City Council

Regular Council Meeting January 11, 2021 1. Council President Amanda Milne called the meeting to order at 7:00. Present were Council members Kale Dankenbring, David Butler, Dara Carmichael and Larry Finley. Also present were City Superintendent JR Landenberger, City Clerk Lila Whitmore, Sheriff Cody Beeson, and Attorney Lauren Reyelts. Mayor Scott Schultz was absent. 2. Minutes from the December 28 Council meeting were distributed and read. There was one correction. It was moved by Kale and seconded by Dara to approve the minutes as amended. Motion passed. 3. Consent Agenda – It was moved by Larry and seconded by Kale 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 pay the following dues: CCMFOA - $100. Motion passed. 4. Visitors – none 5. Sheriff Report: a) Sheriff Beeson shared the statistics for December. He also shared a summary of 2020. The Council discussed the inaccuracy of the statistics due to many of the issues that are reported as St. Francis calls are not actually specific to St. Francis, for example VIN inspections. Cody explained that the calls are logged in the software based on zip code and therefore any issues worked at the Courthouse would be logged as St. Francis calls. There does not appear to be a way to report the St. Francis calls separately. Cody will email the statistics to the City Clerk and she will send them out to the Council. b) Two new deputies are back from training, but another has resigned. c) There was some discussion regarding the renewal of the law enforcement agreement between St. Francis and the County. The initial contract was based on a 3-year period with credits given over that time period for equipment that was transferred from the police department to the sheriff’s department. Cody is not anticipating any changes to that but indicated a cost increase may be needed in the future. The primary concern is that starting wages for deputies in Cheyenne County is below what is being paid in surrounding counties and so it may need to be increased to remain competitive. Cody suggested a workshop closer to budget time to discuss the agreement and expectations. It was moved by David and seconded by Kale to accept and file the Sheriff Report. Motion passed. Sheriff Beeson left the meeting. 6. New Business: a. On behalf of Mayor Scott Schultz, Council President Milne presented the Mayor Appointments. Lila pointed out that there is currently one vacancy on the Housing Authority board. One community citizen is also needed for the Keller Pond/River Walk Committee. Scott will serve as an interim member until another person is found. An ad will be placed in the St. Francis Herald to seek a volunteer. David mentioned that Jason Padgett is starting up an online newspaper again and it could be beneficial to advertise in it as well and link to it from the City Website. David will ask Jason to contact Lila. It was moved by Larry and seconded by Dara to approve the following 2021 appointments: City Attorney – Lauren Reyelts; City Superintendent – JR Landenberger; City Clerk – Lila Whitmore; City Treasurer – Jennifer Blair; Municipal Judge – Paula Keller; Freedom of Information Officer – Lila Whitmore; Fire Chief – Dan Blair; Assistant Fire Chief – Chris LaBarge; Fire Department Treasurer – Keaton Frewen; Official Newspaper – St. Francis Herald; Official Depositories – Bankwest, FNB Bank, Western State Bank; Theater Board – Council member Dara Carmichael, Robert Grace, Justin Lohr, Brent Rueb, Margyre Antholz, Pat Cress; Roadside Park Board – Council member Kale Dankenbring, City Superintendent JR Landenberger, Mike Meyer, Carla Lampe, Kary Zweygardt; Pool Board – Council member Larry Finley, City Superintendent JR Landenberger, Margaret Poling, Bruce Swihart, Keely Loyd, Shara Johnson; Housing Authority – Keely Loyd, Bruce Swihart, Janet Jensen, Carol Larson; Airport Commission – Dave Yost, Rodney Bracelin; Public Building Commission – Council members: David Butler, Dara Carmichael, and Larry Finley, St. Francis Recreation Commission members: Holly Hingst and Susan Dinkel, Members at large: Kelly Frewen and Roger Jensen; CCDC Board – David Butler; 911 Board – Amanda Milne; Cheyenne County Kansas Community Foundation – Dara Carmichael; CC4C Board – Amanda Milne;  Standing Committees: Streets & Alleys – Amanda Milne, Scott Schultz; Utility – Kale Dankenbring, Scott Schultz; Parks, Recreation and Refuse – Dara Carmichael, David Butler, Kale Dankenbring; Safety – JR Landenberger, Dan Blair, Amanda Milne, Lila Whitmore; Washington Street Beautification Committee – Amanda Milne, Dara Carmichael, Robyn Raile, Carla Lampe, JR Landenberger, Dustin Confer; Keller Pond Committee – Larry Finley, Dave Flemming, Scott Schultz. Motion passed. b. A motion was made by Kale and seconded by Dara to approve payment of the following 2020 budgeted allocations: Cheyenne County Development Corporation - $26,816; Senior Center - $8,800; Options Domestic Violence - $1,500; Western Kansas Child Advocacy Center - $1,500. Motion passed. c. A motion was made by Larry and seconded by Kale to approve the tree trim license application for Second Chance Ranch. Motion passed. 7. Old Business: a. Property Cleanup – Taxes were paid on the Poulson property, so it is back on the cleanup list. The Zweygardt property is on hold until March. The property at 114 W. Emerson has a public safety hazard with a very large tree branch hanging over the sidewalk/street that could potentially fall. The property owner was contacted but nothing has been done. Lauren will send a letter. b. Projects Pending – no updates c. Streets Project – The bid opening is scheduled for 2pm on January 21. 8. Theater Report – Dara reported that the Theater board met on January 4. Pat Cress is a new board member but was unable to attend the meeting. The Theater passed their recent health inspection. However, they cannot serve hot dogs any longer because there is no sink in the concessions area. The board also discussed the federal grant that is part of the latest stimulus package which the theater may be eligible for. Recently released movies are being shown again. It was moved by Kale and seconded by David to accept and file the theater report. Motion passed. 9. Building Permits - none 10. Superintendent Report – a) A motion was made by Larry and seconded by Kale to approve the chemical bid from Stratton Equity Coop in the amount of $4,888. Motion passed. b) The Kawasaki mule for the parks department has needed a lot of repairs. JR plans to trade it in for a new one while it still has trade in value. c) JR will be looking into the cost to purchase a bucket truck and a digger derrick with equipment reserve funds. d) JR contacted the CEO of the hospital, Rance Ramsey, to discuss the storm routes and snow removal. e) JR, Amanda, Robert Grace, and Tom Smull will be meeting with Betty Johnson at the Theater at noon on Wednesday the 13th to discuss the theater renovations as well as the bandshell seating to determine if they could be considered for placement on the list of strategic doing projects for Hansen grants. f) A motion was made by Kale and seconded by David to approve vacation carryover of 40 hours for JR Landenberger and 3 hours for Mike Meyer. Motion passed. It was moved by Kale and seconded by Dara to accept and file the Superintendent report. Motion passed. 11. Attorney Report – Attorney Reyelts reported that she has not seen any recent citations for the City from the Sheriff’s department. Many of the calls are likely going through District Court. It was moved by David and seconded by Larry to accept and file the Attorney report. Motion passed. 12. Clerk Report – a) A motion was made by Larry and seconded by Kale to re-encumber the following for 2021: McAtee Construction: intersection of Spencer and Benton - $22,500, curb and gutter along Courthouse Park - $420, intersection of Washington Street at Angle Road - $7,560. Motion passed. b) Lila updated the Council on the individual seeking to obtain a RV Park License for the Mobile Home Park located at 502 S. Valley. They have owned the property since December of 2020 and have not yet obtained a Mobile Home Park license which is in violation of City Code. Clerk Whitmore has attempted to contact him multiple times with no response. Lila will send a letter. She will also include the information regarding the RV Park License. The Council identified the properties that he would need to contact to apply for a variance. c) In 2016 the City received a grant from the new generation fund for $625 to be used for playground equipment. Swings were purchased for $271.45, but the balance of $353.55 was never used and has been carried over in the general fund. Connie Hays has expressed an interest in purchasing a spring ride for the playground at the Courthouse Park. The cost would be $543 plus $98.50 for shipping. The Council agreed that two new spring rides would be nice to have in the park. A motion was made by Kale and seconded by Dara to purchase a  second spring ride for $641.50 utilizing the remaining grant funds towards the purchase. Motion passed. d) Lila explained that she has not yet paid the compensating use tax for Q4 of 2020. She is waiting to hear back from the Kansas Dept of Revenue Sales Tax Division on whether or not sales tax is owed on the labor for the electrical infrastructure work. The company did not charge sales tax, but Lila believes that it may be owed. It would be approximately $14,000. Once she receives an answer from KDOR she will be able to pay the compensating use tax. A motion was made by Dara and seconded by David to make an out of cycle payment for the compensating use tax. Motion passed. e) Lila reminded the Council that City Hall would be closed on Monday January 18 for Martin Luther King Day. It was moved by Kale and seconded by Larry to accept and file the Clerk report. Motion passed. 13. Council Comments: David – asked what the Empire Motel property could be used for. Lila had shared the original grant applications when funds were received to raze the building. At that time the strategic doing initiative was focusing on lodging, which is still the preferred use for the property, but other things could be considered. Kale – none Dara – asked if there has been any feedback regarding the house numbers. The consensus was there has not been much said about them. Dara has heard some complaints regarding the trash containers being placed where it is difficult for older residents to get to and move them after the trash has been picked up. JR indicated Hill Trash Service will work with the older residents on this if he knows the addresses where this is happening. Larry – none 14. Council President Comments – none Attorney Reyelts left the meeting. 15. All bills on Ordinance #1046 were reviewed. It was moved by Kale and seconded by Dara to approve the bills in the amount of $219,760.63. Motion passed. 16. Adjournment: It was moved by David and seconded by Larry to adjourn the meeting. Motion passed. ___________________________________________ City Clerk