City Council

Regular Council Meeting July 13, 2020 1. Mayor Scott Schultz called the meeting to order at 7:00. Present were Council members David Butler, Amanda Milne, and Larry Finley. Also present were City Superintendent JR Landenberger, City Clerk Lila Whitmore, and Sheriff Cody Beeson. Council members Kale Dankenbring and Dara Carmichael and City Attorney Lauren Reyelts were absent. 2. Minutes from the June 22 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 – 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. 4. Sheriff Report – Sheriff Beeson shared the statistics for June. Many of the numbers have gone down. As they become fully staffed there will be more time spent patrolling in St. Francis. Dog complaints are the primary call. Cody had questions regarding the designated truck routes. JR will go over the ordinance with Cody and they will work on a plan for handling the truck routes during fall harvest. It was moved by Amanda and seconded by Larry to accept and file the Sheriff’s report. Motion passed. 5. Visitors – On behalf of the Kansas Department of Commerce and Kansas Senator Rick Billinger, Dennis Weeden and Elmer Kellner presented the City Council with a large symbolic check for the $600,000 Community Development Block Grant awarded to the City for the street project. 6. New Business: a. Belinda and Tadd Neitzel addressed the Council regarding the license fee that the City requires of transient vendors. They have a business selling sno-cones. The current fee in St. Francis, set by City Code, is $50 a day or $250 a year. They are requesting the Council consider lowering the fee and in particular for local residents. The Council agreed to take it into consideration. Lila will gather information from surrounding communities regarding transient vendors and mobile food units. The topic will be added to the projects pending list. b. Kary Zweygardt, Cheyenne County Development Corporation Board President, shared the annual CCDC update with the Council. He discussed the projects and programs that the CCDC promotes throughout the year. He highlighted some of the recent activities that they have been working on in relation to COVID-19 and assisting local businesses. He shared the 2021 Proposed Budget and thanked the Council for their continued financial support. The Council expressed their thanks for the work that the CCDC does, and especially Director Helen Dobbs, in promoting economic development and tourism in St. Francis and all of Cheyenne County. c. There was further discussion regarding transient vendors and background checks. Sheriff Beeson confirmed that the Sheriff’s Department is not allowed to do non-criminal background checks. However, Clerk Whitmore indicated she is able to request background checks from KBI but the results can take several days to receive. Sheriff Beeson discussed the reasons a background check are important for transient merchants passing through. 7. Old Business: a. Property Cleanup – There has been a lot of improvement on one property although it is still far from being compliant. The other will be on the tax sale. Currently yard cleanup is the focus. Sheriff Beeson left the meeting. b. Projects Pending – a) Mayor Schultz has spoken to an interested individual regarding the Empire Motel property and they are investigating the cost to put in a basic 20 room motel. b) An updated bid was received from Finley Energy for the work at the library. The new bid is $10,000. The scope of work is comparable to that in the bid previously received from TJs improvements for $11,259.81. The Council will wait until all Council members are present to make a decision. c. Streets Project – JR has spoken to Tyler Hillmer with Miller & Associates. The design and bid process will take place this coming winter and construction will begin in the Spring. Lila updated the Council  on the Bond issue. The Bond sale is set for July 16 and the funds will be deposited into the FNB account on that day. A portion of the bond proceeds will be used for Cost of Issuance invoices. A motion was made by David and seconded by Amanda to pay these bills as they are received. Motion passed. The Mayor and Clerk signed the Federal Tax Certificate. 8. Pool Report – Larry updated the Council on the pool. Everything is running smoothly. There has been good community response and attendance has been consistent. There have been several private parties and a swim meet was held on July 10. A motion was made by David and seconded by Amanda to accept and file the pool report. Motion passed. 9. Theater Report – Lila requested 3 minutes of executive session for non-elected personnel to discuss Theater employee wages. It was moved by Larry and seconded by Amanda to accept and file the Theater report. Motion passed. 10. Building Permits – A motion was made by Amanda and seconded by David to approve the following building permits: Carol Redding – 208 S. Scott, sidewalk repair; Carol Redding – 208 S. Scott, awning; Cliff Semler – 419 S. Valley, driveway/curb & gutter; Connie Gozzler – 230 Birch, patio and porch; Janet Jensen – 312 E. First, portico and arbor; and pending JR’s approval Dee Wilson – 309 W. First, fence. Motion passed. 11. Superintendent Report – a) A lift station pump failed. A spare is always kept on hand. JR has received a quote of approximately $7,500 to rebuild the failed pump and approximately $11,000 for new. He will come back with specific numbers. He would like to place a new pump with a 3-year warranty into service and also rebuild the failed one in order to have two spares on hand. b) Recent extreme high winds have caused minor outages and some storm damage to a service pole at the redi mix. c) JR has not yet received a quote from McAtee construction for the sandblasting of the Bandshell seating area. d) JR expects to receive the poles for the electrical upgrade soon and is hoping work can begin in the fall. e) JR reminded the Council of the budget workshop scheduled for July 20. The Council agreed on a start time of 7:00pm. It was moved by Amanda and seconded by Larry to accept and file the Superintendent report. Motion passed. 12. Attorney Report – Lila read an email from Attorney Reyelts addressing citizen concerns regarding the City’s fireworks ordinance. There was some discussion but no decisions. This topic will be placed on the projects pending list for further discussion. 13. Clerk Report – a) Lila shared the Transient Vendor license application for N4 Enterprises/Tadd and Belinda Neitzel, for their Tropical Sno business. They have paid the annual $250 fee and the license was approved. b) There have been no updates so far regarding the COVID-CV grant funding that the City applied for. The County will be receiving some funding from the CARES Act. The funds can be disbursed to various entities within the County, including the City, for any expenses directly related to COVID-19. Lila indicated that the City hasn’t really been impacted much but she will look at the requirements to see if any expenses that have been incurred could be eligible for reimbursement. c) The Governing Body Institute has been changed to a virtual event on the afternoon of July 30 and morning of July 31. David is registered and Lila asked other Council members to let her know if they are interested in attending. d) Lila shared the draft budget for the Council to review prior to the workshop. It was moved by David and seconded by Amanda to accept and file the Clerk Report. Motion passed. 14. Council Comments: David – none Amanda – none Larry – none 15. Mayor Comments –Mayor Schultz thanked the City crew for helping with the car show at the Roadside Park. The Council briefly discussed the usage of the Roadside Park and the need for upgrades, especially with the bathrooms/showers. Lila pointed out that camping fees collected could be utilized for improvements. 16. All bills on Ordinance #1040 were reviewed. It was moved by Amanda and seconded by Larry to approve the bills in the amount of $346,968.03. Motion passed. 17. At 8:55pm a motion was made by Larry and seconded by Amanda for all those present to recess into executive session for the non-elected personnel exception to discuss theater employee wages, the open meeting to resume at 8:58. Motion passed. The open meeting resumed. A motion was made by Amanda and seconded by Larry to approve the theater employee wage increases as recommended by the Theater Board. Motion passed. 18. Adjournment: It was moved by Amanda and seconded by Larry to adjourn the meeting. Motion passed. ___________________________________________ City Clerk