September 2018 Meeting Minutes

Meeting Minutes for September 6th

September 6, 2018

The Jetmore City Council met in regular session on September 6, 2018. Mayor Derek Olson called the meeting to order. Roll call was answered by Councilmen Jeff Channell, Jesse Pitts, Orval Shewry and Larry Steinbring. Absent was Councilman Mike Hendrickson. Also attending were City Administrator Michael Ort, City Attorney Clayton Kerbs and City Clerk Deb McKivergan.

Councilman Steinbring made a motion to approve the consent agenda. Councilman Channell seconded the motion; vote unanimous.

CITY ATTORNEY REPORT:  City Attorney Clayton Kerbs reported that municipal court is going well. He also let the council know that Judge Karen Kyle will be stepping down from her Municipal Judge position. She will stay until December 31st, or until we find a replacement.

CITY CLERK REPORT:  City Clerk Deb McKivergan presented a letter from the Economic Development Director, Lea Ann Seiler; explaining the changes at her house and requesting some flexibility in her job over the next few months.

The City Administrator presented the land bank budget for 2019. The budget amount will be the same as last year since no funds were used this year. Councilman Pitts made a motion to approve the $5,000 land bank budget for 2019. Councilman Channell seconded the motion; vote unanimous.

Mr. Ort reported that the electronic sign in Sunshine Park is not working. The controller that failed last December has failed again. No parts, new or used, are available for this sign as it is 12 years old. We received bids from Luminous Neon and Commercial Signs in Hays, both for $16,848.25 for a 3.5’x7’3”, 16mm, Watchfire sign. Councilman Pitts made a motion to purchase the sign from Luminous Neon for $16,848.25. Councilman Steinbring seconded the motion; vote unanimous.

Mr. and Mrs. Eric Ashey met with the council concerning the code enforcement issue next to their property on Adams Street. The City Attorney set out deadlines from the Resolution of January 4, 2018. The council discussed options and deadlines for repairing the property. No action was taken.

Terry Bradford and Scott Bradford visited with the council about multi-peril crop insurance for the city farm ground. Councilman Channell made a motion to proceed with the purchase of crop insurance. Councilman Steinbring seconded the motion; vote unanimous. Mr. Ort will work with the Bradford’s to purchase insurance through MAP, Inc.

Mr. Ort presented Ordinance #660 for council review. Our current CMB code restricts selling on election day, even though it is allowed by the state. Ordinance #660 will establish parity between CMB sales and other alcoholic liquors and do away with the restriction on election day sales. Councilman Channell made a motion to approve Ordinance #660, amending Chapter III, Article 2 of the Jetmore City Code. Councilman Steinbring seconded the motion; vote unanimous.

The recloser for the main tie with Midwest Energy is currently inoperable. This means the generator has to be brought all the way down and the city electricity shut off in order to reestablish the tie with Midwest. Mr. Ort received a quote from Mid-States Energy to repair the recloser in the amount of $22,890.00. Councilman Shewry made a motion to repair the recloser. Councilman Channell seconded the motion; vote unanimous.

The council had recently discussed installing security systems for the power plant and the city office. The bid from J & P Enterprises for the power plant security system was $3,975.16 and the bid for the city office was $1,253.01; total $5,228.17. Councilman Pitts made a motion to install a security system in both places. Councilman Channell seconded the motion; vote unanimous.

Vincent Oil Corporation submitted a request to lease the SW ¼ of Section 16, part of the city lake area; a three year lease for $30 per acre totaling $4800. Councilman Steinbring made a motion to approve the lease contingent upon Vincent Oil Corporation putting the full price in the contract. Councilman Pitts seconded the motion; the vote was three (3) in favor with Councilman Channell voting against.

CITY ADMINISTRATOR REPORT:  City Administrator Michael Ort gave the council his September travel schedule.

*The water project has begun and the city staff is working with the inspector and contractor. The work in Cheyenne Development and Sinclair’s Addition is concluding this week and they are working east along K-156 to Clay Street. The next area will be along Park Street and then south Main Street.

*Mr. Ort reported that CPS has a new name, Nutrien Ag, and he inquired about whether this would affect their agreements with the City. The change is the name only; all agreements will remain the same.

*Mr. Ort reported that Brian Beil and Jeff Rydquist will be attending KMU’s Electrical Overhead training in McPherson later in September.

*The work required after the Department of Labor inspection has been completed and the report returned to DOL on August 28th.

*The KCAMP Annual meeting will be held on October 15 at Overland Park. The City Administrator cannot serve as the city’s voting delegate or alternate; it must be an elected official. Neither the Mayor nor anyone from the council will be attending.

*The monitoring system has been installed and is awaiting programming. We are still good for a mid-September finish date, at which point the engine will run for 36-48 hrs. straight per the maintenance agreement.

*KCAMP has recently partnered with Liberty Mutual for equipment failure insurance.  A representative contacted the Foreman, the Administrator and Kevin at Farabee with many technical questions regarding the power plant and substation. The report generated identified several failings in the electric utility regarding policies, procedures and maintenance. Mr. Ort reached out to Mid-State Electrical and KMEA along with Kevin from Farabee for help in addressing the concerns/demands of Liberty Mutual. These demands are very achievable and will be addressed quickly.

*Mr. Ort has been working on updating the website and uploading council minutes. Mr. Ort will continue to update and remove the oldest minutes.

*The City has been awarded the grant for the lake bathroom house renovation from CFAP. The City will receive 75% funding for the bathroom portion of the project. The Administrator will work to complete the project by May 1, 2019.

*The new playground equipment has been installed at the park. The removed playground equipment will be installed at the city lake.

*Six code enforcement letters have been sent out for tall grass and weeds. A letter was sent to a landlord informing them of their responsibility to pay half of a balance owed by a tenant who left town unexpectedly. One letter was sent to a utility customer letting them know they were no long eligible to participate in the budget pay program.

Mayor Olson reported that a water line was hit putting up the playground equipment and the sprinkler system will need to be rerouted to move it from the playground area. The park committee is working on a grant application to install new BBQ grills and trash cans at the park.

Mr. Ort reminded the council that Jeff Rydquist was due for his 90 day performance review. Councilman Pitts made a motion to increase Mr. Rydquist’s wages by $1.00 per hour, effective September 1. Councilman Steinbring seconded the motion; vote unanimous.

Mr. Ort reported that he will begin EMT training on September 11th.

Councilman Pitts made a motion to adjourn.  Councilman Shewry seconded the motion; vote unanimous.