DRAFT

BELOIT CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES

AUGUST 21, 2007

 

The Beloit City Council met in regular session on August 21, 2007 in Council Chambers.  Mayor Phil Roberts called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m.  City Council members in attendance were Tom Maxwell, Bill Foreman, Denis Shumate, Craig Cousland, Pat Struble, Susan Concannon and Chad Thompson.  Also present were City Administrator Doug Gerber, City Attorney Harry Gantenbein and City Clerk Charlene Abell.  Councilor Raymond Pontow was absent.

 

Department heads in attendance were Stacy Thompson, Frank Gent, Mike Haeffele, Murray McGee and Caite Kendrick.

 

Councilor Struble offered the invocation and the Pledge of Allegiance was recited.

 

Mayor Roberts thanked the City crews for picking up limbs after the storm.  The League of Kansas Municipalities Annual Conference will be held October 6th thru the 9th.  If anyone would like to attend, please let the City Clerk know.  Mayor Roberts expressed thanks to the Mitchell County Fairboard for a great fair.  Pat Roberts will be in Beloit on Friday, August 24th, from 3:00 to 4:00 p.m. in the Municipal Building Sutter Room.  He will be visiting Beloit as part of his Summer Town Hall meeting tour.  Councilor Struble appreciated seeing that the City crews were busy pumping out water on the Mill Street Project in between rain storms.  Councilor Thompson thanked the Park and Recreation department for putting on the 3 on 3 basket ball tournament.  They did a great job organizing the event.   Councilor Maxwell reported that the benefit supper for Mark and Sherri Eck was a success.  They lost their home and all belongings in a fire.  Councilor Maxwell commented that our communities’ generosity spoke well for Beloit.

 

City Attorney Harry Gantenbein had no report.

 

City Administrator Gerber stated that the crews did an outstanding job in cleaning up after the storm.  The Mill Street Project is progressing.  A table has been set up for the media in the Council Chambers.  Cooper Wilson worked for the City as a lifeguard.  Administrator Gerber wanted to formally recognize him for his work performance, but Cooper could not be present to accept the award.

 

Mayor Roberts asked for comments from the public.  There were none.

 

The Consent Agenda consisted of the minutes of August 21, 2007 City Council meeting, Appropriations 8B, Ordinance #2038 adopting the 2007 Standard Traffic Ordinance and Ordinance #2039 adopting the Uniform Public Offense Code.  A motion was made by Councilor Cousland and seconded by Councilor Concannon to approve the Consent Agenda in its entirety with the corrections.  Roll call vote:  Yeas: Thompson, Foreman, Cousland, Concannon, Struble, Maxwell and Shumate.   Nays: None.

 

A motion was made by Councilor Foreman and seconded by Councilor Struble to approve Resolution #10-2007, authorizing construction of an improvement consisting of a street improvement project on County Club Drive.  Roll call vote: Yeas: Shumate, Thompson, Foreman, Concannon, Cousland, Maxwell and Struble.  Nays: None.

 

Resolution #11-2007, a proposition of levying a seven tenths percent retailer’s sales tax in the City of Beloit, for the purpose of all money collected and allocated for capital improvement to streets, electric distribution lines, sanitary sewer lines, water distribution lines, and airport improvements and to provide an adequate level of public service.  This tax will have no expiration date.  A motion was made by Councilor Maxwell and seconded by Councilor Struble to approve the adoption of Resolution #11-2007.  Roll call vote: Yeas: Thompson, Concannon, Maxwell, Cousland, Struble, Shumate and Foreman.  Nays: None.

 

A recommendation has been made that Zach Miller be hired as a K-9 Officer.  Zach has experience training dogs and has been employed as a Police Officer for the City of Beloit since February 2006.  A motion was made by Councilor Concannon and seconded by Councilor Maxwell to approve the recommendation and hire Zach Miller as a K-9 Officer at Grade 23, Step 3.  Motion carried 7-0.

 

In March 2007, the Council approved FY 2008 Kansas Airport Improvement Program grant for the Automated Weather Observation System. KAIP grants are administered by the Kansas Department of Transportation and are designed to improve and maintain Kansas airports.  The City’s AWOS has been selected as one of the projects.  KDOT will reimburse the City for 75% of the total project cost, including construction costs and construction engineering.  A recommendation has been made that a consulting services agreement with HWS for services on this project be approved.  The estimated cost would be $6,925.  The City will be reimbursed, through our grant, for approximately $5,193.  A motion was made by Councilor Maxwell and seconded by Councilor Cousland to approve the recommendation.  Motion carried 7-0.

 

A motion was made by Councilor Struble and seconded by Councilor Concannon to recess into an executive session for the preliminary consideration of specific personnel matter of non-elected personnel for a period of ten minutes.  Motion carried 7-0.  The session is to include the Governing Body, City Attorney, and City Administrator.  The session began at 7:18 p.m. and ended at 7:28 p.m.  No motions or decisions were made in that session.

 

A motion was made by Councilor Struble and seconded by Councilor Maxwell to adjourn the meeting.  Motion carried 7-0.  The meeting ended at 7:30 p.m.

 

The work session began at 7:35 p.m.  Those present were: Mayor Roberts, Councilors Thompson, Concannon, Cousland, Maxwell, Foreman, Shumate and Struble.  Also present was City Administrator Gerber, City Attorney Gantenbein and City Clerk Abell. Councilor Pontow was absent.

 

Department heads present were McGee, Kendrick, Thompson, Gent and Haeffele.

 

Correspondence and Staff reports included the August Police reports, the Vision Development team minutes, the IRP Approval confirmation and the Quarterly Code Enforcement report.  Also included was a thank you note from the City of Greensburg for our cooperation in allowing Building Inspector Chris Jones to go to Greensburg to help with the rebuilding efforts.

 

City Attorney Gantenbein did not have a report.

 

City Administrator Gerber reported that the new tornado sirens are being installed.  The League Conference is coming up the first weekend in October in Overland Park.  Administrator Gerber reminded the Governing Body that he had given each one a draft of future work session for the month of September.  One of the items will be a tour of Sunflower Manufacturing in September.  Administrator Gerber passed out his annual evaluation form.  It is the same form that was used last year.  Mayor Roberts asked that the Governing Body fill those out and return them to him so that he can get them compiled.  They will be discussed in a closed session.  Administrator Gerber commented on the 3 on 3 basketball tournament.  The fall activities brochure will be inserted in the Waconda Trader so there will be more regional coverage.  If anyone has any ideas on any programs, please contact Caite.  Adam Brown and Claire Thiessen, members of the Youth Council, reported on planned activities for the future. They reported that the paint ball tournament would not be held.  They plan on having a haunted house for the youth of Beloit prior to Halloween.  The also have considered of contacting the City of Manhattan Youth Council to be a sister city with our Youth Council.  Assistant to the City Administrator Stacy Thompson discussed the sales tax issue with the Youth Council at one of their meetings.    

 

A group of approximately thirty-five people were present along with Pat Heidrick and members of the Library Board to give the Council a presentation on the library project.  Also present was Architect Don Marrs.  He gave a design presentation of the condition of the current library and what the proposed new library building would look like.  The Library Board and the building committee requested that the Governing Body allow the citizens of Beloit to vote on the new library by putting the issue on the November ballot.  Councilor Maxwell suggested that the North Central Kansas Technical College be contacted and asked if any of their students could be used to do some of the work on the library.  Administrator Gerber went over the project costs associated with the project.  Gerber explained the difference between Revenue Bonds and General Obligation Bonds and the costs associated with those bonds.  Gerber also presented Mill Levy and Sales Tax comparisons, operation and maintenance costs and other project issues.  Administrator Gerber and the Governing Body expressed views that they had heard from the public.  After much discussion, the consensus of the Governing Body was to put the issue on the November ballot.

 

There was recess of the work session for a period of ten minutes at 9:30 p.m.

 

At 9:40 p.m. the work session resumed and the Governing Body discussed the agreement for mutual aid in fire protection.  Fire Chief Steve Rugg had discussed the issue with Administrator Gerber and they both decided that an agreement needed to be put into effect.  Attorney Gantenbein will need to make comments and change some of the wording in the agreement.  This item will on a future agenda for action.

 

The last item for discussion was KOMA procedures.  Staff prepared several items to ensure that the City does not have notification issues in the future and since more formal procedures will be put into place.  Requests for notice of meetings will be in the form of a written notice by those that want information.  Official meetings will be posting in the lobby of the municipal building.  Notice of regular meetings will be provided on Friday prior to the meetings.  A check list will be used to make sure all notices are provided.  A renewal letter and request form will be sent out prior to the end of the year to those on the list that are currently receiving information.  If they would still like to receive notices, they must return the signed form to the City.

 

The work session adjourned at 10:00 p.m.     

 

 

_________________________________

PHILLIP ROBERTS, Mayor

 

ATTEST:

 

______________________________

CHARLENE ABELL, CMC, City Clerk