October 2019 Meeting Minutes

Meeting Minutes for October 3rd and 7th

October 3rd

The Jetmore City Council met in regular session on October 3rd, 2019. Mayor Derek Olson called the meeting to order. Roll call was answered by Councilmen Jeff Channell, Mike Hendrickson, Jesse Pitts, Pete Shewry and Larry Steinbring. Also attending were City Administrator Michael Ort, City Attorney Clayton Kerbs and City Clerk Deb McKivergan. Austin Andrews, Brice Perez and Caleb Waterhouse, from the HCHS government class were on hand to observe the meeting.

Councilman Channell made a motion to approve the consent agenda, excepting check 49915 to Jetmore Veterinary Service. Councilman Hendrickson seconded the motion; vote unanimous.

Kevin DeValkenaere, from Farabee Mechanical, met with the council and reported on their progress and work on the engine. They will continue to work on the engine and hopefully have it running on Monday, Oct. 7th. The City Administrator and Mr. DeValkenaere will also visit about securing back up generation for the winter in the event the engine repairs are not completed.

CITY ATTORNEY REPORT:  City Attorney Clayton Kerbs reported that Earles Engineering has agreed to pay for the first part of water testing; they are putting together an agreement for review. Mr. Kerbs will bring their proposal back for council examination.

CITY CLERK REPORT:  City Clerk Deb McKivergan reported that the exercise equipment for the city park has been received and will be installed soon. The Hodgeman County Health Office has asked the council to donate the use of the King Center for a community baby shower to be held on January 11, 2020. The council agreed to donate the use of the building for this one time event.

Mr. Ort presented Resolution 2019-05, a resolution establishing a start date for municipal officer terms. Beginning with the November 2019 election, terms of office for municipal officers will begin at the first regular meeting in December following the certification of the election. Councilman Channell made a motion to approve Resolution 2019-05. Councilman Pitts seconded the motion; vote unanimous.

CITY ADMINISTRATOR REPORT:  City Administrator Michael Ort presented his October travel schedule.

*The code addressing dogs at large was discussed. The City Administrator and the City Attorney will work together to clean up the section of the code addressing abandonment/non pick-up of dogs that are taken into custody. Check #49915 will be released to the Vet Clinic.

*The water line project is coming to a close and should be completed by the end of next week. The water tower electrical is currently being connected. Gerard Tank does not have an estimated time they will send a crew to complete the work of filling, sanitizing and placing the tower in service, however they are working to get a crew here as soon as possible.

*An operational test was performed on September 23rd and September 25th. The second test was done on a warmer day and that data was submitted to KMEA.

*The scout house is in need of a new door on the west due to the fact that the door doesn’t lock. Both doors will be replaced. Mr. Ort is working with Jetmore Lumber Company to purchase the two new doors. The city staff will also look into the heater and make sure it is in working order or replace it if needed.

*In order to secure the bathhouse at the lake after it is winterized, doors are needed on both sides. Because the doors are not a standard size Mr. Ort has reached out to local contractors about framing and hanging the doors. One bid has been received and one more will be coming in.

*Kenyon Nature Park has trees that are in need of trimming as well as trees that are dead and need removed. A contractor was found and the cost of removal is between $3000 and $4000, depending on how comprehensive we want to be. As this is a liability issue for the city, we will go with the more comprehensive plan. This will be paid for out of the street and park fund and the park improvement fund.

*Shawn and Darlene Bennett recently experienced some power fluctuations that included lights flickering, voltage imbalances and some blown appliances. In the end, the problem was found to be an improperly sized connector on the city’s side, so the Bennetts will be reimbursed for the cost of hiring an electrician to investigate, a new microwave and a Keuring coffee maker.

*Six code letters were sent in September; five are currently in compliance and one is outstanding.

*The power plant had a leak during the last rain; Diamond Roofing repaired the roof which was covered under warranty.

*Mr. Ort shared pictures of container bathrooms to the council to give them an idea about what he had in mind for the upgrades to the city park bathrooms. 

*The council discussed the need for a bucket truck and other possible needs for the 2020 budget.

Councilman Channell made a motion to enter into executive session for 10 minutes to discuss data relating to financial affairs or trade secrets of corporations, partnerships, trusts, and individual proprietorships pursuant to the financial affairs or trade secrets exception K.S.A. 75-4319(b)(1), with the Mayor, Council and Administrator present. Councilman Steinbring seconded the motion; vote unanimous. The open meeting will resume in the city council chamber at 8:51 p.m. Councilman Hendrickson made a motion to come out of executive session. Councilman Channell seconded the motion; vote unanimous. No action was taken.

There will be a special meeting on October 7th at 7:00 p.m. This meeting will be a joint meeting with the library board and Dirks, Anthony and Duncan will present the library audit report.  Councilman Hendrickson made a motion to adjourn. Councilman Steinbring seconded the motion; vote unanimous.

October 7th

The Jetmore City Council met in special session on October 7, 2019. The meeting was held jointly with the library board. Mayor Derek Olson called the meeting to order for the City. Roll call was answered by Councilmen Jeff Channell, Jesse Pitts, Pete Shewry and Larry Steinbring. Absent was Councilman Mike Hendrickson. Paulette Knobbe called the library meeting to order. Board members present were Connie Chavez, Sheri Roth, Kim Shewry, Kyler Fetters and Theresa Burns. Also attending was former board member Cynthia Bach, Hodgeman County Representative to the Southwest Kansas Library System Theresa Bach, City Administrator Michael Ort, and City Clerk Deb McKivergan.

The meeting was called to go over the library audit report with Mathew Medill and Rachel Thooft with Dirks, Anthony and Duncan. Councilman Channell made a motion to adjourn. Councilman Pitts seconded the motion; vote unanimous.