December 5, 2011 LECOMPTON CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES
7:00 P.M. Mayor Mark L. Tunstall brought the Lecompton City Council Meeting to order at 620 E. Woodson Ave, Lecompton, KS. Council Members Jimmy Wilkins, Tim McNish, Elsie Middleton, Christy Mallonee, and Jennifer Smith were present. The following were also present: City Clerk Lynley Sanford, City Superintendent Justin Van Winkle, City Attorney Lee Hendricks; residents Lori Wilkins, Roy Paslay, Vicki Bahnmaier, Bill Roberts, Barb and Bob Jernigan, Paul Bahnmaier, Gregg and Mary Sue Sledd, Brenda Hastert, Bob and Mary Lou Morris, Steve and Vickie Marino, Gina Clement, Mr. & Mrs. Richard Thacker, Marlene Swagerty, Alta Walter, Kim Stewart, and others.
Attempted motion to approve the November 21, 2011 minutes, mistakenly they were left at the City Office, no meeting minutes were approved this Council Meeting, the pending minutes will be reviewed and approved during the next December meeting.
Jimmy made a motion to approve the bills before them. Jennifer Smith seconded the motion and the vote passed 5 yeas, 0 nays.
Public Comment:
Mayor Mark L. Tunstall opened the discussion about the Old Lecompton High School, asking what the residents of Lecompton would like to see done with the property: The following conversations/comments occurred
Roy Paslay: Turn into office bldg. Move City hall into the old H/S and rent out the other spaces & then rent out the current city hall as retail or office space.
– Louisberg, KS: They rented out all spaces in their old high school as professional offices and it works great.
Brenda Hastert :Wondering if the City would consider leaving the auditorium open for the community to use for dinner theatres- to show movies on a projection screen for uses such as that. – Getting someone in to maintain it – what are the cities legalities/obligations?- Very seriously interested on behalf of the Methodist Church, in renting it for a March 31st 2012 – Dinner Theatre.- Will the City adequately and fairly advertise the space for lease and also available for purchase?
– Would also like to see the Perry-Lecompton Public library use a portion of the space, Billtown church might be interested, would like to see it open to perform plays, have a Dr.’s office in it, maybe a coffee shop, etc
Mayor Mark L. Tunstall: – Would be nice to have Dg. Co. Sherriff satellite office in that building – could be a satellite base for the Sherriff’s dept. and they could provide security monitoring for that building also.
Bob Morris:- Does the city want to hold onto the H/S? Do they want to sell it? If so how much?
Jimmy Wilkins:- Long term lease and someone to maintain the building would be the ideal situation. A situation/arrangement like we had with JDLA.
Bill Roberts: – Any limitations on zoning? – Who will make a vote on what happens to the city?- Will the residents be involved?- I think you should get a camera and video tape it, so you can rent a copy of the tape from the city to watch previous meetings so you know what is going on, and make the recording available on line.
Individual said:- The building is zoned commercial
Lee Hendricks: – Not really a limitation
Individual said:- Commercial/professional offices are most appealing- No beer Joints, No casinos – Commercial/professional business would create more money for the city – Professional offices like a Lawyer or Dental/Dr. Office. – Dg. Co. health clinic 1-2 days /week. Dr. Medical or Dental clinic able to do blood draws – like a satellite health clinic.
Vicki Bahnmaier:- Not interested in someone purchasing the building and turning into “low class” rentals
Lee Hendricks:- The City would not have a problem stopping someone who came in with the intent to do that, and they would do so through zoning laws. (they would prevent someone having “low class” rentals)
Historical Society: – Interested in doing plays and having extended exhibits in the old high-school – it would be wonderful space being so close to Lane University Museum, they would like to utilize it if possible.
Individual said: – Has the city looked into heritage grants or any other grants that may help care for the bldg? or pay for refurbishing the bldg. to open up for office space?
Mayor Mark L. Tunstall replied – No, we just took possession of the building and have not had the opportunity to look into these things. We wanted to hear the thoughts and opinions of the residents first so the council could decide the marketing/advertising direction for the building.
Elsie Middleton: “What I’m hearing the residents saying is they would like to see the City of Lecompton keep the building and generate revenue off of it.”
Jimmy Wilkins:- We will set wheels in motion by checking on the insurance and security of the building so we can have the opportunity to rent it out for special occasions.
Lee Hendricks: Private Rd. Issue: Dg. Co. GIS told him that the road is City property past the water plant, past Hackathorn’s, and then makes a backwards “L” Shape. The private drive actually starts further to the north on Isaacs road then we originally thought. When the city was building the new water treatment plant we had to redo the city’s legal boundaries, and this would be the boundaries as described by Dg. Co. GIS. If the City wanted to investigate this further our next step would be to take the legal description and then have someone actually draw it out which takes up a lot of time and is very expensive.
– Elsie Middleton: Why would it be a county road?
– Jimmy Wilkins and Jennifer Smith: It would actually be a township road, the township maintains all these roads.
At this time, because of the description of where the private drive actually begins, the city is not able to post a private drive sign. Lynley please notify Earl Bahnmaier of these findings, if he would like to pursue further discussion please invite him to attend the next City Council meeting.
NexTech – I contacted Vance Scott about the contract for the satellite to put on the water tower. At this time there is no contract with the school and NexTech, so there is no available contract to review for the city. No movement forward at this time.
Bill Roberts Letter: Glad to see Bill Roberts here this evening. Bill Roberts was sent a 45 day notice letter in regards to the dilapidated structure on his property at 405 E. Woodson. Mr. Bill Roberts expressed concern about the issues surrounding the vehicles and clean up on his property. Lee Hendricks stated on the record “ The vehicle issue at your home is resolved.”
– More conversation occurred between Mr. Bill Roberts, Ms. Vicki Bahnmaier and the Council.
Lee Hendricks: The option is the home owners to either reconstruct or deconstruct the building. The first meeting in January is when a resolution can be passed and the city can take action if the situation is still unsatisfactory.
Vicki Bahnmaier: Buildings South of town and West of town that are also off foundations and just as dangerous, the city hasn’t taken steps or sent letters to those owners to address those situations. I do not think it is fair and I would not and will not complain about my neighbors, it’s none of my business. I feel the City is being discriminatory in this situation.
Steve Marino: What are the steps if you receive a complaint about your property
Lee Hendricks: The complaint is brought to the council’s attention during a City Council meeting. Members are asked to drive by and take a look at the situation. At the next City Council meeting, more discussion occurs. If the property is out of ordinance then a letter is sent to the resident or home owner to address and take corrective action of the complaint. From that point forward steps are taken to move forward to ensure that there is resolution to the complaint.
Jimmy Wilkins: On the boiler – it was brought to his attention tonight after visiting with Gregg Sledd that the boiler system may need more attention. I would like to have Lynley or Justin solicit bids for boiler repair and or maintenance. I would like to ask Gregg Sledd what are we or should we be asking a company to bid on? A service contract?
Gregg Sledd: Service contracts are expensive with any company. Usually people just call when their boiler needs repaired.
Lynley – look at boiler maintenance costs from info we requested from JDLA. Have a couple of companies give bids on boiler repair and annual inspections.
Jimmy Wilkins: I would like to authorize Justin to get someone out here to maintain the boiler or address the immediate concern with the boiler shutting itself off. Jimmy will contact Justin in the morning about the boiler and how to move forward on the maintenance for it.
Justin: Brought forward discussion and review of Sharon Bunce’s water line repair costs.
Elsie Middleton: Had a resident compliment the lights on the pole decorations. Thank you to Justin for getting the light bulbs replaced so quickly and having Westar come out and put them up.
Lynley: Brought forward conversation about Herman Morris who owns rental property at 507 Boone St. and he expressed concern about how he did not understand how he is responsible for the water bill of a resident when he was not the one who actually used it.
– Discussion about Gail Tomkins and confusion in a conversation that was held with her about application of funds from one of her lot water accounts. The council feels it is the property owner’s responsibility to collect the funds from the residence after we give her the amount of the bill and to not switch around the transaction in the computer since it is already applied. The council feels it would be the same difference.
Old Busniess:
– Paul Bahnmaier – No New
– Bill Roberts – addressed under Lee Hendricks
New Business:
– Review old high school expenses – Annual expense sheet from JDLA
– Sharon Bunce water line repair bill – addressed under Justin.
8:35 PM Jimmy made a motion to adjourn. Jennifer seconded the motion and the vote passed 5 yeas, 0 nays.