City Council

Regular Council Meeting November 26, 2018 1. Mayor Scott Schultz called the meeting to order at 7:30. Present were Council members Amanda Milne, Roger Jensen, Dara Carmichael, and Larry Finley. Also present were City Superintendent JR Landenberger, Police Chief Darrell Thomas, and City Clerk Lila Whitmore. Council member Kale Dankenbring and City Attorney Mike Day were absent. 2. Minutes from the November 13 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 October 25 Special Meeting were distributed and read. It was moved by Amanda and seconded by Roger to approve the minutes as written. Motion passed. 4. Visitors – none 5. Police Report – Officer Butler will graduate from KLETC on December 21. Chief Thomas will attend. There have been 100+ cases reported and just short of 1000 calls for service for the year which is in line with the past couple of years. A motion was made by Roger and seconded by Dara to renew the Data Technologies municipal court software license and support agreement for $891.99 and to approve an out of cycle payment if needed. Motion passed. Chief Thomas will begin the search for a new police officer after the first of the year. It was moved by Dara and seconded by Larry to accept and file the Police Report. Motion passed. 6. New Business: none 7. Old Business: a. Property Cleanup – no updates. JR will check with Mike to identify more properties that need attention. b. Projects Pending – Roger asked about the status of the grant application for the pool shade structure. The written bid received from McAtee Construction was $250 more than the verbal bid that was previously approved. Clerk Whitmore spoke to Mayor Schultz when the bid was received and it was decided to hold off on submitting the grant application until Council approval was obtained for the additional amount. A motion was made by Amanda and seconded by Larry to approve the extra $250. Motion passed. JR will confirm the bid with Brock McAtee. Clerk Whitmore will check with Carla Lampe or Robyn Raile with the Community Foundations regarding which grant would be best to apply for. 8. Building Permits - none 9. Superintendent Report – a) JR updated the Council on the Airport project. They are still looking for access to get water there. They were unable to secure the right of way that went directly from the highway to the location. The closest chlorinated water is near the reservoir which means it would need to cross city property. JR recommended that access be allowed once the city property lines are clearly identified. The cost would be the responsibility of the developer. The cost to the city will be minimal. JR will also touch base with Attorney Day to make sure there are no issues. b) A motion was made by Amanda and seconded by Dara to approve an amount not to exceed $8,000 to engage Miller & Associates to prepare a long term multi- year plan for the proposed street improvements. The work would include mapping, identifying the work to be done, prioritizing, and representing the city if applying for CDBG funding. Motion passed. c) There has been a chronic sewer backup problem at the Robert Oschner property at 402 S. Scott. It has happened 4 times in the last 17 years. JR explained the issue to the Council. He is doing everything he can to help isolate the problem. A claim has been submitted to the city’s insurance on behalf of Mr. Oschner for damage caused in the most recent incident. d) JR requested 5 minutes of executive session for acquisition of property. It was moved by Larry and seconded by Amanda to accept and file the Superintendent report. Motion passed. 10. Attorney Report – none 11. Clerk Report – a) Clerk Whitmore let the Council know that the City’s Hansen Grant Application for $26,000 had been approved. We have not yet heard regarding the Community Foundation grant that was applied for. A motion was made by Roger and seconded by Dara to authorize Attorney Day to move forward with the steps necessary to obtain the deed to the Empire Motel property from Pioneer Country Development. b) The Council discussed employee Christmas bonuses. Chamber Bucks are no longer available. A motion was made by Roger and seconded by Amanda to give full time employees a Christmas bonus of $225 to be included in the next payroll. Motion passed. The increased amount over last year’s bonus of $200 is to help cover the taxes that will need to be withheld. c) The Council decided to have a Christmas party at Fresh 7 for  employees and Council members and their spouses. Clerk Whitmore will contact Fresh 7 to schedule it. d) The second meeting in December falls on Christmas Eve. The Council discussed possible alternate dates/times. A decision for rescheduling will be made at the next meeting. Lila reminded the Council members of the budget hearing for the 2018 amended budget at 7:15 prior to the next Council meeting on December 10. e) Clerk Whitmore requested 2 minutes of executive session for non-elected personnel to discuss an employee’s status. It was moved by Dara and seconded by Amanda to accept and file the Clerk report. Motion passed. 12. Council Comments: Amanda – none Roger – none Dara – none Larry – none 13. Mayor Comments – none. 14. At 8:18 a motion was made by Larry and seconded by Amanda for the Council, along with all those present, to recess into executive session for acquisition of property, the open meeting to resume at 8:23. The meeting resumed and no action was taken. 15. At 8:23 a motion was made by Amanda and seconded by Larry for the Council, along with all those present, to recess into executive session for the non-elected personnel exception to discuss an employee’s status, the open meeting to resume at 8:25. The meeting resumed and a motion was made by Amanda and seconded by Dara to accept the resignation of Police Officer Makayla Kennedy. Motion passed. 16. Adjournment: A motion was made by Larry and seconded by Amanda to adjourn the meeting. Motion passed. ___________________________________________ City Clerk