(LISTEN): Comobuz.com publisher Mike Murphy discusses Columbia’s short-term rentals and Columbia/Boone County ARPA funding on 939 the Eagle’s “CEO Roundtable”

Columbia has received $25-million in federal American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) dollars, while Boone County has received $35-million. President Joe Biden signed ARPA into law in 2021. Comobuz.com publisher Mike Murphy appeared in-studio for the hour Saturday morning on 939 the Eagle’s “CEO Roundtable,” telling listeners that the city and county are providing massive giveaways to non-profits, with the ARPA money. “Roundtable” host Fred Parry, a former Boone County commissioner, says social service agencies in our community, with a few exceptions, are largely ineffective. They discuss the ARPA money in-detail on the program, and they also discuss the issue of short-term rentals in Columbia. Murphy says Columbia has about 500 short-term rentals, with about 400 of them under the Airbnb moniker. The city has received some complaints about these facilities from neighbors. Parry recalls a house in Columbia’s Grasslands near Faurot Field holding parties a few years ago, prompting complaints from neighbors: