September 6, 2022 LECOMPTON CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES
6:55 P.M. Mayor Jimmy Wilkins brought the Revenue Neutral Rate Hearing for the City of Lecompton to order at 327 Elmore St. Lecompton, KS. Council Members Tim McNish, Mary Jane Hoffer, Stephanie Confer, Matt Roberts and Owen Mallonee were present at roll call. City Superintendent Rance Roberts, City Clerk Lynley Sanford and City Attorney Jeff Heiman were present at roll call. The following residents or township members were also present. Elsie Middleton, Glenn and Vickie Mallonee, Greg Howard and Susan Wood were also present.
Mayor Wilkins read the resolution proposing to exceed the Revenue Neutral Rate for 2023. There was no public comment.
Stephanie Confer motioned to approve resolution 316 approving the proposal to exceed the Revenue Neutral Rate for the 2023 budget cycle. Mary Jane Hoffer seconded the motion.
Motion passed by roll call vote. The following Council Members voted yes: Tim McNish – Yes, Mary Jane Hoffer –Yes, Stephanie Confer-Yes, Owen Mallonee-Yes, and Matt Roberts- Yes. There were no votes against the resolution.
Mary Jane Hoffer motioned to close the Revenue Neutral Rate Hearing and Open the Budget Hearing. Matt Roberts seconded the motion. Motion passed 5 yeas, 0 nays.
Mayor Wilkins brought the 2023 Budget Hearing for the City of Lecompton to order at 327 Elmore St. Lecompton, KS. Council Members still in attendance included Tim McNish, Mary Jane Hoffer, Stephanie Confer, Matt Roberts, and Owen Mallonee. City Superintendent Rance Roberts, City Clerk Lynley Sanford and City Attorney Jeff Heiman were still present. Additional residents or township members included the following: Elsie Middleton, Glenn and Vickie Mallonee, Greg Howard and Susan Wood.
Mayor Wilkins discussed the Mill Levy, and that the City is not looking to increase, but we are also not going to decrease it either due to increased costs of replacement parts and maintenance of the water plant and waste water components. There was no other public comment.
Matt Roberts motioned to approve the 2023 budget and submit to the county for certification. Owen Mallonee seconded the motion.
Motion passed 5 yeas, 0 nays.
6:59P.M. Matt Roberts motioned to close the 2023 Budget hearing. Stephanie Confer seconded the motion. Motion passed 5 yeas, 0 nays.
7:00 P.M. Mayor Jimmy Wilkins brought the Lecompton City Council Meeting to order at 327 Elmore St. Lecompton, KS. Council Members Tim McNish, Mary Jane Hoffer, Stephanie Confer, Owen Mallonee and Matt Roberts were present at roll call. City Superintendent Rance Roberts and City Clerk Lynley Sanford were also present. The following residents or township members were also present: Elsie Middleton, Glenn and Vickie Mallonee, Greg Howard and Susan Wood were also present.
Owen Mallonee motioned to approve the meeting minutes for August 15th, 2022. Time McNish seconded the motion. Motion passed 5 yeas, 0 nays
Stephanie Confer motioned to approve the bills before the council, Matt Roberts seconded the motion. There was some concern over employee overtime. The overtime was due to refilling the water tower after it being cleaned out.
Motion passed 5 yeas, 0 nays
Greg Howard approached the City Council regarding playground equipment improvements for the City park and grant opportunities. He talked with the council about him personally exploring the grants, the city council indicated they would be okay with that. Additionally Greg presented ideas for improvements for example: digital sign at City Park, Antique looking street light posts, and a small splash pad or water feature of sorts for the park.
It was mentioned the steps in front of the PRIDE building are crumbling and could be replaced, the council asked to see if it could be included in the sidewalk project. The Council asked if City Clerk Lynley Sanford could look into that. Greg also mentioned that the Lecompton Ball Field is coming up on it’s 50th year anniversary of establishment next year. So, lots of good work going into rehabbing the field and looking forward to celebrating.
Mayor Wilkins mentioned that the City Council is talking about park improvements, and has that on the “to do” list. Mayor Wilkins has met with a few contractors and they are working on bids, at this point the council is just waiting on seeing what the proposed costs are before proceeding.
Jeff Heiman –
– Property Violation Review:
o 405 E. Woodson – Jeff Morris – Extension to 9/19
o 645 E. Second – Mike Coffman – No additional improvements, original sale not completed, it fell through. Keep on agenda for next meeting
o 409 Whitfield – Roofing repairs have been completed
o 530 E. Third – Pat Edwards – accessory structure – keep on agenda for next meeting
o Vacant land at 600/1851 Diag Rd. Richard Nichols. Work in progress. Because of De-annex request, review is moved to 10/3/2023 meeting.
o 421 Elmore – Bill Willis – Bonnie Willis, Bill’s daughter called attorney Jeff Heiman, and indicated that they have been working hard on cleaning up what was asked. They would like the City to look at it and determine if they are in compliance.
Rance –
– City water tower cleanout went excellently. The water tower is in good shape, liner is great, hardly any sediment inside the tank, water plant is doing a good job making and distributing clean water.
– Refilling the water tower has been a challenge between being on RWD 3 water and then making water at the plant to fill the tower. Working to refill and make sure chlorine residual stays up. Will have to submit 2 samples to KDHE lab before putting tower back into service.
Lynley –
– Audit engagement letter for Gordon CPA for 2022 year end audit. Mary Jane Hoffer motioned to approve the engagement letter. Stephanie Confer seconded the motion.
Motion passed 5 yeas, 0 nays.
– Informed City Council the Lecompton Planning Commission met regarding the de-annexation request from Richard Nichols. The Council will meet regarding the request at the October 3rd meeting.
– Trunk o’treat in Lecompton. Wanted to confirm the date for the event. Council agreed that sticking to the last Saturday of the month seems to work best. Will put out fliers.
Old Business
– Sidewalk project updates if any – No new updates at this time, hopefully at the next council meeting.
– Some complaints regarding grass/weed height and follow up. New complaint at Stauffer property, council asked a letter be sent from the City. A letter was sent after the last meeting to Eleanor Lohmann, the weeds in the ditch have not been cut back. The City asked to send a second letter.
– Complaint regarding the vacant land on 5th street just West of Bud Mallonee. It used to just be over grown trees, but the new owner cut the trees down with the intention of putting in a driveway. That has not been completed and now there are weeds, poison ivy and just a mess of the area with overgrowth. Can something be done? Council requested a letter be sent to the property owner to try to get the weeds under control.
New Business
– The City Council was provided information regarding a grant opportunity through BRIC – Hazard mitigation planning. Lecompton is going to pursue grant opportunity to get a generator backup for the water plant and for storm-water mitigation. The Council agreed both topics are something we should proceed to see if we qualify for grants for.
– ISO rating update from the consolidated fire district.
– SAMCO bid for A/C unit – see if Kyle Morgison, the new city employee has a EPA license to push refrigerant.
8:15 PM – Matt Roberts motioned to adjourn. Stephanie Confer seconded the motion.
Motion passed 5 yeas, 0 nays
Lynley Sanford, City Clerk