top long-range goal of the city to bring higher education to the Texas County seat.
In other matters, members:
—Approved a $1,840 contract with Jared Smith to remove trees near the Houston Lions Club, where a North U.S. 63 sewer lift station will be located. The project is on Houston Development Co. property.
—Heard of wind damage that occurred Saturday night in Houston. A tree fell through the roof a city building on Forrest Drive, City Administrator Larry Sutton said.
—Learned that “chip and seal” work is under way in town.
—Heard progress is occurring on installation of street lights on South Sam Houston Blvd., which were included in this year’s budget. Other upgrades are planned on South Sam Houston Blvd. and North U.S. 63.
—Continue to look at upgrades for a south water well on Cleveland Road. The pump was recently dropped 100 feet, and improvements are under consideration to improve water and flow later this year.
—Adjourned into a closed session to discuss real estate and personnel.