City Council

Regular Council Meeting February 13, 2023 1. Mayor Scott Schultz called the meeting to order at 7:00. Present were Mayor Scott Schultz and Council members Kale Dankenbring, Amanda Milne, Dara Carmichael, and Larry Finley. Also present were City Superintendent Dan Blair, City Clerk Leann Lee, and City Attorney Lauren Reyelts. Council member David Butler was absent. 2. Minutes from the January 23rd Council meeting were distributed and read. Amanda informed the Council of a few corrections that had been changed prior to the meeting. It was moved by Amanda and seconded by Kale to approve the minutes with the corrections. Motion passed. 3. A motion was made by Larry and seconded by Kale to approve the following 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 City Attorney bills when due; Permission for Clerk to pay renewals for membership dues: Kansas Municipal Judges Association - $25.00; City Attorney’s Association of Kansas - $35.00; Kansas Mayors Association - $50.00; Kansas Municipal Utilities - $2,766.00; Northwest Kansas Planning & Development Commission - $3,081.00; US Hwy 36 – Previous membership $100 for Silver; Kansas Rural Water Association – $812.00. Motion passed. 4. Sheriff Report – None 5. New Business: a. It was moved by Amanda and seconded by Dara to approve renewing the following trash waivers: Scott Northrup for 122 N. Quincy; Scott Schultz for 709 S. Denison; CLAS Family LLC for 210 W. Webster; Dave Yost for 1009 S. Hangar Rd.; Cindy Sherlock for 109 W. Jackson; and Thomas Smull for 522 E. First; and to approve the new application for the Cheyenne Food Pantry for 405 S. Lorraine. Motion passed. b. It was moved by Kale and seconded by Larry to approve renewal of the tree trimming license for Second Chance Ranch. Motion passed. c. A motion was made by Amanda and seconded by Kale to approve renewing the following chicken permits: Christopher Elliott at 425 E Jackson; Dyhanna Anderson at 429 E Jackson; Tyler & Ana Enfield at 231 Birch St; and Jana LaBarge at 314 S College. Motion passed. d. It was moved by Amanda and seconded by Larry to approve building permits for Terrance Lamb for 524 E. Second; and for The Anderson Family Trust for 429 E. Jackson. Motion approved with Council stipulation that on the Anderson permit that the building does not extend past the garage line and that they will correct any grading to keep water runoff from neighbors’ property. Motion passed. 6. Old Business: a. Property Cleanup – City obtained the deed to the Morris property and will legally own it once the deed is filed. The other property belonging to Clifford Howard shows he owns it as sole ownership. However, if he passed away, his children are claiming the property but it has not gone through probate in the state of Kansas. The individual that was originally notified about the property stated that they would be getting in touch with their siblings yet has failed to recontact the City. Lauren has informed the Council that they would need a determination of heirship before anything may be deeded over. Lauren will send a follow up letter to the individual. All other properties will be reviewed starting in April. b. Projects Pending - • Scott inquired about the billboard sign status for the East and West sides of town. Leann informed the Council that she has emailed Commercial Signs to get an update and will let them know when she hears something more.  • Amanda tried to contact Michael Baxter unfortunately his office is closed on Fridays, but she will be trying again with an email regarding the cross overs. • Kale has been approached by a few individuals regarding possibly turning the old pool into an RC track by filling it in with mostly dirt. Amanda was approached with an idea for the pool of filling it with dirt for a community garden. The Council discussed the ideas, the issue of burying concrete, and the use of the pool house/restrooms. Scott has encouraged the groups to come to a Council meeting to discuss their ideas further. Larry informed the Council that Carol Sloper has mentioned the possibility of grant funding for projects like this. • Robert Grace has been in contact with Dan regarding the theater renovations project. The Council briefly discussed the project status. The Council has requested Dan to follow up with Robert regarding the project and to touch base with Architectural Design Associates out of Lincoln, Nebraska to have them on board to oversee the project and to obtain bids. c. Streets Project – • The Council was presented with the closing documents of the bond purchasing. Bond funds do not become available until March 1st. Lauren signed the Summary of Ordinance No 644 document for publication. • A motion was made by Kale and seconded by Larry to approve the signing of the closing documents and for Amanda to be authorized to sign the documents. Motion passed. Lauren also notarized the documents being signed by Council President, Amanda Milne, and City Clerk, Leann Lee. 7. Visitors – None 8. Pool Report – The pool board met the previous week and have ads out for hiring managers and lifeguards. There is one diving board that needs repaired and they are looking into repairing the vacuum instead of replacing it. The board is expecting applications by March 1st and will start conducting interviews. They are also hoping to expand the number of swimming lessons. A motion was made by Amanda and seconded by Dara to approve and accept the pool report. 9. Theater Report – Leann informed the Council that the theater board has chosen to install a new system to have all Square transactions. Previously the theater only used the Square system on credit card transactions. The new system is to upgrade for separation of the concession items per the new tax requirements. The total of the system is $874.91. A motion was made by Kale and seconded by Larry to approve and accept the theater report. Motion passed. 10. Superintendent Report • Dan informed the Council about an electrical pole that was struck by a vehicle at the intersection of Fourth and Benton. A rough estimate of the time and materials was produced from the repairs already completed. Dan will forward the estimate to Lauren to follow up with the County Attorney. The estimate that Dan has come up with had labor at $45 per hour/guy, a bucket truck and digger truck each at $50 per hour and installed a class 3 pole. The pole that was damaged was a class 2 at the price of $572 and the class 3 pole is $495. • The same evening the jig on the bucket truck did not get put away properly and caught the top of the door at the old fire house. The damage was minimal and has already been fixed. • Johnson Services estimated an approximate $6,000 needed to complete the sewer cleaning for the whole city. Since time was of the essence, Dan contacted the Mayor to get approval to complete this work. A motion was made by Amanda and seconded by Dara to approve the previous decision to have the work completed. Motion passed. • While Johnson Services were performing their scope of work it was found that concrete had seeped into the sewer line at the manhole between Jackson St. and Emerson St. on Benton St. and has blocked approximately three quarters of the pipe. Dan has taken pictures to show the company responsible and to see how they would like to proceed or the City will need to tear up the street. • The Council was informed that the drawings and specifications for the upcoming streets project were available at City Hall for any of the Council to review.  • The KRWA Water Conference is coming up in March. Dan has requested Council approval for Justin, John, and himself to attend March 28-31. Justin will be testing for an operator, John would be obtaining hours, and Dan will be going to do public relations and obtain hours. They are also looking to pick up a door for a truck on their way back from the conference. The door is $150 that they will be purchasing. • Dan has reinstalled the cameras in City Hall so that they are now functioning. • Miller & Associates have sent a notice of intent application for the upcoming streets project for the storm water permit. They have listed Dan Blair on the permit and Dan has requested permission from the Council to sign the document. A motion was made by Amanda and seconded by Kale to approve Dan signing the storm water permit. • The KRWA has sent out a form for the designation of voting delegates that requires the signature of the Mayor. Dan has requested to put himself as the primary delegate and Justin as the Alternate. A motion was made by Kale and seconded by Amanda to approve the delegates and for the Mayor to sign. • It was brought to the Council that the KMEA Certificate Director 2 was still in JR’s name. Dan has requested permission to change this into his name. A motion was made by Amanda and seconded by Kale to change the KMEA Director 2 to Dan Blair. Motion passed. • Dan has been in contact with Damien from Precision Impressions for the contact information for a company that could do the Bandshell restoration part. Dan was given the contact of Nick Martinez, whom he has tried to contact but has not been able to get a hold of yet. He will continue to reach out for a quote. • A motion was made by Larry and seconded by Dara to approve Justin, John, and Dan to attend the KRWA Water Conference March 28-31. Motion passed. • Dan requested confirmation from the Council and Lauren as to what the letter for Travis Jensen needs to have included for the requested power increase for the lot next to City Hall. It was confirmed that the city would like the increased power costs to be paid in full prior to ordering of transformers and a letter from the owners, the Killingsworths, stating that they give permission for the specific voltage requested on the project. Dan is to get the specifics ready and work with Leann to draft the letter. • Dan has inquired as to what the Council would like to do on the sign by the village on Highway 36. The Council had previously approved the removal of the sign in its entirety; however, Amanda has brought to the Council’s attention that, if the sign is removed, it cannot be reinstalled later due to the scenic byway restrictions. The council discussed options for how best to use the existing sign pole and frame. The discussion was tabled for now. • Scott inquired about the signs for the Veteran’s Memorial and Ron Evans Memorial being installed. Dan has informed the Council that the city has the metal to make the frames for the signs however the previous welder has declined the work. A motion was made by Amanda and seconded by Larry to accept and file the superintendent report. Motion passed. 11. Attorney Report – Lauren has presented the unsigned deed to the Council regarding the property that Travis Jensen would like to purchase in the Industrial Park. The price of the property to be $257.81 with an additional $21.00 filing fee. Travis requested to review the deed to have two years to complete the project. Lauren has requested that Leann contact Travis to come in to review the deed, and if accepted, pay the for property and filing fees. A motion was made by Amanda and seconded by Kale to approve signing of the deed to Travis on receipt of payment. Motion passed. A motion was made by Dara and seconded by Kale to approve and accept the Attorney report. Motion passed. 12. Clerk Report • Leann shared a flyer for the Kansas Municipal Utilities year for 2022, the Third Friday Memo from the Options domestic & Sexual Violence Services group, and a letter from 202 on Washington thanking the Council for its support throughout the years.  • Leann has shared that the CCMFOA Spring Conference will be held March 22-24 in Manhattan, Kansas. This is an annual conference that the Council has sent the City Clerk to in previous years for the Certified Clerks Municipal Finance Officer’s Association. The registration is $325, the hotel is $410, and with mileage and food for an approximate total of $1,256. Council approved attending with no motion passed. • Leann also shared the invitation to the Kansas Association for Court Management Conference for new clerks on March 2nd and 3rd in Wichita, along with the New Clerks Orientation agenda. After some research the KAMC does offer a reimbursement of the conference so that the City would not have to pay all expenses. Council approved attending with no motion passed. • A fund raiser flyer for the IIMC was shared with the Council if they wished to purchase tickets and could win a trip to Hawaii. • Leann shared with the Council the renewal rates for Blue Cross Blue Shield that have decreased by 2.33% and saves the City approximately $4,000. The Advance Insurance Company that is the life insurance policy has increased by a penny. Blue Cross Blue Shield has also updated their contract to include a “No Surprise Act” in which any individual that must be flown out to receive medical treatment is not burdened with charges for being taken to an out-of-network hospital. They have also updated the prescription drug program. • Leann has informed the Council the KPERS employer’s rates will be increasing in 2024. In 2023 it decreased from 8.90 to 8.43, however in 2024 it will be increasing to 9.20. • Bill Dungan stopped in City Hall to follow up on his request for installing the flag poles and a drop box in front of his building. He has requested to be included on the February 27th Council meeting agenda. The Council had a brief discussion on the topics and will speak more with Bill at the next meeting. • Leann was directed by the Council at the prior meeting to inquire on the clerk link about other cities policies for dealing with individuals that are performing snow removal. Only response that was received was a suggestion to just ask the citizens politely to stop. Leann did update the website with the ordinance regarding snow removal. A motion was made by Larry and seconded by Kale to accept and file the Clerk report. Motion passed. 13. Council Comments: Kale – None; Amanda – Thomas Smull has brought up requesting a grant to build a storage building for the Amusement Authority to hold some of the parts for the rides at the fairgrounds, however they are no longer a 501-3C and would need a pass-through grant to obtain funding. Lauren would need to look into the requirements if the City were to assist with the grant. The Mayor brought up the additional footage for Wade Krien and to reach out to Miller & Associates to see if they have any documents. Amanda and Lauren will work on this. Lauren has also reminded Amanda of an issue with Judy Baxter’s property at the vet clinic. There is a deed overlap issue between the airport and Judy’s property of approximately 16’ wide and 300’ long. The County reached out to Penco to obtain a legal description for the Quit Claim Deed, but it is not County owned land. Amanda has brought it to the Council’s attention and asked that once the County receives the bill if the City would like to pay a portion of the invoice since it was a City issue; Dara – None, Larry – inquired if the City was still receiving reimbursements from recycling from Derek Fromholtz. Leann informed that it has been a while and Dan confirmed that Derek has not taken that many loads lately. Larry also brought up the concern of Cherry Street and the mud issue that was brought to the Council’s attention the previous week. There was a complaint as to the condition of the dirt road. Currently there is nothing the City crew could do to maintain it. The Council discussed the situation briefly with no decisions made. 14. Mayor Comments – Thanked the City crew for all the work they have been doing in the cold. 15. Lauren has informed the Council that her office would like to sponsor opening day at the pool and have it as a standing commitment. Lauren left the meeting. 16. All bills on Ordinance #1071 were reviewed. Larry had a question regarding the Woodriver invoice and why it was not MidWest Energy and Leann informed him that it is because it is certain properties in  the County area and not in the City. A motion was made by Kale and seconded by Amanda to approve paying of the bills on Ordinance #1071. Motion passed. 17. Adjournment: It was moved by Amanda and seconded by Larry to adjourn the meeting. Motion passed. ___________________________________________ City Clerk