City Council

Regular Council Meeting November 12, 2019 1. Mayor Scott Schultz called the meeting to order at 7:00. 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 and City Clerk Lila Whitmore. Interim Police Chief Cody Beeson was absent. 2. Minutes from the October 28 Council meeting were distributed and read. It was moved by Dara and seconded by Kale to approve the minutes as written. Motion passed. 3. Consent Agenda – It was moved by Amanda and seconded by Larry 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. Motions passed. 4. Visitors – David Butler 5. Police Report: none 6. New Business: a. Crosswalks - Amanda expressed concerns regarding the crosswalk stop sign on Washington and Denison Street. It has been run into and knocked over several times. The council discussed options but agreed that the existing movable sign should remain where it is but needs a heavier base to keep it in place. b. Trash Waiver – A motion was made by Kale and seconded by Amanda to approve the trash waiver for Althea Lebow for the property at 315 S. College. Motion passed. 7. Old Business: a. Internet Hot Spots – The Council discussed the hot spots and decided that the City would apply for grant funding for these in the spring. The topic will be moved to the projects pending list. b. Law Enforcement Agreement – The agreement was shared with Council members. Attorney Day indicated that it looked good to Sheriff Beeson but that the County Attorney may have some recommended revisions to make to the agreement. At 7:13 a motion was made by Amanda and seconded by Kale for the Council, along with all those present, to recess into executive session per the legal exception to discuss a contractual legal matter, the open meeting to resume at 7:15. Motion passed. At 7:15 the open meeting resumed. Attorney Day will contact County Attorney Leslie Beims to go over the law enforcement agreement. Mayor Schultz, Council member Milne, and City Clerk Whitmore will meet with Sheriff Beeson to get the Law Enforcement Agreement moving forward and finalized. c. Sunflower Agreement – The agreement was approved as to form per City Attorney Day. There is one question that JR has on the energy only rates which he will need to clarify but otherwise he also approves the agreement. JR explained details of the agreement. He will bring the contract to the next meeting for final approval and signatures. d. KDOT/Access Road Maintenance – The Council discussed at length the highway, crossovers and access road. The next deadline to apply to KDOT for the cost share program for the crossovers is March. The Council agreed to wait until we know the status of the CDBG funding before moving forward with this. The Council discussed the need for designation of truck routes in the City. JR indicated that they have been designated but law enforcement would need to enforce them. Attorney Day will draft an ordinance so that the truck routes can be enforced. This topic will be placed on the projects pending list. e. Street Project – There was more discussion regarding the trees that will need to be removed for the street project. Miller & Associates have recommended the City wait until the CDBG funding has been determined before doing anything with the trees. f. Electrical Infrastructure Project – The second round of bids with the extended time period were received from RVW but are still much higher than the engineers estimate of $525,000, with the lowest bid being $863,000 and the high bid of $1.7 million. JR has rejected the bids. The Council  approved having JR talk with Prairie Land, and possibly other contractors, regarding the improvements that are needed and if any would consider doing some of the work. JR indicated the City will owe RVW some money for their services g. Property Cleanup – Attorney Day updated the Council on the condemnation procedures that have commenced on the Jerry Toler property. h. Projects Pending – no updates 8. Keller Pond Committee Report – Larry has received a bid from Travis Milne for the fencing on the East side of the Riverwalk and has given this to Tom Keller. The fence is needed to prevent people from driving into the Riverwalk. It was moved by Amanda and seconded by Kale to accept and file the Keller Pond Committee Report. Motion passed. 9. Building Permits – It was moved by Larry and seconded by Dara to approve the following building permits: Rick Kreigh – 629 E. Jackson, retaining wall and drainage system; Gilbert Sherlock – 511 E. Spencer, concrete drainage; Adrienne Hasart – 620 S. Benton, cement steps and sidewalk; Wade Krien – 702 S. River, fence; Miles & Erin Barber – 527 E. Second, fence; Josh Moberly & Mike Bandel – 109 E. Washington, deck and fence; Roger Neitzel – 619 Parkway, garden shed; Ricky & Julie Reyelts – 504 E. Fourth, wood shed. Motion passed. 10. Superintendent Report – a) The Council talked briefly about the concrete on the East side of the pool. Lila will submit a bid proposal ad to the St. Francis Herald for this work. b) The cause of the water leak on Spencer Street has been identified and the problem has been addressed. c) The citizen concerns regarding Valley Street are being addressed with a little work at a time being done. It was moved by Roger and seconded by Kale to accept and file the Superintendent report. Motion passed. 11. Attorney Report – none 12. Clerk Report – a) A motion was made by Amanda and seconded by Dara to approve the utility incentive application for Ross Barnett/Auto Barn for up to $100 a month for 6 months. Motion passed. b) A motion was made by Amanda and seconded by Dara to approve a Christmas Bonus of $225 for full time employees and including JT Woodcox. Motion passed. Checks will be issued to employees to coincide with the November 27 payroll date. c) The annual Christmas party will be held on December 6 at Fresh Seven for Employees, Council members, and their spouses. d) The most recent tax distribution from the County for the Library was $2,253.32. However, the Library budget for 2019 has only $1,158.52 remaining in spend authority. A motion was made by Larry and seconded by Amanda to pay this amount out of cycle to the Library. Motion passed. The remaining $1,094.80 will stay in the Library fund and the budget authority will be adjusted when the 2020 Budget is amended next year. e) A motion was made by Amanda and seconded by Roger to make an out of cycle payment of $5,499.07 for the October Sales tax due. Motion passed. f) Lila shared information with the Council regarding the following upcoming meetings: CCDC Annual Meeting on November 18, KDOT Meeting in Colby on November 20, NWKP&DC annual meeting in Hill City on November 21, and a Rural & Remote meeting on November 23. g) Clerk Whitmore has advertised for a part time Municipal Court Clerk/Office Assistant. In the meantime she is receiving court clerk training from the Goodland Municipal Court judge. h) Lila received a request from a publishing company to allow them to provide magnetic memo boards with emergency contact information on them to customers who stop in at City Hall. There would be no cost to the customers or to the City. The Council approved. i) Clerk Whitmore discussed the Roadside Park posted rules and that per law enforcement they are not enforceable, in particular the 3 day length of stay. Attorney Day will create an ordinance to establish penalties for non-compliance. It was moved by Amanda and seconded by Larry to accept and file the Clerk report. Motion passed. 13. Council Comments: Kale – none Amanda – none Roger – none Dara – none Larry – Keely Loyd has volunteered to serve on the pool board. Larry extended kudos to the fire department and the community for their efforts fighting the fires this past weekend. There was some discussion after which the Council instructed Clerk Whitmore to compose a thank you from the City Council to all surrounding communities and other entities that assisted. She will also check with the County Commissioners to see if they would like to be included in the thank you. 14. Mayor Comments – Mayor Schultz felt it would be nice to thank Wade Krien for placing the flags along highway 36 during holidays and other events. The Council agreed and Lila will place a thank you ad in the St. Francis Herald. Mayor Schultz requested an executive session for a legal matter. 15. At 8:15 a motion was made by Larry and seconded by Amanda for the Council along with all those present to recess into executive session for a legal matter to discuss the purchase and sale of city property, the open meeting to resume at 8:20. The open meeting resumed and no action was taken. 16. All bills on Ordinance #1032 were reviewed. It was moved by Amanda and seconded by Roger to approve the bills in the amount of $177,346.86. Motion passed. 17. Adjournment: It was moved by Amanda and seconded by Larry to adjourn the meeting. Motion passed. ___________________________________________ City Clerk