February 20, 2007 Lecompton City Council Minutes
Roy Paslay opened the meeting at 7:00 P.M. .
Council members Mark Tunstall, Tim McNish, Ed Smith and Bruce Liese were present. Council Chuck Folks was absent. Justin VanWinkle City Superintendent, Georgia Wingfield City Treasurer, Sandy Nichols City Clerk, City Attorney Lee Hendricks and City Grant writer Donna Crawford were present. Resident Pastor Ken was present. Paul Bahnmaier from the Lecompton Historical Society was present.
Mark Tunstall made a motion to approve the February 5, 2007 minutes with the addition of “the Community Building” being added to the paragraph regarding additional keys being given out. Tim McNish seconded the motion and the vote was unanimous.
Mark made a motion to approve the bills. Tim seconded and the vote was unanimous.
Paul Bahnmaier gave each of the council members an article from the Topeka Capital-Journal regarding the 1857 Lecompton Constitution’s return to Constitution Hall. Mr. Bahnmaier shared information regarding the viewing of the Constitution in Lecompton.
Donna Crawford was present to discuss the new water plant project and to answer any questions. Donna will write a letter to Roberta Nelson, Lecompton’s Field Representative from KDOC for the CDBG Grant, stating the additional funds from Rural Development were for a softner to help increase the life time of the water plant. Donna shared with the council information that was discussed with Roberta Nelson regarding council members bidding on work for the new water plant. Council members that are owners or co-owners of a business cannot bid on a project. They would have to resign their position on the council and be off the council for at least one year before being eligible. A new water tower was discussed. At this time the council was not ready to start a grant process for a water tower.
Lora Ewbank was not present.
City Attorney Lee Hendricks shared information regarding agent of record for our insurance company.
Mr. Hendricks presented a Sales Tax Resolution for the general purpose of providing infrastructure maintenance to be passed and he will forward the information on to the Douglas County Clerk to be placed on the April ballot. Bruce Liese made a motion to approve Resolution 233 regarding Sales Tax. Tim seconded the motion and the vote was unanimous. Mr. Hendricks shared information of papers needing to be signed for Rural Development regarding the water plant project. Council member Liese left the room. Mr. Hendricks would like to have additional time to review the papers before they are signed. Tim made a motion to give the authority for the mayor to sign the papers once they have been approved by Mr. Hendricks. Ed seconded the vote. The vote passed 3 approving. Council member Liese had not returned. Council member Liese returned. Mr. Hendricks gave each council member information regarding the current SCI Franchise agreement and a possible amended agreement. After discussion, Ed made a motion to amend Section XXIII of the ordinance to read: “The Grantee shall pay to the City on our before January 20 and July 20 of each year a $100.00 or $3.00 per customer, whichever is greater, franchise fee”. Tim seconded the motion and the vote was unanimous. A suggestion had been made to send a letter from the LVC with City code violation letters. Mr. Hendricks said he would not recommend sending the letters together. A separate letter from the LVC could be mailed by the LVC group. After discussion regarding residence violation at 410 E. 7th Street, Mr. Hendricks was requested by the council to write a letter of evection to the residence. Mr. Hendricks will send a certified letter and council member McNish will post a letter on the residence. The City Clerk read a letter from Brian D’Alfonson with KDHE Waste Management Program. The City Clerk informed the council the Mike Coffman had called prior to the meeting and would not be able to attend. The council did not deem it necessary have a phone conference with Mr. Coffman. After discussion Mark made a motion requesting Mr. Hendricks to take necessary steps to correct the non-compliance reports from KDHE and continue the process to get the property cleaned up at 645 E Second. Tim seconded the motion and the vote was unanimous. Mr. Hendricks will respond to Brian D’Alfonso with KDHE as information is available and before March 12, 2007. Roy will be present for the clean up.
(OVER)
Ranson Housing Compliance requested the city to pass a resolution to provide Lecompton citizens the opportunity to participate in a first time home buyers program. Ed made a motion to approve the mayor signing Resolution 234. Mark seconded motion and the vote was unanimous.
Lease/Purchase or loan possibilities were discussed. Lee will check the possibility for the city having a loan for the new truck. Justin will check on the possibility of a dealership loan.
It was reported a $181/month increase in health insurance.
Roy reported some people may want to purchase bulk water when the bridge is closed. There was discussion regarding metering the water sold. It was decided to continue the honor system. People may contact the city office when interested.
Justin reported TONKA Equipment Company will be February 20, 2007 to prepare for the pilot study of their water treatment system.
It was reported the heat at the Community Building was set on 75 degrees Saturday February 17, 2007. City employees are requested to check the community building daily until a possible cause is identified. There was discussion of a programmable thermostat installation. Justin reported a possible problem with the thermostat at the shop. He will try to locate the problem.
There was discussion of purchasing the new truck instead of a lease purchase agreement. It was stated in the past it was better to have the monies in the bank for the budget.
Justin discussed building a heavier bed for the new truck at a near cost of purchasing a lighter bed.
Georgia requested the City Clerk explain to the council the problem with the year end report. It was reported when the city clerk prepared to send the report to be published the year end total did not include the equipment fund monies. This amount was added before publication.
There was discussion regarding lot-split information. Lee will contact John Riggs and report to the city clerk his conversation.
8:55 P.M. Mark a motion to adjourn. Tim seconded and the vote was unanimous.
Sandy Nichols, Clerk