City Council

Regular Council Meeting September 13, 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 and City Clerk Lila Whitmore. City Attorney Lauren Reyelts and Sheriff Cody Beeson were absent. 2. Minutes from the August 23 Council meeting were distributed and read. It was moved by Amanda and seconded by Kale to approve the minutes as written. Motion passed. 3. Consent Agenda - – It was moved by David and seconded by Larry 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. Sheriff’s Report – none 5. Visitors – none 6. New Business: a. Sharon Weis – Mrs. Weis addressed the Council with concerns regarding the condition of the alley behind her house and issues with drainage especially during heavy rains. The Council discussed the situation. This is a heavily inclined alley and because of this the issues cannot be totally fixed but can be made better. JR will see what he can do to help minimize some of the problems. b. Karen Knauer, along with Steven Flowers and Sheree Downs, presented to the Council their plans to open a flea market (bargain market) in town. The format would be similar to the Farmer’s Market except it will not be on public property. This may change in the future but at this time the owner of the building at 122 W. Washington is allowing them to use the building at no cost. Initially it will be held once or possibly twice a month on Saturdays. Mrs. Knauer is familiar with the sales tax regulations from the State. They will also have rules and regulations as to what can be sold. The Council agreed that it sounded good. Lila will check to see if there would be any requirements from the City such as a special event permit. Karen also updated the Council on the Lion’s Club Bingo. 7. Old Business: a. Property Cleanup – The owner of the property at 118 W. Emerson has met the two items on his timeline and is continuing to make progress on the property. b. Projects Pending – Scott has not yet heard from Greg Kite regarding the bandshell grants. Lila placed an ad for the bandshell painting in the Gorilla Shopper, the Milesaver Shopper, and the St. Francis Herald with a bid deadline of September 24. No bids have been received yet. Dara mentioned that the Cheyenne County Kansas Community Foundation (CCKCF) has grant funds available again through the Hansen pass thru. There is a cap of $5,000 per grant request. She also let the Council know that there will be a strategic doing forum in Bird City on September 21. Larry and Dara indicated they would attend, and David will be there representing the CCDC. A new committee is forming to address guest lodging in Cheyenne County. There was discussion regarding the Empire Motel property. Dara asked where we were on the Theater Renovation project and JR indicated we are still waiting on the architecture report but he expects it to be completed soon. The Mayor suggested and the Council agreed that the City should apply to the CCKCF for a grant to help with the bandshell painting. c. Streets Project – a) The contractor will continue to work through the end of September and then will be pulling out for 3 weeks for KDOT work. They plan to have 2” – 3” of asphalt on those streets that are already milled before they leave. There was a change order for Denison Street which should be in place by the next meeting. The specifications for Parkway Drive were under-designed and there will be an estimated $4,200 of additional work needed. A motion was made by David and seconded by Kale to approve this. Motion passed. JR and Lila have a phone conference scheduled for Tuesday with Kevin Cowan with Gillmore & Bell to discuss the bond issue for the next phase of street improvements. The original phase B included Angle Road but now the plan is to do high traffic areas such as primary access streets, truck routes, and storm routes which includes  College Street from HWY 36 to the high school, Quincy Street from HWY 36 to the hospital, and River Street. JR and Tyler Hillmer contacted Justine and she confirmed these streets would serve LMI individuals and would qualify for CDBG funds. b) David asked about the crossovers and access road and expressed his concern of the safety of these areas. There was considerable discussion. JR reiterated that the City’s understanding is that the crossovers and access road are State property and they are responsible for repairs. But because it is a public safety issue he suggested we request a legal opinion from Jeter Law Firm as to whether or not the City could seek recovery after the fact from the State if we were to make repairs. Amanda will contact Jeter Law Firm with that question and will also ask them to come to a meeting to provide guidance to the Council on the crossovers and access road issue. c) Larry had a complaint regarding the alley in the 400 block between East Washington and East Webster. JR stated that is another alley with a steep incline. 8. Pool Report – Larry had nothing new to report. He will be getting with Lila to review financial and other data for the season. Pool Painting will start next week. 9. Building Permits – A motion was made by Amanda and seconded by Kale to approve the following building permits: Dyh Anderson – 429 E. Jackson, remove and replace carport; Clay Zimbelman – 115 S. Denison, remove and replace and extend awning for carport; Dyh Anderson, 429 E. Jackson – fence; Sydney Foster, 322 N. Scott, fence; and pending JR’s approval Scott Warren – 402 E. Spencer; chain link fence. Motion passed. 10. Superintendent Report – a) The boiler people were here this week and hopefully resolved the issue of keeping the engines warm enough to run when needed in winter and/or spring and fall. b) The trash receptacles have been ordered and are expected to be here sooner than what was originally thought. c) Ward Electric has been helping with storm work in Louisiana but should return in a couple of weeks. d) Many people have asked if the City will be selling the old trash cans. JR pointed out that some are not in good shape and may get worse before the new ones arrive and at this time it is hard to tell how many would be sellable. The Council agreed to wait to make the decision on selling them until they are no longer needed for the trash service. e) Bird City Council member Justin Sherlock has asked about renting the City’s street sweeper. JR indicated if Mr. Sherlock could figure out transportation to get it to Bird City, we would want one of our City crew to operate it but would offer to help them at a reasonable rate. f) JR and the Mayor met with Brock McAtee regarding the front steps for City Hall. The City’s insurance has indicated they are in need of repair. JR is waiting on an estimate from Mr. McAtee for this and also for the pool area discussed at the last meeting. A motion was made by Kale and seconded by Larry to accept and file the Superintendent report. Motion passed. 11. Attorney Report – a) none 12. Clerk Report – a) A motion was made by Kale and seconded by Amanda to approve the peddler’s license applications for Girl Scout Troops 10124 and 10155 and to waive background checks and fees. Motion passed. b) Lila shared information with the Council from KMIT regarding a new group health insurance plan that is being offered. More information will be available after a zoom webinar on September 22. c) Lila shared an update on the ARPA funds. The treasury has provided guidance regarding what is considered a revenue loss. LKM has created a revenue loss calculator for cities to use. Using this spreadsheet Lila will be able to determine how much of the ARPA funds can be justified as revenue loss. These funds can then be put back into their associated funds to use as needed. Lila will check with the auditors to find out if the budget will need to be amended. d) One application has been received for the City Clerk position. Lila advertised locally in the St. Francis Herald and on a Facebook job listing page. She has also advertised with the League and in a CCMFOA newsletter to reach a broader area in hopes of receiving more responses. The deadline for applications is October 8. e) The Council reviewed the COVID sick leave for employees. At the February 22 meeting this leave was extended through the end of September. A motion was made by David and seconded by Dara to extend it through the end of March 2022 and then reevaluate. Motion passed. Proof of quarantine requirements from the Health Department is required in order to be eligible for the COVID sick leave. A motion was made by Amanda and seconded by Larry to accept and file the Clerk report. Motion passed. 13. Council Comments: David –none Kale – none Amanda – The County asked about a dead tree east of the emergency building. JR will check. Dara – none Larry – none 14. Mayor Comments – reminded everyone of the Biketemberfest Motorcycle Rally on Saturday. 15. All bills on Ordinance #1054 were reviewed. The Council had questions about the bill for Milliken Reyelts Law Office. Lila noted that it did seem higher than usual, but it had been very busy in Municipal Court. The Council asked how it compared to municipal court expenses in previous years. Lila will send the municipal court expense reports from our software to the Council. It was moved by Amanda and seconded by Kale to approve the bills in the amount of $460,942.69. Motion passed. 16. Adjournment: It was moved by Amanda and seconded by Larry to adjourn the meeting. Motion passed. ___________________________________________ City Clerk