City Council

Regular Council Meeting November 8, 2021 1. Council President Amanda Milne called the meeting to order at 7:00. Present were Council members David Butler, Kale Dankenbring, Dara Carmichael, and Larry Finley. Also present were City Superintendent JR Landenberger, City Clerk Lila Whitmore and City Attorney Lauren Reyelts. Mayor Scott Schultz and Sheriff Cody Beeson were absent. 2. Minutes from the October 25 Council meeting were distributed and read. It was moved by Larry and seconded by Kale to approve the minutes as written. Motion passed. 3. Minutes from the October 29 special meeting were distributed and read. It was moved by Dara and seconded by David to approve the minutes as written. Motion passed. 4. 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. 5. Sheriff’s Report – On behalf of Sheriff Beeson, Lila shared the statistics for October. The Council discussed how the reports do not accurately show the number of calls for St. Francis. Calls that are not necessarily City related, such as Vin inspections, are included in the statistics for St. Francis. Amanda will touch base with Cody on what can be done to fix the reports and also regarding expectations for his attendance at City Council meetings. 6. Visitors – none 7. New Business: a. Erick Neason and Katie Bunker were present to talk about the City Code regarding the number of dogs that may be kept. There is currently a case open in municipal court for Mr. Neason for having too many dogs. They have six, and City Code states in part that no person or household shall own or harbor more than three dogs of six months of age or older or more than one litter of pups without having obtained a kennel license. Lauren stated that the Department of Agriculture will not issue a kennel license except for a legitimate kennel. In addition, a kennel would not be permitted in a residential area without a zoning variance. There was considerable discussion. Larry felt that giving an exception would set a precedence that would not be in the best interest of the City and the Council agreed. The Council empathized with Mr. Neason and Ms. Bunker but decided not to allow an exception to the number of dogs permitted. Mr. Neason and Ms. Bunker left the meeting. There was further discussion about the existing code. The Council agreed that kennels should not be permitted within the City limits and that the limit on the number of dogs and/or cats should remain at 3 per species or a total of 5 with no more than 3 of either species. Lauren had created two possible ordinances for the Council to consider. The first left the existing code mostly unchanged and added one amendment to prohibit kennels in residential areas. The second option removed all references to kennels but addresses the number of dogs and/or cats that may be kept. After review and discussion, the Council decided on option 2. A motion was made by Larry and seconded by David to approve Ordinance 630: AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE GENERAL PROVISIONS OF THE ANIMAL CONTROL AND REGULATION CODE OF THE CITY OF ST. FRANCIS, KANSAS UNDER ARTICLE 1 OF CHAPTER 2 BY AMENDING SECTION 2-122. David – yes, Kale – yes, Dara – yes, Larry – yes. Motion passed. Upon the Mayor’s signature the Ordinance will be published and take effect. b. Lila shared a bandshell rental agreement and special event permit application from the St. Francis Recreation Commission for a Holiday Music Festival to be held in the bandshell on December 12 from 5-8:30 p.m. A motion was made by Kale and seconded by Dara to approve the application and to waive the bandshell rental fee. Motion passed. c. There were three motions which the League of Kansas Municipalities recommended be made in order to make the transition of Lila Whitmore from City Clerk to Assistant City Clerk and to appoint David Fry as the new City Clerk. The Mayor approved the motions and appointments in an email which was shared with the Council. A motion was then made by Kale and seconded by David to appoint Lila Whitmore to the position of Assistant City Clerk upon her resignation as City Clerk and  until the next regular time for appointment. Motion passed. A motion was made by Larry and seconded by Kale to accept the resignation of Lila Whitmore as City Clerk, effective November 9, 2021. Motion passed. A motion was made by Kale and seconded by David to appoint David Fry to fill the vacancy of the City Clerk position effective November 9, and until the next regular time for appointment. Motion passed. 8. Old Business: a. Property Cleanup – A notice was sent to the owner of the property at 417 E. Jackson and he has responded. JR indicated the owner has complied with what he was asked to do. The property at 110 E. Whittier has been mostly cleaned up and would be considered in compliance. The property at 616 S. Denison has had more junk added to it since the notice was sent. This is a rental but the property owner is responsible for the property. Lauren stated that if the problem persists it will go to court. The property at 118 W. Emerson is in compliance except for the roof which the owner plans to continue with in the spring. The property at 415 W. West Webster is now in compliance. The property owner for 512 E. Fourth has been given a verbal first notice. David indicated that he had heard about a resident wanting to tear down a house but had no details. JR stated that they would need to apply for a permit to do that as there are procedures that need to be followed regarding the disconnection of existing utilities and the removal of debris. David will find out more details and will let JR know. Amanda spoke to Cody about the Lampe property. Cody indicated that Mr. Lampe was aware that the Council has been discussing the property and he is in the process of taking care of the issue. Larry had been asked by a few citizens how properties are identified and selected to be on the cleanup list. The Council discussed the process and procedures for choosing properties that need to be addressed. Larry has concerns about a couple of properties that he will discuss further with JR. b. Projects Pending – Amanda will speak with Michael Baxter with Jeter Law Firm and request he attend a Council meeting to discuss the crossovers and access road issue. Lauren will send to JR and Amanda letters regarding this issue that she has in former City Attorney Day’s records. Larry has spoken recently with Dave Flemming regarding the use of the old pool property. The Council asked that this be added back to the Projects Pending list. Lauren will work on the ATV ordinance and will send it to the Council for review prior to the next Council meeting. c. Streets Project – McCormick Excavation is back in town and, weather permitting, will continue until the work is completed. The areas that are currently in progress will be finished first. 9. Theater Report – Lila attended the last Theater board meeting. The board has hired a new employee who started last Friday, but they are still short staffed and have not received any other applications. A motion was made by Kale and seconded by Larry to accept and file the Theater report. Motion passed. 10. Pool Report – Larry has not had an opportunity to review the financial data for this season but will present the report at the next meeting. 11. Building Permits – A motion was made by David and seconded by Kale to approve the following building permits: Cecilio Bencomo – 405 E. Spencer, carport; Kelly Grabenstein – 401 S. Quincy, run concrete. Motion passed. 12. Superintendent Report – a) The new trash cans have been delivered to customers and the Council discussed what to do with the old trash cans. JR indicated that he has been approached by the Thresher Show asking if the cans would be for sale. The Council discussed the pros and cons of charging a fee for them. A motion was made by Kale and seconded by Larry to allow current customers to keep their old trash can if they want it at no charge and to offer the trash cans for sale at $10 each for non-customers. Motion passed. If someone wants to keep their trash can they will need to put it up on their property away from the normal trash pickup area and it can no longer be used for trash. Unwanted cans will be picked up over the next 2- 3 weeks. Lila will create a notice to put on Facebook and in the Herald letting residents know. b) The Council talked about the recent vandalism at Keller Pond and the need for solar lighting in the parking area and also along the trail for safety and security reasons. c) The boiler at the power plant is now fully operational. A motion was made by Kale and seconded by David to accept and file the Superintendent report. Motion passed. 13. Attorney Report – a) Attorney Reyelts and Clerk Whitmore met with Judge Keller to discuss old court cases. Some were dismissed and some with outstanding warrants were left open to serve as a deterrent to the  people returning to town. Municipal Court remains busy with ongoing cases. A motion was made by Kale and seconded by Dara to accept and file the Attorney report. Motion passed. 14. Clerk Report – a) Lila reminded the Council that Thursday is Veteran’s Day and is a City holiday. b) A motion was made by David and seconded by Kale to give Christmas bonuses of $225 to all full-time employees and service awards of $25 for Dan Blair - 25 years, JR Landenberger - 20 years, and Paul Larson - 10 years. The Council also discussed a Christmas Party for the employees which will be held on December 3. c) Helen Dobbs has asked if they would need a permit to place a buffalo statue in front of the CCDC office. The Council requested Lila obtain more specifics about the size and placement of the statue. It could be a safety/liability concern. Helen also noted that the Sportsman’s Expo in Denver has been moved from January to March of next year. d) The City is not eligible for the KMIT Health Insurance Plan through Blue Cross Blue Shield due to the City’s loss experience being 10% greater than the average rates on the final underwriting list. e) Lila shared a letter from the Recreation Commission regarding various events they are planning for the upcoming holiday season. d) Dara asked about the latest CDBG application. Lila stated that we should know mid-January if the funds are awarded. Lila has not yet heard anything from the Hansen Foundation regarding the Veteran’s Memorial Gazebo application for grant funding that was submitted. A motion was made by Larry and seconded by Kale to accept and file the Clerk report. Motion passed. 15. Council Comments: David –none Kale – none Dara – Updated the Council on the Santa event happening on December 6 and asked for the streets to be blocked off by the 202 on Washington building for the event. Larry – none 16. Council President Comments – Amanda requested 5 minutes of executive session for non-elected personnel. Lauren left the meeting. 17. All bills on Ordinance #1056 were reviewed. There were several large payments made for the street project. It was moved by David and seconded by Kale to approve the bills in the amount of $1,102,840.17. Motion passed. JR left the meeting. 18. At 9:04 a motion was made by Larry and seconded by Kale for the Council to recess into executive session for the non-elected personnel exception for job performance, the open meeting to resume at 9:09. Motion passed. The open meeting resumed. No action was taken. 19. Adjournment: It was moved by Larry and seconded by David to adjourn the meeting. Motion passed. ___________________________________________ City Clerk