Regular Meeting November 9, 2009 6:30 p.m. City of Oswego, Kansas
Present: Councilmembers Ty Lewis, Ryan Willis, Jane Rea, Cindy Sanders and Dave Blankinship with Mayor Tom Bringle presiding.
Absent: Councilmember Glenn Fischer
Also present: City Clerk Cheri Peine, Deputy Clerk Carol Eddington, Superintendant Kevin Frogley, Police Chief George Elliott, Attorney Rick Tucker, Treasurer Alice Hornung, Ted Hornung, Bill Cunningham and Lloyd Schlatter.
Treasurer Resignation Mayor Bringle regretfully accepted Alice Hornung’s resignation as Treasurer. Alice has been the city’s treasurer for the past 19 years. On behalf of the Governing Body and city staff, Mayor Bringle presented Alice with a gift of appreciation for her dedicated service.
Lloyd Schlatter – 7th St. Lloyd Schlatter has been using 7th St. to reach his property on the west side. The street is platted from Nebraska to the railroad but is paved for only a short distance and then a grassy area continues on to the railroad. The property owner to the north and south of the street has indicated Schlatter can no longer drive across this and has put up barricades saying that it had been closed.
Mayor Bringle informed Schlatter that the street has not been vacated. The Mayor then asked Chief Elliott to speak to the property owner and let him know that the street is not a vacated street and that he cannot barricade it.
Ordinance – Weed Assessments for September 11, 2009 to October 7, 2009 An ordinance entitled “AN ORDINANCE MAKING AND LEVYING A SPECIAL TAX UPON ALL LOTS AND PARCELS OF GROUND IN THE CITY OF OSWEGO, KANSAS, LIABLE FOR THE COST AND EXPENSE OF MOWING IN SAID CITY DURING THE PERIOD OF SEPTEMBER 11, 2009 THROUGH OCTOBER 7, 2009” was presented.
Blankinship made a motion and Rea seconded to approve the ordinance as presented. Motion carried. Clerk assigned it Ordinance #1253.
Resolution 11-09-09A – Enterprise Zone A resolution to participate in a Kansas Enterprise Zone with Labette County entitled “A RESOLUTION CONSENTING TO PARTICIPATE IN A KANSAS ENTERPRISE ZONE NONMETROPOLITAN REGION AND CONFIRMING SUPPORT FOR THE QUALIFYING REGIONAL STRATEGIC PLAN AND REQUESTING THAT THE SECRETARY OF COMMERCE APPROVE THE COUNTY OF LABETTE AS A KANSAS ENTERPRISE ZONE DESIGNATED NONMETROPOLITAN BUSINESS
REGION” was presented. Blankinship made a motion and Rea seconded to approve the resolution. Motion carried.
Westirland Utility Credit OEDC recommended a $500 utility credit for Westirland since it is under new ownership. Rea made a motion and Lewis seconded to approve the recommendation. Motion carried.
Wide Open Customs LLC – Ben & Toni Coppock Coppocks would like to install an awning and concrete pad on the east side of their building next to Pennsylvania Street. Information on a temporary use permit was sent to Attorney Tucker for review. He determined that the awning does not really fall under the temporary use permit and provided a couple of options for the Council. They can vacate a portion of Pennsylvania Street or handle the matter as a variance under the Zoning Ordinance.
Willis made a motion and Rea seconded to begin the variance process. Motion carried. (Upon further review after the meeting, Attorney Tucker determined the temporary use permit would be allowed and the item will be on the November meeting agenda)
CONSENT AGENDA The Consent Agenda included accounts receivables report, monthly revenue report for all funds, monthly expense reports (accounts payable and payroll), petty cash listing, fund balance, revenue and expense reports for water, sewer, refuse and golf course, water loss report, expense report for general fund by department breakdown and total budget used, and monthly reports on franchise fee, sales tax receipts (both city & county sales tax), overtime, vacation, water, growth (households in/our), building permits, and municipal court.
Willis asked that the 10/14/09 minutes reflect that the motion to approve moving forward with the water project was passed unanimously.
Willis made a motion and Rea seconded to approve the Consent Agenda as amended. Motion carried.
OLD BUSINESS Dangerous Structure/Minimum Housing Tim Branson – 705 4th St. An engineering firm has been selected by KDHE to conduct the Phase I Environmental Study. The city should receive a copy of the Phase I report soon. Clerk Peine reported the engineer recommends barricades be put up again before KDOC comes to inspect the building.
Justin Thompson – 1115 3rd St. The owner had started tearing down part of the house but has since stopped. Debris has been left in the yard and the house has been left open to the elements causing a haven for animals and a danger to children. Staff recommends starting the dangerous structure process to ensure the removal of the house is completed. Blankinship made a motion and Sanders seconded to approve Resolution 11-09-09B that begins the condemnation process. Motion carried.
Minimum Housing – 510 Kansas and 523 Pennsylvania Bill Cunningham will be making minimum housing inspections of these properties tomorrow. Complaints have been received on both properties.
Professional Building Council asked whether the owner of the building had contacted the city. Clerk Peine reported the owner indicated he is trying to decide what to do with the building. He told her that he has already had an engineer take a look at the building.
Water Distribution Project Beth Warren, Ranson Financial Consultants, will be working with the city to prepare a rate study. A report will be issued to the Governing Body and possibly a special meeting will be set up to conduct a conference call with John Haas, President of Ranson Financial.
Electrical Work at the Water Plant Quotes are to be received Monday, November 16th, for the electrical work at the water plant. The Council may hold a special meeting sometime after the bids are opened.
Golf Course Update Complete reports for the month of October were included in the Council packets. The Golf Course Assn. has selected two new board members, Jay Trower and Bill Shields, and retained Rick Scott, Ken Wyrick and Jeff Clayborn. Rick Scott was elected President and Ken Wyrick is the Treasurer.
SCIP Grant – Ballfield Improvements The engineer’s estimate came in more than what the grant is for. The Committee is putting together a list of companies to contact that could donate some resources to help make up the difference. The Committee is also looking for key contractors that can make sure the work on the project is done correctly. December 4th is the deadline for the grant application. Committee members will be meeting with the engineers and a few contractors tomorrow.
Alley Work behind City Hall/Museum The grading plans have been completed and a report is being prepared. Engineer Shetlar plans to bring the grading plan to the city tomorrow.
Community Center Kitchenette Heater After Council approved purchasing the heating vents through Dave Billingsly, Supt. Frogley contacted Billingsly to schedule the work. When Billingsly called to order the vents, the company representative advised that he had quoted Billingsly the wrong price
for the vents the first time. Instead of $50 per vent, the cost is $100 per vent. Billingsly made up a new quote and told Clerk Peine that he was sorry for having to come back to the city with an increased price. He expressed his appreciation for the city’s business and said he would not charge the city for labor if the Council still wished for him to do the work. The total revised quote from Billingsly is for $1,253 to install eight registers (no labor included). Blankinship made a motion to approve the expenditure. Motion died for lack of a second.
Sanders felt Billingsly should be compensated for his time – that the error was not his, it was the suppliers. Sanders made a motion and Willis seconded to approve the new quote plus $100 in labor for a total of $1,353.00. Motion carried.
NEW BUSINESS SCIP Grant – Use of City Equipment Since Councilmember Fischer could not attend the meeting, he asked if Clerk Peine would present the question to the Council to see if the city would be able to donate any equipment during the project when necessary. Council felt that only city employees are to run the city’s equipment. Attorney Tucker commented that there would be a potential liability issue if someone other than city employees used the equipment.
After further discussion, Lewis made a motion and Sanders seconded to commit equipment and employees to the project. When asked about setting limits on the city’s donation, Mayor Bringle said this statement is with the understanding that it is not an open-ended commitment and that the city may want to develop limits at a later date; for now, it is a statement of support that will be included with the grant application. There being no further discussion or comments, he then called for a vote on the question. Motion carried with Blankinship voting no.
2010 LKM Calendars In observance of the League of Kansas Municipality’s 100th anniversary, they have put together a commemorative calendar that includes a photo from all 627 incorporated cities in Kansas. Each city received a free calendar and additional calendars are available for $10 each. Clerk Peine asked if anyone was interested in purchasing a calendar. Mayor Bringle and Treasurer Hornung said they would like one.
Neighborhood Revitalization Plan A copy of the proposed Neighborhood Revitalization Plan was included in the Council packet. As requested at a previous Council meeting, Clerk Peine spoke to the County Commissioners about changing the city’s plan so that an individual could remain in the program for any year other than one(s) in which they paid their taxes late. The Commissioners advised that they would not participate in a plan after a property owner becomes delinquent on the property taxes.
The new revitalization plan changes consist of: Updates to valuation; updates to current projects; updates to the various dates of the plan; new wording to make it clear that the taxes are to be paid no later than the due date each year; and new wording stating that
applicants must also submit a building permit application. After some discussion, it was determined not to make any other changes to the plan. Sanders made a motion and Blankinship seconded to approve the new plan the way it is and have it be in effect for the next five years. Motion carried.
Donation of Equipment – Oswego Hospital Oswego Hospital has donated chain baskets for the basketball goals and a base plug for the baseball field. A thank you note will be sent.
INDIVIDUAL REPORTS Bringle – would like to hold a school celebration recognizing the school’s accomplishments both in sports and academics. Various ideas were discussed.
Frogley – one of his employees lost 12 hours of vacation time since they were over the number of hours allowed at their anniversary date. Frogley stated that the report he was going by said that the employee had 12 hours to take by his anniversary date of October 1st. Two days were scheduled for the employee to take off – October 1st and 2nd. Clerk Peine reported that the report he was going by did not account for the vacation hours that were to be accrued before the anniversary date; that the number of vacation and sick hours that an employee has accrued are on their pay stub and that employees need to keep their anniversary dates in mind when they look at the number of hours they have accrued. Frogley said he has a problem with the report he receives since it is misleading. Council felt it is up to the employee and the department heads to make sure individuals are in compliance with directives set out by the Council.
Peine – Lou O’Brien purchased the Black Opal building and is going to clean off the property. He is asking if the city would consider writing off half of the back taxes amount. The whole amount is $3,150. Attorney Tucker will be consulted on a couple of questions the Council has.
Blankinship – reported that there were some people exercising their dogs on the tennis courts the other night and had the lights on. It was noted that if someone sees this type of activity going on they should report it to the police department so it can be checked out.
Lewis – asked if staff had received pictures of what the exterior of the building in Erie looks like since the city is considering the same thing as a solution to the shared walls of the Branson building. Clerk Peine will try to obtain a photo by contacting the Erie City Clerk.
ADJOURNMENT Blankinship made a motion and Willis seconded to adjourn the meeting at 8:20 p.m. Motion carried.
_____________________________ Mayor Murl T. Bringle
Attest:
_______________________________ Deputy City Clerk Carol Eddington
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