Board of Aldermen

MINUTES OF THE PUBLIC HEARING OF MONDAY, JANUARY 16, 2017 AT 200 HIGHLANDS BOULEVARD DRIVE REGARDING A REQUEST FOR A SPECIAL USE PERMIT FOR A MASSAGE THERAPIST AT 20 STONEGATE CENTER Mayor David L. Willson called the Public Hearing of the Board of Aldermen to order at 7:00 p.m. Roll call showed those present were Alderman Clement, Alderman Stevens, Alderman Hamill, Alderman Ottenad, Alderman Baumann, Alderman Diehl, Mayor Willson and Attorney Gunn. A quorum was present. The following notice of the public hearing was then read: “The City of Manchester Board of Aldermen shall hold a public hearing on Monday, January 16, 2017 at 7:00 p.m. at the Manchester Police Facility, 200 Highlands Boulevard Drive, to consider the following: CASE #16-SUP-013 – A request for a Special Use Permit has been made by Guang Chen, Chen Sheng Massage & Spa, LLC, on behalf of Stonegate Center Partnership, owner, to allow the use of a massage therapist at 20 Stonegate Center. The property is zoned C-2 Commercial District.” Mayor Willson stated that first we would hear from the proponents, then any opponents, comments from the members of the Board of Aldermen and Staff, and Comments from the Public. Mayor Willson called for proponents. Mr. Robert Hu, 162 Saddleford Drive, Chesterfield, was there to represent Guang Chen. Mr. Hu stated he was there to reiterate that he is intending to open a business as a massage therapist located at 20 Stonegate Plaza. He is hoping to get the approval to do so. City Attorney Patrick R. Gunn asked Mr. Hu if he has permission to speak on behalf of the applicant, and Mr. Hu stated that he did. City Attorney Gunn then read the special conditions, as follows: Public Hearing-01/16/2017-Massage Therapist at 20 Stonegate Center Page 1  “1. All massage therapists employed by Holder or working within the Site shall be duly licensed by the State of Missouri and shall exhibit such licenses in a visible location within the Site. 2. Holder’s hours of operation shall be limited to 9:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. 7 days a week. 3. Holder’s strict compliance with all applicable Federal, State and City of Manchester statutes and ordinances. 4. Holder permitting access to the Site by the City of Manchester at all times requested so as to confirm compliance under Paragraphs 1 and 2 of this Section Five.” Mr. Hu agreed to all the Special Conditions. Alderman Clement stated that the Planning and Zoning Commission sent this to the Board of Aldermen with their recommendation for approval. Mayor Willson closed the Public Hearing at 7:05 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Ruth E. Baker, MMC/MPCC City Clerk Note: This is a journal of the Public Hearing held Monday, January 16, 2017 (summary); not a verbatim transcript. If a recording of the public hearing is desired, please contact City Hall. Public Hearing-01/16/2017-Massage Therapist at 20 Stonegate Center Page 2  MINUTES OF THE REGULAR BOARD OF ALDERMEN MEETING OF MONDAY, JANUARY 16, 2017 AT 200 HIGHLANDS BOULEVARD DRIVE 1. CALL TO ORDER Mayor David L. Willson called the Public Hearing of the Board of Aldermen to order at 7:05 p.m. 2. ROLL CALL AND STATEMENT OF QUORUM Roll call showed those present were Alderman Clement, Alderman Stevens, Alderman Hamill, Alderman Ottenad, Alderman Baumann, Alderman Diehl, Mayor Willson and Attorney Gunn. A quorum was present. 3. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES a. Minutes of the Regular Board of Aldermen meeting of Tuesday, January 3, 2017 Alderman Clement made the motion to approve the Minutes of the Regular Board of Aldermen meeting of Tuesday, January 3, 2017. The motion was seconded by Alderman Hamill, and carried unanimously, without objection. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF ORDER OF ITEMS ON THE AGENDA Alderman Ottenad stated that she wanted to add a Homecoming report to 8 (c). Mayor Willson stated he wanted to add to the agenda an appointment to the Planning & Zoning Commission. Attorney Patrick Gunn stated he wanted to add a discussion about massage therapy under 5 (g). Alderman Ottenad made the motion to approve the Order of Items on the Agenda as amended. The motion was seconded by Alderman Clement and carried unanimously. 5. CONSIDERATION OF PETITIONS AND COMMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC a. Discussion regarding TracFone settlement – Regular Board of Aldermen 01/16/2017 Page 1  City Attorney Patrick R. Gunn stated the City is part of a class action law suit against TracFone for delinquent and unpaid utility taxes. The attorneys representing the City in that matter reached a settlement and the City is now in the position to receive a payment for delinquent taxes not previously paid and those taxes are in the amount of $14,437.81. Also the City will be receiving future revenues for utilities from TracFone as they are earned through users within the City of Manchester. He said as a part of this resolution, there was a question whether the City would be inclined to contribute a percentage of the monies that are to be received for delinquent taxes to the Municipal League as we have done in the past on other matters to support them in their efforts. He said there is a suggested contribution in the sum of five (5) percent of the amount of what the City receives in the first payment. He shared the information that five percent of the amount would be $721. Alderman Ottenad made the motion to approve the five percent contribution to the Municipal League. The motion was seconded by Alderman Clement and carried unanimously, without objection. b. Discussion regarding Department of Conservation meeting Alderman Clement stated that he did drop off several documents for the members of the Board of Aldermen. He said the top two sheets are a summary of the meeting concerning the deer population that the Mayor, Chief, Director Ruck and he attended on January 5 with Erin Shank from the Missouri Department of Conservation. Alderman Stevens asked about the City of Town and Country, since that City adjoins the St. Louis County reserve for deer. She asked if they have had success impacting their neighbors, whether they seen a positive aspect to less deer. Alderman Clement responded that what is interesting is the data pertaining to accidents with deer in Town and Country has not gone down. He said they do know, though, that the population is causing less damage to residents’ grounds. Alderman Hamill asked if Ms. Shank said why the County is so resistant to doing anything or whether they are saying there isn’t a problem. Alderman Clement stated he doesn’t think they are saying that it isn’t a problem, but the phrase Ms. Shank shared with them is: “It is not part of the Parks Director’s mission to control any animal population.” They don’t want to invest the money to control animals. Alderman Stevens commented that other communities could come together to put pressure on the parks or County. Alderman Clement stated that was the recommendation to us but it involves us raising our voice with our County representatives and the new County Executive. Alderman Ottenad asked what our current Ordinance states, and Alderman Clement answered that the Ordinance limits hunting to properties of two acres. Alderman Stevens asked if there is a ballpark price, if the City of Manchester would go in for such a venture. Regular Board of Aldermen 01/16/2017 Page 2  Alderman Clement stated that he believes it was in the high $70,000 to $85,000 range. Alderman Diehl said he had personally heard from people in his ward asking about what the City is doing. He asked if there would be a problem in sharing the information the City has received. Alderman Clement stated he doesn’t have a problem with it being shared. Alderman Baumann asked if information in regard to the deer survey should be included in the Manchester Message. They would prefer to see the study before they publish it in the message. Mayor Willson commented that if one saw in the news that the City of Chesterfield, in the process over their archery period killed 70 deer in 36 square miles, to compare that to Manchester which is 1/7th of the size of Chesterfield. c. Reappointment of Joni Korte to the Planning and Zoning Commission Alderman Clement made the motion to reappoint Joni Korte to the Planning and Zoning Commission. The motion was seconded by Alderman Hamill and carried unanimously, with no objection. d. Reappointment of J. R. Brown to the Board of Adjustment Alderman Clement made the motion to reappoint J.R. Brown to the Board of Adjustment. The motion was seconded by Alderman Ottenad and carried unanimously, with no objection. e. Reappointment of Alan Nissenbaum to the Board of Adjustment Alderman Clement made the motion to reappoint Alan Nissenbaum to the Board of Adjustment. The motion was seconded by Alderman Ottenad and carried unanimously, with no objection. f. Reappointment of Kent Goddard to the Board of Adjustment Alderman Clement made the motion to reappoint Kent Goddard to the Board of Adjustment. The motion was seconded by Alderman Ottenad and carried unanimously, with no objections. g. Discussion about the number of massage therapist businesses in the City City Attorney Gunn stated that the Director of Planning and Zoning and he have been talking about the number of massage therapists in the City of Manchester, and if he is correct, there are eight, including the one that is on the agenda this evening. He said they believe this to be a fairly substantial number considering other types of businesses. He said while they are not asking to do anything this evening, he does want to give the members of the Board of Aldermen a heads-up that at the February 6 Board meeting, they will be asking the Board to establish a moratorium on massage therapists until the staff has a chance to give this more thought and consideration. He said they believe there are just too many of them at this point of time and it concerns them. h. Comments from the Public Regular Board of Aldermen 01/16/2017 Page 3  Mr. Chris Winters, 510 Cardinal Lane, stated that last fall there was something brought up about having a task force to determine new methods of revenue streams for the General Fund. He said when he asked some employees, he learned that they had not heard anything further about it. He said that it appears this has been tabled for now, but he wants to make sure it is not thoroughly un-tabled and whether the City can go forward with this task force. He said that although there is not a City Administrator right now, there is a “volunteer” administrator. He said he thinks that something like this, as well as the 2018 budget, should be discussed all year, because before you know it, there will need to be discussion about budget again and/or if the City wanted to put something up for a vote in August, it’s time to consider that. He asked if this has been tabled indefinitely, whether there is still discussion about it, or as a resident, does the City want him to get something going? City Attorney Gunn answered that someone from the Staff will respond in regard to his question. Ms. Megan Huether, 1747 Connemara Drive, stated that this summer she had the privilege of volunteering with the Flags of Valor installation on Art Hill. Many of you are probably already familiar with the project, but just to recap, 7200 flags were installed on Art Hill for one week in September correlating with the 15th anniversary of the attacks on 9/11. Each flag honored a service member who has lost their life in the War on Terror. Flags were available for purchase and the funds raised went to support four military charities including the Missouri Military Memorial Foundation, Greater St. Louis Honor Flight, the America's Fund, and the charity for which she volunteers, the St. Louis Military Officers Support Foundation. She said it was an incredibly moving experience to take in both the collective loss of the 7200 lives, and the individual sacrifice that each one of these heroes' lives represents. Ms. Huether stated that this momentous project was spearheaded under the leadership of Mr. Rick Randall. In follow up conversation recently, Mr. Randall offered her a generous gift: 25 flags from his personal collection of flags flown on Art Hill if she might facilitate the donation of the flags to the City of Manchester. Ms. Heuther stated that as some may be aware, previously the City has borrowed flags from Mr. Randall to display at events such as the Community Band Concerts. She asked if it wouldn't be excellent if the City were to have its own collection of flags to use at its will, most notably as Mr. Randall suggested, at events such as the Memorial Day Commemoration at the Manchester Veteran's Memorial. During the Flags of Valor display week in September, many pictures and videos were taken to document the project. An example of such an image is included in the folder which she distributed at the Board of Aldermen meeting. Ms. Heuther stated that as part of the City's Memorial Day Commemoration, she proposed to use this Courtroom Gallery to showcase both images from the flag installation on Art Hill and also profiles of the heroes whose flags are being donated to the City. She stated that photos, dog tags and bios could be included as a means to recognize and share their sacrifice with the community. She said that such is her enthusiasm for our country’s flag and these heroes that she would be happy to organize the community volunteer effort to make such an event happen. Regular Board of Aldermen 01/16/2017 Page 4  Ms. Heuther stated that she has spoken with Aldermen Clement already about the project, given that he is a personal acquaintance of Mr. Randall's, and he has kindly agreed to help her. She is also hoping that the Board might suggest a city staff member to work with them on both facilitating the donation and presenting a display in the Courtroom Gallery. She said she included her card for someone to follow up. Ms. Heuther expressed her thanks, and said she looks forward to working with the City in accepting and utilizing this most sacred of gifts. Alderman Ottenad stated that every year, she has been asking the City to do something at the Veteran’s Memorial. She said she would be glad to help, if there is a point person from the City, and she knows they hear that staff is all so busy, but there are four months before that happens, and she is hoping someone from the City will step up and work with her and the other people to have a ceremony at the Veterans’ Memorial to tie together the ceremony and showing the photos. Alderman Stevens said that she is totally supportive of this, and thinks it is something that should be embraced by the City. She also wonders if this is an opportunity to talk with the Parks and ask if this could be part of the budget of Manchester Arts to do some kind of support with this display and maybe purchase some of the flags or do something in tandem with the display in the Courtroom, as well. Alderman Ottenad said she knows that three or four years ago, Lieutenant Buck Lancey said he had connections, so she will get in contact with him, but that still leaves the fact that there is a point person needed from the City staff. Alderman Stevens said she would contact Director of Parks and Recreation Eileen Collins on behalf of Manchester Arts and see what the Parks Department thinks. 6. REPORTS FROM THE MAYOR a. Mayoral Report Mayor Willson reported that the deer population meeting was on January 5. He said that he lives in Chadwick Estates, and they have a newsletter. He said a lady was very upset that a truck was driving through the neighborhood shining his light on the properties. He said he wrote back explaining it was the deer survey. The Mayor reported that at the January 6 stormwater meeting regarding Chadwick Estates, MSD (Metropolitan Sewer District) informed the City that it is going to provide some funds. Mayor Willson reported that on January 9 he attended the Planning and Zoning meeting, and on January 13, the Lafayette Area Mayors’ Organization meeting was cancelled because of the ice. Mayor Willson stated he can’t say enough about the employees who went above and beyond to keep the City functioning during the ice storm. When the governor asked people to stay off the road, it was figured that the City should help employees not risk coming to work in an ice storm. Mayor Willson reported on January 16, the Oath of Office took place for new Police Officer Jeffrey Lang, and the City Clerk gave the oath. He said stated that it was a nice event. Regular Board of Aldermen 01/16/2017 Page 5  Mayor Willson commented about the article in the West Newsmagazine, about Lt. Buck Lancey and Alderman Rich Baumann, with them giving away gift cards to people in need from the funds they raised at the Trivia night. Alderman Baumann stated that he is thinking of doing another trivia night coming up this year. 7. REPORTS FROM THE CITY ADMINISTRATOR a. List of Paid Bills (Warrant dates of January 1 – January 14, 2017) Mayor Willson stated that there were no questions. 8. REPORTS FROM COMMITTEES a. Planning and Zoning Commission Alderman Clement reported that there was a meeting on January 9. He said that there were two topics on the Agenda: there was a zoning text amendment that will be coming before the Board in early February. The second discussion was a request for a special use permit for a restaurant, the restaurant is right next to City Hall at 17 Nationalway Center. That too will come before the Board in the beginning of February. Alderman Clement stated that there is an Agenda for Planning and Zoning for next Monday night. b. Manchester Arts Alderman Stevens stated there are no events to discuss, but she will be contacting Director Eileen Collins about the discussion from tonight’s meeting. c. Homecoming Committee Alderman Ottenad stated that the next meeting will be January 18 at 6:00 p.m. at the Legion Hall. There will be some discussion about the 2017 Homecoming, and they will also have a meeting schedule for 2017. 9. ACTION ON OLD BILLS a. There were none. 10. INTRODUCTION OF NEW BILLS a. BILL APPROVING A SPECIAL USE PERMIT FOR A MASSAGE THERAPIST AT 20 STONEGATE CENTER Alderman Ottenad introduced Bill # 17-2289, entitled: “AN ORDINANCE CREATING A SPECIAL USE PERMIT AND GRANTING THE SAME TO CHEN SHENG MASSAGE & SPA L.L.C. TO OPERATE A MASSAGE THERAPIST FACILITY AT 20 STONEGATE CENTER, Regular Board of Aldermen 01/16/2017 Page 6 AS PROVIDED FOR IN SECTION 405.250(C)(5)(h) OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF MANCHESTER”, by title only. There being no questions, there was no further action at this time. 11. MISCELLANEOUS a. Comments from the Public There were none. 13. ADJOURNMENT At 7:43 p.m., there being no further business, Alderman Hamill made the motion to adjourn. The motion was seconded by Alderman Clement and carried unanimously, without objection. The meeting adjourned at 7:43 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Ruth E. Baker, MMC/MPCC City Clerk Note: This is a journal of the Board of Aldermen meeting held Monday, January 17, 2017 (summary); not a verbatim transcript. If a recording of the meeting is desired, please contact City Hall. Regular Board of Aldermen 01/16/2017 Page 7