March 17, 2025 LECOMPTON CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES
7:00 P.M. Mayor Jimmy Wilkins brought the Lecompton City Council Meeting to order at 327 Elmore St. Lecompton, KS. Council Members Mary Jane Hoffer, Stephanie Confer, and Steve Freeman were present at roll call. Council members Troy Clark and Owen Mallonee were absent. City Superintendent Ryan Davis and City Clerk Lynley Sanford were also present. There were no residents or township members present at 7am. Chad Rae arrived at 7:02pm
Mary Jane Hoffer motioned to approve the meeting minutes from March 3rd, 2025. Stephanie Confer seconded the motion.
Motion passed 3 yeas, 0 nays
Steve Freeman motioned to approve the bills before the council. Stephanie Confer seconded the motion.
Motion passed 3 yeas, 0 nays
Council Member Owen Mallonee arrived at 7:04pm
Sean Gordon was present to review the 2024 Audit with the Council. No irregular findings were found.
The City had received a complaint from Belinda Janes regarding the number of stray cats in her area. She asked that the City do something about. The city offers residents the opportunity to borrow live traps to trap and relocate or surrender to the humane society cats they do not want around their home.
Lawrence Douglas County Humane Society in partnership with K-State will be in Lecompton on March 28th to offer pet services and resources for free. 10a-1:30p Lecompton area residents can receive pet vaccines, wellness exams, heartworm testing for dogs, deworming/flea prevention, micro chipping, sign up for spay/neuter surgery and receive pet food and supplies. Fliers are hung around town and notice has been posted on the City website and on FB page.
Chad Rea with “Way out Here” apartments spoke to the council regarding high water usage due to a malfunction with the water softener at the apartment. The City council discussed options and decided that offering the common reduced rate practice we have used in the past would be best Stephanie Confer motioned to approve reducing the water fees according to the City’s common practice reducing the charge from 3081.09 to 2001.75, allowing repayment to be made over 12 months making the monthly payment $166.82 + Current usage due, no late fees during the repayment period. Mary Jane Hoffer seconded the motion.
Motion passed 4 yeas, 0 nays.
Chad Rea also spoke with the council regarding changing the business that is currently in the laundry mat space in the apartment buildings. The zoning allows for use of a bakery in the zoning district.
The Council questioned commercial ovens in the same building as residential space and venting.
Council asked that Chad call Douglas County Zoning/Codes to see what recommendations they have and that he will have to apply for a building permit for the remodel.
Ryan –
– Provided a bid from Kurita to test softener media. The quote was for $6561.00 for testing only. Does not include replacing media or filters. Media replacement is estimated to cost between 120k-150k, and another 20k for the filter.
Owen Mallonee motioned to approve the bid from Kurita to get testing done on the softener media. Steve Freeman seconded the motion.
Motion passed 4 yea, 0 nay.
– Ryan updated that the aerators have been repaired and all aerators on working in the lagoons currently. He sprayed the duckweed and filamentous algae last week, and will do so again this week to get that back under control
– New boat for the lagoons is needed, something larger and deeper that you can’t see through. Council agreed Ryan can purchase a new Jon boat for lagoons, even from FB Market place would be okay.
– RWD #3 building, Ryan indicated he has picked up some parts, has some additional parts to purchase but looking at having everything he needs to replace it within the week.
Lynley –
– Updated City Council that Audit is complete, and has been submitted to the State of Kansas Chief Financial Officer.
– Water office Grant review agreement, does the City Council want to move forward. General consensus of the council is yes move forward. Council asked if Jason could be at the next meeting to talk about other city’s he has done water improvement projects like this for.
– Locations for Tim Rues sign have been marked, will have Ryan mark our utilities so signs can be installed.
Old Business:
– Jeff Heiman sent correspondence regarding 405 E. Fifth Street. At this time Attorney Jeff Heiman does not believe the structure is condemnable based on evidence we have at this time. The council asked that Jeff start with moving forward on a court order calling for inspections to move towards condemnation and eventually removal of the structure.
New Business:
– Council discussed Chip n’ sealing the north end of town. The city asked for two additional bids before determining who to go with for Chip n seal.
– Council Woman Stephanie Confer stated she would not be attending the council meeting on 4/07
– Council woman Stephanie Confer received an email regarding publicizing Kansas history in local and extended areas around us for the 2026 World Cup to held June 11th – June 19th. Lawrence is anticipated to be the headquarters for at least 1 international team.
8:39p Steve Freeman motioned to go into executive session for 20 minutes. Stephanie Confer seconded the motion.
Motion passed 4 yeas, 0 nays
Mayor Wilkins called the meeting back to order at 9:01pm
City Council informed City Clerk Lynley Sanford that her presence is required at the KRWA conference in Wichita on March 27th at 11 am for City Clerk of the Year Award. The council agreed that fuel, toll fees, would be paid by the City for attendance.
9:06pm – Mary Jane Hoffer motioned to adjourn. Stephanie Confer seconded the motion.
Motion passed 4 yeas, 0 nays.
Lynley Sanford, City Clerk