Board of Aldermen

MINUTES OF THE REGULAR BOARD OF ALDERMEN MEETING OF MONDAY, MAY 18, 2020 BY VIDEO CONFERENCING ON ZOOM AND ALSO OPEN FOR THE PUBLIC AT 200 HIGHLANDS BOULEVARD DRIVE 1. CALL TO ORDER Mayor Mike Clement 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 Huether, Alderman Nolte, Alderman Hamill, Alderman Ottenad, Alderman Baumann, Alderman Toben, and Mayor Clement. A quorum was present. 3. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES b. Minutes of the Monday, May 4, 2020 Regular Board of Aldermen Meeting Alderman Hamill made the motion to approve the Minutes of the Monday, May 4, 2020 Regular Board of Aldermen Meeting. The motion was seconded by Alderman Toben and carried unanimously, with no objections from members of the Board of Aldermen. Alderman Ottenad abstained since she was not at the May 4 meeting. 4. ESTABLISHMENT OF ORDER OF ITEMS ON THE AGENDA Alderman Ottenad made the motion to approve the Order of Items on the Agenda, as submitted. The motion was seconded by Alderman Hamill and carried unanimously, with no objections from any members of the Board of Aldermen. 5. CONSIDERATION OF PETITIONS AND COMMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC a. Comments from the Public Regular Board of Aldermen meeting 05-18-2020 Page 1  Mr. Paul Listenberger, 602 Nandale Lane, stated he would like an understanding of the Aldermen’s position on allowing people in Manchester to have chickens. Mayor Clement stated that the Aldermen would not be discussing their opinions in an open meeting. Alderman Toben stated that he would contact Mr. Listenberger by email or by phone. Mr. Listenberger stated his road has not been repaired in several years. He spoke with the Public Works department who said they would be repairing it in November 2019 and he has not seen any repairs to date. Mayor Clement said the City Staff will follow up with Mr. Listenberger on the following day. 6. REPORTS FROM THE MAYOR a. Mayoral Proclamation - Memorial Day Mayor Mike Clement read the Proclamation in support of Memorial Day in honoring all the men and women that died for our Country. b. Mayor Reports Mayor Mike Clement wanted to remind everyone of the upcoming Memorial Day celebration. He said it will be a livestream on Facebook at 10 a.m. It will not be what everyone enjoyed last year with it being a shorter ceremony that involves the Flags of Valor and they will be reading the names of the 33 to 35 veterans that have died in the last year. They will also read a proclamation with a little bit of commentary about the Veterans Memorial. Mayor Mike Clement wanted to let everyone know that on June 6, Manchester will be hosting a food drive for Circle of Concern in coordination with Arthur Murray Dance Studio, one of Manchester’s local businesses. Mayor Mike Clement stated on June 29, Manchester will hold another blood drive at the Justice Center. Mayor Clement wanted to give an update on the Small Business Relief Program. There will be $2.5 million dollars available for small businesses, in St. Louis County Council District 3, which Manchester is a part of, but the businesses have requested over $9 million in assistance. It will be a hard task to award funds to all businesses. Mayor Clement stated that the West County Chamber of Commerce is now forming a West County Business Recovery Task Force. It is in the early stages. City Administrator Perney will be the representative for the City of Manchester. Regular Board of Aldermen meeting 05-18-2020 Page 2  Mayor Clement stated this weekend we had recycling and the composters pick up. There were 235 composters picked up. Along with 163 people recycling electronic waste, there was 25,000 pounds of recycling waste dropped off. 7. REPORTS FROM THE CITY ADMINISTRATOR a. COVID-19 Budget Reduction Recommendations City Administrator Larry Perney reported on FY 2020 budget reduction recommendations. City Administrator Perney submitted the first thing he did was forecast several scenarios and different models to come up with a projected as a deficit. He explained the different graphs that were sent to the Board in a memo of a 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 percent decrease in revenue due to the Coronavirus. City Administrator Perney and Director of Finance Don Yucuis met with all the directors and made some proposed budget reductions. They are looking at a $2 million dollar decrease for the budget or 6.67 percent overall with his projections on revenues. City Administrator Perney submitted his recommended cuts in the General Fund per Department. In most of the Departments we cut training, education, tuition reimbursement, conferences, travel all those non-essential things. Currently Manchester is on a hiring freeze. City Administrator Perney stated that if Manchester is looking good, we could always add some stuff in. If things are looking worse, we will have to look at different things to reduce it more. City Administrator Perney stated that there are a couple options for the General Fund. Option one is that we have $3.5 million in reserves and if there is ever a rainy-day fund cause, he thinks this pandemic would be a reason. Option two, the Capital Improvement is borrowed money that they are still paying back, so we could borrow and move money around. Option three is getting some reimbursement for our Covid efforts to date from either the Federal, State or County government. City Administrator Perney stated that overall, the City is in a good position with good reserves and good options. b. List of Paid Bills (Warrant dates of 04/30/2020 to 05/16/2020) No questions at this time. c. City Administrator Report City Administrator Perney stated that today businesses in St. Louis County are opening up. He said that currently the City buildings are not open to the public but he plans to open the day after Memorial Day, May 26, 2020. He stated that the Court will also be able to take payments at that time as well. The Supreme Court stated that the earliest they could hold court in house would Regular Board of Aldermen meeting 05-18-2020 Page 3 be late July, so the Judge and Court administration have asked that the City look into doing court through Zoom. 8. REPORTS FROM COMMITTEES a. Planning and Zoning Commission Alderman Hamill stated they did meet and they had one item on the agenda, a site plan approval for a new home at Joyce Ann Drive. It was unanimously approved. b. Veterans Commission Alderman Huether stated they are looking forward to live streaming Memorial Day. The Veterans Commission will be meeting this week via Zoom. c. Homecoming Committee Alderman Ottenad stated that they did meet on May 13 via Zoom. They did find out the new Homecoming trailer is longer and wider than the last one that caught fire. The insurance did pay for most of it. Alderman Ottenad stated that after much discussion, the Homecoming Committee did decide to cancel this year's Homecoming celebration because of health issues, the unknowns, and finances. She said that it was unanimous for everyone that participated in the discussion. The Committee asked if they could still have a parade, that was not decided on, and also if they should still have a car show. Alderman Ottenad stated the next meeting will be June 10 at 6:30 p.m. and probably be another zoom meeting. d. Budget and Audit Committee No Report. 9. ACTION ON OLD BILLS a. None 10. ACTION ON NEW LEGISLATION a. RESOLUTION NO. 20-0751 - A RESOLUTION REQUESTING ALLOCATION OF CARES ACT FUNDS FROM ST. LOUIS COUNTY Mayor Clement stated that this is acknowledgement of what City Administrator Perney had stated earlier in the meeting. On Friday the County Executive made mention that he was hoping and praying to find more funding for the County, specifically for the needs for police. Regular Board of Aldermen meeting 05-18-2020 Page 4  Alderman Hamill read Proposed Resolution #20-0751, entitled: “RESOLUTION REQUESTING THAT MUNICIPALITIES WITHIN ST LOUIS COUNTY RECEIVE AN EQUITABLE DISTRIBUTION OF THE $175 MILLION IN FUNDING RECEIVED BY ST LOUIS COUNTY FROM THE CORONAVIRUS AID, RELIEF, AND ECONOMIC SECURITY ACT (“The CARES Act”) TO REIMBURSE MUNICIPAL POLICE FOR ACTUAL INCURRED COSTS RELATING TO COVID-19”, by title only. Director of Finance Don Yucuis stated he received the original Resolution from Des Peres and they did their 10 weeks of officers pay and benefits, so he did the same as Des Peres. He took our current on staff officers for 10 weeks with pay and benefits. He said he believed the date was March 23. Mayor Clement stated since this is ongoing there would be another Resolution as more costs are added to this total. City Administrator Perney and Director Yucuis stated that they did not know if there will be further costs. City Administrator Perney said he believes it would depend on how they split the money. Most cities are all doing the same Resolution, none of the city governments have received anything. Everyone is going to be at a loss. Alderman Ottenad asked who determines what if anything Manchester would be getting. She also would like to know when this will be determined. City Administrator Perney answered that the County Executive has 100 percent action on this and where the money goes. He said that Sam Page said he would look at it. Mayor Clement stated at the Chambers Meeting, it was a surprise that he came out and acknowledged it. Prior to that there was some sense this was all for not but we were going to play it safe. Dr. Sam Page made the comment he wanted to find more funding. He does believe there will be a sum amount made available and then it will be divided up by population. Alderman Hamill made the motion for approval of Resolution #20-0751. The motion was seconded by Alderman Ottenad and carried unanimously, without any objections from any members of the Board of Aldermen. 11. MISCELLANEOUS a. Comments from the Public There were none. 12. ADJOURNMENT At 7:42 p.m. after there being no further business, Alderman Toben made a motion to adjourn. The motion was seconded by Alderman Nolte and carried unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 8:40 p.m. Regular Board of Aldermen meeting 05-18-2020 Page 5 Respectfully submitted, Michelle Melugin Deputy City Clerk Note: This is a journal of the Board of Aldermen meeting held Monday, May 18, 2020, (Summary); not a verbatim transcript. If a recording of the meeting is desired, please contact City Hall. Regular Board of Aldermen meeting 05-18-2020 Page 6