City Council

Regular Council Meeting September 26, 2022 1. Mayor Scott Schultz called the Special Meeting to order at 6:30. Present were Council members David Butler, Kale Dankenbring, Amanda Milne, Dara Carmichael, and Larry Finley. Also present were Interim City Superintendent Dan Blair, City Clerk Lila Whitmore, City Attorney Lauren Reyelts, and Assistant City Clerk Leann Lee. Attorney Michael Baxter with Jeter Law Firm was also present. A motion was made by Amanda and seconded by Larry for the Council and all those present to recess into executive session for 30 minutes for communications subject to attorney-client privilege. Motion passed. The open meeting resumed, and no decisions were made. A motion was made by Amanda and seconded by David to adjourn the special meeting. Motion passed. 2. Mayor Scott Schultz called the regular council meeting to order at 7:00. 3. Minutes from the September 12 Council meeting were distributed and read. It was moved by Amanda and seconded by Larry to approve the minutes as written. Motion passed. 4. Consent Agenda - none 5. Sheriff’s Report – none 6. New Business: a. Steve Adams addressed the Council about a letter he had received from the City regarding harboring too many cats. Mr. Adams stated that he personally does not have any cats but does feed stray cats. The Council discussed the issue with stray cats and Mr. Adams suggested they consider safe trapping and transporting some of them to country farms. Amanda will talk with Sheriff Beeson regarding what can be done to address the stray cat problem and she will follow up with Mr. Adams. b. Travis Jensen was present to speak with the Council regarding his property at 201 E. Washington where he is planning to open a business. The existing building is built on the property line and he would like to add on to it. He plans to tear down the small garage building that is currently on the back and put up a 24’ x 48’ building. Dan indicated it would need to clear the utility pole by at least 1 foot and per city code the building roof would need to be ten feet away from the primary and secondary power lines. Dan does not see any issues with the request. However, Mr. Jensen will need to submit a building permit for Council approval once he has finalized his plans. Travis asked again if the Council would consider providing the 3-phase power transformers that will be needed for his business. The Council has not yet made any decisions on this topic. 7. Old Business: a. Property Cleanup • Additional weed letters have been sent. The Council discussed a property on Whittier between Scott and Quincy where the weeds were sprayed but not mowed. They are now dead but still tall. Dan will check into it. • Dan shared a list of the properties that have been mowed and the amounts to be billed. • The Council discussed a couple of other properties, one of which has a collapsed roof. Amanda will find out who owns the properties. • Tyler Lee’s property on East Fourth is starting to become an issue again. Pictures will be taken and a courtesy letter sent. • Kale was contacted by Derek Fromholtz regarding abandoned/junked vehicles and stated that residents can contact him to have them removed from their property. Kelly Lampe has advertised in the St. Francis Herald that he will remove unwanted vehicles as well. The mayor clarified that licensed and insured vehicles are not considered abandoned. Residents can request to speak with the Council if they have concerns regarding the removal of abandoned vehicles. b. Projects Pending  A motion was made by Amanda and seconded by Kale to approve the Discretionary Leave Policy. Motion passed. This policy replaces the sick leave policy in the employee’s handbook.   There is a company in Eureka that may be able to do the sandblasting and painting of the bandshell seating area. Amanda will get more information. The Council talked about possibly removing the bandshell from the Historical Registry. c. Streets Project – Lila or Dan will reach out to Tyler Hillmer with Miller & Associates to check on the progress of phase 2. 8. Visitors – Gerald Lauer asked the Council if there was any information that could be shared regarding the access road and crossovers following the earlier special meeting. At this time, communications are still subject to attorney client privilege, but the Council believes progress is being made. Mr. Lauer asked if citizens could volunteer to work with KDOT to patch some of the potholes. Attorney Reyelts advised that this could be a liability concern and any such action should be discussed with Attorney Baxter. Amanda will check with Attorney Baxter. 9. Pool Report – none 10. Building Permits – A motion was made by Amanda and seconded by Kale to approve the following building permits: Cindy Ham and Mike Frewen – 102 W. Spencer, chain link and aluminum fence; and pending proof of contractor liability insurance, John McGill – 607 S. Benton, 8x12 prebuilt shed; Ian and Michele DeWaal – 211 N. Ash, aluminum fence. Motion passed. 11. Superintendent Report • The pool has been winterized. The vacuum needs worked on and may need to be replaced. The diving boards have 6 years of life expectancy on the paint. The low board has peeled in the middle because of a weight limit being exceeded. The high board will be left up and covered for the winter and the low boards have been removed and will be stored inside the building. • The sweeper parts came today. The total cost including shipping came to $6,355.60. • Fertilizer is needed for the parks. A motion was made by Dara and seconded by Amanda to approve the purchase of 120 bags at a cost of $1,074. Motion passed. • A representative of Hydraulic Automation will be here on Wednesday to look at what is needed for the water control system in order to provide a quote. • The Council gave approval for the on-call employee to take a city vehicle home while on call. It has been confirmed that are no issues with the city’s insurance company. • Greg Walz might be interested in welding the new signs for the Roadside Park camping and the Veteran’s Memorial, but it would be 3-4 weeks before he could get to it. • Cement work has been started on the Ron Evans memorial at the Roadside Park. The Council had previously agreed to provide the rock to finish out the circle. Dan provided a quote. A motion was made by Amanda and seconded by Kale to approve the estimate of $2,500 from Lopez Construction for the rock. Motion passed. The light pole for the other side which matches the one at the Veteran’s Memorial has been received and will be installed. • Well 7 was over-pumped. Justin has been working on the paperwork required to appropriate the town wells with the country wells. Once completed this should take care of the problem. • The owners of the property at 206 W. Jackson requested an extension on the weed letter, which Dan approved. • There is a main line sprinkler leak at Courthouse Park that is being worked on. • The Council further discussed the 3-phase power question asked by Travis Jensen. Dan had contacted Goodland to see how they handle similar requests. The City Administrator stated if the business is bringing in a lot of jobs the City might assist with the cost but otherwise Goodland charges the customer for the materials but provides the labor. Connor Brogan has also inquired as to whether or not the City would pay for the cost to bring 3-phase to his business. These would be pole mount. The cost for the pad mount that Mr. Jensen is wanting has increased from around $7,000 to close to $30,000. Dan stated that single phase power is typically provided by the City. The Council asked Dan to gather more information on costs. They discussed possible incentives that could be given based on usage. Lila will check with Jen to find out if it would be possible to track usage and determine an incentive based on that. • Dan shared wording to be added to the back of building permits for neighbors to sign when giving permission to place a fence on the property line. A motion was made by Amanda and seconded by Kale to approve with one spelling correction. Motion passed.  • A motion was made by Dara and seconded by Larry to accept and file the Superintendent report. Motion passed. 12. Attorney Report • Attorney Reyelts requested 10 minutes of executive session for non-elected personnel to discuss compensation. 13. Clerk Report • A 3-month $25,000 CD at FNB Bank is coming up for renewal on September 30. The Council reviewed the current interest rates. A motion was made by Amanda and seconded by David to renew the CD for a term of 18 months. Motion passed. • Lila shared a letter of support she had written on the Council’s behalf for the Cheyenne Community Development Corporation’s application for a TEFFI Seed Grant from the Kansas Department of Commerce. A motion was made by Larry and seconded by Dara for the Mayor to sign the letter. Motion passed. • A motion was made by David and seconded by Amanda to accept and file the Clerk report. Motion passed. 14. Council Comments: David – none Kale – none Amanda – none Dara – Asked if the City is planning a fall cleanup this year. The Council agreed that a cleanup of yard waste and tree limbs could be done. Dan will check the calendar and advertise. A letter from Bill Dungan was shared regarding complaints about Lampe Motorsports parking vehicles on the streets on Quincy and blocking parking at his building. Mr. Dungan will also share his complaints with Sheriff Beeson. The Strategic Doing meeting was tonight and Dara had let them know the Council would not be able to attend due to the Council Meeting. Larry – none 15. Mayor Comments – Scott thanked the City crew for their help with Biketemberfest. Amanda mentioned that the emergency number on the campground sign is not correct. The restroom doors have not yet been installed. 16. At 8:22 a motion was made by Amanda and seconded by Larry for the Council, Mayor, City Attorney, City Clerk, and Assistant City Clerk to recess into executive session for non-elected personnel to discuss compensation, the open meeting to resume at 9:32. Motion passed. The open meeting resumed. No decisions were made. 17. Adjournment: It was moved by Amanda and seconded by Kale to adjourn the meeting. Motion passed. ___________________________________________ City Clerk