Shelly Steiger, on behalf of Viva Cuba, requested approval from the Cuba City Council on Sept. 1 for a new mural.

Viva Cuba is an organization whose goal is to beautify Cuba and attract new industries and jobs. In 2001, they started a project to commission outdoor murals.

She presented the board with the proposed design and said that it would go on the building across the street from Missouri Hick Bar-B-Que.

They are not asking the city for money because that will be taken care of by Viva Cuba and various other donations, and the mural will have a ‘70s, ‘80s and ‘90s theme. It is more geared toward the present than past murals, and will focus on music and road tripping.

“It’s kind of based a little bit more on some of the memories of the local people that are our age,” Steiger said.

Missouri Hick Bar-B-Que will also be featured in the painting.

“So we have MO Hick. That would be more ‘90s, I think, when Dennis (Meiser) built MO Hick out there, so kind of a nod to Dennis,” Steiger said. “So there’ll be a picture of him doing the construction of the building. He has a favorite sports car that would also be on there.”

It will be facing east so that people can see it as they head into Cuba.

A motion to accept the mural was approved with a 6-0 vote.

Tara Brewer, on behalf of the Cuba War Memorial, and Rachel Andreasson, on behalf of the Crawford County Foundation Board, presented a memorandum of understanding to the board.

Brewer’s father, W.D. (Delbert) Mullen, and uncle, Phil Mullen, played a crucial role in establishing the memorial. Initially, a committee was planned to oversee its development, but unfortunately, that initiative fell through. Consequently, the family decided to regroup and currently serves as the Mullen Family Memorial committee.

Since the memorial is on city property, the city has total control, but the family is asking that the committee have the authority to add names to the war memorial and that they can make sure that maintenance is being taken care of. The memorandum also asks that the memorial receive reimbursement from the fund that has already been set up through the Crawford County Foundation.

City Attorney Emily Guffey said that she would review the memorandum first before the board moves to approve it.

On behalf of the Cuba Chamber of Commerce, Andi Harley requested the use of Hood Park and one of the barns from 3-7 p.m. on Oct. 24 for Halloween at the Hood.

It is an annual free event hosted by the Chamber’s board, which hosts a haunted house, costume contest, games and other activities.

The event is made possible through volunteers and donations made by local businesses, organizations and community members. Vendor fees also help cover some of the costs.

Mayor Pitts Lesesne said that she needs to go through the proper process by asking the Cuba Parks and Recreation Board first.

In other business, a motion to renew the city’s Meramec Regional Planning Commission (MRPC) prime membership for $4,767.60 was approved with a 5-0 vote.