City Council

Regular Council Meeting September 10, 2018 1. Mayor Scott Schultz called the meeting to order at 7:30. Present were Council members Kale Dankenbring, Roger Jensen, Dara Carmichael, and Larry Finley. Also present were City Superintendent JR Landenberger, City Attorney Mike Day, Police Chief Darrell Thomas and City Clerk Lila Whitmore. Council member Amanda Milne was absent. 2. Minutes from the August 27 Meeting were distributed and read. It was moved by Larry and seconded by Dara to approve the minutes as written. Motion passed. 3. Consent Agenda – It was moved by Roger and seconded by Kale 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; Permission for Clerk to renew First National Bank CD #18620. Motion passed. 4. Visitors - none 5. Police Report – a) Officer Butler left for KELTC yesterday. b) Officer Kennedy injured her foot in a non work related incident but she will be off work for a couple of weeks because of that. Part time officer Matt Grogan along with the Sheriff’s department will help fill in. c) A motion was made by Roger and seconded by Kale to renew the Enterpol court software annual agreement for $750 and to authorize the purchase of three Tasers on a 5 year plan for $840 annually. Motion passed. The City will also be reimbursed $300 for the exchange of the old Tasers. d) Darrell is still waiting on bids for the installation of the evidence room door. e) There was discussion regarding the need for body cameras and the Council requested Chief Thomas look into the cost. It was moved by Larry and seconded by Dara to accept and file the Police report. Motion passed. 6. New Business: a. Dale Weeks, with the Wheeler Equity, shared information and details with the Council regarding the potential sale of the railroad line. Mr. Weeks explained how bringing back the operation of the railroad line for grain transport could significantly decrease the truck traffic on city streets as well as the highway and would also be a more efficient and cost effective means of transporting grain out of the county. A letter of support from the City Council, with details regarding cost of repairs for the damages to the streets caused by truck traffic, could impact future decisions regarding the sale. Attorney Day will meet with County Attorney Leslie Beims to prepare a letter of support. b. Tom Keller updated the Council on the status of the River Walk tree cleanup. Copies of the current lease agreement between Keller Ranch and the City were distributed and discussed. Mr. Keller shared a history of improvements that have been completed and those planned for the future, including phase 2 of the Keller Pond Trail project which is the ADA parking and placement of the benches. The Cheyenne County Community Foundation has committed funding for this portion of the project. JR will contact Brock McAtee regarding a timeline for this phase. There may be outside funds available to help with the annual cost for upkeep and maintenance if the City is able to provide an estimate of those costs. Mr. Keller would like to see some sort of maintenance plan in place. JR will work on putting together something for the Keller Pond area. Ongoing maintenance of the Riverwalk area cannot be determined until the current tree removal project is completed. c. A motion was made by Kale and seconded by Roger to approve the Trash Waiver application for Pete Jensen’s property at 122 N. Quincy that is used for storage. Motion passed. 7. Old Business: a. Property Cleanup – The Kehl/Wolaver property has been cleaned up. Mike and JR will identify more properties that are in need of attention for the Council to consider. The inspection report was received from Miller & Associates for the Empire Motel. Some asbestos was found in the bathroom flooring. JR will contact KDHE for a list of certified removal contractors and will obtain pricing for removal. b. Projects Pending - JR asked where we were on the curb and gutters with regards to funding. This is tied in with the street improvements. The Charter Ordinance for the potential issuance of bonds was  published and the protest period will end soon. Lila will resend the information received from Ranson Financial regarding bond repayment options. 8. Theater Report – Lila reported that two applications had been received for the theater manager position and the Theater Board has hired Jessica Lee. She started this past weekend. Current manager Cara Agan will remain on until October 1st to train Jessica. The Theater Board will be applying for a Hansen Grant in the amount of $3,300 to update the lettering on the marquee. The Thursday night showings during the summer were successful, with the last one being on August 30. It was moved by Larry and seconded by Dara to accept and file the Theater Report. Motion passed. 9. Pool Report – Larry had nothing to report. 10. Building Permits – none 11. Superintendent Report – a) Superintendent Landenberger contacted Scott Sherman, the owner of the property at 519 E. Third, and relayed the complaints from Stan and Neva Wahrman regarding the fence, dogs, and weeds. Chief Thomas indicated he had confirmed there are only 3 dogs at the residence and Clerk Whitmore confirmed they are licensed with the City. Clerk Whitmore checked the minutes from 1995 through 1997 and found the only discussion regarding the fence at the Wahrman property was the approval of the building permit. b) JR indicated that he may have found a trailer to purchase for hauling the mini excavator. A motion was made by Roger and seconded by Larry to approve the purchase of the trailer for $3000 if it meets the need. Motion passed. c) JR updated the Council on the drainage problem for the Gerald Lauer and Pizza Hut property. JR has spoken to Bud Erskin with Majestic Service about the issue. Brock McAtee is working on a cost estimate to fix the problem. Mr. Erskin has indicated he would purchase the needed culvert. d) JR is working on getting quotes for the hail damages. The Council approved getting estimates for the other library repairs that are needed along with the hail damage repairs. e) Carrothers will be assisting with the pool winterization which will be completed by the end of October. f) JR requested 5 minutes of executive session for non-elected personnel for hiring for the recycling center. g) There was further discussion about the roadside park. Clerk Whitmore indicated she had contacted Johnnie Woodcox and obtained permission to include contact information for the Homesteader RV Park on the city’s roadside park sign. Clerk Whitmore will contact Hot Brush to have the advertisement for the RV parks put on the sign so that it can be installed. There was more discussion regarding the rate and allowing campers to connect to the water hydrants. No decisions were made and it will be left as it is for now. There may be further discussion at a later date. It was moved by Roger and seconded by Kale to accept and file the Superintendent report. Motion passed. 12. Attorney Report – none 13. Clerk Report – a) Clerk Whitmore let the Council know that she will begin work on the grant application for the shade structure this week. b) Lila contacted Compass Roofing and updated them on the increased rates. They have only one camper at the park at this time. c) Elevation Design is still working on a user’s guide for the website. It was moved by Larry and seconded by Dara to accept and file the Clerk report. Motion passed. 14. Council Comments: Kale – none Roger – none Dara – none Larry – none 15. Mayor Comments – none 16. All bills on ordinance #1018 were reviewed. Attorney Day left the meeting. It was moved by Kale and seconded by Dara to approve the bills in the amount of $535,497.39. Motion passed. 17. At 9:17 a motion was made by Larry and seconded by Kale for the Council, along with Superintendent Landenberger and Clerk Whitmore, to recess into executive session for the non–elected personnel exception to discuss hiring, the open meeting to resume at 9:22. At 9:22 the open meeting resumed. A motion was made by Kale and seconded by Roger to hire Steven Powell for the recycling center position at a rate of $13 an hour, contingent upon the required I-9 documents being submitted to the City Clerk. Motion passed. 18. Adjournment: A motion was made by Dara and seconded by Larry to adjourn the meeting. Motion passed. ___________________________________________ City Clerk