City Council

Regular Council Meeting May 13, 2019 1. Mayor Scott Schultz called the meeting to order at 7:30. Present were Council members Kale Dankenbring, 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. 2. Minutes from the April 22 meeting were distributed and read. There were two corrections noted. It was moved by Amanda and seconded by Dara to approve the minutes as corrected. 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 FNB CD #18382. Motion passed. 4. Visitors – Grace Larkin, Mr. and Mrs. Jason Larkin 5. Police Report: a) Chief Thomas reported that he has been doing research on body cameras and specifically with regards to security encryption and storage options. He is looking into policies and requirements for records management and retention as they relate to body camera footage. b) The department has received several complaints from people not being able to reach the police department. Because of this the police department phone, 332-3385, will be forwarded to dispatch when it is not manned after hours. c) Chief Thomas has sold several of the departments old duty weapons to Beaver Valley Supply. d) Darrell would like to get a second computer for the department for Jon’s use. The last computer that was purchased was from Reach Solutions for $739. Mayor Schultz instructed Darrell to find out if Reach Solutions would give a discount if two computers were purchased at the same time. e) The Council approved Darrell obtaining a bid for cleaning of the carpets in the Police department and also City Hall. It was moved by Larry and seconded by Amanda to accept and file the Police report. Motion passed. 6. New Business: a. Will Arthur, with Family Heritage Insurance, spoke to the Council about supplemental insurance his company offers. It is not pre-tax insurance and is not processed through a payroll deduction. It is completely employee-funded and does not cost the city anything to make available. Plans are done on an individual basis and individuals pay their own premium directly. The Council gave permission for Mr. Arthur to offer the insurance to City employees including the volunteer firemen and Council members. b. Justine Benoit, Economic Development Coordinator with NWKP&DC, and James Foster, Regional Project Manager with the Kansas Department of Commerce, were present to share details about the Community Block Development Grant program and to review the City’s current grant application progress which is on track. Justine discussed with the Council the specifics regarding the project funding and encouraged the Council to move forward as soon as possible with financing options that are being considered for the City’s match. These funds need to be in place before applying for the grant. Attorney Day indicated that the committee which had been formed to review financing options had determined that the best option is probably to issue bonds with a local sales tax implemented for repayment of the bonds, as opposed to a property tax levy. The Council agreed that this would make the most sense. There will need to be a special election for the public to vote on the issue. Public Forums will also need to be held prior to the election. Mike will begin looking into this. Once cost estimates are received from Miller & Associates and the specific project defined we will have a better understanding of the financing needs. JR shared updated maps of the streets and discussed the various criteria that are being used to determine those that are a priority. Many streets are structurally sound but have breakdown at the gutter line. He discussed the various options for repair including overlay, removal/replacement, recrowning, center or edge cutting, etc. There was discussion about designating truck routes and placement of “No Trucks” signs at the crossovers and “Truck Route” signs where truck traffic should be routed. In addition, maps showing the routes that should be used could be made available at all businesses that have truck deliveries which they can then distribute to the truck drivers. Justine and James are both available to answer questions and to assist as needed during the grant process.  c. The Council reviewed the EMS building Agreement. There were no changes made. A motion was made by Roger and seconded by Kale to approve the renewal of the agreement. Motion passed. Lila will provide copies to the County Clerk for the County Commissioners to approve. d. The Council discussed the Jim Hardt property which is near the River Walk. Janice Hardt had asked Mayor Schultz if the City would be interested in maintaining the property as a wildlife area. She is not interested in selling it. The Council agreed that at this time the City is not in the position to take on any additional projects or expenditures. Mike will let her know. e. Kale excused himself from the meeting. Clerk Whitmore shared the application for a Special Event Alcoholic Beverage Permit for Fresh Seven for the Alumni Celebration on June 15. A motion was made by Amanda and seconded by Dara to approve the application: Amanda – Yes; Roger – Yes; Dara – Yes; Larry – Yes; Motion passed. Fresh Seven will need to provide proof of liability insurance. Attorney Day will prepare a resolution for the next Council meeting to allow the sale of alcoholic beverages on public property/city streets. Kale returned to the meeting. 7. Old Business: a. Property Cleanup – Dallas Staples is scheduled to appear in court on May 14. The Poulson and Zweygardt properties are still being addressed. b. Projects Pending – The Council briefly discussed the use of the old pool property but no decisions were made. The City crew will work on cleaning up the “junk” that is still at the property. Amanda reported the Washington Street Beautification Committee will be meeting at the end of this month. 8. Keller Pond Committee – Larry reported he had received an email from Tom Keller indicating that approximately 16 trees and numerous shrubs previously planted at Keller Pond had died and needed to be replaced at an estimated cost of $1,300. Tom also reported some erosion of the bank in a couple of areas. JR indicated these are beaver dens that are caving in. The cleanup of the Riverwalk is ongoing. Tom has been talking with Dave Flemming about putting in a second bridge to tie Keller Pond back to the Riverwalk. The milfoil was treated once, and will be treated again in about 6 weeks. It was moved by Amanda and seconded by Roger to accept and file the Keller Pond Committee report. Motion passed. 9. Theater Report – Amanda reported that there was again not enough board members present to reach quorum so no decisions could be made. She shared a chart showing the meeting attendance of current board members for the last year. Amanda will be checking into whether or not there are bylaws for the board with regards to board member terms, etc. The library has term limits, which are set by State statute, but other City boards do not. Mike will look into creating bylaws that could be used consistently for all boards. There are some minor repairs/upgrades that need to be made to the floors in the bathrooms and concession areas, as well as some wall repairs. The Board will put this out for bids. The Theater will start the summer hours on Memorial Day weekend, and they will bring back the Thursday night showings for the summer beginning May 23. It was moved by Larry and seconded by Roger to accept and file the Theater report. Motion passed. 10. Pool Report – Larry requested 2 minutes of executive session for non-elected personnel to discuss wages. Larry reported that pool admission will be $1 per event per person for everyone entering the facility. Private parties can be scheduled for Tuesdays, Thursdays, or Saturday nights from 7-9pm and will be $125 for 2 hours. The pool hours will be 1-7pm on Alumni Saturday. There is a swim meet scheduled for June 1st. Lifeguard training is scheduled for next week. It was moved by Dara and seconded by Amanda to accept and file the Pool report. Motion passed. 11. Building Permits - A motion was made by Amanda and seconded by Larry to approve the following building permits: Barb Barnhart – 512 W. First, deck/ramp; Cheyenne County Village – 812 S. Denison, concrete sidewalk; Tim Raile – 602 S. Felzien, 2 steel grain bins; Tim Raile – 624 Felzien, truck scale; General Dynamics – 393 S. College Water Tower, concrete pad and backup generator. Motion passed. 12. Superintendent Report – a) Fire Alarm Specialists have recommended upgrading the fire protection equipment at the plant. A motion was made by Dara and seconded by Amanda to approve the upgrade at a cost not to exceed $8000. Motion passed. b) The engineer with RVW was in town on May 2 and will provide a specification sheet for feeder 1. He will return on May 21 to work on a spec sheet for feeder 3. The engineer believes that it is realistic for the project to be started this fall. There is $200,000 budgeted in 2019 for the electrical from the capital improvement fund. c) Half of the intersection work at North Street has been completed. Brock McAtee estimates another 2-3 weeks for completing of the other half. d) The approaches at Adams and Jackson Street are in bad shape and JR is working on getting an estimate from Brock. e) The shade structure at the pool should  be installed next week. f) The Krien water line project should be starting soon. g) JR updated the Council on the water automation system. The RTUs being used are out dated. JR is looking into the costs to replace with new equipment and has received one estimate thus far for $84,800, which is without the automated metering that is needed. h) The water line construction at the airport may begin this week. It was moved by Roger and seconded by Kale to accept and file the Superintendent report. Motion passed. 13. Attorney Report – a) none 14. Clerk Report – a) Lila requested permission to donate some of the remaining water that was purchased for the Big Kansas Road Trip to the Fire department. Council approved. b) It was moved by Amanda and seconded by Kale to approve the band shell rental application for Adam Guthmiller for August 24 from 8am to 8pm. Motion passed. c) Lila read a thank you to the Council from Helen Dobbs for their support of the BKRT. d) The fire department received an America’s Farmers Grow Communities donation of $2500 on behalf of Cheyenne County farmer Michael Rogers. e) A motion was made by Roger and seconded by Larry to renew the CIC support agreement for $3,135. Motion passed. f) Lila reported that the auditors were here on April 30 and there were no significant findings. Due to the amount of the grant funds that were received for the Empire Motel demolition they have recommended that a new fund be created specifically for this purpose. g) Dara and Lila attended the budget workshop in Colby on May 8. Lila will begin working with Angela Ketterl on the 2020 budget preparation soon. h) Due to the Memorial Day holiday, the next Council meeting will be held on Tuesday May 28. Larry and Scott indicated they would not be at the meeting. i) Lila updated the Council on the bounce house issue. Inflatables are included in the amusement ride act in K.S.A. 44-1601 which has regulations regarding their operation. In addition the UPOC which the City adopts each year prohibits the operation of amusement rides without a valid certificate of inspection from the state and operators of inflatables must be trained and certified in basic inflatable safety operations. It was moved by Amanda and seconded by Larry to accept and file the Clerk report. Motion passed. 15. Council Comments: Kale – none, Amanda – none, Roger – There were several people who visited the band shell during the BKRT. Dara – none Larry – Expressed thanks to Helen Dobbs for her hard work on the Big Kansas Road Trip. He also thanked Wade Krien for placing the flags along the highway for the event. The Thrift Store looks very nice after the recent updates were done. Larry requested permission to close off the street between the basketball court and the park area as well as the street on the east side of the band shell during the Alumni celebration concert. Council approved. 16. Mayor Comments – none 17. All bills on Ordinance #1026 were reviewed. It was moved by Kale and seconded by Amanda to approve the bills in the amount of $237,353.47. Motion passed. Mike, JR and Darrell left the meeting. 18. At 9:43 a motion was made by Larry and seconded by Amanda for the Council, along with all those present, to recess into executive session for the non-elected personnel exception to discuss pool employee wages, the open meeting to resume at 9:45. Motion passed. At 9:45 the open meeting resumed. A motion was made by Amanda and seconded by Dara to approve the Pool Board’s recommendations for wages for the pool employees. Motion passed. 19. Adjournment: It was moved by Amanda and seconded by Larry to adjourn the meeting. Motion passed. ___________________________________________ City Clerk