City Council

Regular Council Meeting November 25, 2019 1. Mayor Scott Schultz called the meeting to order at 7:00. Present were Council members Kale Dankenbring, Amanda Milne, Roger Jensen, and Larry Finley. Also present were City Superintendent JR Landenberger, City Attorney Mike Day and City Clerk Lila Whitmore. Council member Dara Carmichael and Interim Police Chief Cody Beeson were absent. 2. Minutes from the November 12 Council 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 – none 4. Visitors – none 5. New Business: a. 2020 Census Presentation - David Driscoll, Partnership Specialist, gave a presentation on the upcoming 2020 Census. He asked the Council to consider promoting the creation of a complete count committee in the community whose purpose would be to increase awareness and motivate residents to respond to the 2020 Census. Sheriff Beeson arrived at the meeting. 6. Police Report: Sheriff Beeson shared the statistics for November. Officer Butler will be moving to and working out of the Sheriff’s office soon. Attorney Day indicated that the County Attorney has reviewed the Law Enforcement Agreement and has made a few recommendations for changes. The committee established at the last meeting met with Sheriff Beeson. Attorney Day recommended an executive session later in the meeting to discuss the agreement further. Cody has received a copy of the City Ordinances. A motion was made by Amanda and seconded by Roger to accept and file the Police Report. Motion passed. 7. New Business (continued): b. Cheyenne County Development Corporation Update - Helen Dobbs, CCDC Director, updated the Council on the Rural & Remote program for people who are interested in working from home. She also shared information with the Council regarding a fundraising effort the CCDC is doing. It is a monopoly type game featuring Cheyenne County and will be called Cheyenneopoly. Businesses can purchase spaces on the board or have their listing on the money or fate/freedom cards. The costs vary and range from $50 to a one line business name to $500 for the money. The advertisement costs will fund the creation of the game and the games will be sold for $30. The games should be available for sale in March 2020. Lila suggested possibly having the City logo included in the game. Helen updated the Council on the NWKP&DC annual meeting held November 18. There was discussion regarding the Empire Motel property and either deeding the property to the CCDC or having the organization take over responsibility for promoting the sale and development of the property. Helen indicated the CCDC Board would need to discuss it. c. The Council discussed the proposed truck routes, the placement of signs designating the truck routes, and having the elevators hand out maps showing the designated routes. A motion was made by Amanda and seconded by Roger to approve Ordinance No. 620: AN ORDINANCE ESTABLISHING AND REGULATING TRUCK TRAFFIC ROUTES WITHIN THE CITY LIMITS OF THE CITY OF ST. FRANCIS, KANSAS; ESTABLISHING ARTICLE 8 TO CHAPTER 13 OF THE 2015 CODE OF THE CITY OF ST. FRANCIS, KANSAS. Kale – yes, Amanda – yes, Roger – yes, Larry – yes. Motion passed. d. A motion was made by Larry and seconded by Roger to approve Ordinance No. 621: AN ORDINANCE OF THE GOVERNING BODY OF THE CITY OF ST. FRANCIS, KANSAS IMPOSING A ONE PERCENT (1.0%) CITY-WIDE SALES TAX FOR GENERAL PURPOSES. Kale – yes, Amanda – yes, Roger – yes, Larry – yes. Motion passed. e. A motion was made by Amanda and seconded by Kale to approve a tree trim license for Nuckles Tree Care. Motion passed. f. Tim & Robyn Raile Industrial Park Lot 2 Purchase Proposal – Attorney Day indicated this topic could be discussed in an executive session later in the meeting. Mayor Schultz requested an executive session. 8. Old Business:  a. Internet Hot Spots – Jason Padgett, Eagle Communications, presented an official proposal for the previously discussed internet hot spots. The total cost for the installation of 2 hot spots, one at the City Park and one at the Roadside Park, would be $6,253.52. There would also be monthly access fees for which the City would receive a 40% discount off normal rates. The Council agreed that we should wait until spring and apply for grant funds. b. Sunflower Agreement – JR updated the Council on the agreement and recommended approval. A Motion was made by Amanda and seconded by Roger for the mayor to sign the “Firm Energy, Capacity and Load Following Agreement” between Prairie Land Electric Cooperative, Inc., Sunflower Electric Power Corporation, and the City of St. Francis, Kansas. Motion passed. The initial term of this Agreement shall begin on the Commencement Date of 0001 hours on October 1, 2019 and end at 2400 hours on December 31, 2036. The Agreement along with all supporting documentation will be kept at City Hall. c. Law Enforcement Agreement – The Mayor stated this would be discussed later in an executive session. d. Street Project – no updates e. Electrical Infrastructure Project – JR has been in contact with Prairie Land and will continue talks with them on the needed electrical improvements. f. Property Cleanup – The answer date for the Toler Property expired November 22 and Attorney Day will be preparing a motion for judgment. g. Projects Pending – Amanda, Commissioner Rieger, and County Road & Bridge Supervisor Dave Flemming attended the KDOT local consult meeting and met with KDOT District Engineer Jeff Stewart. KDOT acknowledges that there are issues with the crossovers and access road. The consensus is that a feasibility study needs to be done to address the entire issue. Amanda will continue to stay on top of this. 9. Building Permits – It was moved by Larry and seconded by Amanda to approve the following building permits: Randy Smestad – 518 S. Adams, temporary fence; Geri Lampe – 412 S. Benton, concrete. Motion passed. 10. Superintendent Report – a) Superintendent Landenberger reviewed the emergency snow routes and the details of the ordinance allowing for a declaration of a traffic emergency if necessary which prohibits driving on the streets without 4-wheel drive or chains. b) The pool painting has been completed. The owner of the company has not yet provided a certificate of liability insurance so it is unclear if he has insurance. Since the work has already been completed the Council authorized paying the bill on the next bill cycle. c) JR noted that for safety concerns the street lights will be left on during the Bankwest light parade on Friday. 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) Clerk Whitmore and JR have decided that the application to support logging in from mobile devices with the new payroll software may not be needed so we can move forward with the initial quote that was approved by the Council. Mobile devices can always be added later if we find that they would be beneficial. b) Lila let the Council know that, due to not being able to attend the meetings consistently, she will be stepping down from serving on the CCDC board. A new Council representative will need to be appointed in January. c) Per direction from Mayor Schultz, Clerk Whitmore will be sending thank you letters to the individual organizations who assisted with the recent fires rather than putting thank you ads in every newspaper. d) The protest period for Ordinance No. 618 expanding the days of sale at retail of cereal malt beverage and alcoholic liquor in the original package ends on December 2. Clerk Whitmore will send notices and a copy of the ordinance to all affected local businesses. e) Lila requested 3 minutes of executive session for non-elected personnel to discuss hiring. 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 Larry – none 14. Mayor Comments – Thanked the City crews for putting up the Christmas lights. 15. At 8:43 a motion was made by Amanda and seconded by Larry for the Council along with all those present to recess into executive session for a legal matter to discuss a contractual legal matter, the open meeting to resume at 8:53. Motion passed. The open meeting resumed. A motion was made by Roger and  seconded by Kale to make an offer of $83,000 for the Law Enforcement Agreement with the amount to be reviewed in 6 months. Motion passed. 16. At 9:01 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 sale of city property, the open meeting to resume at 9:11. The open meeting resumed. A motion was made by Kale and seconded by Larry to accept a proposal of purchase from Tim and Robyn Raile for Lot 2 of the Industrial Park with the provision that the property will revert back to the City if at least 1 grain bin is not built on the property in the first year and that the City has a right of first refusal on the property for 10 years. Motion passed. 17. At 9:17 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 hiring, the open meeting to resume at 9:20. Motion passed. The open meeting resumed. A motion was made by Amanda and seconded by Kale to hire Kodi Workman for the part time Municipal Court Clerk/Office Assistant position at a wage of $13 an hour. Motion passed. 18. Adjournment: It was moved by Amanda and seconded by Larry to adjourn the meeting. Motion passed. ___________________________________________ City Clerk