City Council

Regular Council Meeting October 26, 2020 1. Council President Amanda Milne called the meeting to order at 7:00. Present were Council members David Butler, Kale Dankenbring, and Dara Carmichael. Also present were City Attorney Lauren Reyelts and City Clerk Lila Whitmore. Mayor Scott Schultz, Council member Larry Finley, City Superintendent JR Landenberger and Sheriff Cody Beeson were absent. 2. Minutes from the October 13 Council meeting were distributed and read. There was one spelling correction. It was moved by Kale and seconded by Dara to approve the minutes as corrected. Motion passed. 3. Sheriff Report – Amanda shared updates from Sheriff Beeson. He has been in contact with the film crew that will be in town and has determined that there are no issues with allowing them access to the Police Department as far as he is concerned. Amanda will check with him regarding providing the Sheriff report monthly at the first meeting instead of twice a month. 4. Visitors – none 5. New Business: a. Bob Ogden – Sawhill Park Veteran’s Memorial. Mayor Schultz joined the meeting via phone. Mr. Ogden spoke to the Council regarding a Veteran’s Memorial that the VFW is hoping to put in somewhere in town. It would be a gazebo structure with bench seating and a center display of names of local veterans. Mr. Ogden proposed a couple of different sites in Sawhill Park, one of which is where the fountain currently is. There was considerable discussion. Council member Larry Finley arrived at the meeting. Sawhill Park is on the Historical Registry. The Mayor had spoken to Greg Kite who served as legal counsel and grant writer for the previous grants the City received for the bandshell. He indicated that the defining features of the park need to be preserved and therefore the fountain likely cannot be removed. The location of the memorial within the park would also need a review by the historical society to ensure it would not distract from the historical character of the park. The Council discussed possible locations in the park that might be acceptable. Another site being considered is the Roadside park. Since Sawhill Park is County property permission from the Commissioners would need to be obtained as well before the memorial could be placed there. The Council unanimously agreed that the memorial is a very worthwhile project and is in support of finding the best location for it. Amanda and Bob will attend the Commissioners meeting on October 30 to present the idea. Along with the memorial the Council also discussed improvements to Sawhill Park including the bandshell seating and repairs of the fountain. Mr. Kite had indicated that he would assist the City with applying for grants for these improvements. The City could apply for $90,000 a year and typically these grants require a match of $15,000. There is not quite $30,000 in the Bandshell fund that could be used for the match. The deadline for the grant application is November 1 so it will be next year before the City can apply. The Council also discussed locations for the proposed dog park. Dara asked about the status of the updated lighting for Sawhill park. Amanda will touch base with JR. b. Barb Holzwarth – Recycling Center concerns. Ms. Holzwarth was unable to attend the meeting. Lila explained that Ms. Holzwarth is wanting to address issues regarding people from other communities using the recycling center. She has also witnessed people leaving Styrofoam and other items that cannot be recycled. The Council discussed this and agreed it is difficult to control people’s actions and the misuse of the recycling center. Restricting access to only local people would be hard to do. The Mayor suggested a sign and donation box be placed so that people from out of town could contribute to the cost of running the recycling center. Dara had heard that the recycling center in Colby will not be accepting recyclables any longer. Scott will touch base with Roger Jensen who is on the recycling board. The topic will be discussed further when JR is present. c. Pam Bolin – was unable to attend the meeting. Mayor Schultz left the meeting. 6. Old Business:  a. Property Cleanup – There are two properties still being addressed. The property owner of one had their first appearance at Municipal Court on October 21. The owner was provided a list of what needed to be done and he will need to coordinate with JR to ensure the cleanup is being completed. A bench trail is set for December 15 and significant progress must be made prior to that date. The individual for the other property has been located and a notice to appear will be sent via certified mail, to which he will have 15 days to respond. b. Projects Pending – no updates c. Streets Project – The final design specifications should be available for review at the November 23 Council meeting. 7. Building Permits – none 8. Superintendent Report – none 9. Attorney Report – a) The Council discussed Ordinance 625 regarding the placement of address numbers on houses and buildings. The Ordinance was amended with the updated information regarding fines for non- compliance. The Council discussed which section of code the ordinance was most applicable to, Chapter 4 Buildings and Construction or Chapter 16 Zoning & Planning. Following discussion, the Council decided that Chapter 4 section 202 seemed most appropriate and requested subsection 202A be created. The numbering applies to all residences, commercial businesses, and buildings within the city limits. However, all secondary or ancillary buildings that are at the same address as a residence or business would be exempt. Lauren will revise the Ordinance. The Council approved a letter to be sent to residents and businesses to explain the purpose of the ordinance. b) Lauren requested clarification regarding the Transient Vendor fees that were previously approved by the Council. The Council confirmed that the fees and annual renewal apply to all vendors and merchants as described in Chapter 5 Business Regulations Article 1 Solicitors, Canvassers, Peddlers, not just transient vendors. She will work on updating this section of the code to include the new fees. c) Lauren requested 10 minutes of executive session for the attorney/client privilege exception to provide an update on litigation. A motion was made by Kale and seconded by David to accept and file the Attorney report. Motion passed. 10. Clerk Report – a) A motion was made by Kale and seconded by Larry to approve the letter of support to be signed by the Mayor for the Cheyenne County Hospital transportation van. Motion passed. b) A motion was made by Kale and seconded by Larry for the Council to approve and sign the County Transportation Program Letter of Commitment. Motion passed. c) The Council gave permission for Clerk Whitmore to attend the Clerk Academy which will be virtual classes to be held on November 12 and 13 at a cost of $250. d) A motion was made by Kale and seconded by Dara to approve 31 hours of vacation carryover for Jen Blair. Motion passed. e) Lila let the Council know that the 2020 budget will need to be amended to include the local sales tax fund and transfers to the infrastructure improvement fund. She will touch base with auditor Angela Ketterl. It was moved by David and seconded by Dara to accept and file the Clerk report. Motion passed. 11. Council Comments: David – none Kale – none Dara – none Larry – none 12. Council President Comments – none 13. At 8:28 a motion was made by Larry and seconded by Kale for the Council along with the City Attorney to recess into executive session for the attorney-client privilege exception for an update on litigation, the open meeting to resume at 8:33. Motion passed. The open meeting resumed, and no decisions were made. 14. Adjournment: It was moved by Kale and seconded by Dara to adjourn the meeting. Motion passed. ___________________________________________ City Clerk