City Council

Regular Council Meeting October 8, 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 September 24 Meeting were distributed and read. There was one correction noted. Following discussion it was moved by Roger and seconded by Larry to approve the minutes as amended. Motion passed. 3. Consent Agenda – It was moved by Dara 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. Motion passed. 4. Visitors – Eddy Schultz was present to share in the discussion of the Empire Motel 5. Police Report – a) The police department has been involved in several multi-jurisdictional investigations regarding fraud and theft. b) Darrell has been having some issues with his computer and Reach Solutions has recommended upgrading to a new computer. He will get bids. c) The rear window defroster needs repaired on the blue charger. d) Matt Hill is scheduled for police records training in Hutchinson on October 12. e) Chief Thomas requested 10 minutes of executive session for a confidential matter for non-elected personnel. It was moved by Kale and seconded by Larry to accept and file the Police report. Motion passed. 6. New Business: a. A motion was made by Kale and seconded by Roger to approve a 6 month Utility Incentive Application for The Lighthouse, LLC, with an extension to 12 months if a 3rd full time employee is hired. Motion passed. 7. Old Business: a. Property Cleanup – Several properties that received notice have made improvement and some have come into compliance and there will be follow-up on the others. b. Projects Pending – JR is working on getting some budget numbers put together for the curb/gutter and street repairs. He will touch base again with Brock McAtee regarding the installation of the benches at Keller Pond and moving forward with the ADA parking area. 8. Theater Report – none - Lila was out of town and unable to attend the last board meeting. Minutes from the meeting have not yet been received. 9. Pool Report – Larry gave a summary to the Council on revenue and expenses for the 2018 season. Expenses were approximately $13,000 higher than 2017. Revenue was $8,857.50. The board will be looking at ways to potentially cut costs next year and increase revenue. The prices for private parties and swimming lessons were increased this year. The pool board will continue to discuss admission prices for next year. There was discussion regarding the concessions sold at the pool. The Council agreed it probably needs to be done differently and the topic will be addressed by the pool board. The hole in the slide still needs to be repaired. A motion was made by Dara and seconded by Roger to accept and file the pool report. 10. Building Permits – A motion was made by Kale and seconded by Roger to approve the following building permits: Barbara Barnhart – 512 W. First, sidewalk; Gilbert Carroll – 332 S. Benton, house; Gilbert Carroll – 322 S. Benton, post frame building; Travis Milne – 520 E. third, metal and concrete building; and pending JR’s approval contingent on confirmation of contractor, Doug Ross – 536 E. Whittier, remove/replace cedar fence and replace railroad ties with concrete blocks. Motion passed. 11. Superintendent Report – a) Superintendent Landenberger met with representatives from KMEA. Beginning in 2014 Oberlin has paid for power allotment that St. Francis received. The value of this was $27,000. KMEA has offered to stretch payments out on this amount over a 16 month period. The Council asked JR to see if KMEA would be willing to split the cost with the City since it was an accounting error on their part. b) There were 3 bids received for the demolition of the Empire Motel: Goody’s (Michael Yarger) - $55,000; Doug Sessions Construction - $32,000; Cahoj Earthmoving - $27,500. The bids are lower than the Council had  anticipated. There was much discussion. The current amount in back taxes for the motel is approximately $24,000. The amounts of the back taxes and demolition will be shared with the Community Foundation who has indicated there may be funds available to assist with the demolition. With these bids we now have a number that can be provided to Pioneer Development that would be required to abate the nuisance. The Council authorized Attorney Day to draft a letter to Pioneer Development indicating that the City would consider splitting the cost of the delinquent taxes and demolition with them in order to abate the nuisance. JR will contact Cahoj to let them know theirs was the low bid, but the City cannot move forward until we hear back from Pioneer Development. c) JR spoke with Gerald Lauer and Bud Erskin regarding the drainage problem. Mr. Erskin had planned to address the issue himself. JR feels progress is being made and discussions will continue. d) The fall cleanup has begun. The deadline to call in is October 19 and the pickup will begin October 22. E) Road work/patching will continue when the temperatures warm back up to 50 degrees and rising. f) Brock McAtee construction submitted a verbal bid of $4,650 for the installation of a shade structure for the pool. This includes the cost of $3,150 to place the concrete footers and $1,500 for installing the shade itself. The Council instructed Clerk Whitmore to apply for a grant from the Community Foundation for the cost of the shade structure plus $3,150 of the cost for installation, with the City taking responsibility for the remaining $1,500. Lila will submit the grant application once a written bid from McAtee Construction is received. It was moved by Kale and seconded by Roger to accept and file the Superintendent report. Motion passed. 12. Attorney Report – Confirmed that he would contact the Community Foundation and Pioneer Development regarding the Empire Motel. 13. Clerk Report – Councilmember Milne had expressed concerns that tonight’s meeting was being held on a Federal Holiday. It is not a City Holiday. In the future Clerk Whitmore will ensure that the Council gives approval to meet on a Holiday or the day after, as per City Code. It was moved by Dara and seconded by Larry 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 #1019 were reviewed. It was moved by Roger and seconded by Kale to approve the bills in the amount of $283,570.72. Motion passed. Superintendent Landenberger left the meeting. 17. At 8:53 a motion was made by Larry and seconded by Kale for the Council, along with Attorney Day, Police Chief Thomas, and Clerk Whitmore, to recess into executive session for the non–elected personnel exception to discuss a confidential legal matter, the open meeting to resume at 9:10. The meeting resumed and no action was taken. 18. Adjournment: A motion was made by Roger and seconded by Dara to adjourn the meeting. Motion passed. ___________________________________________ City Clerk