June 2017 Meeting Minutes

Meeting Minutes for June 1st

                                                                                                                                            June 1, 2017

The Jetmore City Council met in regular session on June 1, 2017.  Mayor Derek Olson called the meeting to order.  Roll call was answered by Councilmen Mike Hendrickson, Orval “Pete” Shewry, Scott Smith and Larry Steinbring.  Absent was Councilman Jesse Pitts.  Also attending were City Administrator Michael Ort, City Attorney Eric Harman and City Clerk Deb McKivergan.

Minutes of the previous meeting were read and approved.

Councilman Hendrickson made a motion to pay the claims for May, Appropriation Ordinance 2017-05.  Councilman Steinbring seconded the motion; vote unanimous.

Kyler Fetters met with the council and said he would like to plan a street dance on July 1st and asked to block the street north of the courthouse.  Councilman Hendrickson made a motion to close Highway Street from Main Street to Bowlus Street from 1:00 p.m. July 1st until 2:30 a.m. July 2nd.  Councilman Smith seconded the motion; vote unanimous.

Jacque Sherrill and Paulette Knobbe from the Jetmore Library Board and Emily Seitz from the Southwest Kansas Library Association presented and explained their 2018 budget proposal.

Sheriff Jared Walker presented the monthly activity report.  He also discussed the upcoming speed limit change on Highway 156.

CITY ATTORNEY REPORT:  City attorney Eric Harman reported his findings on the process for condemnation of a property.  A code enforcement officer needs to be appointed by resolution, then the code would be followed to complete the process.  The upcoming election was discussed.  Mr. Harman stated that due to his heavy private practice work load the water tower project has been put on the back burner.  He suggested a possible replacement and will reach out to that person.  He reported that Municipal Court is running smoothly.

Pastor Cyd Stein met with the council requesting to block streets with removable cones, for a couple of hours, to hold block parties in approximately eight areas in the community.  The council gave permission; she will work with the City Administrator to give notice on the dates and which streets will be closed.

CITY FOREMAN REPORT:  City Foreman Brian Beil reported that his crew was able to use the boom truck to replace the rope on the flagpole at the courthouse.   They also wired in the propane tank for AV Energy.  The dock at the lake was moved.   The parking lines were painted before Memorial Day weekend.  Five trees were replaced in the park and the guys have been watering them.  They continue to do equipment maintenance; street and road maintenance and change out electric and water meters.  A water service line was repaired on Atkin Street.  The water line for the Saddle Club was discussed.  The project will be started next week and they will have it completed before their event in July.

CITY ADMINISTRATOR REPORT:  City Administrator Michael Ort presented his June schedule to the council.

*Mr. Ort explained the changes to the Agenda Free app used for council meeting

*Mr. Ort travelled to Hoisington and visited with their Administrator, Jonathan Mitchell, about land banks.  Mr. Mitchell explained the process for establishing a land bank and some of the decisions and transactions they have made with theirs.  Mr. Mitchell was having computer problems and will send more information later, which will then be passed on to the council.

*Mr. Ort presented the fund health report.

*The water quality report (CCR) has been posted online; on the bills; and the required reporting sent in to KDHE.

*The water tower project is in a lull right now as the engineers are drawing up the final plans and the attorney is conducting required reviews and declarations regarding property ownership, rights, and right-of-way.  When that is completed we will be able to move on to the bidding phase of the project.

*Mr. Ort had an email conversation with Wayne Scritchfield of Kirkham Michael and Assoc. regarding the drainage issues in town.  He stated that a comprehensive study is doable but would be very expensive.  He said the “10,000 ft. view” a general study that would identify the hot spots, which would be based on government data and input from the affected persons who have experienced the flooding, would be much less expensive. Mr. Ort and Mr. Scritchfield met on May 25th and went to a few places that we would characterize as hot spots:  the alley east of the King Center, the drainage ditch north of Kenyon and the alley in the 300 block between Kenyon and Roughton.  On the alley east of the King Center, he suggested we focus on the flow of water by building a berm or curb along the east side of the parking lot, for the south end to just north of the utility pole, then concreting the alley from that point north.  Then a small ditch could be added on the west side of the alley to further channel the flow of water if we wished.  He suggested widening and deepening the ditch north of Kenyon Nature Park.  Over time it has been silted in and is in need of being dug back out.  On the alley in the 300 block between Kenyon and Roughton, he felt we needed to cut the alley down six (6) inches and that would alleviate the issue.

*Mr. Ort reported the water standing in the corner of the intersection of Carousel and Jayhawk Avenues in the Cheyenne Development.  The City will put a culvert in to make the water drain away.

*Mr. Ort presented a short list of budget priorities as identified by the staff, including a new mower to replace the Marty J; floor, roof and door repair at the power plant; a replacement for the Land Pride, which would then be used to replace the Cushman at the golf course; and more utility poles.  Mr. Ort asked the council for any other budget priorities they would like to have considered.  Mr. Ort also visited with the council about the Transient Guest Tax.  It is currently limited to 2%, however many cities have opted out of that limit via a charter ordinance.  At this time our proceeds are designated to pay for Horsethief The Festival sponsorship.  We are currently not bringing in enough to cover this cost.  Raising the tax to 3.5% would increase the revenue enough to close the gap.  Continuing with the 2% tax will allow us to pay the cost of sponsorship entirely from the tourism fund only every third year.  Mr. Ort will draft a charter ordinance for the council to consider at the next meeting.

*The City Administrator told the council that he was called recently letting him know that the handrail at the Jetmore Republican office had been damaged and he was asked who owned the handrail. (They were installed with the Streetscape Project, but it is the opinion of the council that they are owned by the business owners. ) During the Streetscape project it was determined that the entrances to the businesses in the 300 block of Main that had steps which were not compliant with ADA requirements.  The City condemned the entrances then paid for adding the railings which met ADA requirements, and then became property of the business owners. This damage will be paid by the person doing the damage, but Mr. Ort would like it clarified who owns the handrails.

Councilman Steinbring made a motion to adjourn.  Councilman Hendrickson seconded the motion; vote unanimous.