City Council

Regular Council Meeting February 28, 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 Clerk Lila Whitmore and City Attorney Lauren Reyelts. Mayor Scott Schultz and City Superintendent JR Landenberger were absent. 2. Minutes from the February 14 Council meeting were distributed and read. It was moved by Kale and seconded by Larry to approve the minutes as written. Motion passed. 3. New Business: a. Pete Davis, Library Board Chairman, introduced the Council to the new Library Director Shaylee Krueger. b. Helen Dobbs, Cheyenne Community Development Corporation Director, was present to request the Council approve the purchase of additional St. Francis brochures. Supplies are running low. There are also a few changes and updates that need to be made to the existing brochure. A motion was made by Kale and seconded by David to approve the purchase of 5000 brochures at a cost of $1,211.53 plus the cost for artwork and shipping. Motion passed. Helen will be resigning from her position as Director of CCDC and shared her resignation letter with the Council. The Council thanked her for the work she has done for the St. Francis community. c. Dan Blair, Fire Chief, requested the Council’s approval to purchase a used compressor. The total cost is $8,500 and would be shared between Cheyenne County, Bird City, and St. Francis. The City’s cost would be $2,125. A motion was made by Kale and seconded by Larry to approve the purchase with funds from the Equipment Reserve Fund. Motion passed. d. Bruce Swihart provided an update to the Council on the St. Francis Senior Center. Currently the City budgets $8,800 in support of the Senior Center each year. Mr. Swihart stated that financially the Senior Center is doing well and requested that the Council consider reducing the allocation to the Senior Center so the funds could potentially be used elsewhere. The Council thanked him for his input. After discussion, the Council agreed that they would still budget the same amount next year but per Mr. Swihart’s request distribute only half of it to the Senior Center in the initial payment in January. By doing so the other half would still be budgeted and available should the Senior Center find that they do need the funds. The allocation is reviewed annually and could be adjusted in the future. Mr. Swihart thanked the Council for their support of the Senior Center. e. A motion was made by Dara and seconded by Kale to approve the Trash Waiver Application renewals for Kody Krien and Cynthia Sherlock. Motion passed. f. A motion was made by Kale and seconded by Larry to approve the Mobile Home Park License renewal for Eldon Zimbelman. Motion passed. g. A motion was made by Kale and seconded by Larry to approve the Special Event Permit/Bandshell Rental application for Western State Bank’s Easter Egg Hunt on April 15 and to waive the rental fee. Motion passed. h. A motion was made by David and seconded by Dara to designate JR Landenberger as the KRWA voting delegate and John Larson as the alternate. Motion passed. i. A motion was made by Kale and seconded by David to approve a 2-year contract with Fire Alarm Specialists for the testing, inspection and maintenance of the equipment at the power plant at a cost of $695 a year. Motion passed. 4. Old Business: a. Property Cleanup – Property Cleanup notices have been sent to the owners of the properties at 616 S. Denison and 512 E. Fourth. If not taken care of they will be issued a summons for court. There is also a repeat issue with the property at 110 E. Whittier and a letter will be sent soon. b. Projects Pending – There have been no updates from Jeter Law firm after the last email regarding the crossovers and access road. c. Streets Project – Lila attended the CDBG Workshop in Hays on February 24. She will bring the contract for the next phase of the street project to an upcoming meeting for Council review and the Mayor’s signature. 5. Visitors – none 6. Building Permits - none 7. Superintendent Report – a) On behalf of JR, Lila shared a quote from Upbeat Site Furnishing for trash cans on Washington street. The cost is $690 each plus shipping. There was considerable discussion. Council members will take a closer look at Washington Street to determine how many would be needed and at what locations. The topic will be tabled for further discussion. b) Lila shared information regarding the Capital Improvement Fund balance which is currently $374,890.14. Budgeted transfers into this fund for 2022 are expected to total $155,000. JR had requested this information be shared with the Council for consideration of the amount to commit to electrical infrastructure improvements this year. JR is recommending at least $200,000. No decisions were made. It was moved by Kale and seconded by Dara to accept and file the Superintendent report. Motion passed. 8. Attorney Report – Attorney Reyelts let the Council know that she is still working on the property cleanup ordinance amendments. It was moved by Kale and seconded by Larry to accept and file the Attorney report. Motion passed. 9. Clerk Report – a) Lila shared feedback she had received on the Clerk link regarding how other communities handle trash pickup with regards to elderly residents and others needing assistance. b) Lila shared a letter signed by several business owners on Washington Street regarding issues with ice on the south side of the street. The topic was tabled until JR is present. c) It was brought to Lila’s attention that the lease the City has with the Gun Club expired in 2012. Lauren will review the agreement and will update it to include an automatic renewal clause. She will bring it back to the Council for approval. d) Interviews for the Assistant City Clerk position are scheduled for March 1. e) The Goodwill truck will be here March 3. Lila asked if the Council still wants the truck to come considering the issues there have been in the past with people leaving things outside of the truck when it becomes full. The Council agreed to give it another try. There are cameras installed now at the recycling center and it will be easier to identify those responsible if it becomes an issue again. It was moved by Dara and seconded by Larry to accept and file the Clerk report. Motion passed. 10. Council Comments: David – none Kale – none Dara – none Larry – Larry requested permission from the Council for the City to apply to the Cheyenne County Community Foundation for a pass-thru grant in the amount of $1,500 on behalf of the Concert in the Park as we have done in the past. A motion was made by Kale and seconded by David to approve. Motion passed with Larry abstaining. 11. Council President Comments – Amanda brought up the topic of streamlining municipal court and how issues are handled. The Council agreed that the letters being sent from City Hall should come from the City of St. Francis, and not specifically the City Clerk. Lila also expressed concerns about the dog registration letters and how it will be determined when these letters are sent. There was a lot of discussion regarding dog complaints in general. The topic will be tabled and discussed further when Sheriff Beeson is present. 12. Adjournment: It was moved by Larry and seconded by David to adjourn the meeting. Motion passed. ___________________________________________ City Clerk