Board of Aldermen

MINUTES OF THE REGULAR BOARD OF ALDERMEN MEETING OF MONDAY, NOVEMBER 16, 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 Hamill, Alderman Huether, Alderman Nolte, Alderman Ottenad, Alderman Baumann, Alderman Toben, and Mayor Clement. A quorum was present. 3. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES a. Minutes of the Tuesday, October 27, 2020 Board of Aldermen Work Session Alderman Toben made a motion to approve the Minutes of the Tuesday, October 27, 2020 Regular Board of Aldermen Meeting. The motion was seconded by Alderman Ottenad and carried unanimously. b. Minutes of the Thursday, October 29, 2020 Board of Aldermen Work Session Alderman Ottenad made the motion to approve the Minutes of the Thursday, October 29, 2020 Regular Board of Aldermen Meeting. The motion was seconded by Alderman Toben and carried unanimously. c. Minutes of the Monday, November 2, 2020 Board of Aldermen Regular Meeting Alderman Ottenad made the motion to approve the Minutes of the Monday, November 2, 2020 Regular Board of Aldermen Meeting. The motion was seconded by Alderman Baumann and carried unanimously. Regular Board of Aldermen Meeting 11-16-2020 Page 1 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 Baumann and carried unanimously. 5. CONSIDERATION OF PETITIONS AND COMMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC a. Comments from the Public Neil Struharik, owner of Tuckers West, 14282 Manchester Road, stated that since the Pandemic started, they always took the standpoint that they wanted to do what is right for their staff and what is socially responsible. That is why Tuckers stayed closed for months because they knew their employees had a safety net. There is no safety net now for his employees. He said they will have to furlough about 90 percent of their employees if the County’s public health orders remain. Mr. Stuharik spoke about how if people want to go out and eat, they can go in every direction and go to other counties and St. Louis City to eat. It will hurt St. Louis County Restaurants. He spoke about how there is no evidence that St. Louis County Restaurants are more dangerous than the surrounding regions. 6. REPORTS FROM THE MAYOR a. Mayoral Reports Mayor Clement presented City Administrator Larry Perney with a Proclamation to thank him for all his hard work in such a difficult time. Mayor Clement acknowledged the fun morning with the Veterans Breakfast. They ended up giving out about 125 boxes of breakfast to local Veterans. There were lots of appreciation. Mayor Clement acknowledged that 88 deer were removed from four St. Louis County Parks. That is the first time that has happened. Nineteen deer were taken out of Queeny Park which is close to Manchester. The Mayor stated that 15 were removed from Manchester city limits. Mayor Clement reported on a recent resolution passed by County Council regarding School Resource Officers. The resolution requested that St. Louis County Police be remove School Resource Officers (SRO) from schools. He stated that is not the type of message that Manchester believes in. Manchester feels completely different. We, as a community, feel it is very important to have SRO in schools. Mayor Clement reminded everyone that the City of Manchester is in a challenge to help “feed the masses”. It is a great challenge among Cities to help fill the shelves of our local food pantries. Regular Board of Aldermen Meeting 11-16-2020 Page 2  Mayor Clement read a letter from Ms. Ken McManus thanking the Board for the passing of Ordinances regarding the access of tobacco and tobacco related products. Mayor Clement revisited the comments from Mr. Neil Stuharik. Alderman Nolte stated what the County Executive is doing currently is not supported by data and there is no information that shows there is a hotspot where people work in restaurants or that they are getting sick at a greater rate than people that work in other places. He feels we are throwing people out in the cold. He feels it may have been better reducing capacity. Alderman Nolte said he believes Manchester should write a letter to the County Executive and explaining that the City believes it is hard on people that are going to lose their jobs and there is no data presented that is going to make people safer. Alderman Hamill stated he supports what Alderman Nolte is suggesting. Alderman Toben reported on a conversation with a local Manchester resident who is a prominent restaurant owner in the area. Alderman Toben read a text message he received from the resident/business owner that expressed their appreciation of the City’s support but also mentioned worry about the status of their business in the months to come. Alderman Ottenad expressed her concern about business support during the holidays and that historically, the holidays are how businesses meet their financial goals for the year. Mayor Clement suggested that the City write a letter and explain Manchester’s feelings. Alderman Nolte made the motion to have the City send a letter to St. Louis County Executive Sam Page and the County Council expressing the feelings on the closures of restaurants in St. Louis County. The motion was seconded by Alderman Hamill and carried unanimously. 7. REPORTS FROM THE CITY ADMINISTRATOR a. Manchester Police Department Commendations – Chief Will Chief of Police Scott Will reported on multiple break-ins and auto thefts and the arrest of those individuals thanks to the outstanding work of Detective Travon Green. Chief Will presented an accommodation to Detective Jason Dowdell for his outstanding work on establishing and leading a multi-Jurisdiction task force with 16 agencies and the final outcome of the arrest of multiple individuals for the ring of auto thefts and break-in’s. Chief Will presented Captain Craig Smith with an accommodation because of his hard work and dedication getting the Manchester Police Department accredited with the Missouri Police Chief’s Association. Regular Board of Aldermen Meeting 11-16-2020 Page 3  b. List of Paid Bills (Warrant dates of 10-19-2020 to 11-02-2020) There were no questions. 8. REPORTS FROM COMMITTEES a. Planning and Zoning Commission Alderman Hamill stated they did not meet. b. Veterans Commission Alderman Huether stated they have a meeting, Thursday, November 19. She also felt the Veterans Day Breakfast was a big success and wanted to thank everyone for helping make it a success. c. Homecoming Committee Alderman Ottenad stated the Homecoming Committee did not meet. d. Audit and Finance Committee Alderman Toben stated they did not meet. 9. ACTION ON OLD BILLS a. None 10. ACTION ON NEW LEGISLATION a. BILL NO. 20-2420 – DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS APPOINTMENT Alderman Huether read Proposed Bill #20-2420, entitled: “AN ORDINANCE APPOINTING DAVID PRACHT AS THE DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS FOR THE CITY OF MANCHESTER, SETTING THE SALARY, AND ESTABLISHING THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF SAID EMPLOYMENT,” by title only. City Administrator Perney stated Manchester will have a vacancy in the Assistant Director of Public Works assuming Dave is approved and since Director Bob Ruck is leaving December 27, he is hoping to post the Assistant Director position immediately so we don’t have to wait to get someone in the position. Alderman Hamill expressed his support in posting the position. Nothing further at this time. Regular Board of Aldermen Meeting 11-16-2020 Page 4  b. BILL NO. 20-2421 – FISCAL YEAR 2021 BUDGET Alderman Toben read Proposed Bill #20-2421, entitled: “AN ORDINANCE ADOPTING AND APPROVING THE BUDGET FOR THE CITY OF MANCHESTER FOR THE YEAR JANUARY 1, 2021 THROUGH DECEMBER 31, 2021, AND APPROPRIATING SUCH SUMS AS SET FORTH HEREIN FOR ALL DEPARTMENTS AND ACCOUNTS THEREIN SPECIFIED,” by title only. City Administrator Perney showed a PowerPoint regarding the 2021 budget and the revenues and expenditures. Nothing further at this time. 11. MISCELLANEOUS a. Comments from the Public There were none. 12. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business, Alderman Hamill made a motion to adjourn. The motion was seconded by Alderman Nolte and carried unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 7:50 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Michelle Melugin Deputy City Clerk Note: This is a journal of the Board of Aldermen meeting held Monday, November 16, 2020, (Summary); not a verbatim transcript. If a recording of the meeting is desired, please contact City Hall. Regular Board of Aldermen Meeting 11-16-2020 Page 5