City Council

Regular Council Meeting June 8, 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 and City Attorney Lauren Reyelts. City Clerk Lila Whitmore joined remotely via Zoom. Sheriff Beeson was absent. 2. Minutes from the May 26 Council meeting were distributed and read. It was moved by Amanda and seconded by Dara to approve the minutes as written. Motion passed. 3. Minutes from the May 28 Public Hearing were distributed and read. It was moved by David and seconded by Amanda to approve the minutes as written. Motion passed. 4. Consent Agenda – It was moved by Larry and seconded by David 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. Motion passed. 5. Sheriff Report - none 6. New Business: a. Angela Ketterl, CPA with Adams, Brown, Beran & Ball, presented the 2019 Audit Report. She reviewed the financial statements and reported there were no budget violations. She reviewed the auditor recommendations for process improvements. A motion was made by Kale and seconded by Dara to approve the Audit report. Motion passed. b. Mandie Hachmeister with Options Domestic and Sexual Violence Services joined via zoom to talk about the services the organization provides to communities in Western Kansas and to share statistics for Cheyenne County. She thanked the Council for their past support. c. Helen Dobbs, Cheyenne County Development Corporation Director, spoke to the Council about the Empire Motel property. CCDC will be making efforts to market the property and she recommended that the Council decide on an asking price for the lot. The current appraised value is $15,280. A motion was made by Kale and seconded by Larry to offer the property for sale for $15,280. Motion passed with Amanda abstaining. Helen will send out flyers about the property to contacts that she has and to people who might have an interest in it. Helen will be working on the ad for the Ultimate Guide to Northwest Kansas and asked the Council to send her ideas on what types of pictures to include. She also recommended that the Council consider having brochures created to advertise St. Francis. She believes the cost would be around $1,500 to create and produce 5,000 brochures. The Council agreed it would be a good idea and asked her to come back with a plan. The Cheyenneopoly games are ready for purchase. She gave an update on the Land & Sky Scenic Byway which received Honorable Mention as a National Scenic Byway. She is also working on an application for the National Byway Designation. She invited everyone to attend the NWKP&DC meeting Wednesday evening at the community building in Hill City. d. Justine Benoit with NWKP&DC updated the Council on the CDBG-CV grant application. She then shared information regarding the environmental study that was required for the CDBG grant for the street project. A motion was made by David and seconded by Dara to approve the environmental review for the street project #20-PF-014. Motion passed. Justine will send Clerk Whitmore a notice to post in City Hall. The notice must be posted for 10 days and then there will be another form for the Mayor to sign. Once this is approved by the State, we can move forward with the street project. e. Lacey Grogan – Delinquent Notice Complaint – Ms. Grogan requested to be on the agenda but did not attend the meeting. f. A motion was made by Amanda and seconded by David to approve the Small Business Incentive Application for Tin Roof Bakery/Christina Zimmerman. Motion passed. 7. Old Business:  a. Property Cleanup – Attorney Reyelts has issued letters to two properties on the list. They will have until June 16th to either contact us or resolve the issue. If no contact or progress is made Attorney Reyelts will process the complaint for violation of ordinance. b. Projects Pending – a) Mayor Schultz reported that Finley Construction will be preparing a quote for the work that needs done at the library. Amanda asked if the work should be put out for bids. Scott indicated he had spoken to a couple of local contractors who were not interested in the job. He will check with others. b) There was some discussion regarding Sawhill Park. David asked if the fountain could be painted before pictures are taken for the proposed brochure. JR is still waiting on a quote from McAtee Construction for sandblasting the seating area. c. Streets Project – Four bids were received for the tree removal: Rocking Tree Services, Atwood - $8,100; Barnes Tree Service, St. Francis - $11,400; Knuckles Tree Care, Ulysses- $13,440; SCR Tree Service, Goodland - $12,150. A motion was made by Amanda and seconded by David to accept the low bid of $8,100 from Rocking Tree Services. Motion passed. JR had also requested the contractors bid on removal of evergreen bushes at the Roadside Park. The following quotes were received: Rocking Tree Services - $2,250; Barnes Tree Service - $5,050 Knuckles Tree Care - $4,750; SCR Tree Service - $5,800. A motion was made by Kale and seconded by Larry to accept the low bid of $2,250 from Rocking Tree Services. Motion passed. Lila then presented a Tree Trim License Application for Rocking Tree Services/Matthew Finley. A motion was made by David and seconded by Dara to approve the application. Motion passed. 8. Pool Report – Larry updated the Council on the pool. The pool will be opening June 10 at 1pm. The employees have been busy with cleanup, reorganizing, and working on establishing cleaning procedures. There are a couple of private parties booked already. Milliken Reyelts PA will be sponsoring admission on opening day. The Recreation Commission is sponsoring admission on June 19, July 4, and August 8. There will be no limitations on the number of admissions. Signs will be posted recommending social distancing guidelines be followed. The Council discussed the unfinished area between the pool property and the school property. JR indicated it probably needs to be cemented. Larry talked briefly about the need for an AED device at the pool. At this time, they are not required for pools but may be in the future. They may be able to borrow one from the grade school. The cost to purchase one would be between $1000 and $1500. Bruce Swihart on the pool board had contacted Clerk Whitmore about this and Larry will follow up with him. Dara mentioned there may be grant funds available from the Community Foundation. Larry will get information so that the Clerk’s office can write a grant application. A motion was made by Amanda and seconded by Kale to accept and file the pool report. Motion passed. 9. Theater Report – Dara reported that the Theater is now open. They are following social distancing guidelines in the lobby area and are seating people in the auditorium area to ensure that the guidelines are followed. There are no new releases coming out so old movies are being shown. Last weekend was Jaws, this week will be ET. It was moved by Larry and seconded by Kale to accept and file the Theater report. Motion passed. 10. Building Permits – A motion was made by Amanda and seconded by Kale to approve the following building permits: Lane Woodworth – 210 Cedar Street, post frame steel panel garage; Leonel Mayorquin -321 N. Scott, cement strip 6’ x 50’; Darci Kehlbeck – 204 E. Whittier, fence; Vicki Killingsworth/Auto Barn – 201 E. Washington, carport; Tommie Peter – 310 W. Webster, remove and replace driveway; Grant Brown – 308 E. Whittier, concrete pads; Farrell McAtee – 403 N. Denison, concrete and steel fence replacement; and pending JR’s approval: Melissa Zweygardt/Tin Roof Baking Co – 413 E. Washington, pre-built shed. Motion passed. 11. Superintendent Report – a) JR has received an updated bid from Resco for the materials for the electrical infrastructure project for Feeders 1 and 3. A motion was made by Kale and seconded by Dara to approve the purchase of materials for $111,864.06 plus tax from Resco. Motion passed. JR has also been in contact with Ward Electric out of Longmont Colorado to do the work. There will be no need to borrow funds or issue bonds for the project as cash reserves will be used. The savings being realized from the renegotiated contract with Sunflower will produce savings that will go towards replenishing cash reserves. b) Recent high winds have caused some issues with power. c) There was a fire on city property after dumping the grass pile at the old city dump. It was quickly brought under control. d) With the relaxing of social distancing guidelines JR recommended that zoom meetings not be used moving forward and going back to in person  meetings as usual. Conference calling can be utilized if necessary. The Council agreed. e) A motion was made by Larry and seconded by Kale to approve a Chicken Permit for Doug Ross at 536 E. Whittier. Motion passed. f) Hill Trash Service is still planning to move to an automatic lift system. g) The Council discussed the issue with trash and other things being dumped in the grass clipping pile at the recycling center. It was moved by Amanda and seconded by Larry to accept and file the Superintendent report. Motion passed. 12. Attorney Report – a) Attorney Reyelts pointed out that there had been an issue with the Aquatic Park using a photograph on their Facebook page that was owned by someone else. She had sent a memo to Pool Manager Kelley Milliken and copied Lila and JR letting them know that credit must be given to the photographer and permission received from them to use someone else’s photos. In addition, Lauren will be creating a notice to be posted on Facebook, on the City’s website, and at the pool to let people know that by using the pool they consent for photos taken of them by pool staff to be used for marketing purposes. b) Judge Keller has let Lauren know that she will be coming to a Council meeting to discuss moving Municipal Court to the Council chambers. Lauren has asked Judge Keller to share the statutes and ordinances that address this. She reiterated her concerns regarding the safety protocols and questioned the cost of moving the location. Lila indicated Judge Keller had requested to be on the Agenda for June 22. It was moved by Kale and seconded by Amanda to accept and file the Attorney report. Motion passed. 13. Clerk Report – a) A motion was made by Kale and seconded by David to approve a Fireworks License for Jennifer Milne/Milne’s Mayhem at 215 N. Adams. Motion passed. b) Lila presented an invoice from Computer Information Concepts for the onsite installation of and training for the Timecard Plus software for $1,315.24. The invoice included 3 days hotel, travel, and meals for the CIC Consultant. A motion was made by Kale and seconded by Dara to approve payment of the invoice. Motion passed. c) It is time to begin work on the 2021 budget. Angela Ketterl with Adams, Brown, Beran, and Ball will once again assist with creating the budget. A motion was made by Amanda and seconded by Larry to approve the budget prep engagement with ABBB for an amount not to exceed $1,580. Motion passed. It was moved by David and seconded by Dara to accept and file the Clerk Report. Motion passed. 14. Council Comments: David – will not be at the next meeting but could join remotely if needed Kale – none Amanda – none Dara – none Larry – is once again organizing a concert in the park with the Long Run band to be held on August 29. 15. Mayor Comments –Mayor Schultz requested two executive sessions be called: non-elected personnel for a personnel issue and non-elected personnel for wages. Attorney Reyelts left the meeting. 16. All bills on Ordinance #1039 were reviewed. It was moved by Kale and seconded by Amanda to approve the bills in the amount of $132,663.28. Motion passed. Superintendent Landenberger left the meeting. 17. At 9:03pm a motion was made by Amanda and seconded by Kale for the Mayor and Council to recess into executive session for the non-elected personnel exception to discuss wages, the open meeting to resume at 9:08. Motion passed. The open meeting resumed, and Mayor Schultz directed Superintendent Landenberger and Clerk Whitmore to put together employee wage recommendations to bring back to the Council. 18. At 9:10pm a motion was made by Larry and seconded by David for the Mayor and Council to recess into executive session for the non-elected personnel exception to discuss a personnel issue, the open meeting to resume at 9:20. The open meeting resumed and there were no decisions made. 19. Adjournment: It was moved by Amanda and seconded by Larry to adjourn the meeting. Motion passed. ___________________________________________ City Clerk