Regular Meeting December 14, 2009 6:30 p.m. City of Oswego, Kansas
Present: Councilmembers Glenn Fischer, Ryan Willis, Dave Blankinship, Jane Rea, Ty Lewis and Cindy Sanders with Mayor Tom Bringle presiding.
Also present: Supt. Kevin Frogley, City Clerk Cheri Peine, Deputy Clerk Carol Eddington, Bill Cunningham, Kenny Eck, Jon & Jenae Eck, Sherry Eck, Phil Hays, Caleb Strickland, Fire Chief Donnie Allison, Dale Dean and Attorney Rick Tucker.
OPENING PRAYER Rev. Phil Hays, First Christian Church, opened the meeting with a prayer.
SERVICE RECOGNITION Mayor Bringle presented service awards to Kenny Eck and Jon Eck for each one serving 20 years on the Oswego Fire Dept. He also recognized Kevin Frogley for his 10 years of service with the public works department, seven of those as City Superintendent.
PUBLIC HEARINGS Neighborhood Revitalization Public Hearing Mayor Bringle opened the public hearing at 6:33 p.m. for the Neighborhood Revitalization Plan for years 2009-2014. The public hearing notice was published two consecutive weeks and copies of the notice were provided to all taxing entities. No one was present to discuss the NRP.
Waiver of Distance Requirements for Drinking Establishment Mayor Bringle opened the public hearing for a distance waiver for 925 Sixth St. at 6:35 p.m. Dale Dean, owner of the restaurant at 925 Sixth St. is considering reopening and would like to also serve beer and wine, however, the restaurant is within 500 feet of the Presbyterian Church. City Code prohibits alcoholic liquor being sold or served within 500 feet of any church but does allow for the governing body to grant a waiver of this requirement should they establish that it would not be adverse to the public welfare or safety. There have been two such waivers granted to this location in previous years.
PETITIONS AND DELEGATIONS Caleb Strickland – Request to waive trash charge. Caleb Strickland, representing C&C Sanitation and Strickland Oil Co, asked the Council to consider waiving the trash charge for the property at 901 Fourth St. Strickland is leasing the property and will use it to house his roll-off truck, store equipment and vehicles and will probably have his staff paint dumpsters at that location.
He felt it’s an unnecessary charge since he owns his own roll-off service and his parents own their own trash service. He said he was willing to compromise and offered a one-time roll-off dumpster for the city’s use for 10 days in exchange for him not paying for trash service. The necessity for everyone to be required to pay for the service was explained to him. Strickland brought up that there are other storage facilities in town that do not pay for trash. Clerk Peine pointed out that these are true storage facilities that do not have other utility services connected, are not occupied on a daily basis, and do not generate trash. When a person renting a space wants to dispose of items, they must pay a fee for trash pick up. Council made no exception nor change to the current utility code.
Councilmember Sanders entered the meeting at 6:50 p.m.
Temporary Use Permit – Wide Open Customs, LLC After reviewing the information on temporary use permits, Attorney Tucker reversed his decision and felt a temporary use permit could be issued to Wide Open Customs and a zoning waiver was not necessary. The temporary use permit is for them to place an awning over 16’ of concrete on the east side of their building. It was noted that the temporary use permit is in effect only while the Coppocks own the property.
Blankinship made a motion and Lewis seconded to approve the Temporary Use Permit. Motion carried.
Ordinance – Neighborhood Revitalization Plan An Ordinance entitled “AN ORDINANCE ADOPTING A NEIGHBORHOOD REVITALIZATION PLAN AND DESIGNATING A NEIGHBORHOOD REVITALIZATION AREA” was presented. Councilman Fischer wished to have it noted that he thinks it is improper for the county to dictate city policy.
Rea made a motion and Sanders seconded to approve the ordinance. Motion carried with Fischer voting no. Clerk assigned it Ordinance # 1254.
Close Public Hearings – Neighborhood Revitalization & Distance Requirement Waiver for Drinking Establishment Mayor Bringle closed both public hearings at 6:35 p.m.
Distance Requirement Waiver – 925 Sixth St. Blankinship made a motion and Fischer seconded to approve the distance waiver for 925 6th St., thereby allowing licensing of a drinking establishment at this address. Motion carried.
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.
Also included in the Consent Agenda: Resolution – Interlocal Agreements for Neighborhood Revitalization Plan (NRP) A resolution to approve the interlocal agreements for the revised NRP was included in the packet. Each entity will be asked to sign an agreement with the city if they wish to participate in the NRP.
Resolution – 2010 Holidays Each year holidays for the city are adopted in resolution form for the upcoming year.
Cereal Malt Beverage Licenses Applications have been reviewed and approved by both the Police Chief and City Attorney for: G & W Grocery, Oswego Golf Course, Jump Start and Casey’s General Store.
Blankinship made a motion and Sanders seconded to approve the Consent Agenda as presented. Motion carried.
OLD BUSINESS Condemnations Tim Branson Building – 705 Fourth St. Phase I was completed and the report from the contractor was submitted to KDHE. The city will receive a copy of the report upon completion.
Justin C. Thompson – 1115 Third St. The house has been purchased by Richard Vance and he said he will be tearing it down.
Minimum Housing William Cook – 510 Kansas An inspection of the home showed serious minimum housing issues. Cook’s have since moved from the home.
Odessa Farrow – 523 Pennsylvania An inspection was conducted November 16th. Minor items were noted and a copy was provided to the property owner. A letter setting a timeframe to comply will be sent to the property owner.
Drainage Work for Alley behind City Hall Supt. Frogley acquired a quote in the amount of $8,000 from PowerCat to do the work as recommended by the Engineer. Peine advised the work can be paid for out of highway funds.
After having Clerk Peine check the Accounting Policy for bidding requirements, Blankinship made a motion and Sanders seconded to accept the quote from PowerCat and move forward with the rehab work to the alley. Motion carried.
Golf Course Update Included in the packet are: a financial report for the month of November, a revenue/expense comparison report for previous years and year to date as well as a cash report showing cash on hand as of November 30th.
The Board has sent out their annual dues statements to the members and has offered incentives for those who renew their membership. They are holding down expenses and did not seek any management fee reimbursement for November.
Community Center Kitchenette Heating Dave Billingsly has completed the work recommended by the engineer. When asked if that fixed the problem, Supt. Frogley stated he is afraid the heat is still not reaching the floor but time will tell.
NEW BUSINESS Request from Marna Taylor – Recognition of Healthcare Happenings in Oswego Information was included in the Council packets. Council took no action.
School Recognition As discussed last month, Mayor Bringle would like to hold a school celebration recognizing the school’s accomplishments both in sports and academics. Sanders reported that the idea was discussed and it would just be a logistical nightmare to try to get all of the students in the same location and school leaders were wondering if the Mayor would consider speaking at each school instead. They appreciate the idea but with schedules and busing issues, it would be too difficult to assemble everyone in one place.
Request to Demolish Back Part of Storage Building Supt. Frogley has asked B-3 to provide a quote to remove the back of the storage building next to the fire department. It is falling in and is unsafe as well as an eyesore. Frogley reported that the city employees may be able do the work themselves instead of having B-3 do it. He is currently looking into a gas line problem. Council expressed agreement that the dilapidated area needs to be removed.
Notice of Increase from City Attorney Attorney Tucker submitted a letter advising of a price increase to $175 per hour effective January 1, 2010. Tucker advised he had not increased fees in 10 years.
Budget Amendment Notice of Hearing Clerk Peine provided information on the need to amend the budget of the following funds: Water – expenses were higher this year than expected, including an extra payroll. The funds are available but the budget authority is not sufficient. Sewer – unusually high maintenance costs for grinder and lift stations this year, along with an extra payroll, make an amendment to the budget necessary in this fund. The funds are available but the budget authority is not sufficient. City Sales Tax – Streets – funds were available since no asphalt work was done in 2008. Therefore, when it came time to do the asphalt work this year, the project included spending some of the available funds from last year but the budget authority was not sufficient to cover the amount.
Blankinship made a motion and Lewis seconded to hold a budget hearing December 29, 2009 at 5:30 p.m. Motion carried.
INDIVIDUAL REPORTS Allison – noted that the Eck brothers started their career with the fire department as Junior Firemen.
It was reported that Harvey Fry, one time Fire Chief, was injured in a vehicle accident and is in the hospital in Columbus. The city will send a card.
Sanders – the sign at 4th & Commercial looks horrible. There are holes in it and no one uses it for current information any longer. The Chamber of Commerce or the Recreation Commission owns it. The city will send a letter to both organizations to see if they will agree to the city taking it down.
Rea – asked if the Comprehensive Development Grant sign at the Community Center could be taken down yet. Clerk Peine reported that the city still has not received the close-out documents which allow the city to remove the sign.
Willis – concerned about the looks of the asphalt job. There are little cracks, some parts are really high and some areas look like they are coming apart. Frogley reported the asphalt company used recycled shingles in their asphalt mix which is what has caused the coarseness. He has already had them come back and fix some places. He will have them come back and fix the places that need it. Rea reported there are places on North Street that do not look good. It was noted for future bids to specify no recycled shingles in the mix or have them submit two quotes, one with and one without recycled shingles.
ADJOURNMENT Blankinship made a motion and Lewis seconded to adjourn the meeting at 7:37 p.m. Motion carried.
_____________________________ Mayor Murl T. Bringle Attest:
_____________________________ Deputy City Clerk Carol Eddington
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