City Council

Regular Council Meeting April 22, 2019 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, City Attorney Mike Day, Chief of Police Darrell Thomas, and City Clerk Lila Whitmore. Council member Kale Dankenbring was absent. 2. Minutes from the April 8 meeting were distributed and read. There was one correction noted. It was moved by Amanda and seconded by Larry to approve the minutes as corrected. Motion passed. 3. Consent Agenda – It was moved by Larry and seconded by Roger to approve the following items on the consent agenda: Permission for Clerk to renew FNB CDs 18340 and 18355; Permission for Clerk to renew IIMC Membership for $170. Motion passed. 4. Visitors – Helen Dobbs, CCDC Director, updated the Council on the upcoming Big Kansas Road Trip events May 2-5. She handed out the BKRT publication and press release along with t-shirts for Council members. The Council thanked Helen for her hard work. 5. Police Report: a) Police Chief Thomas shared the statistics for March. b) Darrell reported there have been many concerns regarding dogs at large and several owners have been sited. Darrell recently shared with the Council via email the State Department of Ag regulations regarding animal shelters/dog pounds. He let the Council know that it is going to take quite a bit to bring the City’s animal shelter into compliance. c) Darrell is still looking for another officer. d) Darrel’s work anniversary is May 13 and he has some unused vacation. The Council approved 36 hours of vacation carryover. A motion was made by Amanda and seconded by Dara to accept and file the Police report. Motion passed. 6. New Business: a. Kelley Milliken, new Library Board President, gave the Council a report on the library. Nathan Fiala has been hired as the new director and Kim Kapoor as assistant. She asked for clarification regarding the board’s responsibility for maintenance and upkeep of the building. JR will meet with her to go over this. The fascia repairs still need to be addressed. The roof is scheduled to be replaced due to hail damage, but this will likely be postponed until the fall. b. A motion was made by Dara and seconded by Larry to approve the following Mayor Appointments to the Library Board: Pete Davis, Kelley Milliken, Coleen Kirkham, Isaac Schiltz, Ramona Raile, Marilyn Hnizdil, Karen Neitzel. Motion passed. c. Attorney Day reviewed the KMEA/WAPA Agreement with the Council. A motion was made by Roger and seconded by Amanda to approve Resolution 2019-2: A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF SAINT FRANCIS, KANSAS AUTHORIZING THE EXECUTION OF THE SWPA PROJECT AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY AND THE KANSAS MUNICIPAL ENERGY AGENCY; AND AUTHORIZING ANY OTHER ACTIONS OF THE CITY RELATED THERETO. Motion passed. 7. Old Business: a. Property Cleanup – Mike and JR updated the Council on the two pending property cleanup cases. The Zweygardt property is making progress. Mr. Staples has not complied and has had his 1st court appearance. There were two additional properties noted which will be served notice, 104 W. Whittier and 215 E. Webster. The property owners will have 15 days to comply or request a hearing before the Council to contest the findings of the City Superintendent. If there is no response they will then be issued a summons to appear. b. Projects Pending – a) With regards to the Washington Street beautification, Clerk Whitmore asked if business owners would be allowed to place planters in front of their businesses in the grates where the trees used to be. The Council agreed this would be fine, as long as the pots are maintained and are large enough so as not be a tripping hazard. b) Library Repairs will be added to the projects pending list. 8. Keller Pond Committee – There have been some water line issues for watering the trees at Keller Pond. Progress has been made on the Riverwalk cleanup. They are thinking about creating a volunteer event to pick up trash and debris along the trail. The milfoil has been treated and the trails have been sprayed. There are talks of adding additional signage and fencing on the east side where the Riverwalk starts. The Van Allen shelter is planned to be installed. It was moved by Roger and seconded by Amanda to accept and file the Keller Pond Committee report. Motion passed. 9. Pool Report – The pool is scheduled to open the Sunday before Memorial Day. Lifeguard training will start on May 20. Larry Forsythe should be patching the hole in the slide soon. The pool board will meet on April 29 to discuss wages and make final decisions. The shade structure is ready to install as soon as McAtee Construction has the footings poured and ready. It was moved by Amanda and seconded by Dara to accept and file the Pool report. Motion passed. 10. Building Permits - A motion was made by Roger and seconded by Larry to approve the following building permits: Karla Mills – 1260 Road Y 526 E. First, cement slab and garage; and, pending JR’s approval, Darrell Reed – 501 S. River, rebuild fence. Motion passed. 11. Superintendent Report – a) The electric has been installed to the first hanger at the airport. Work on the second electrical extension that Dave Yost requested is being done. There was discussion regarding the address to use for the new hangers and naming of the road that runs East/West just South of the Village. It is needed for 911 and for deliveries. Mike inquired whether it needs to be platted. An easement would be needed from the Village for the road to be named. If named, JR pointed out it would be just for addressing but would not be maintained by the City. The developers will need to come back to the Council with a plan/proposal. b) Brock McAtee construction will be working on the intersection at North and College in approximately two weeks. c) Attempts have been made to remove the culverts at Majestic to return the water to its natural flow. The ditch to the north will be dredged. d) JR is still hoping to get in in touch with Dave Flemming regarding planting of oats at the Empire Motel lot. e) JR reported they have been running with a low crew due to illness. JR may need to advertise for part time help. f) The Council approved 5 hours of vacation carryover for Justin Gardner and 10 hours for John Larson. g) An additional employee has been added to the street sweeping schedule on Thursdays as needed. i) The BKRT banner will be hung up at College and Fourth street. It was moved by Larry and seconded by Amanda to accept and file the Superintendent report. Motion passed. 12. Attorney Report – a) Attorney Day thanked Amanda for her work on the Empire Motel tax protest. After adjustments were made and approved the City will receive a refund of $9562.80 for the years 2015-2018. b) Mike recommended that a committee be formed to investigate funding options for the infrastructure improvements. Members of the committee will be Dara, Mike, JR, Lila and Scott. A follow up through email will be done to set up a meeting time. It was moved by Roger and seconded by Dara to accept and file the Attorney report. motion passed. 13. Clerk Report – a) Clerk Whitmore read, and the Council signed, a letter to the Cheyenne County Kansas Community Foundation thanking them for the funds they contributed to phase 1 of the Keller Pond Trail Project. She also read, and the Council signed, a letter to the St. Francis Recreation Commission thanking them for their $1,000 donation for the shade structure at the pool. b) Lila will be filing the final reports for the Hansen Grant and the Community Grant that were received for the Empire Motel. Mike indicated there is still an investor interested in the property for building a motel. He advised the Council to give some thoughts as to what they would consider with regards to the property. c) A motion was made by Dara and seconded by Amanda to approve the Bandshell/Sawhill park reservation for the Cheyenne County Cruisers and to waive the Bandshell rental fee and vendor fees for the Car Show on May 11. Motion passed. On behalf of Karen Knauer and the Cheyenne County Food Cooperative, Clerk Whitmore asked if they would be allowed to set up a bounce house in the park during the car show as a fundraiser. After considerable discussion regarding the potential liability issues, the Council denied the request. More information needs to be gathered to determine if this type of activity should be allowed on City property. Mike and Lila will look into it further. d) Lila shared a thank you letter from Options Domestic Violence thanking the Council for the contribution made this year. e) There is a budget workshop in Colby on May 8 and Lila invited Council members to let her know if they would like to attend with her. f) There was discussion about video recordings of the Council meetings. The Council agreed it would probably be a good idea and Lila will check into what will be needed for that. g) Clerk Whitmore has not yet received a price from Jeanine Peter for flowers at the park but expects it will be less than $500. She will plant and maintain the flowers at no cost. Lila contacted Jan Fortin and she was not interested in doing the same. Council approved purchasing the flowers. h) Lila reminded the Council that June 3 is the deadline to file for the Mayor position and two Council positions that will be up for election in the fall. i) Lila requested 5 minutes of executive session for non-elected personnel to discuss employee wages. It was moved by Larry and seconded by Amanda to accept and file the Clerk report. Motion passed. 14. Council Comments: Amanda – none Roger – Dale Weeks has indicated that the transfer of ownership of the railroad is progressing. Dara – none, Larry – Reported that the concert in the park, scheduled for June 15 at 8pm, is a go. There has been a lot of community support. 15. Mayor Comments – none. Mike left the meeting. 16. At 8:48 a motion was made by Amanda and seconded by Larry for the Council, along with all those present, to recess into executive session for non-elected personnel to discuss wages, the open meeting to resume at 8:55. Motion passed. At 8:55 the open meeting resumed. A motion was made by Amanda and seconded by Roger to approve the employee wage increases as recommended by the department heads. Motion passed. 17. At 8:57 a motion was made by Amanda and seconded by Dara for the Council to recess into executive session for non-elected personnel to discuss department head wages, the open meeting to resume at 9:02. Motion passed. JR and Darrell left the meeting. The open meeting resumed. A Motion was made by Amanda and seconded by Dara to approve wage increases for Police Chief Thomas and Clerk Whitmore and no salary change for Superintendent Landenberger. Motion passed. 18. Adjournment: It was moved by Larry and seconded by Amanda to adjourn the meeting. Motion passed. ___________________________________________ City Clerk