City Council

Regular Council Meeting February 8, 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 January 25 Council meeting were distributed and read. It was moved by David and seconded by Larry to approve the minutes as written. 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; Motion passed. 4. Visitors – none 5. Sheriff Report: a) Sheriff Beeson did not have the statistics for January but indicated it had been a quiet month. They are still short 1 deputy. It was moved by Kale and seconded by Dara to accept and file the Sheriff Report. Motion passed. Sheriff Beeson left the meeting. 6. New Business: a. Tyler Hillmer with Miller & Associates joined the meeting via phone. He let the Council know that one bid had been received from McCormick Excavation for the street project. The bid was reviewed and approved by Miller & Associates. Since it was a single bid, however, approval also needs to be obtained from the Kansas Department of Commerce for the CDBG funding. A motion was made by Kale and seconded by David to approve the Notice of Award to McCormick Excavation & Paving in the amount of $1,167,271.32 contingent upon approval from the Kansas Department of Commerce. David – yes, Kale – yes, Dara – yes, Larry – yes. Motion passed. b. A motion was made by David and seconded by Kale to approve a peddler’s License for the SFCHS Junior Class to sell Krispy Kreme donuts and merchandise from booncity.com and to waive the fees and background checks. Motion passed. c. A motion was made by Dara and seconded by Larry to designate Scott Schultz as Director 1 and Kale Dankenbring as Alternate for the KMEA Board of Directors for a two-year term beginning May 1, 2021. Motion passed. 7. Old Business: a. Property Cleanup – Taxes were paid on the Poulson property. It is back on the cleanup list and the notification process has been restarted. b. Projects Pending – a) “Recording of Council Meetings” will be removed from the project pending list. Lila will continue to capture audio recordings of the meetings and they are posted on the City website. b) Regarding the KDOT issue, Lauren will contact another law firm if she has not heard back by Friday from the initial attorney she had contacted. c. Streets Project – no updates 8. Building Permits - none 9. Superintendent Report – a) JR has been in contact with Greg Kite regarding the proposed band shell improvements. Because the Band shell is on the historical registry the City could apply for Heritage Trust Fund grants as they did in the past which requires a 20% match. Engineering specifications and a formal bidding process would be required. The deadline for applying is November. Any improvements to Sawhill Park need to be approved by the Historical Society. JR will continue corresponding with Mr. Kite. The Council questioned what benefit or value there is in having the band shell listed on the historical registry other than the grants that are available. JR will find out. b) JR attended the last County Commissioners meeting to discuss recycling. There are no definitive answers yet. c) JR shared a power cost analysis report. With the new Prairie Land/Sunflower agreement the City’s cost is approximately $300,000 less when compared to the cost in 2013. JR recommended that the savings being realized now should be invested in the electrical infrastructure improvements. d) A motion was made by Dara and seconded by David to  approve an out of cycle payment to American Implement for $16,850 for the 2020 John Deere Gator. Motion passed. It was moved by Kale and seconded by Larry to accept and file the Superintendent report. Motion passed. 10. Attorney Report – a) Attorney Reyelts clarified the transient vendor ordinance with regards to background checks. Only those names that appear on the application are subject to background checks. b) Lauren presented the updated Law Enforcement Agreement. Changes were made so that the agreement will automatically renew unless either party terminates it in writing. The consideration (payment) will be reviewed no later than June 15 of each year. A motion was made by Kale and seconded by Dara to approve the Law Enforcement Agreement. Motion passed. The agreement will be submitted to the County Commissioners for their approval and signatures. It was moved by Larry and seconded by David to accept and file the Attorney report. Motion passed. 11. Clerk Report – a) A motion was made by Kale and seconded by Larry to approve the Mobile Home Park License for Eldon Zimbelman. Motion passed. b) A motion was made by David and seconded by Dara to approve an out of cycle payment for the St. Francis Herald bill when it comes due. Motion passed. c) The Shuttered Venue Operators grant is not yet open for applications. Lila will continue to monitor the grant. It was moved by Dara and seconded by Kale to accept and file the Clerk report. Motion passed. 12. Council Comments: David – As a member of the CCDC, David has been tasked with recognizing new businesses in town. He plans to have something published in the St. Francis Herald unless there is a cost for that. He would also like to recognize the businesses on the City website. Kale – There have been complaints regarding unleashed dogs at Keller Pond. The current City code does not address this since Keller Pond is not in the City Limits. Lauren will amend the code to allow for enforcement of all City Ordinances at Keller Pond. Signs can then be placed designating the rules that must be followed. Dara – none Larry – A Concert in the Park featuring the Long Run Band is tentatively scheduled for August 28. The event will be similar to last year. 13. Council President Comments – none Attorney Reyelts left the meeting. 14. All bills on Ordinance #1047 were reviewed. It was moved by Kale and seconded by David to approve the bills in the amount of $251,227.07. Motion passed. 15. Adjournment: It was moved by Dara and seconded by Larry to adjourn the meeting. Motion passed. ___________________________________________ City Clerk