Regular Council Meeting - September 12, 2012
REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING
September 12, 2012 7:00 p.m.
PRESENT: Jerry Twombly, Scott Huss, Randy Snyder, Kevin Lackey and Lori Kelley(7:03).
ALSO PRESENT: Brandon Whetstine, Wendy Simmons, Christi Miller, Aaron Leach, Donna Parish, Dennis Snyder, Dorothy Diveley, Ted Collins, Michael Hunsaker, Becky Gilmore and Bill Butrick.
PRESIDING: Mayor Ken Stewart
The meeting was called to order at 7:00p.m. with a quorum present.
Jerry Twombly moved to approve the minutes of the last Regular Council Meeting held August 8, 2012. Randy Snyder 2nd, motion carried.
Scott Huss moved to approve the bills for the month of August 2012. Randy Snyder 2nd, motion carried.
PRESENTATIONS:
The Council reviewed the recommendation of the Doniphan County Planning and Zoning Commission to approve the request of John Petrik to allow for a conditional use of the property located at 109 N. Kirkwood for the construction of a greenhouse. Scott Huss moved to approve the recommendation of the Planning Commission to allow for the greenhouse and adopt the zoning request as Ordinance # 510. Kevin Lackey 2nd. By roll call vote: Snyder-yes, Kelley-yes, Twombly-yes, Lackey-yes, Huss-yes. Motion carried.
CITY OFFICERS REPORT:
Aaron Leach asked the Council to consider purchasing a small building or enclosed area for the storing of sand. Leach stated that a full load of salt takes up most of the space in the current building and leaves little room for sand storage. He presented bids of $1700 plus $275 for an end wall from Thompson Construction and $1800 plus $250 for an end wall from ClearSpan. The building size is 20x24x9.5. Scott Huss moved to accept the bid from Thompson Construction for the building. Kevin Lackey 2nd, motion carried.
Brandon Whetstine spoke briefly of two court cases that he had to attend at District Court. The cases involved Officer Buckingham’s injury while on duty and a child abuse case. Bill Butrick was asked to look into restitution concerning the Officer’s injury case.
Randy Snyder stated he had been receiving complaints about students smoking on private property and asked if anything could be done about it.
CITIZENS REQUESTS:
Donna Parish voiced her concerns about the street sweeper the City recently rented to clean streets. She stated that several rocks had been thrown into her yard which made it difficult to mow and that some asphalt had been broken off the lip of her drive-way. She asked the City to consider not using the sweeper in the future.
Dennis Snyder asked about tires on the white Police pick-up.
Dorothy Diveley asked if anything could be done about the US Flags on Main Street because they were being torn to shreds. She asked if a different style of pole or bracket could be used to help with the flags not being damaged. Aaron Leach stated he would look into the brackets and bring back information to the next Regular Council Meeting. Dorothy said that PRIDE may be able to pay a portion of the cost for the new brackets if that decision was made. She also asked about putting up the banners and Aaron Leach replied that City Maintenance had plans to put them back up shortly.
Wendy Simmons and Christi Miller spoke to the Council about a program they are involved with to aid in the reduction of substance abuse and alcohol use in underage kids. The program is called Draw The Line Doniphan County. It is a coalition that was developed in Doniphan County due to underage drinking in our county and several tragic deaths of local youths. Kansas receives a block grant from the federal government to reduce underage drinking. Doniphan County is a target community and has received funding to be spread out over the next four years. The first year is planning and developing with the following three years to include implementation, evaluations and sustainment. This is a joint effort of community members and agencies working together to reduce underage drinking. Members include: Law Enforcement, JJA, Kanza, all three School Districts, Parents, NEK Tobacco Use Prevention Program, Regional Prevention Center, Judge Roper, Sheriff’s Department and County Attorney Charles Baskins. This group is open to the public. Their focus is community level change through policy, practice and social norms change.
Jerry Twombly asked about dogs running at large and asked if stricter enforcement could be possible.
COMMITTEE REPORTS:
Kevin Lackey, Chairman of the Water and Sewer Committee, reported that a majority of the Committee had met and recommended the City raise the current water rate three dollars ($3.00) and sewer rate two dollars ($2.00) per month. Mayor Stewart stated the need for the increase was for future grant possibilities and upgrades to the current system. Jerry Twombly moved to accept the recommendation of the Committee for the rate increases and to have City Attorney Ted Collins prepare the Ordinance as number 511. Lori Kelley 2nd, motion carried.
OLD BUSINESS:
City Attorney Ted Collins reviewed a letter with the Council that had been sent to Dennis Lentz concerning access on South Nebraska Street. Mr. Collins stated that the letter contained an option that would hopefully be agreeable between the parties and that further discussion would take place whenever Mr. Lentz would become available.
NEW BUSINESS:
Ted Collins reported on the zoning map changes that would be implemented in the City’s new Zoning Ordinance. He stated that the map is basically final but that some changes were still being looked into and that the finalization of the project would probably be around the end of the year.
Bill Butrick asked the Council of they would want to consider reducing the set-back requirements and have them included in the new Zoning Ordinance. Butrick also asked if they wanted to consider changing the charge for a building permit. The Council asked that Mr. Collins and Mr. Butrick look into possibly making those changes to the Ordinance and report their findings at the next meeting.
Mayor Stewart and the Council reviewed a list of derelict structures presented to them by Code Enforcement Officer Malcolm Grier and Police Chief Brandon Whetstine. Mayor Stewart explained that a written report of the problems would be sent to the landowners on the list asking them to make necessary repairs or further action will be taken.
Chief Whetstine presented a bid from Security Solutions for security cameras placed both inside and outside City Hall. The bid consisted of a DVR recorder, 2 high resolution indoor fixed cameras and 3 high resolution outdoor fixed cameras, 1 microphone/audio station, a one year warranty and installation for $1988. Lori Kelley moved to purchase the security system for the City but to continue negotiations on the cost. Jerry Twombly 2nd, motion carried 4-1 with Huss voting no.
Julie Meng of the Doniphan County Planning and Zoning Commission informed the City that Stanley McCauley had retired from his position as Highland’s representative. Mayor Stewart announced to the Council that Dennis Snyder and Jerry Bruns had volunteered for the position. Scott Huss moved to appoint Dennis Snyder as the City’s representative to the County Zoning Board. Jerry Twombly 2nd, motion carried 4-0-1 with Randy Snyder abstaining.
The Mayor and Council asked that a letter of appreciation be sent to Stanley McCauley for the many years of service as the City’s Representative.
Scott Huss moved to place “No Parking” signs on the West side of South Avenue across from the Nursing Home and to amend the City’s Traffic Map to show the changes. Randy Snyder 2nd, motion carried.
8:00 p.m. Randy Snyder moved to go into executive session for ten minutes to discuss personnel and for Ted Collins to remain. Jerry Twombly 2nd, motion carried.
8:08 p.m. Scott Huss moved to come out of executive session. Lori Kelley 2nd, motion carried.
8:09 p.m. Scott Huss moved to adjourn. Lori Kelley 2nd, motion carried.