City Council

Regular Council Meeting March 9, 2020 1. Mayor Scott Schultz called the meeting to order at 7:00. Present were Council members David Butler, Kale Dankenbring, Amanda Milne, Dara Carmichael and Larry Finley. Also present were City Superintendent JR Landenberger, City Clerk Lila Whitmore, and City Attorney Lauren Reyelts. Sheriff Beeson was absent. 2. Minutes from the February 24 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 renew FNB CD #18620. Motion passed. 4. Visitors – Troy Zweygardt was present to ask for the Council’s approval to have the annual Cheyenne County Cruisers Saturday in the Park car show on May 9 from 8am – 5pm at Sawhill Park. The format will be much the same as in past years, including burnouts. The Council approved and also gave him permission for motorcycles to be parked on the concrete inside the seating area of the Bandshell. He will submit a Bandshell reservation application and special event application once the Council has approved the new forms. Sheriff Beeson arrived at the meeting. 5. Sheriff Report - Sheriff Beeson shared the statistics for February. The Sheriff’s department still has 1 open position to fill. Cody has been working with JR on code enforcement. The Commissioners have approved the purchase of the Expedition from the City. It was moved by Kale and seconded by David to accept and file the Sheriff’s report. Motion passed. Sheriff Beeson left the meeting. 6. New Business: a. After review by Attorney Reyelts, a motion was made by Amanda and seconded by Larry to approve the Procurement Policy. Motion passed. b. After review by Attorney Reyelts, a motion was made by Amanda and seconded by Dara to approve the Fair Housing/Civil Rights Policy. Motion passed. c. After review by Attorney Reyelts, a motion was made by Kale and seconded by Larry to approve the Code of Conduct. Motion passed. d. A motion was made by Dara and seconded by Kale to approve the Community Block Development Grant contract. Motion passed. e. A motion was made by Kale and seconded by Amanda to approve the Piper Sandler Financial Advisory Services Agreement. Motion passed. f. A motion was made by David and seconded by Kale to approve the following trash waiver renewals: Wade Krien/The County Seat Greenery - 320 W. Royce Peter Road; JR Landenberger – 100 E. Washington; Chris Loyd – 1045 S. Quincy; Doug and Marla Ross – 519 E. Fourth; Scott Schultz – 709 S. Denison. Motion passed. 7. Old Business: a. Property Cleanup – no updates b. Projects Pending – a) JR is still working on obtaining an estimate for the sandblasting and painting/repair of the Bandshell seating. b) Lila asked if the Council wants to apply for a grant for the internet hot spots. Dara indicated that April 1 is the first date to apply for Foundation Grants. After discussion the Council decided to apply for grant funds for the Sawhill Park Improvements instead. Lila will have Kodi Workman begin work on a grant application so that it can be submitted once bids for the trees, the lighting, and the Bandshell repairs are received. The City will apply to both the local Community Foundation and to the Hansen Foundation. c. Streets Project – JR talked about the plan for the ongoing street improvements and the need to be able to issue bonds for 2 more cycles of improvements. Payment on the bonds would be from the projected 1% sales tax revenue of $157,000. Payments on the bonds for a 20 year term would be $52,000 - $55,000 a year. A motion was made by Kale and seconded by Amanda to approve a  term of 20 years for the first bond issue. Motion passed. Follow-up letters will be sent to property owners regarding the curb and gutter repairs and tree removal. Residents can pay for the cost of the curb and gutter repair either upfront or have it assessed to their property taxes. Kevin Cowan with Gilmore & Bell recommended making the term 7 years and at an interest rate matching the bonds and the Council agreed. Initial payment for the curb and gutter will be made from Capital Improvement reserves rather than the issuance of bonds. The cost will be approximately $38,000. d. Bandshell Rental Agreement and Special Event Application Review – The Council reviewed the updated documents. Attorney Reyelts recommended a wording change in one section of the rental agreement. A motion was made by David and seconded by Kale to approve the documents as amended. Motion passed. Lila will get in touch with the Alumni Association and Troy Zweygardt and have them complete the new forms. 8. Keller Pond Committee Report – no updates 9. Building Permits – A motion was made by Larry and seconded by Dara to approve the following building permits: Leslie & Eric Hook – 217 W. Jackson, remove/replace shed; Travis Milne – 211 W. Washington, raze a building; and the following Chicken Permits – Trista Lauer – 509 S. Frances; Kim Zweygardt – 314 E. Jackson; Dianna Padgett – 411 E. Washington. Motion passed. 10. Superintendent Report – a) JR indicated he had just received a text from Kevin Bowman who will be providing a price for the Bandshell seating tomorrow. b) JR will be attending a Sunflower meeting Tuesday and Wednesday in Wichita. c) The initial quote for the water read system did not include the cost of training and support. A motion was made by Amanda and seconded by David to approve an additional $3,000 for the water read system. Motion passed. d) JR discussed a drainage issue on Felzien Street. A culvert needs to be replaced. Tim Raile has agreed to split the cost as it will benefit his property where recent improvements have been made. A motion was made by Kale and seconded by Amanda to approve up to $2000 to improve Felzien Street. Motion passed. e) Ward Electric has provided a price for the electrical infrastructure work of $5,685.96 per 10-hr day for a 4 man crew which includes all equipment and expenses. The City would provide the materials. JR has a bid from Resco Supply for the materials but is trying to obtain a bid from Stanion Electric, the City’s normal supplier. It was moved by Dara and seconded by Larry to accept and file the Superintendent report. Motion passed. 11. Attorney Report – none 12. Clerk Report – a) The Council received the new Chromebooks. Now that the Council meeting packets will be shared via Google Drive Clerk Whitmore reminded the Council not to comment or collaborate on the documents prior to an open meeting. b) Lila and David will be participating in a webinar on Tuesday for Pandemic Planning. Lila will share with the Council any information received. She has posted information on the website from the County Health Department and KDHE regarding the COVID-19 pandemic. JR has spoken to Ryan Murray, Emergency Management Director, and generally speaking the City’s responsibility is to keep its crew healthy and working and to keep utilities on and maintained. Lila will ask Ryan Murray and the County Health Department to attend the next Council meeting to address questions. c) Lila will not be attending the Clerk’s Conference this week. d) Lila has received a quote for the computer upgrade from CIC and is waiting on a quote from Reach Solutions. e) Lila talked about making a change in the primary checking account and holding accounts that are now at Bankwest in order to ensure that all public funds are adequately insured at all times as well as earning interest. FNB offers pledged securities while Bankwest offers the Insured Cash Sweep program. After considerable discussion a motion was made by Kale and seconded by David to leave the funds at Bankwest but to move them from the existing accounts into Insured Cash Sweep accounts. Motion passed with Dara abstaining. It was moved by Amanda and seconded by Kale to accept and file the Clerk Report. Motion passed. 13. Council Comments: David – The CCDC Board is asking for a sense of direction from the Council with regards to the Empire Motel property. JR will touch base with CCDC Director Helen Dobbs. Kale – There were some people in town from Netflix recently who want to film a movie here. They toured various potential filming locations including the hospital and the police department. Amanda - none Dara – none Larry - none 14. Mayor Comments – none Attorney Reyelts left the meeting. 15. All bills on Ordinance #1036 were reviewed. It was moved by Kale and seconded by Amanda to approve the bills in the amount of $311,846.50. Motion passed. 16. Adjournment: It was moved by Amanda and seconded by Kale to adjourn the meeting. Motion passed. ___________________________________________ City Clerk