Board of Aldermen

MINUTES OF THE REGULAR BOARD OF ALDERMEN MEETING OF MONDAY, MARCH 19, 2018 AT 200 HIGHLANDS BOULEVARD DRIVE 1. CALL TO ORDER Mayor David L. Willson called the Regular Board of Aldermen meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. 2. ROLL CALL AND STATEMENT OF QUORUM Roll call showed those present were Alderman Clement, Alderman Nolte, 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 March 5, 2018 Regular Board of Aldermen meeting Alderman Clement made the motion to approve the Minutes of the March 5, 2018 Regular Board of Aldermen meeting. The motion was seconded by Alderman Hamill and carried unanimously, without objection. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF ORDER OF ITEMS ON THE AGENDA Alderman Hamill made the motion to approve the Order of Items on the Agenda as submitted. The motion was seconded by Alderman Clement and carried unanimously, without objection. 5. CONSIDERATION OF PETITIONS AND COMMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC a. Comments from the Public Mr. William Andrea, 336 Reindeer Drive, stated he works at St. Luke’s Hospital, and has lived in Manchester for 30 years. He wanted to really mention how he appreciates the Focus Photography Exhibition. He said that gives Manchester a mentality that sets the City apart. He expressed his thanks. Regular Board of Aldermen 03/19/2018 Page 1  Mr. Chris Winters, 510 Cardinal Lane, stated that two weeks ago, Alderman Ottenad was discussing that the budget for repainting the pool came in at $30,000 less than what was budgeted. She also stated that in years past when the City had the same scenario, and bids came in under what was budgeted, the extra money seemed “to just disappear”. She questioned what was going to happen to the extra $30,000. He asked if she has no idea where extra money goes. He commented that with the way it appears Alderman Ottenad micromanages everything, how can she not know where that extra money goes. He asked what she was insinuating by the statement that “money seems to just disappear”. Mr. Winters thanked Alderman Clement for the opportunity to show him where most of the $5.7 million from the General Fund was spent over the past eight to nine years. He said what Alderman Clement showed him was the pond between Kinsale and Dougherty Ferry. He explained that the residents initially paid to have the pond only dredged and it immediately filled back up with sediment again. Then there was a serious back up at the culvert pipes, and it was deemed unsafe. Then the City came in and installed an extensive double culvert tunnel and re-dredged the pond on the City’s dime. Then Channel B was initiated to keep the silt from entering the pond, and fortunately what was done with the culvert and Channel B seems to have worked. Mr. Winters stated that they also drove around Ward Two and saw other channel projects that appeared to cost serious monies as there were large boulders stacked on one another several feet high for as far as could be seen in a beautiful landscaped ditch 20 feet below street level. Mr. Winters commented that was “monetarily impressive”. When questioning Alderman Clement if the City paid for the Enchanted Parkway extension because the state was not going to pay for the street to go through to the outer road of 141, the first thing Alderman Clement said was: “Where did you hear that?” Mr. Winters stated it didn’t matter where he heard it; he said he asks a lot of questions. Mr. Winters added that the question was avoided and he did not get an answer. Mr. Winters asked how much this extension construction cost the City and if it was necessary. He questioned if the City still pays to maintain this area on a perpetual basis, although it seems to be state property. He said it would be easier just to let it be a “prairie rehab” area. Mr. Winters stated that it seems to him that a vast majority of City tax dollars have been distributed into only one ward, that being Ward Two. He added that there is no wonder citizens of Ward Two retain the incumbents in every election. Mr. Winters asked if there is some sort of program to get City employees to do work on private property of residents during business hours. Since Alderman Clement took the liberty of campaigning at the alderman meeting the night before last year’s election and lambasting his opponent, Mr. Winters said he would like to ask him some questions. Mr. Winters asked Alderman Clement: “If elected Mayor and you don’t get your way, will you quit as mayor like you did the Arts Council and Homecoming Committee? You’re saying that the City needs a “new set of eyes” as far as our City Attorney. Will you also suggest a “new set of eyes” for City department heads? Will you promote defunding Manchester Arts? Will you push to defund Homecoming? Who are you going to nominate to fill your present alderman position if elected?” Regular Board of Aldermen 03/19/2018 Page 2  Mr. Tom Applebaum, 12739 Cypressway Drive, stated that there has been a new clean energy program launched in St. Louis County. It is available for the whole County of St. Louis and he is going out and reaching out to municipalities to make sure they don’t have any questions or concerns, and to let them know they can reach out to him. He advised that this is a program that operates through a Board that was set up by the County Executive, and that is who they answer to, and it is run though a company called Ygrene Energy Fund. 6. REPORTS FROM THE MAYOR a. Mayoral Report Mayor Willson stated that on March 7, along with City Administrator Larry Perney and Chief of Police Tim Walsh, he had the opportunity to tour the combined St. Louis Multi- jurisdictional Investigation Center. He stated that there are officers from around the country, the highway patrol, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (F.B.I.). He said it is interesting to see how they operate and track things. He said the opioid problem is worse now than it has been. There have been people sent to California and they closed down marijuana farms. California and Colorado realize they have a problem. He said it is a very sophisticated program. He said the St. Louis vicinity has a major highway intersecting area, and that is becoming a real issue for what the Center has to do. One man he spoke with had been involved for 20 years, and he said it is worse than it had been then. He said older people are becoming distributors, because that is a method by which they can make money, and that surprised him; it was a real eye opener. Mayor Willson reported that on March 9, he attended the Lafayette Area Mayor’s Organization (LAMO) meeting in Wildwood. Also on March 9, the Parks Department held the Focus Photo Show at the Parks Building, there were 240 entries, the largest so far. The Parks building was a good place to have it. He stated that Becky and Kat did a nice job. On March 14, there was a meeting with a lady from the Census Bureau. They are getting the City involved in the upcoming census and getting task forces ready to count people. Only about 75% of the people were counted last time, and they want to do a better job this time. They are asking Manchester to put together a team and go around and make sure all the people are counted. Mayor Willson stated he did a program recently with Honor Flight, and he received a very nice letter that came from a gentleman who had gone on the Flight. The gentleman thanked Mayor Willson for supporting the veterans and for the use of the City facilities. 7. REPORTS FROM THE CITY ADMINISTRATOR a. List of Paid Bills (Warrant dates of March 1 – March 17, 2018) There were no questions. b. Drug Task Force City Administrator Perney stated the Drug Task Force is one of three in the United States that is a partnership between St. Louis County, municipalities, and the F.B.I. It was very impressive and sophisticated to see what the smugglers are doing. Regular Board of Aldermen 03/19/2018 Page 3  Mayor Willson added that there was a table with $1 million in cash that had been confiscated. It is amazing what these people are having to deal with. 8. REPORTS FROM COMMITTEES a. Planning and Zoning Commission Alderman Clement stated they did not meet last week, but there is an agenda for next week. 9. ACTION ON OLD BILLS a. BILL # 18-2325 – AN ORDINANCE ESTABLISHING A NEW MEANS OF CALCULATING COMPENSATION FOR ELECTED OFFICIALS Alderman Diehl read for the second time Bill # 18-2325, entitled: “AN ORDINANCE REPEALING ORDINANCE NO. 09-1928 AND ESTABLISHING A NEW MEANS OF CALCULATING COMPENSATION FOR ELECTED OFFICIALS OF THE CITY OF MANCHESTER”, by title only. Alderman Diehl made the motion that Bill # 18-2325 become Ordinance # 18-2209. The motion was seconded by Alderman Ottenad. A poll of the Board showed: Alderman Nolte – aye Alderman Hamill – aye Alderman Diehl – aye Alderman Baumann – aye Alderman Ottenad – aye Alderman Clement – aye Mayor Willson announced that the motion passed by a vote of 6 – 0, with no objections. 10. INTRODUCTION OF NEW BILLS a. BILL APPROVING A BOUNDARY ADJUSTMENT OF PROPERTY AT 825 SULPHUR SPRING Alderman Baumann introduced Bill # 18-2326, entitled: “AN ORDINANCE APPROVING THE BOUNDARY ADJUSTMENT PLAT OF LOTS 3 AND 4 OF TUMULTY SUBURBAN ACRES SUBDIVISION IN THE CITY OF MANCHESTER, MISSOURI, SUBJECT TO CERTAIN CONDITIONS”, by title only. No further action at this time. 11. MISCELLANEOUS a. Comments from the Public Regular Board of Aldermen 03/19/2018 Page 4  There were none. 12. ADJOURNMENT At 7:17 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 7:17 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Ruth E. Baker, MMC/MPCC City Clerk Note: This is a journal of the Board of Aldermen meeting of March 19, 2018 (summary); not a verbatim transcript. If a recording of the meeting is desired, please contact City Hall. Regular Board of Aldermen 03/19/2018 Page 5