City Council

Regular Council Meeting December 9, 2019 1. Mayor Scott Schultz called the meeting to order at 7:00. Present were Council members Kale Dankenbring, Amanda Milne, Dara Carmichael and Larry Finley. Also present were City Superintendent JR Landenberger, City Attorney Mike Day and City Clerk Lila Whitmore. Council member Roger Jensen and Interim Police Chief Cody Beeson were absent. 2. Minutes from the November 25 Council meeting were distributed and read. It was moved by Amanda and seconded by Kale to approve the minutes as written. Motion passed. 3. Consent Agenda – It was moved by Larry and seconded by Dara 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 pay LKM dues of $959.81. Motion passed. 4. Visitors – none 5. Police Report: none 6. New Business: a. A motion was made by Amanda and seconded by Dara to approve the CMB License Renewal applications for Majestic Service Truck Stop, Colorado Retail Ventures Services (Eagle Convenience Store), and Diamond R Bar. Motion passed. 7. Old Business: a. Law Enforcement Agreement – Amanda indicated that Sheriff Beeson is interested in the Expedition but it is not included in the agreement. The Council discussed the value of the vehicle should they decide to sell it. Attorney Day will finalize the wording of the agreement along with the proposed contract amount of $83,000 and will then get it to the Commissioners for their meeting on December 16. Upon their acceptance of the proposal the final agreement can then be approved and signed at the next Council meeting and presented to the County Commissioners for their signatures on December 31. b. Street Project – no updates c. Electrical Infrastructure Project – no updates d. Property Cleanup – The Judge signed the order for foreclosure on the Toler property. The defendants have 60 days to clean up the property. If this is not done the City can initiate the razing of the building with the cost being assessed to taxes. There is some personal property that will also need to be taken care of. e. Projects Pending – After some discussion regarding the band shell seating, park lighting, and the planting of trees in the park, the Council approved adding Sawhill Park Improvements to the Projects Pending list. Larry updated the Council on plans for bringing a band to perform in the band shell next year, either during Alumni or some other event. 8. Keller Pond Committee Report – no updates 9. Theater Report – JR has been talking with Robert Grace, Theater Board President, regarding building updates that are needed at the Theater including electrical and ceiling tiles. They will be meeting with the contractor who completed work on the theater in Burlington Colorado to formulate a plan to potentially seek grant funding for improvements. 10. Building Permits – none 11. Superintendent Report – a) The city wide cleanup is almost finished with just some metal left to be picked up. b) With the shift in electrical revenue due to the new Sunflower agreement, JR will be working on updating the 5 year plan and in particular the equipment reserve. c) JR is still seeking estimates for the water control system. One estimate received thus far is almost $90,000. He would like to get at least 3 estimates to consider. d) JR updated the Council on the water rights being shifted from well 8 to wells 6 and 7. The point of diversion change has been completed as well. Well 8 will still be maintained for emergency purposes. The last capacity check on the wells was completed at the end of 2016. JR will  contact a well testing company to perform these services. It was moved by Larry and seconded by Kale to accept and file the Superintendent report. Motion passed. 12. Attorney Report – none 13. Clerk Report – a) The Council discussed the Cheyenneopoly game being created by the CCDC. Businesses and other entities can purchase advertisement spaces on the game board. The purpose of the game is to promote Cheyenne County and the community so the cost could be taken out of the Guest Tax fund. A motion was made by Kale and seconded by Larry for the City to purchase spaces J1 and J2 on the game board, if they are available, at a cost of $200 each. Motion passed. b) Tax statements have not yet been received from the County Treasurer but they will be due by December 20 once received. A motion was made by Amanda and seconded by Dara to approve paying the real estate taxes and ground water use taxes out of cycle. Motion passed. c) Lila requested 5 minutes of executive session for non-elected personnel to discuss an individual employee’s benefits. It was moved by Kale and seconded by Larry to accept and file the Clerk report. Motion passed. 14. Council Comments: Kale – will not be present for the December 23 meeting. Amanda – talked about the property taxes for the Empire motel property. After discussion the Council agreed that the City should retain ownership of the property but engage the CCDC to market and promote the sale of the property. This topic remains on the projects pending list for further discussion. Dara – none Larry – none 15. Mayor Comments – none Mike and JR left the meeting. 16. All bills on Ordinance #1033 were reviewed. It was moved by Amanda and seconded by Kale to approve the bills in the amount of $137,451.95. Motion passed. 17. At 7:37 a motion was made by Amanda and seconded by Larry for the Council along with all those present to recess into executive session for the non-elected personnel exception to discuss an individual employee’s benefits, the open meeting to resume at 7:40. The open meeting resumed. A motion was made by Amanda and seconded by Dara for the City to pay the Health Insurance premiums for Jonathan Butler for January and February 2020. Motion passed. 18. Adjournment: It was moved by Amanda and seconded by Kale to adjourn the meeting. Motion passed. ___________________________________________ City Clerk