City Council

Regular Council Meeting January 14, 2019 1. Council President Roger Jensen called the meeting to order at 7:30. Present were Council members Kale Dankenbring, Amanda Milne, 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. Mayor Scott Schultz was absent. 2. Minutes from the December 26th meeting were distributed and read. It was moved by Amanda and seconded by Larry to approve the minutes as written. 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; Permission for Clerk to pay the following dues: City Attorneys Association of Kansas - $35; Kansas Rural Water Association - $812; CCMFOA - $50; Kansas Municipal Utilities - $2,557. Motion passed. 4. Visitors – none 5. Police Report: a) Chief Thomas discussed the renewal of the SonicWALL firewall for the police department server with Reach Solutions. There are 3 options, a 1 year contract for $599, 2 years for $999, and 3 years for $1,299. A motion was made by Kale and seconded by Larry to approve the 3 year contract. Motion passed. b) Darrell will begin working again on the evidence room and will be getting a bid for the door. c) The department has been involved in a few investigations with other agencies. d) Darrell requested 2 minutes of executive session for non-elected personnel to discuss salary. It was moved by Amanda and seconded by Dara to accept and file the police report. Motion passed. 6. New Business: a. Dara made a motion, seconded by Larry, to nominate Council Member Roger Jensen to serve as Council President. Motion passed. b. On behalf of Mayor Scott Schultz, Council President Jensen presented the Mayor Appointments. It was moved by Amanda and seconded by Kale to approve the following appointments: City Attorney – Mike Day; City Superintendent – JR Landenberger; City Clerk – Lila Whitmore; City Treasurer – Jennifer Blair; Police Chief – Darrell Thomas; Municipal Judge – Paula Keller; Freedom of Information Officer – Lila Whitmore; Fire Chief – Dan Blair; Assistant Fire Chief – Chris LaBarge; Fire Department Treasurer – Keaton Frewen; Official Newspaper – St. Francis Herald; Official Depositories – Bankwest, First National Bank, Western State Bank; Theater Board – Council member Amanda Milne, Robert Grace, Justin Lohr, Brent Rueb, Margyre Antholz, Bridgette Antholz; Roadside Park Board – Council member Roger Jensen, City Superintendent JR Landenberger, Mike Meyer, Carla Lampe, Kary Zweygardt; Pool Board – Council member Larry Finley, City Superintendent JR Landenberger, Margaret Poling, Bruce Swihart, Jenny Busse, Kevin Lampe; Housing Authority – Richard Grace, Carol Rogers, Lynette Nolan, Janet Jensen, Carol Larson; Airport Commission – Dave Yost, Rick Rogers; Public Building Commission – Council Members: Roger Jensen, Dara Carmichael, and Larry Finley, St. Francis Rec Commission members: Holly Hingst and Susan Dinkel, Members at large: Kelly Frewen and Penny Gienger; CCDC Board – Lila Whitmore; 911 Board – Council member Amanda Milne; Cheyenne County Kansas Community Foundation – Council member Dara Carmichael; Internet Committee – City Superintendent JR Landenberger; Standing Committees: Streets & Alleys – Roger Jensen, Scott Schultz; Utility – Kale Dankenbring, Scott Schultz; Parks, Recreation and Refuse – Dara Carmichael, Amanda Milne, Kale Dankenbring; Safety – JR Landenberger, Dan Blair, Amanda Milne, Lila Whitmore. Motion passed. c. A motion was made by Amanda and seconded by Larry to approve payment of the following 2019 budgeted allocations: Cheyenne County Development Corporation - $24,378; Senior Center - $8,000; Options Domestic Violence - $1,500; Western Kansas Child Advocacy Center - $1,500. Motion passed. d. A motion was made by Dara and seconded by Kale to approve the Girl Scouts Peddler’s Licenses and to waive the fees. Motion passed.  e. It was moved by Kale and seconded by Amanda to approve the Cereal Malt Beverage license for Flatiron Restaurant. Motion passed. 7. Old Business: a. Property Cleanup – There was further discussion regarding the Empire Motel. JR reported that all permits are in place and the County has excavated the dump site. Before demolition can begin, Cahoj is waiting on Midwest Energy to disconnect the gas service which is scheduled for January 16. b. Projects Pending – a) Tom Keller has requested a committee be created to help plan and guide improvements and maintenance of Keller Pond. After some discussion it was decided to add this as a topic on the agenda for the next meeting. Potential committee members will be contacted. b) With regards to the electrical infrastructure improvements, JR has been working with RVW to provide a quote for services for a redesign/re-engineer of the feeders and to create specifications and bid documents. Once a proposal is received he will bring it back to the Council. c) JR is working with Miller & Associates on the evaluation of the streets. He requested approval to hire McCormick Excavation to do crack sealing on some of the streets. A motion was made by Kale and seconded by Amanda to approve up to $20,000 for the crack sealing. Motion passed. The street crews have been using tack oil on the pot holes. The Council discussed the approaches and frontage road along Highway 36 which are state property. JR will get a repair estimate from McCormick for the crossovers. d) There was further discussion regarding the shade structure for the pool. A motion was made by Amanda and seconded by Kale to approve Brock McAtee’s bid of $3,150 to install the footings needed for the structure. Motion passed. The City will be applying for grants to assist with the remaining costs. 8. Building Permits – none 9. Superintendent Report – a) A safety inspection was completed by the Kansas Department of Labor and there were some minor issues that will need to be addressed. b) There will be some overtime this weekend for the generator and transformer change out for the Cheyenne County Clinic. c) JR updated the Council on the water for the airport improvements and as it relates to the fire protection at the Cheyenne County Village. JR would like to obtain permission from the County Commissioners to install one valve on what is currently the County’s water system at the Village. This would remove Grace Flying Service and Judy Baxter from the subtract meters they are currently on and move them to city service and would also improve fire protection capabilities for that area. Council gave approval. d) The City was notified by EMC Insurance regarding the Ochsner property claim that there was no negligence on behalf of the City and no liability. However, JR will continue to monitor and try to prevent the problem from reoccurring. e) JR is in the process of applying for a water right transfer from well 8, which is not used, to wells 6 and 7. f) JR will be changing uniform companies from Ideal to Unifirst. Clerk Whitmore would like to continue using Ideal Linen for the floor mats at City Hall. g) The compressor has failed and is not fixable. A new one will be needed. h) A motion was made by Dara and seconded by Larry to approve an estimate of $1,991.20 from Fire Alarm Specialists to move the main control for the power plant fire protection system to a better location in the plant. Motion passed. i) JR will be meeting with Eric Harper regarding the installation of a generator at the County Courthouse. The cost to the city would be for the transformer. It was moved by Dara and seconded by Amanda to accept and file the Superintendent Report. Motion passed. 10. Attorney Report – Attorney Day will make recommendations at the next meeting regarding the taxes owed on the Empire Motel property. 11. Clerk Report – a) A motion was made by Amanda and seconded by Kale to waive the band shell rental fee for Western State Bank’s Easter Egg Hunt on April 19 from 4-7 pm. Motion passed. A damage deposit will still be required. b) A motion was made by Kale and seconded by Dara to approve a trash waiver for JR Landenberger for the property at 100 E. Washington which is used primarily for storage. Motion passed. c) Clerk Whitmore shared a letter of thanks and appreciation from Bob and Cheryl Pomeroy of Lakewood Colorado for the Roadside Park. It was moved by Amanda and seconded by Dara to accept and file the Clerk report. Motion passed. 12. Council Comments: Kale – none, – Amanda – none, Dara – none, Larry – Told the Council about a group of citizens who are hoping to bring “The Long Run” band to St. Francis to entertain at the band shell during Alumni weekend. The Council gave Larry permission to use the City’s account to apply for a grant from the  Community Foundation to help with the cost. Clerk Whitmore will prepare a letter of support from the Council. 13. Council President Comments – none. Attorney Day left the meeting. 14. All bills on Ordinance #1022 were reviewed. It was moved by Larry and seconded by Amanda to approve the bills in the amount of $262, 138.11. Motion passed. 15. At 8:43 a motion was made by Amanda and seconded by Larry for the Council, along with City Superintendent Landenberger, City Clerk Whitmore, and Police Chief Thomas, to recess into executive session for the non-elected personnel exception in order to discuss an employee’s wage, the open meeting to resume in the city council chamber at 8:45. Motion passed. At 8:45 the open meeting resumed. A motion was made by Amanda and seconded by Kale to increase Jonathan Butler’s salary to $15 an hour effective December 28, 2018. Motion passed. 16. Adjournment: A motion was made by Dara and seconded by Amanda to adjourn the meeting. Motion passed. ___________________________________________ City Clerk