City Council

Regular Council Meeting July 27, 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 Cody Beeson was absent. 2. Minutes from the July 13 Council meeting were distributed and read. It was moved by Amanda and seconded by David to approve the minutes as written. Motion passed. 3. Minutes from the July 20 Budget Workshop were distributed and read. It was moved by Amanda and seconded by Larry to approve the minutes as written. Motion passed. 4. Minutes from the July 21 Budget Workshop were distributed and read. It was moved by Amanda and seconded by David to approve the minutes as written. Motion passed. 5. Sheriff Report – none 6. Visitors – none 7. New Business: a. Cheyenne County Fair Board/Josh Johnson – On behalf of the Cheyenne County Fair Board, Josh Johnson submitted a Special Event Permit application for a Concert in the Park to be held on August 6 in conjunction with the Cheyenne County Fair. He explained that the reason for not having the concert at the grandstands is that the wind has damaged the portable stage and also they would like to have a beer garden which is not allowed at the fairgrounds. Admission will be charged with the proceeds going back to the Fair Board. The application for the CMB license is in the name of Samantha Johnson. Mayor Schultz asked Mr. Johnson to touch base with Sheriff Beeson to make sure he knows about the concert and the beer garden. Mr. Johnson was asked if the County Commissioners were aware of the event and he indicated that he would be speaking with them at their meeting on Friday. After discussion a motion was made by Kale and seconded by Amanda to approve the Special Event Permit and the Bandshell Rental Agreement for the Cheyenne County Fair Board contingent upon Mr. Johnson providing to the City Clerk proof of liability insurance, a Sales Tax ID number for the CMB License, and payment of all of the required fees. Motion passed. b. Helen Dobbs, Cheyenne County Development Corporation Director, shared a “For Sale” document with information regarding the Empire Motel property that can be sent to prospective buyers. She also showed the Council two variations of the brochure that is being created for the City. The Council approved of the designs and offered suggestions for additions and changes. A quote was received from Publication Printers corp. for $792.70 to create 2500 brochures. c. A motion was made by Amanda and seconded by Dara to approve Resolution 2020-5: City Coronavirus Relief Fund Resolution. David – Yes, Kale – Yes, Amanda – Yes, Dara – Yes, Larry – Yes. Motion passed. This is a resolution which needed to be passed for the City to receive funds to be distributed by Cheyenne County that have been appropriated by the State of Kansas through the State’s Coronavirus Relief Fund. Clerk Whitmore has submitted the required documentation for COVID related expenses that the City has incurred thus far. In addition to previous COVID related expenses, funds can be requested for future anticipated expenses. The Council could consider things such as hand sanitizing stations or other potential needs. She encouraged Council members to attend the stakeholder meetings that are being held each Monday at 3:30. d. The Council discussed the CDBG-CV grant that the City was awarded in the amount of $173,600. Of this amount $35,000 is designated for meal programs, $123,600 for economic development, and $15,000 for grant administration. The City Council will make the decisions on the distribution of the funding. More details regarding the grant will be sent soon and Lila will be in contact with Justine Benoit with NWKP&DC who is the grant administrator. 8. Old Business: a. Final 2021 Budget Review – Lila presented the updated 2021 Budget for the Council to review. The auditors have indicated that the Council needs to approve the newly created funds by motion and vote. The Infrastructure Sales Tax Fund is a budgeted fund for the collection of the 1% local sales tax. A motion was made by David and seconded by Dara to approve the creation of this fund.  Motion passed. The following non budgeted funds were also created per the requirements of the bond resolution: Bond & Interest Fund for the debt service on the bonds; Projects and Cost of Issuance Funds for the Bond Proceeds. In addition, the Grants Fund was created for the CDBG funds that will be received, and the Infrastructure Improvement Fund, which is a capital improvement fund, is for the portion of the 1% sales tax not used for debt service. A motion was made by Amanda and seconded by Kale to approve the creation of the non-budgeted funds. Motion passed. Lila reviewed the changes that had been made following the budget workshop. A motion was then made by Larry and seconded by David to approve the budget for publication of the budget hearing. Motion passed. The budget hearing will be held at 6:45pm August 10 prior to the next Council meeting. b. Granite – The Council reviewed the quote received from Granite for the City’s phone service. Lila indicated she had spoken with Nex-Tech and they are not able to offer any better pricing than what we are currently receiving. The comparisons provided by Granite showed a savings of approximately $189 a month, however Lila indicated that the actual savings might not be quite that much based on inaccuracies in the current cost comparisons shown on the quote, but it would be close. The Council discussed the fact that Granite is not a local business with its headquarters being in Massachusetts while Nex-Tech is based in Lenora, Kansas. The Council’s preference is to keep the City’s service local in Kansas. A motion was made by Dara and seconded by David to keep the telecom service with Nex-Tech. Motion passed. c. Property Cleanup – One property on the list will be on the tax sale in August. A court summons may need to be issued for the second property. There are several others that need attention but are also on the tax sale. JR and Lauren will review the list of properties. d. Projects Pending – a) Lila let the Council know that Kodi was out of the office last week but will continue working on gathering data on the Transient Vendor fees in surrounding communities and we should have something by the next meeting. b) The Council discussed the bids for the library which were Finley Energy from Atwood - $10,000 and TJs Improvement from St. Francis - $11,259.81. The Council’s preference is to use a local contractor if there is not a large difference between bids. A motion was made by David and seconded by Kale to accept the bid from TJs Improvements for $11,259.81. Motion passed with Amanda abstaining. e. Streets Project – Trees are being removed. We are looking at Spring of 2021 for the work to begin. 9. Pool Report – The pool board is hoping to push the closing date to August 16 and extend lap swimming and aquacise to the end of August, and possibly be open on Sunday afternoons as well. School athletics are scheduled to begin on August 17 and school starts on August 20 so it will depend on the availability of lifeguards. They would like to schedule more private parties if they can. The goal is to get as much use out of the pool as possible. A motion was made by Dara and seconded by Amanda to accept and file the pool report. Motion passed. 10. Building Permits – A motion was made by Larry and seconded by Kale to approve the following building permits: Lannie Robbins – 217 E. North, carport; Gary Cooper – 620 S. Benton, sidewalk; Luis Castillo – 310 W. First, wood porch; Noe Musquiz – 501 S. River, awning; Janet Jensen – 312 E. First, replace privacy fence, patio awning. Motion passed. 11. Superintendent Report – a) JR is trying to line up additional street work to be done. One section he would like to have completed soon is at the West end of Washington Street by the Co-op. It will cost approximately $8,000. b) JR talked about the electrical infrastructure work to be done and recommended the Council approve budget authority of $286,000. This is a total for both the materials that are purchased, which were previously approved, and the first portion of the work to be done by Ward Electric at a cost of approximately $150,000. A motion was made by Kale and seconded by David to approve $150,000 for the electrical infrastructure improvements labor cost from Ward Electric. Motion passed. c) In cooperation with the County, chip sealing should be completed on Whittier street this week. Fog sealing will be scheduled for College street in the fall. d) During the recent storms a pole was broken on River Street. e) JR talked about the need to raise trash rates as the contract price with Hill Trash service increases 2% a year. He recommended the City look at all of our service rates and compare them to surrounding communities. JR pointed out that the contract with Hill Trash Service is an annual contract and we will need to renew it. It was moved by David and seconded by Larry to accept and file the Superintendent report. Motion passed. 12. Attorney Report – a) Attorney Reyelts talked more about the fireworks complaints that she had received. This topic is on the projects pending list for future discussion. The Mayor pointed out that citizens should voice their concerns to a City Council member or the Mayor rather than to the City Attorney. b) Lauren is working on a substantial matter in City Court that she could not discuss but wanted the Council to be aware of because it is more involved than other cases and has the potential for litigation. A motion was made by Kale and seconded by Amanda to accept and file the Attorney report. Motion passed. 13. Clerk Report – a) The company who has washed the windows at City Hall for many years is no longer in business. They have recommended a company from Colby called New System Window Cleaning. Lila has contacted them, and they will continue to wash the windows for the same rate as what we are currently paying which is $65 a visit. The Council approved. b) Lila presented a bandshell rental application from Killy Hilt and the SFCHS Dance Team. They would like to hold a dance camp as a fundraiser for the dance team which is a non-profit organization. A motion was made by Dara and seconded by Kale to approve the application and waive the rental fee. Motion passed. c) A motion was made by Larry and seconded by Dara to approve a Chicken Permit for Jennifer Milne at 220 S. Adams. Motion passed. It was moved by David and seconded by Kale to accept and file the Clerk Report. Motion passed. 14. Council Comments: David – none Kale – At the next Council meeting he will be bringing his application for a beer garden for the August 29 Concert in the Park Amanda – none Dara – none Larry – the Recreation Commission has been considering putting in a volleyball net in the park behind the courthouse and asked for the Council’s input. No decisions were made. 15. Mayor Comments – Mayor Schultz requested 5 minutes of executive session for non-elected personnel to discuss a job description. Lauren and JR left the meeting. 16. At 8:47pm a motion was made by Larry and seconded by Amanda for the Mayor and Council to recess into executive session for the non-elected personnel exception to discuss a job description, the open meeting to resume at 8:52. Motion passed. The open meeting resumed. No decisions were made. 17. Adjournment: It was moved by Larry and seconded by Kale to adjourn the meeting. Motion passed. ___________________________________________ City Clerk