The Omnibus

Issue date: 4/13/07 Section: News

Media Credit: Keegan Evans Charles Ealy, mayor of Bolivar, was re-elected as mayor April 3. Ealy has served as city mayor for 10 years.

Mayor Charles Ealy will serve the city of Bolivar for another four years. The 10-year incumbent was re-elected by city voters in the April 3 Bolivar Municipal Election. In a two-way race, Ealy defeated challenger Larry W. Crites, receiving 556 votes to Crites' 432.
"I'm very excited and thankful to the people of Bolivar for re-electing me," said Ealy. "My goal in this office is to always do my best."
In regard to city business, Ealy said he is involved with a number of city projects that are either in the works or planned for the future.
"One of the big projects that we are working on now is the East Loop Project which is an extension of Highway D," Ealy said. "The project calls for Highway D - from its intersection with Highway 32 - to be connected to Highway 83, which is known as Business Route 13 or Springfield Avenue. According to the Missouri Department of Transportation, this project is currently at number seven on their priority list.
"We are also working on getting a traffic light for the Highway 32 intersection with Village Acres - the same area that the Polk County Senior Center and Polk County Library are located. Traffic has really started to build up in this area which has prompted the need for a traffic light.
"Another potential project that we are looking into is the construction of a city water park to take the stress off our existing city pool. With the growth of our city, the current pool cannot meet the demand for summer swimming lessons and other activities."
Aside from pre-planned projects and other routine business, there will be a significant change in the mayor's office. Right before the April election, the Bolivar Board of Aldermen passed a resolution in February to cut the mayor's yearly salary from $20,060 to just $6,000. The change was made largely due to the hiring of City Administrator Ron Mersch who manages city operations handled by the mayor.
"Ron has been our city administration for about a year now," Ealy said. "He has been able to assume a lot of the extra responsibilities that were once required of the mayor. I'm glad we have a city administrator."
According to the Polk County Clerk's Office, Bolivar saw a 15-percent turnout in the April election. Aside from the mayor's race, Collector Kathy Price and Aldermen Steve Skopec, John Credille, Julie Bond and Dr. Bill Little all ran unopposed. Neal DeShazo won a two-year seat on the Bolivar R-1 School Board. DeShazo received 70 percent of the vote with challenger Michelle "Shelly" Redd getting 29 percent.

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