City Council

Regular Council Meeting April 9, 2018 1. Mayor Scott Schultz called the meeting to order at 7:30. Present were Council members Kale Dankenbring, Amanda Milne, Roger Jensen, Dara Carmichael, and Larry Finley. Also present was City Superintendent JR Landenberger, City Attorney Mike Day, Police Chief Darrell Thomas and City Clerk Lila Whitmore. 2. Minutes from the March 26th meeting were distributed and read. It was moved by Amanda and seconded by Larry to approve the minutes as written. Motion passed. 3. Minutes from the April 5 special meeting were distributed and read. It was moved by Amanda and seconded by Kale to approve the minutes as written. Motion passed. 4. Consent Agenda – It was moved by Roger and seconded by Dara to approve the following items on the Consent Agenda: Permission for Clerk to pay insurance at time of billing; Permission for Clerk to pay utilities at time of billing; Permission for Clerk to pay utility incentives before the 25th of the month; Permission for Clerk to pay theater bills when due; Permission for Clerk to pay Payment Service Network bills when due. Motion passed. 5. Visitors – None 6. Police Report – a) Chief Thomas reported that Matt is doing well with the court side of the position and will be learning the other police software. b) The Crown Vic is ready to be used by city employees as an extra vehicle for running errands and attending training. c) Darrell will be attending a meet and greet with the Kansas Supreme Court Justices in Colby on Tuesday. d) Darrell is still looking for training to fulfill his requirements. It was moved by Amanda and seconded by Larry to accept and file the police report. Motion passed. 7. New Business: a. A motion was made by Kale and seconded by Dara to approve the band shell rental application for the Motorcycle Museum and to waive the rental fee. Motion passed. This is for the Motorcycle Rally to be held on Labor Day weekend. 8. Old Business: a. Property Cleanup – There is one current pending case and the property owners have been notified. JR will be updating the list of properties in need of attention. Some of these properties will likely be on the County tax sale. Attorney Day will follow up on the status of the Empire Motel b. Projects Pending – a) The City crews will begin working on the City’s part of the Roadside Park electrical hookups. JR has been in contact with Heartland and they should also begin work soon. b) Dependable Glass will be here Tuesday April 10 to begin installation of the security door and wall in City Hall. c) Clerk Whitmore has talked to Matt Grogan regarding the website. He is still working on it. d) There was more discussion regarding curb and gutters. Attorney Day will check state statutes regarding the procedures for public improvements as well as the options to consider for payment of the improvements. Lila will look into possible revenue that could be generated from a city sales tax. 9. Theater Report – Amanda and Lila reported that the marquee sign has been flickering. Lila checked with Commercial Sign regarding the cost of repairs and it will be between $50 and $200 depending on the part that needs to be replaced. It was moved by Dara and seconded by Roger to accept and file the Theater report. Motion passed. 10. Pool Report – Larry indicated the Pool Board has hired 6 full time and 6 part time lifeguards. They are still investigating options for shade for the astro turf area. Roger submitted the bid from Troy Porter for the landscaping in the amount of $8,855. It was moved by Larry and seconded by Kale to approve paying the down payment of $4,430. Motion passed. It was moved by Amanda and seconded by Roger to accept and file the pool report. Motion passed. 11. Building Permits – It was moved by Amanda and seconded by Dara to approve the following building permits: Roger Neitzel – 408 Parkway, add on to existing awning on shop building; Art Krueger – 120 W. Spencer, remove and replace concrete steps. Motion passed. 12. Superintendent Report – a) JR provided preliminary information for potential street improvements to give the Council an idea on what they will cost. Based on what can be done with the current status of curb and gutters and where we are with the water infrastructure, McCormick Excavation provided an estimate of $134,000 to mill and overlay College Street between Webster and North Street. The only other area that is  currently acceptable for improvements is First Street between Angle Road and River Street and they provided an estimate of $105,000 for this. b) JR invited all Council members to get in touch with him if interested in reviewing the city’s insurance with Kelly Frewen. This overview is done annually. c) McClure Plumbing has completed the repairs at the roadside park bathhouse and the leaks have been fixed. d) The original purchase agreement with Yost Farm Supply for a grasshopper mower was for the wrong model. The correct model costs an additional $1,200. A motion was made by Amanda and seconded by Roger to approve the additional cost. Motion passed. e) The pickup that was purchased for the electric department has been received. JR is still looking for another one. f) Miller & Associates provided an estimated cost of $195,000 to bring sewer and water to the proposed airport improvements. This would not be a city expense. JR will share this information with the County Commissioners and Airport Authority. JR will also get an estimate from Prairie Land for the electrical. g) The intersection repairs at the corner of College and North Street will be shared between the city and the county. JR has obtained a bid from McAtee Construction but the county’s bid process requires a second bid which Dave Flemming will be getting. h) JR purchased a boat motor as was previously authorized to be used at Keller Pond for the removal of the Eurasian milfoil. i) ATT and Verizon have made proposals for additional equipment to be installed at/on the water tower. At this time JR has halted the improvements until an engineering assessment can be completed to determine the potential life of the water tower and to allow time for Mike and JR to review the contracts with both companies. j) JR requested 5 minutes of executive session to discuss employee wages. k) Amanda asked if JR could have the City crews look at the rock in the park as some of the plastic is showing through. It was moved by Amanda and seconded by Kale to accept and file the superintendent report. Motion passed. 13. Attorney Report – Attorney Day noted that Matt Hill is doing a good job as the new municipal court clerk. It was moved by Roger and seconded by Larry to accept and file the attorney report. Motion passed. 14. Clerk Report – a) At the March 27, 2017 meeting the Council approved paying $1,250 towards the cost to remove invasive trees along the River Walk. This is a County project partially funded by grant funds. The actual cost came in higher than originally estimated and Tom Keller is requesting the city contribute another $250 for a total amount of $1,500. A motion was made by Amanda and seconded by Kale to pay $1,500 to the County for the project. Motion passed. b) Clerk Whitmore let the Council know that a citizen had made a request for the Council to bring back the siren to sound 3 times a day as it had in the past. No decisions were made. c) A motion was made by Amanda and seconded by Dara to approve the Returned Check/ACH Policy presented by Clerk Whitmore, effective June 1. Motion passed. d) A motion was made by Roger and seconded by Kale to waive the Scout hut rental fees for the Lions Club to use the Scout Hut for their monthly meetings. Motion passed. e) The auditors will be here May 9-10. f) The Council gave permission for Clerk Whitmore to attend the Municipal Finance Course in Garden City on April 13. g) Clerk Whitmore let the Council know about a budget workshop in Colby on May 16 if anyone is interested in attending. h) A motion was made by Amanda and seconded by Kale to transfer all available funds from the Pool Bond Account to the Public Building Commission debt service account when it is established. Motion passed. i) Clerk Whitmore stated that an update needs to be made to the City’s personnel handbook with regards to Health Insurance. Currently the handbook states “Other employees and elected or appointed officials shall not be eligible for participation in the City’s group health insurance program without the prior approval of the governing body and then only in the situation where the health insurance premium is paid by the part time or temporary employee or the elected or appointed official”. Our BCBSKS representative indicates that only full time employees working at least 30 horus a week are eligible to participate in the group health plan so this section is not valid. A motion was made by Dara and seconded by Larry to remove this section from the personnel manual. Motion passed. j) Lila requested 5 minutes of executive session for non-elected personnel to discuss the reclassification of an employee from full time to part time. It was moved by Amanda and seconded by Kale to accept and file the Clerk report. Motion passed. 15. Council Comments: Kale – none, Amanda – none, Roger – there are some repairs that may need to be done on the band shell , Dara – none, Larry –none 16. Mayor Comments – requested an executive session to discuss the hiring and hours of police officers. 17. At 8:52 pm a motion was made by Dara and seconded by Amanda for the City Council, along with all present, to recess into executive session for the non-elected personnel exception in order to discuss employee wages, the open meeting to resume in the city council chamber at 8:57 pm. Motion passed. At 8:57 the open  meeting resumed. A motion was made by Roger and seconded by Dara to approve the employee wage increases as recommended by the department heads. Motion passed. 18. At 8:59 pm a motion was made by Kale and seconded by Amanda for the City Council, along with all present, to recess into executive session for the non-elected personnel exception in order to discuss an employee status change, the open meeting to resume in the city council chamber at 9:04 pm. Motion passed. At 9:04 the open meeting resumed. A motion was made by Amanda and seconded by Larry to approve Matt Grogan’s request to change from full time to part time effective as of April 6. Motion passed. 19. At 9:05 pm a motion was made by Roger and seconded by Amanda for the City Council, along with Police Chief Thomas and City Clerk Whitmore, to recess into executive session for the non-elected personnel exception in order to discuss police department hiring and hours, the open meeting to resume in the council chamber at 9:10 pm. At 9:10 the open meeting resumed. A motion was made by Roger and seconded by Kale to hire Makayla Kennedy and Jonathon Butler for police officer positions at a wage of $14.00 an hour. Motion passed. 20. At 9:11 pm a motion was made by Amanda and seconded by Kale for the City Council to recess into executive session for the non-elected personnel exception in order to discuss department head wages, the open meeting to resume in the city council chambers at 9:21 pm. At 9:25 the open meeting resumed. A motion was made by Kale and seconded by Dara to approve a 3.5% raise for all department heads. Motion passed. 21. All bills on ordinance #1013 were reviewed. It was moved by Amanda and seconded by Larry to approve the bills in the amount of $254,479.40. Motion passed. 22. Adjournment: A motion was made by Roger and seconded by Kale to adjourn the meeting. Motion passed. ___________________________________________ City Clerk