City Council

Regular Council Meeting December 13, 2021 1. Mayor Scott Schultz called the meeting to order at 7:00. Present were Council members David Butler, Amanda Milne, Dara Carmichael, and Larry Finley. Also present was City Clerk Lila Whitmore. Council member Kale Dankenbring, City Superintendent JR Landenberger, City Attorney Lauren Reyelts, and Sheriff Cody Beeson were absent. 2. Minutes from the November 22 Council meeting were distributed and read. It was moved by Amanda and seconded by Larry to approve the minutes as written. Motion passed. 3. Consent Agenda – It was moved by Dara and seconded by David 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 2022 LKM Membership dues of $988.33. Motion passed. 4. Sheriff’s Report – none 5. Visitors – none 6. New Business: a. A motion was made by Larry and seconded by Amanda to approve the tree trim license application for Abel Tree Service. Motion passed. 7. Old Business: a. Property Cleanup – The Council discussed the property at 512 E. Fourth. Sheriff Beeson has spoken to the property owner but it is still in violation. Sheriff Beeson indicated he could send a notice on their letterhead that would list the things that need to be done. The Council discussed sending letters from City Hall to property owners when a property is identified as needing minor cleanup done. This could be done for other minor ordinance violations as well. This would be an initial notification of code violation to give residents the opportunity to address the issue before a letter is sent from the City Attorney. Lila will work on creating a general letter that could be sent for minor violations and will send one to the property owner of 512 E. Fourth. b. Projects Pending – a) The Council discussed the old pool property. Larry indicated that the Recreation Commission has talked about moving the sand volleyball there and possibly adding horseshoes in the area. JR had met with the County Commissioners and also spoke with Dave Flemming about using County resources to remove the old pool. The best time for the County to assist would be during the winter. b) The Council discussed recodification of the City Code. Lila will obtain quotes for this service. c) There was discussion regarding the infrastructure funds that the State will be receiving and whether any of this could be allocated to the access road and crossovers. Amanda will speak with Michael Baxter about this. d) There was some discussion regarding the Empire Motel property. David has spoken to Justin Culwell and he may come back to the Council will another plan. c. Streets Project – The CDBG audit by the Department of Commerce was completed and everything looked good. The project has been extended until the end of March. Depending on weather it may need to be extended again. The Council also discussed other planned street projects. The intersection of Spencer and Benton and the intersection of Washington and Angle Road had been previously encumbered for 2021 but will not be completed until 2022. A motion was made by Amanda and seconded by David to unencumber those funds for 2021. Motion passed. Scott indicated the work on Spencer and Benton is going to require an engineer’s input. A quote was received from Brock McAtee for the City Hall steps. This will be reviewed in January. We are still waiting on a quote from Brock McAtee for the work at the pool and for the repairs at Keller Pond. 8. Theater Report – none 9. Building Permits – A motion was made by Amanda and seconded by Larry to approve the following building permits: Travis Milne – 215 N. Adams, deck; Jackie Oathout – 116 W. Spencer, cedar fence; Margyre Antholz – 502 W. Webster, fence; Kelly Grabenstein – 401 S. Quincy, cement slab for carport, wood fence; Mike Frewen – 102 W. Spencer, metal building; Lori Frisk and Randy Roebuck – 418 N. Scott, deck and porch; Vic and Jannell Martinez – 304 W. First, fence; Tim Raile – 605 S. Felzien, grain bin. Motion passed. 10. Superintendent Report – none 11. Attorney Report – none 12. Clerk Report – a) A motion was made by Amanda and seconded by Dara to approve the CMB license renewals for Colorado Retail Ventures, Diamond R Bar, and Majestic Service Truck Stop & Restaurant. Motion passed. b) Lila shared an update regarding the buffalo statue that Brent Ginther wants to put in front of the CCDC office. It is 5 foot tall, about 5 foot long, 30 inches wide, is made of concrete, sits on a pedestal and weighs approximately 2000 pounds. He assured her it would not tip over. The Council talked about it and like the idea but thought a better location might be in the empty space that is between the CCDC building and the building next door. It is not clear who owns that space. Scott and Amanda will look into it. c) Bill Dungan has asked the Mayor why the City does not fly the Kansas flag. The Council discussed it and decided this could be included in the new layout plan for the City Hall stairs. d) Lila let the Council know that per the personnel policy if a regular Holiday like Christmas and New Year’s Day falls on a Saturday the preceding Friday is taken as the City Holiday. Therefore City Hall will be closed December 24 and 31. e) Lila confirmed with Council members that most plan to be at the December 27 meeting. Quorum is needed at that meeting in order to approve year end transfers. f) Lila requested 5 minutes of executive session for non-elected personnel for employee status. A motion was made by David and seconded by Amanda to accept and file the Clerk report. Motion passed. 13. Council Comments: David –none Amanda – requested 5 minutes of executive session for non-elected personnel for job performance Dara – none Larry – none 14. Mayor Comments – none 15. All bills on Ordinance #1057 were reviewed. It was moved by Amanda and seconded by Larry to approve the bills in the amount of $268,469.43. Motion passed. 16. At 8:04 a motion was made by Amanda and seconded by Dara for the Council, Mayor and City Clerk to recess into executive session for the non-elected personnel exception for employee status, the open meeting to resume at 8:09. Motion passed. The open meeting resumed. The Council talked about the Assistant City Clerk position and instructed Lila to advertise for the position in the St. Francis Herald, the Milesaver Shopper, the Country Advocate, Nex-tech, and on CCDC’s website. There is also a job listing Facebook Page. 17. At 8:21 a motion was made by Amanda and seconded by Larry for the Council, Mayor and City Clerk to recess into executive session for the non-elected personnel exception for job performance, the open meeting to resume at 8:26. The open meeting resumed, and no decisions were made. 18. Adjournment: It was moved by Larry and seconded by Amanda to adjourn the meeting. Motion passed. ___________________________________________ City Clerk