City Council

Regular Council Meeting January 24, 2022 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 and City Clerk Lila Whitmore. Mayor Scott Schultz, Attorney Lauren Reyelts, and Sheriff Cody Beeson were absent. 2. Minutes from the January 10 Council meeting were distributed and read. It was moved by David and seconded by Dara to approve the minutes as written. Motion passed. 3. Consent Agenda – It was moved by Larrry and seconded by Dara to approve permission for Clerk to pay the following dues: Kansas Mayor’s Association - $50; City Attorneys Association - $35; Kansas Municipal Utilities - $2,712; Kansas Rural Water Association - $812; Kansas Municipal Judges Association - $25. Motion passed. 4. Visitors – Gudrun Schoenrogge addressed the Council with her concerns regarding the trash service. The Council thanked her for her input. Sheriff Beeson arrived at the meeting. 5. Sheriff Report: Deputy Troy Zweygardt has started at KLETC and will be finished around the 1st of May at which time the department will be fully staffed with six officers. This will allow for active patrolling from 6am to 2am. During the busiest times there will be two deputies working. Cody would like to set up a Saturday in February or March for ATV/Golf Cart inspections and permit renewals. He will check with Jen on the verbiage to use to notify the public of what is required for the inspection including proof of insurance and the new requirement for a flag. The Council discussed towing of inoperable vehicles on City streets. A policy or plan needs to be put into place to ensure consistency. The Council agreed that if a vehicle will be towed a ticket also needs to be issued. There are currently two inoperable vehicles on the snow routes that have been there for quite some time. Cody indicated they have been working on those for a while and they will likely be ticketed and towed this week. 6. New Business: a. Pete Davis – Library update. Mr. Davis was unable to attend the meeting. b. Bill Dungan addressed the Council regarding several concerns which were also shared with the Council in a written letter prior to the meeting. The Council thanked him for his input. c. A motion was made by Kale and seconded by David to approve Resolution 2022-1: (GAAP) A WAIVER OF GENERALL ACCEPTED ACCOUNTING PRINCIPLES. David – yes, Kale – yes, Dara – yes, Larry – yes. Motion passed. d. The Council reviewed the Water Emergency Plan. There were no changes made. It is a requirement of the State for the City to have a water emergency plan. A motion was made by Kale and seconded by Larry to approve the Water Emergency Plan. Motion passed. 7. Old Business: a. Property Cleanup – Amanda indicated that pictures of the property on fourth street have been sent to Attorney Reyelts. The property on Denison has had a change in ownership so the process will need to start over. b. Projects Pending – a) Amanda will be contacting Jeter Law Firm regarding the access road and crossovers. He had requested a copy of a letter that was received a few years ago from KDOT in which it was indicated they would no longer maintain the islands. The letter has not yet been located in Attorney Day’s records. b) David asked if the wooden planks on the stone benches at Sawhill Park could be replaced without approval from the Historical Society. JR confirmed that would be allowed since wood planks were the original materials used. c. Streets Project – Tyler Hillmer with Miller & Associates will be at the next meeting to discuss the work that was completed on Fourth street near Parkway. This has not yet been paid for. He will also discuss the extension for the contractor for the work that is yet to be done. 8. Theater Report – Dara reported that the Theater board reviewed the engineer plans for the Theater renovation. JR has spoken to Robert about the plans and there are some things missing and issues that need addressed before it is brought before the Council with corrected estimates. David asked about advertising being shown before movies but there are legalities and other things to consider since the  Theater is City owned and not a private business. The Theater staff continues to work at the Thrift Store to raise donations to go towards the renovation. It was moved by David and seconded by Kale to accept and file the Theater report. Motion passed. 9. Building Permits – A motion was made by Larry and seconded by Kale to approve the following building permits: Brock McAtee/St. Francis Redi Mix – 1375 Angle Road, remove and replace addition on North side of building; Jenni Penka – 222 N. Ash, wood fence and shed. Motion passed. 10. Superintendent Report – a) Estimates have been received from Brock McAtee/St. Francis Redi-mix for the work on the west end of main street, the repairs needed for the vandalism damage at Keller Pond, and the replacement of the front steps at City Hall. JR will check into the City’s bid policy before presenting these in an open meeting. He has not yet received an estimate for the east end of the pool. There are three objectives for this area: preserve the fence of the private owner, improve the unfinished look, and create some sort of walkway. The Council agreed this needs to be a priority. b) JR shared the chemical bid from Stratton Coop. There are chemical shortages and one of the primary chemicals they use is not currently available. They are looking at alternatives but there will be additional cost if/when these chemicals become available. A motion was made by Kale and seconded by David to approve the bid for the available chemicals in the amount of $6,233. Motion passed. c) There was a water main break on east Washington street late Friday but they were able to repair it without the need to shut anything down. d) New federal regulations for CDL drivers now requires individuals to attend a ELDT (entry-level driver training) class before testing for a CDL license. The class is expensive and this could affect future hiring. We have one employee who is not CDL certified but plans to complete the test before the new regulations go into effect on February 7. e) There was considerable discussion regarding recycling. Currently Sunoco picks up the cardboard and paper and the County receives $30 a ton less than what the market is for this. The City has the balers for that. Glass is being taken to the landfill. It is not being hauled to Hutchinson because of the cost to dispose of it there, which is $94 a ton, plus the cost of transport (13 hours of employee time, gas, vehicle wear and tear). Byron Moberly has assured JR that the glass has very little negative effect on the landfill. The issue used to be that the landfill had a less than 25-year life, but when they got the additional cell that has now increased to 100+ years. However, it doesn’t make sense to collect glass at the recycling center and then take it to the landfill where it would end up anyway if it were just handled as household trash. We are hauling plastics and tin cans to Hutchinson because these can be compacted, but again the cost needs to be considered. Chipboard, cardboard, and aluminum cans are the only items that are not an extreme negative. JR is checking on the market price for aluminum. He is also investigating options that make sense where some things could still be recycled or compacted in such a way as to have a minimum effect on the landfill. The primary tonnage is in paper products and continuing to recycle those would have a true and noticeable impact at the landfill. People like to recycle so we need to make sure all of our bases are covered before we stop taking things. The County does offset our recycling costs but ultimately it is the County’s landfill and a County Commissioner decision. JR will speak with the Commissioners. f) JR is still planning to continue with electrical upgrades this year with Ward Electric. It was moved by Kale and seconded by Larry to accept and file the Superintendent report. Motion passed. 11. Attorney Report - none 12. Clerk Report – a) The small business utility incentive application for St. Francis Tire that was approved at the last meeting had an incorrect number of full-time employees listed. A motion was made by David and seconded by Kale to approve the amended application. Motion passed. b) Lila updated the Council on the latest regarding ARPA funds. Treasury has released the final rule which offers a standard allowance for revenue loss of up to $10 million. The City received half of our ARPA funds last year in the amount of $98,585.52. The second half should be received this year. With the new final ruling these funds can now be used for any government service, and the new rule allows for more streamlined reporting requirements. JR indicated that his recommendation would still be to utilize some of those funds to upgrade the water control system. c) Karen Knauer with the Lions Club asked if their meetings could be posted on the LED sign. The Council agreed that regularly scheduled meetings of organizations would not be considered community events and therefore do not fall within the guidelines of the LED sign policy. d) Lila’s work anniversary is February 2. The Council approved 40 hours of vacation carryover. e) A motion was made by Dara and seconded by Larry to approve the Chicken Permit renewal application for Kim  Zweygardt at 314 E. Jackson. Motion passed. It was moved by Kale and seconded by Larry to accept and file the Clerk report. Motion passed. 13. Council Comments: David – The buffalo statue that Helen Dobbs had asked about a few weeks ago will be placed in the space between the CCDC building and Sondra Bracelin’s building next to it. Kale – Kale mentioned the trash concerns that were raised earlier in the meeting. There was discussion on what could be done to help those who do need assistance with their trash but no decisions were made. It is a liability concern to have employees go on private property to move the trash cans. JR indicated that many of the issues like this have already been addressed with changes in placement of the trash cans that accommodate both the customer and Hill Trash service. For Ms. Schoenrogge’s complaint JR will look at the alley and will talk with Billy Hill to try to come up with a solution. Dara – Dara asked if more trash cans could be placed on Washington Street and there was some discussion. JR will look into prices. Larry – Larry talked about the Alumni celebration on June 18. A motion was made by Kale and seconded by David to approve free swimming on that day. Motion passed. The Concert in the Park featuring The Long Run band is scheduled for August 20. 14. Council President Comments – none 15. At 9:02 a motion was made by Larry and seconded by Kale for the Council and City Clerk to recess into executive session for the non-elected personnel exception to review the Assistant City Clerk applications, the open meeting to resume at 9:12. Motion passed. The open meeting resumed, and no decisions were made. The Council will review the applications further and table discussion until the February 14 Council meeting. 16. Adjournment: It was moved by Kale and seconded by David to adjourn the meeting. Motion passed. ___________________________________________ City Clerk