City Council

Regular Council Meeting June 28, 2021 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, City Attorney Lauren Reyelts, and Sheriff Cody Beeson. 2. Minutes from the June 14 Council meeting were distributed and read. It was moved by Amanda and seconded by Dara to approve the minutes as written. Motion passed. 3. Minutes from the June 17 special meeting were distributed and read. It was moved by Larry and seconded by David to approve the minutes as written. Motion passed. 4. Visitors – none 5. New Business: a. Jennifer Hecker, Executive Director with Options Domestic Violence was present to talk about the services the organization provides to communities in Western Kansas and to share the statistics for Cheyenne County. b. Pat Rose addressed the Council with concerns regarding the trash service and an incident that had occurred the previous week. The Council, along with JR and Gary Hill with Hill Trash Pick-up, acknowledged and discussed her concerns. The topic of loose trash was discussed and JR explained that the contract the City has with Hill Trash Pick-up states that they will pick up the trash that is in the receptacle and properly bagged. The trash receptacles are the responsibility of the home owner. The contract also states that the trash receptacle must have reasonable access. Mr. Hill requested the Council talk more about the trash service his company provides to the City. He pointed out that the contract between the City and Hill Trash Pick-up had not been renewed last June and we have been operating without a contract in place. The previous contract specified that an annual 2% increase in the per container charge would occur each June but this was not done in 2020. The City continued to pay the old rate and the amount due to Hill Trash Service is approximately $3,200. In addition the current rate beginning July 1 needs to be increased by another 2%. Along with this Mr. Hill explained that changes need to be made in the way trash is being picked up. The manual method of emptying the trash cans is not only inefficient but also potentially dangerous when objects that can cause injury are placed into trash bags. This recently happened in St. Francis and one of his employees was injured. The current trash trucks require 2 people, one to drive and one to pick up the trash and it is becoming increasingly difficult to hire and retain employees. The solution is to move to automated trash trucks. Mr. Hill asked the Council to address these issues tonight and the topic was tabled for further discussion later in the meeting. c. Dan Blair, Fire Chief, was present to obtain the Council’s approval for two new volunteer firemen, Blake Krien and Martin Hilt. The Council approved. Dan shared a quote from Reach Solutions for a new computer in the amount of $1,224, which would be split between the City and the County. A motion was made by Amanda and seconded by Kale to approve the purchase for $612. Motion passed. Pump testing has been completed. d. Helen Dobbs, Cheyenne Community Development Corporation Director, along with Kary Zweygardt CCDC Board President and Justin Culwell, CCDC board member, were present. Helen shared the 2021 CCDC update with the Council and discussed the various economic development activities they are involved with along with programs to promote travel and tourism in St. Francis and Cheyenne County. She also shared their 2022 budget. Sheriff Beeson left the meeting. e. Justin Culwell presented his proposal for development of the Empire Motel property. He would like to put in cabins for lodging and also talked about potentially using grain bins as lodging units which would be a unique option that could attract tourists to the area. He shared drawings and pictures. There was much discussion but no decisions made. The Council tabled the topic for later discussion. f. The Food Pantry has submitted their final receipts for reimbursement and a request for payment of CDBG funds. A motion was made by Amanda and seconded by Kale to approve draw down #5 for the 20-CV-116 project in the amount of $1,984.38. David – yes, Kale – yes, Amanda – yes, Dara  – yes, Larry – yes. Motion passed. The Council will need to hold a public hearing in July to close out the project and disburse the remaining $1,500 for administration fees to NWKP&DC. g. There was more discussion about the trash service. Mr. Hill explained in more detail the reasons behind needing to change to automation. With the exception of Kanorado, St. Francis is the only community they service that is not automated, but Kanorado only has 70 carts. Mr. Hill has invested in 3 automated trucks and to continue to service St. Francis the method of pickup will need to change. There will no longer be a person emptying the trash containers. The automatic method also requires a minimum of 3 feet on each side and 2 feet behind the trash can so that the equipment can grab and dump the can into the truck. This will present some issues regarding the placement of the trash cans to allow for automatic pickup. Some alleys will likely be too narrow. Mr. Hill shared the rates that customers are charged in nearby communities. Our rates are significantly lower and have not increased in a long time. They will need to be reviewed and adjusted. He also talked about the options that are available in addition to the individual cans such as 2 or 3 yard dumpsters that are shared by several households. The Council discussed the options. JR and Gary will assess the situation on all streets and alleys in town and will come up with a plan that will have the least impact to customers while still making it possible to be automated. Gary will be testing it out with the new trash trucks in the next couple of weeks. There will need to be a new contract written and an ordinance passed for the changes that are made. The Council would like something put in the paper to get the word out that changes will be coming soon to the method of trash pickup. Notices will also be included in the utility bills and on the City’s Facebook page. The Council discussed the past due amount owed and Mr. Hill indicated it would be roughly $3,200. Mr. Hill left the meeting. A motion was made by Amanda and seconded by Kale to approve paying the past due amount owed to Hill Trash Pick-up. Motion passed. A motion was made by Larry and seconded by Kale to increase the rate per unit paid to Hill Trash Pick-up to $16.56 beginning July 1 and until a new contract is in place. Motion passed. The City’s trash rates need to be increased. As they are right now they are not covering the expenses. h. The Council discussed Justin Culwell’s proposal and decided to table any decision to allow additional time for the Council to consider the proposal. i. Larry, Amanda and Scott met with Greg Kite at the band shell on June 17 to discuss improvements. Greg will be checking into what would be feasible to consider for a grant. The maximum grant amount is $112,000 with a 20% match required. There are some cracks that have appeared on the back side of the Bandshell that need to be repaired. 6. Old Business: a. Property Cleanup – A condemnation notice for 118 W. Emerson has been signed by the owner. JR has also spoken to him and he, along with the Mayor, will be meeting with him to inspect the property. There have been 2 delivery attempts to serve a condemnation notice to the owner of 417 E. Jackson. The notice has been published in the paper. Notice to Tommy Poulson has been undeliverable. Condemnation proceedings cannot begin until we have confirmation that the property owner has received notice. An agreement was reached in court for the Zweygardt property and he has until August 15 to finish what needs to be done. The Council discussed the ongoing issues with Lampe Motorsports and using the City streets to do auto repairs. Amanda will speak with Cody to make sure citations are being issued when this is observed. There are numerous weed letters going out soon. Lauren was researching archives and found a previous property cleanup notice issued for a property on Denison Street that still needs to be addressed. b. Projects Pending – a) The drawings and other information that Amanda had gathered concerning the access road and crossovers have been forwarded to Jeter Law Firm along with Amanda’s contact information. The Mayor would like to see something in the paper to let the public know that the Council is actively working on coming up with a solution to the access road and crossovers issue. c. Streets Project – The Mayor would also like to see something in the paper regarding the upcoming street work. JR indicated that the concrete work is now planned to begin July 21. 7. Pool Report – Larry reported that so far it has been a very successful year and there have been no issues. A motion was made by Amanda and seconded by Kale to accept and file the pool report. Motion passed. 8. Building Permits – none 9. Superintendent Report – a) The recycling truck will be making its first run to Hutchinson soon. b) JR has spoken to Casey with McCormick Excavation regarding East Fourth Street where it meets Parkway. While Parkway is part of the current street project, Fourth Street is not but improvements need to be made to it in order to prevent further erosion and future damage to Parkway. He will be getting an estimate for that work. c) JR has not committed to the nex-tech agreement for a surveillance system at the recycling center because it requires an internet connection that we do not have at this time. d) JR will be bringing an invoice for a partial load of utility poles. We need to keep a supply of them on hand. e) The personnel policy allows employees to carry over 40 hours of unused vacation time with Council approval. It also allows the Council to make exceptions for additional carry over. Because of being short staffed one employee will likely have approximately 19 additional hours of unused vacation time. The Council approved the additional carryover. f) JR received a quote from The Lighthouse of $4,941.86 for outdoor carpet for the East side of the swimming pool area. The carpet would not be available until August so it would not make sense to put it in this year. No decision was made and the topic was tabled. g) Estimates for the pool painting should be received this week. h) Weed letters have been issued and mowing will begin. Additional weed letters will be sent. i) The Council discussed an issue with golf carts and ATVs being parked and driven on Washington street. This is not permitted per ordinance. There also numerous ones that are not properly licensed. The Council discussed the need to make sure people are aware of what the ordinance says. Amanda has talked with Cody about this and will follow up with him. The Council would also like a notice included in the next utility bill regarding the rules of ATVs and Golf Carts. j) JR had approached several individuals regarding the maintenance for Keller Pond. It was also advertised but received no responses. Brock McAtee has provided a proposal to do the work for $6,000 a year for all maintenance and upkeep except chemical spraying. A motion was made by Amanda and seconded by David to accept the proposal contingent upon approval from the Keller Pond committee and confirmation from the Keller family of compensation to the City for these services. Motion passed. The Mayor asked if the Keller Pond committee had addressed the request from Jim and Christine (Anderson) Thorton regarding golf cart access to the Riverwalk. Larry indicated he attempted to contact them 3 times and received no response back. A motion was made by Larry and seconded by Kale to accept and file the Superintendent report. Motion passed. 10. Attorney Report – a) Lauren let the Council know that her office had an issue with billing in May, so the July statement will include charges for both May and June. She also pointed out that she included a significant professional courtesy discount for the work she completed on the review of the street project contract. A motion was made by Amanda and seconded by David to accept and file the Attorney report. Motion passed. 11. Clerk Report – a) A motion was made by David and seconded by Kale to approve the Fireworks License for Brett and Cynthia Poling dba Poling Pyros contingent upon providing a Kansas Sales Tax Id. Motion passed. b) Lila submitted the Shuttered Venue Operators Grant on June 1. The latest update received indicated that approximately 14,400 applications were being reviewed and decisions have not yet been made. c) The total amount that the City is expected to receive from the American Rescue Plan is $196,004.93. Half of this will be received in July with the other half coming in July 2022. The Kansas Office of Recovery is providing weekly webinars to assist cities with questions and guidance. There is also a website that includes information on allowable uses for the funds. d) Per auditor recommendation and state statute, Ward Electric has provided a performance bond for the work to be completed this year. The cost was approximately $2,880 which will be charged back to the City. e) Approximately half of the LMI surveys that were mailed in May have been returned. Based on these surveys our current LMI percentage is 32% and we need at least 51% to be eligible for additional CDBG funds. Lila mailed a second survey today to those who have not yet responded. She will report back at the July 26 meeting with results. We may need to go door to door at that point if we have not yet reached the LMI percentage. f) A motion was made by Kale and seconded by Dara to make an out of cycle payment of $1,149.31 to Publication Printers for the Cherry Creek Brochures. Motion passed. g) The City received a $3,170 grant from the Cheyenne County Kansas Community Foundation Hansen Community Grant for the dog park. We have not yet heard anything on the New Generation Fund grant we applied for. h) Lila shared the award letter for the America’s Farmers Grow Communities donation of $2,500 that the City received. These funds are designated for the bandshell and have been deposited into the bandshell fund. i) Lila let the Council know that Monday July 5 is a City holiday. j) Lila reminded the Council of the special meeting for a budget workshop to be held June 29 at 7pm. It was moved by Kale and seconded by Amanda to accept and file the Clerk report. Motion passed. 12. Council Comments: David – none Kale – none Amanda – none Dara – none Larry – none 13. Mayor Comments – none 14. Adjournment: It was moved by Amanda and seconded by Larry to adjourn the meeting. Motion passed. ___________________________________________ City Clerk