July 21, 2008 LECOMPTON CITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES DRAFT
7:00 P.M. Mayor Paslay brought the meeting to order at 327 Elmore, Lecompton, KS. Council Members Tim McNish, Jimmy Wilkins, Christy Mallonee and Jennifer Smith were present. Council Member Mark Tunstall was absent. City Superintendent, Justin Van Winkle, City Clerk, Sandy Nichols, City Engineer Kenneth Shetlar, and City Attorney Lee Hendricks were present. Visitors present were: Bruce Smith, RWD #3, Lori Wilkins, Elsie Middleton, Shane Jones, Marguerite Ermeling, Garrett Nordstrom & Dax Mayes with Government Assistance Service.
Tim McNish made a motion to approve the July 7, 2008 with corrections made to the 8th paragraph: Jennifer made the motion, Mark seconded….. Christy Mallonee seconded the motion and the vote passed 4 yeas, 0 nays.
Jennifer Smith made a motion to approve the bills before them. Tim seconded the motion and the vote passed 4 yeas, 0 nays.
Kenneth Shetlar reminded the council bids for the water plant would be opened August 7, 2008, 4 PM at the city office. Mr. Shetlar also explained state regulation changes with discharge from the lagoons that will affect the future. It is recommended by KDHE that this be addressed now while other changes are being made. This had been part of the delay in approval for the water plant. KDHE has approved moving forward with the water plant although the softener cannot be used until the discharge issue is approved. Do to the raising cost of material; Mr. Shetlar shared information comparing the cost of a water tower and ground storage tank. Bruce Smith asked if Mr. Shetlar knew of other towns using ground storage. Mr. Shetlar said Great Bend and Garden City both used ground storage. The council all agreed to wait until the bids had been opened for the water plant before further discussion regarding the water tower.
Lee notified the council that a letter had been sent to Carolyn Mathews Stewart regarding the $9375 appraisal for property the city would like to purchase for a road and 100’ x 100’ piece of property with a 200’ x 200’ construction easement. Mr. Shetlar, Mr. Hendricks, Ms. Stewart’s attorneys will meet Wednesday July 23, 2008 to review the appraisal.
Lee will get information to Bruce Smith regarding contract between the City of Lecompton and RWD #3 by August 5, 2008.
Marguerite Ermeling was present to request the council’s opinion on the development of the Farmer’s Turnpike area under consideration at this time. Ms. Ermeling requested PC members and residents to attend an August 5, 2008 meeting to express their opinion. This council thanked Ms. Ermeling for her information.
Elsie Middleton, 401 Halderman, asked what the motion was for regarding chip/seal on the Woodson Ave repair work. The minutes read from east of the Post Office to the west end of the tube by the church. There was discussion about the area to be chip ‘n sealed. Ms Middleton stated the west half of her driveway pools water after a rain. She requested the council to have Douglas County looked at the alley between Halderman and Elmore in the 400 block when they are studying the ditch area for drainage recommendations at the SE corner of Woodson Ave. and Elmore to make recommendations to alleviate the drainage onto her property coming from the Post Office, WoodN’Stuff, and the church parking lot. It was stated the alley is not Douglas County’s area. The council chooses to table further discussion until the August 4, 2008 meeting so council members could look at this area. After discussion, Jenny made a motion to chip/seal from the east end of the tube on the south side of Woodson Avenue including the driveway east of the post office to the west end of the tube by the church. Tim seconded the motion. The vote was 2 yeas, 2 nays. The mayor broke the tie voting yea. The vote passed 3 yeas, 2 nays.
A letter from Teri Smith, Director of Douglas county Emergency Management was read stating Mr. Jeff Goodrick’s appointment to the board would expire July 15, 2008. Ms. Smith stated Jeff has been a very active member and knowledgeable participant of the Board and has served the Council admirable. Mayor Paslay appointed Jeff Goodrick to the Douglas County Emergency Management Board to serve until July 15, 2009. A resolution will need to be passed at the next council meeting. Sandy is to email Lee information regarding this.
The council was informed by the city clerk about a meeting that took place between Steve Marino, the City Superintendent and City Clerk. The council discussed easement/right-of-way and dedication of Jones Street. The City Attorney recommended not continuing with funds to decide what the road is or is not at this time. There is no reason at this time for the city to continue. Who should get information regarding location of what part of Jones Street is an active Street. The council asked the City Attorney to find out who is responsible for getting information on the location of Jones Street.
Lee shared information regarding new KOMA regulations. Two council members may now visit without violating KOMA regulations.
SCI is behind 3 Franchise payments. Concern was stated that users of the service pay a franchise fee that is not being paid to the city as contracted. Lee stated he expect some results soon from SCI. He will request Mr. Kaberline to attend the August 18, 2008 council meeting.
Cyr; after discussion and input for the City Attorney, Jimmy made a motion to apply the unpaid balance of Mr. Cyr’s utility bill to Ms. Tompkins’ tax roll. Jennifer seconded the motion and the vote passed 4 yeas, 0 nays.
Justin: There are some drainage problems in the alley behind Gary Miller’s house. After discussion the council tabled any action to the August 4, 2008 meeting so members will have an opportunity to view the area.
There was discussion regarding future development on the east side of Elmore in the 300 block and the need for additional water meters. Jimmy made a motion to place a 3” water line across Elmore for future expansion. Tim seconded the motion and the vote was 4 yeas, 0 nays. Jimmy made a motion to place the 3” water line on the north end in the vicinity of the brick sidewalk area. Jennifer seconded the motion and the vote passed 4 yeas, 0 nays.
It was noted the vacation bible school had requested use of the park water hydrant in the past. There was no discussion.
Justin informed the council of a sign that was blocking view on the NE corner of Woodson Ave and Eisenhower Drive. City employees emailed Pastor Ken requesting the sign be relocated. Nancy Howard contacted Council Member Tim McNish as to what the problem was. Council Member Jimmy Wilkins had also been contacted by an individual regarding the request.
Dust control on Elmore Street was discussed. The council will wait to see what the conditions are before taking any action. It is possible to leave cones up and the road closed.
Jennifer Smith asked if the city would be able, would like to sponsor her attending a Leadership Lawrence which would also then benefit the City of Lecompton. The City Attorney was asked to see if this is something the city could sponsor. $200 sponsorship has been requested to consider. Jennifer stated it would be several weeks before she would know if she was accepted into the program.
Troy Johnson came by the city office and is interested in purchasing property on NE corner of Woodson Ave and Eisenhower Memorial Drive if it can be zoned commercial. A request was made in 2004 to rezone this property. There was a public hearing and the Planning Commission approved the rezoning. The Lecompton City Council did not approve the rezoning. New council members were informed of past concerns. No additional action was taken.
It was noted the City of Lecompton will be celebrating 155th anniversary in the 2009 year. Ideas as to what council members would like to do during this time were discussed.
The council was requested to view Hatcher property to see if it is now in compliance.
It was noted the council would need to adjourn to the budget public hearing will be 6:30 PM Aug 4, 2008.
10:27 P.M. Christy made a motion to adjourn. Jimmy seconded, and the vote passed 4 yeas, 0 nays.
Sandy Nichols, City Clerk