City Council

Regular Council Meeting November 28, 2022 1. Mayor Scott Schultz called the regular council meeting to order at 7pm. Present were Council members: Amanda Milne, Kale Dankenbring, and Dara Carmichael. Also present were Interim City Superintendent Dan Blair, City Attorney Lauren Reyelts, and Assistant City Clerk Leann Lee. Absent from the meeting were Council members Larry Finley, David Butler, and City Clerk Lila Whitmore. 2. Minutes from the previous Council meeting were distributed and read. City Clerk Lila joined by phone. It was moved by Amanda and seconded by Kale to approve the minutes as written after some discussion for clarification on encumbered funds took place. Motion passed. Lila left meeting. 3. Sheriff Report – The Sheriff’s report data log for November was distributed to the Council to review. Sheriff Beeson was absent from the meeting. 4. New Business ‐ None 5. Old Business ‐  Property Cleanup –  The Mayor initiated the discussion about the abandoned vehicles and the procedures to be followed. Currently City Hall has set aside the fourth Wednesday of every month to disburse letters for any type of ordinance violations. Pictures will need to be taken and brought before the Council for review beforehand. The Council discussed the procedure of serving notices to the individuals. Lauren informed the Council of how the process is stated in the ordinance, and that if the Council wishes to add an additional letter notice to the process, that the ordinance would need to be amended. Amanda voiced concern regarding the way individuals are being personally served by the Sheriff’s office and noted that fellow Council members also had concerns. It was decided by the members present to table this item until a full Council could be present to discuss all concerns.  Lauren sent an email to the Council members regarding the condemnation of two properties: one located on 3rd Street and the other on 4th Street. The email contained a courtesy letter for review for tone and the initial message to the owners. The letter gives the owners two options for their properties instead of going through the condemnation process. The letters will be accompanied with copies of the pictures provided by Dan to show the state of the house only, not to detail what needs to be corrected to clean up the property. There were no objections to the drafted letters and Lauren would mail them the following day.  Projects Pending ‐  The Mayor was able to get a hold of a company out of Loveland, Colorado regarding the sandblasting of the Band Shell seating area. The company has been provided with pictures and an approximation of the square footage of work needing to be done. They are currently working on putting together something for the work. The Mayor has requested that the company physically view the site in person before any contracts will be accepted. The Mayor tried to request a quote also for the work on the city’s water fountain as well, however the company declined and gave the contact information for another company. The Mayor is looking to have a formal quote to present by the following Council meeting.  Amanda brought the Councils attention to the potholes that have been patched at the access road crossovers.  Streets Project – None 6. Visitors – None 7. Building Permits – None 8. Superintendent Report   Dan presented a quote in the amount of $3,639.00 from Downing Sales for approval to purchase three four‐yard dumpsters. Two of the dumpsters have been requested by the veterinary clinic and the KDOT state shop. The third is to be a spare in case another business requests one or one is needed for an event. A motion was made by Amanda and seconded by Dara to approve the cost of ordering the three new dumpsters. Motion approved.  Dan presented the Council with the costs for the city to install a new water hook up. One of the property’s that has had a new service was Gabe Born’s in September of 2021, in which the city set the water meter in the city limits. The Redi‐Mix is now wanting to add an additional water line and meter to their property. City ordinances 15‐206 and 15‐207 were discussed on how to charge citizens requesting a new service. Council directed Leann to research how the city proceeded with the last request it had completed. The Council discussed that the additional water and electrical upgrades should be processed the same way and we should update the ordinances to reflect the new or correct processes. Previously completed projects were given for a starting point for the research. The Council has chosen to table the issue until further research has been completed and Dan can gather more information as well.  The city has two additional “hot” transformers that need to be recycled.  The city crew is working on getting the materials to set the light pole at the Roadside Park.  A previously requested waterline at the Roadside Park has been decided to be installed on the front side of the dog park and then diverted back towards the building for their watering purposes.  Dan received a request that the lights along Washington be turned off during the light parade. It was declared in previous years to be a liability issue, so the request was declined. The Council agrees that this is still a valid reason for declining to turn the lights off.  Amanda brought to the Council’s attention that she has received comments regarding the number of streetlights that are currently not operable. Dan has let the Council know that the city crew has been fixing the lights as they are reported and has already completed six to seven repairs.  A motion was made by Amanda and seconded by Kale to accept and approve the superintendent report. Motion passed. 9. Attorney Report Lauren has brought to the Council, Ordinance 643 – AN ORDINANCE REDEFINING THE BUSINESS AND RESIDENCE USE WITHIN THE CITY LIMITS OF THE CITY OF ST. FRANCIS, KANSAS BY AMENDING SECTION 16‐202B OF ARTICLE 2 OF CHAPTER 16 OF THE 2015 OF THE CODE OF THE CITY OF ST. FRANCIS. Along with Ordinance 643, Lauren also submitted an ordinance summary to be published in the St. Francis Herald and Bird City Times, as well as the updated legal description of a rezoned area. A motion was made by Amanda and seconded by Dara to adopt Ordinance 643. Kale – Yes, Dara – Yes, Amanda – Yes. Motion passed. The Mayor will be signing the ordinance on the following morning, and it will be added to the city’s website. A motion was made by Kale and seconded by Dara to accept and file the Attorney report. 10. Clerk Report  The Council was presented with the updated sick and discretionary policies that were revised to change the time limitations of use from hour increments to half hour increments. There was also an update to the procurement policy to change authorized purchases to being between $500 to $1,500 without needing Council approval beforehand. A motion was made by Kale to approve all three updated policies and was seconded by Amanda. Motion passed.  Amanda inquired about the recent clerk training that Leann went to. Leann gave a brief review of the training that she went to in Wichita and the online course training being worked on for completion of the course.   A motion was made by Amanda and seconded by Dara to accept and approve the clerk report. Motion passed. 11. Council Comments: Kale – There is a homeless encampment at Keller Pond. Something needs to be done regarding the individuals. Amanda offered to try to get with Cody to see what he can do; Amanda – none; Dara – none. 12. Mayor Comments: None 13. Adjournment: It was moved by Amanda and seconded by Kale to adjourn the meeting. Motion passed. ___________________________________________ Assistant City Clerk