City Council

Regular Council Meeting May 28, 2019 1. Council President Roger Jensen called the meeting to order at 7:30. Present were Council members Amanda Milne, Kale Dankenbring, and Dara Carmichael. Also present were City Superintendent JR Landenberger and City Clerk Lila Whitmore. Mayor Scott Schultz, Council member Larry Finley, and Police Chief Darrell Thomas were absent. 2. Minutes from the May 13 meeting were distributed and read. It was moved by Kale and seconded by Dara 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 renew Western State Bank FNB CDs 1447000224, 1447000225, and 1447000226. Motion passed. Clerk Whitmore pointed out that the rate offered by Western State Bank was 2.4%, which is higher than the rates offered by FNB Bank or Bankwest. 4. Visitors – Grace Larkin, Jason Larkin 5. Police Report: none 6. New Business: a. Carolyn Groat was present to request a variance to operate a business out of her home at 115 E. Webster. It would be in the garage of the home and she has plans to sell candy, molded chocolates, some baked goods, cotton candy, snow cones and ice cream. She is aware of state licensing requirements with regards to sales of food products. The Council determined the neighbors who would be impacted by the business are: Paul and Nancy Morrison, Ron Ewing, Drew and Dennon Flemming, Tina Kehl, Marsha Magley, and the First Christian Church. It was moved by Kale and seconded by Amanda to approve granting the variance contingent upon Ms. Groat obtaining the required 80% signatures which will need to be confirmed by the City Clerk. Motion passed. This is not a zoning change and the re-designation from residential to commercial is for Carolyn Groat only. b. The Council reviewed, discussed and approved the Senior Center Report shared by Clerk Whitmore on behalf of Cinda Dankenbring and the Senior Center board. c. A motion was made by Amanda and seconded by Dara to approve Resolution 2019-3: A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF ST. FRANCIS, KANSAS APPROVING A TEMPORARY PERMIT ALLOWING FOR THE CONSUMPTION OF ALCOHOLIC LIQUOR ON CITY STREETS. Motion passed with Kale abstaining. 7. Old Business: a. Property Cleanup – No new properties have been added to the cleanup list at this time. Weed letters will be sent out soon. b. Projects Pending – a) JR has requested guidance from the Miller and Associates engineer with regards to curb and gutter repairs and the notification process. b) The Washington Street beautification committee, consisting of Dara, Amanda, Carla Lampe, Robin Raile and Heather Hnizdil, will be meeting on May 29. They have some ideas they are working on including banners, artwork/sculptures and trees. 8. Keller Pond Committee – JR reported that with the cooler temperatures the Eurasian milfoil has not grown as much this year and he is hopeful the treatment in June will be effective. Lila reported receiving an email from Dave Flemmimg indicating that the County had cleaned up all of the dead lumber and piles located west of the parking lot and put them in the burn pits. Leonard Barnes still has some clean-up to do on the east side and he was hoping to do that either last weekend or next. The committee will meet once Larry returns from vacation. 9. Pool Report – JR reported that the water temperatures at the pool are higher than usual which is nice with the cooler temperatures. However eventually the water temperature will need to be lowered and then kept stable for the chemicals to work effectively. There is a swim meet this coming weekend. 10. Building Permits - A motion was made by Amanda and seconded by Dara to approve the following building permits: Alice Oelke – 425 E. First, fence; Ricky Martinez – 400 S. Denison, two carports; Marvin Miller – 523 E. Spencer, cement. Motion passed. 11. Superintendent Report – a) RVW was in town on May 23rd and will be providing the feeder 3 specifications. b) Miller & Associates is still working on the street analysis and costs. JR strongly encouraged the Council to consider a 1% sales tax in order to not only retire the debt for the current street project but to fund ongoing upkeep and improvements. An email was sent to KDOT about the crossovers but no response has been received. Roger will follow up with them. Due to safety concerns the City will fill some of the potholes. c) The installation  of the water main at the airport is ongoing. d) The Krien water project along Royce Peter Road should be starting soon. e) JR reminded the Council that the water automation system will likely need to be upgraded but he has not yet received additional quotes. f) In 2018 the Council had encumbered $27,000 to pay Oberlin for KMEA power that Oberlin paid for but St. Francis received. This was due to a billing error on KMEA’s part. KMEA will be spreading the cost of this over a 12 month period so the encumbrance of the entire amount for 2018 is no longer needed. g) There was discussion of trimming of trees in power lines. The City crew takes care of this. h) The Council approved JR placing an ad for a full time employee with benefits, CDL preferred. It was moved by Amanda and seconded by Dara to accept and file the Superintendent report. Motion passed. 12. Attorney Report – none 13. Clerk Report – a) The remaining encumbered funds for 2018 are $9,822.40 for TJs Improvements for the library roof repair. Because these repairs will not be completed until later this summer or fall, Clerk Whitmore requested the Council re-encumber those funds for 2019 so that the 2018 year can be closed since the Audit has been completed. A motion was made by Dara and seconded by Kale to encumber $9,822.40 for TJs Improvements. Motion passed. b) The Alumni Association has asked the Girl Scouts if they want to sell water and soda at the Alumni celebration as a fundraiser. The Council approved waiving vendor fees. It was moved by Dara and seconded by Kale to accept and file the Clerk report. Motion passed. 14. Council Comments: Kale – Will be absent next meeting Amanda – will be absent next meeting Dara – none 15. Council President Comments – Roger requested the Council to think about and consider ways to advertise the motel property for sale specifically for economic development of the property and in particular for lodging. There was considerable discussion but no decisions made. 16. Adjournment: It was moved by Dara and seconded by Kale to adjourn the meeting. Motion passed. ___________________________________________ City Clerk