City Council

Regular Council Meeting January 29, 2018 Due to adverse weather and road conditions, the Council Meeting scheduled for January 22 was postponed until January 29. 1. Council President Roger Jensen called the meeting to order at 7:30. Present were Council members Kale Dankenbring, Dara Carmichael, and Larry Finley. Also present was City Superintendent JR Landenberger, Police Chief Darrell Thomas and City Clerk Lila Whitmore. Mayor Scott Schultz, Council member Amanda Milne and City Attorney Mike Day were absent. 2. Minutes from the January 8 meeting were distributed and read. It was moved by Kale and seconded by Larry to approve the minutes as written. Motion passed. Council member Amanda Milne and City Attorney Mike Day arrived. 3. Consent Agenda – It was moved by Kale and seconded by Dara to approve the following item on the Consent Agenda: Permission for Clerk to pay Kansas Municipal Utilities dues of $2,458.00. Motion passed. 4. Visitors – none 5. Police Report: a) Chief Thomas shared the January stats and talked about some recent cases. b) Darrell is still looking for a Police Clerk/Municipal Court Clerk. There was further discussion regarding a starting salary and Clerk Whitmore shared information she had received from other municipalities on police clerk/court clerk salaries. Darrell believes that a starting wage of $14 should be considered. No decision was made and Attorney Day recommended that if Chief Thomas finds an applicant he would like to hire that he bring that back to the Council for the wage discussion. Roger pointed out that the City offers an excellent benefits package which should also be considered when discussing wages. Roger stated that applicant qualifications would be another factor. c) Darrell shared the proposal from Reach Solutions for the server hardware and maintenance/support services for the Police Department. The proposal was $5,941 for the products (server hardware and software, hard drives, firewall, switch, etc.), $1,000 for installation services, and $354 for backup and support services which will be a recurring monthly fee. Clerk Whitmore explained that she had asked to have City Hall removed from the proposal as she believes the better solution for City Hall is a disaster recovery option that is offered by Computer Information Concepts, the company which provides the City’s software. She shared a proposal and more information about the option and asked the Council to look it over for consideration at the next meeting. A motion was made by Kale and seconded by Amanda to accept the proposal from Reach Solutions for the Police Department. Motion passed. The products and installation services can be paid for from equipment reserve and the recurring monthly fee will be out of the Police Department budget in the general fund. d) The Police Department is transitioning to a 9mm weapon as opposed to a 45. Darrell has received a proposal and with the trade-ins of the existing firearms the new 9mm’s will cost $415.96. There will be significant savings on ammunition by going with the 9mm. It was moved by Amanda and seconded by Larry to accept and file the police report. Motion passed. 6. New Business: a. Attorney Reyelts – Property Line/Fence Dispute. At 8:03pm a motion was made by Amanda and seconded by Kale for the Council, along with City Superintendent Landenberger, City Attorney Mike Day, City Clerk Lila Whitmore, and Attorney Reyelts to recess to executive session pursuant to the attorney-client privilege exception in order to discuss a property issue and legal matter, with the open meeting to resume in the City Council chambers at 8:13pm. Motion passed. At 8:13pm a motion was made by Kale and seconded by Amanda to come out of executive session. Motion passed. A motion was then made by Amanda and seconded by Larry to go back into executive session for an additional 5 minutes. Motion passed. At 8:19pm a motion was made by Amanda and seconded by Kale to come out of executive session. Motion passed. Attorney Day will contact the owner of the property at 519 E. Third St. regarding the construction of a fence. b. Reach Solutions Proposal – discussed during Police Report c. Fire Chief Dan Blair gave the Council an update on the Fire Department. He has been hired as the County’s Fire Chief and he let the council know that they will need to make a decision as to whether or not to keep him as the City’s Fire Chief as well. This appointment will be done in May of this year, and in January in subsequent years. Dan shared information about a containment fill station which he feels is an important piece of equipment that the Fire Department should have. The cost is  $5,379, of which the City’s share would be $2,689.50. A motion was made by Amanda and seconded by Kale to approve the purchase. Motion passed. d. Grant Brown, with the Cheyenne County Cruisers, was present to share with the Council the plans for the annual car show which will be held May 12. There are many activities being planned including kid’s games, a smash car, a tractor rodeo, a motorcycle rodeo, a burnout contest, and there will be vendors along the street between Washington and Jackson. They are not having a poker run this year. They will keep the Council updated as plans progress. e. GAAP Resolution 2018-1 – a Motion was made by Amanda and seconded by Kale to approve Resolution 2018-1: (GAAP) A WAIVER OF GENERALLY ACCEPTED ACCOUNTING PRINCIPLES. Dankenbring – Aye; Milne – Aye; Carmichael – Aye; Finley – Aye. Motion passed. 7. Old Business: a. Property Cleanup – Ted McCoy had his first appearance in court. The owner of the property at 419 E. Washington was served notice and some cleanup progress has been made. JR and Mike will follow up with the owner of the property at 308 W. Washington regarding the condition of the fence along the rear of the property and other concerns. b. Projects Pending – a) Roger will follow up with Tom Rohr on the plans for the City Hall security. b) Roger will check into installing the wall and door for the evidence room. 8. Building Permits – none 9. Superintendent Report – a) A motion was made by Amanda and seconded by Dara to approve the bid from the St. Francis Coop in the amount of $6448.40 for the purchase of chemicals. Motion passed. b) JR has made the initial contact with Prairie Land regarding the planned electrical infrastructure upgrades. He hopes to have a meeting with them soon in order to get the work scheduled for the fall. c) The radiator heater has been received but not yet installed. d) The transformer for the roadside park should be here in a week or so. e) JR will obtain bids to install two 30amp pedestals with 2 outlets each at the Courthouse Park. f) It was moved by Dara and seconded by Kale to approve the purchase of a grapple bucket for the skidsteer from Yost Farm Supply in the amount of $2895. Motion passed. g) McClure Plumbing and Heating is still planning to fix the leaks at the roadside park bathhouse. h) The roof of well house 7 needed repaired. JR contacted Travis Milne with TJs Improvements who provided a bid of $1208.50. A motion was made by Kale and seconded by Larry to approve the bid. Motion passed with Amanda abstaining. i) The County has asked permission to stockpile millings on City owned property near Royce Peter Road. The City would be allowed to use the millings as needed in exchange for doing so. The Council gave their approval. j) JR gave a review of the recent snow storm and the snow removal efforts. The Council discussed the snow routes and the priorities such as trash removal and drainage when deciding what streets to plow. The Council commended the city crew for the work they did. k) JR requested an executive session for non-elected personnel to discuss vacation time. It was moved by Amanda and seconded by Dara to accept and file the superintendent report. Motion passed. 10. Attorney Report – AT&T has been in contact with Attorney Day regarding adding more equipment to the water tower. JR will contact them. Bob and Barb Van Allen spoke to Mike regarding the shade structure at the old pool location which they donated. They have given more thought to how it could be utilized and they have visited with a contractor about turning the old pool house into a restroom facility and using the area as a park. They are requesting the Council keep them informed of any discussions regarding plans for the old pool house. It was moved by Larry and seconded by Amanda to accept and file the attorney report. Motion passed. 11. Clerk Report – a) A motion was made by Amanda and seconded by Dara to pay the $25 CCMFOA Membership fees for Clerk Whitmore and City Treasurer Jennifer Blair. Motion passed. b) It was moved by Kale and seconded by Larry to pay the following budgeted allocations for 2017: St. Francis Senior Center - $8000, Cheyenne County Development Corporation - $24,378, Options Domestic Violence - $1000, Western Kansas Child Advocacy Center - $1000. Motion passed. c) It was moved by Amanda and seconded by Dara to pay the library their January tax allocation of $18,522.54. Motion passed. d) Clerk Whitmore let the council know that she would be attending a Census workshop in Colby on February 7. The Clerk’s office will be participating in LUCA (Local Update of Census Addresses) this year in preparation for the upcoming 2020 Census. She also requested to attend a Municipal Finance course in Manhattan on February 23. It was moved by Amanda and seconded by Kale for Clerk Whitmore to attend this training. Motion passed. She also  requested permission to attend the City Clerk and Municipal Finance Officer Spring conference in Wichita March 21-23. It was moved by Dara and seconded by Larry for her to attend the conference. Motion passed. e) The City received a quote from Blue Cross Blue Shield of Kansas for the 2018-2019 Health care plan premiums. The City’s current plan is grandfathered and the increase in premiums is 2.7%. The Council discussed the Health Care plan and Clerk Whitmore shared the costs of the premiums based on the number of participating employees for the upcoming year, including potential new employees. Since the increase in premiums was less than anticipated the overall cost of the health care coverage will come in quite a bit below budget. Clerk Whitmore asked if the Council would like to hear from other providers. The Council felt the existing plan provides excellent coverage at a fair premium and opted to renew with Blue Cross Blue Shield for the next plan year. f) Lila requested executive session for non-elected personnel to discuss vacation carryover. It was moved by Amanda and seconded by Kale to accept and file the clerk report. Motion passed. 12. Council Comments: Kale – none Amanda – none Dara – none Larry – let the Council know that the pool board has advertised for lifeguards and pool manager and will conduct interviews over spring break. 13. Council President Comments – none 14. At 9:03 a motion was made by Amanda and seconded by Kale for the Council, along with City Superintendent Landenberger and City Clerk Whitmore, to recess into executive session for the non-elected personnel exception in order to discuss vacation carryover for two employees, the open meeting to resume in the city council chamber at 9:10. Motion passed. At 9:10 a motion was made by Larry and seconded by Dara to come out of executive session. Motion passed. A motion was made by Amanda and seconded by Kale to allow City Superintendent JR Landenberger to use 8 hours of vacation past his anniversary date and to carry over the remaining hours of vacation time, and to allow Clerk Whitmore to carry over 32 hours of vacation time. Motion passed. 15. Adjournment: A motion was made by Amanda and seconded by Kale to adjourn the meeting. Motion passed. ___________________________________________ City Clerk