October 2021 Meeting Minutes

October 7, 2021

The Jetmore City Council met in regular session on October 7, 2021. Mayor Derek Olson opened the meeting and led the group in the Pledge of Allegiance. Roll call was answered by Councilmen Jeff Channell, Connie Chavez, Kyler Fetters, Mike Hendrickson and Larry Steinbring. Also attending were City Administrator Michael Ort, City Attorney Assistant Edgar Pando and City Clerk Deb McKivergan.

Councilman Chavez made a motion to approve the consent agenda. Council Hendrickson seconded the motion; vote unanimous.

ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT REPORT:  ED Director Lea Ann Seiler presented the following report; the housing grant has been submitted and she is working on a SHARP grant. The first payment of the Mural Grant has been received. She is working on the HERO grant for 2022. She has two e-community loans and the possibility of a third.

CITY ATTORNEY REPORT:  None

CITY CLERK REPORT:  Deb will attend the first in-person meeting in over a year and a half, a regional clerk meeting in Hays on the 15th of October.

BUSINESS ITEMS: 

*Tyler Beougher requested a variance to the six foot alley setback for a small outbuilding. After addressing the problem of its proximity to a utility pole, a solution was offered to move the shed slightly to the east. Councilman Channell made a motion to grant the variance request. Councilman Chavez seconded the motion; vote unanimous.

*Mr. Ort presented Resolution 2021-08, a resolution authorizing the City of Jetmore to enter into a state and municipal lease/purchase agreement with Farmers State Bank, a branch of Bank of Hays. Councilman Channell made a motion to approve Resolution 2021-08. Councilman Fetters seconded the motion; vote unanimous.

*It has been learned that the system in the dispatch office does not have the ability to be programmed to activate the new storm sirens automatically everyday for the noon whistle. It was subsequently learned that a time clock device attached to the old water tower was the device used to activate the old siren to sound the noon whistle. Mr. Ort received a quote from Blue Valley Public Safety in the amount of $4,380 to add the device to all three sirens. Councilman Fetters made a motion to approve the purchase of the time clocks. Councilman Chavez seconded the motion; vote unanimous.

*Mike Shiew asked to have a portion of his recent electric bill at the Chip Shot mobile home park relieved due to the yard light on the property being wired above the breaker, which allows the light to continue to operate when power is shut off. The council agreed to relieve a portion to be determined by Mr. Ort after visiting with Mr. Shiew.

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

*Mr. Ort presented the quarterly fund health report.

*KMIT recently provided plans and premiums for their new health insurance policy. Three programs were traditional plans with lower deductibles, office copays and coinsurance fees. Two were high deductible plans. After comparing the  premiums for the different policies it was determined that the premiums are substantially higher for the KMIT offered plans. It is therefore not beneficial to continue to move forward as a potential participant in the KMIT program.

*The capability test for the power plant, required by the Southwest Power Pool, was run successfully on 9/13. This test is repeated every year on any day between June 1 and September 30.

*The paperwork for the lease-purchase of the reclosers will be signed October 8th. KMEA-MidStates will be here to install two of the reclosers within the next month and the other three will be scheduled in the spring. Installation will require planned outages.

*A public meeting is required by USDA for funding for the park bathroom project. That meeting has been scheduled for Monday, October 18 at 7:00 p.m. at City Hall.

*Mr. Ort met recently with Mike Hess form B & H Paving in Scott City. He received quotes for different scenarios, and will get more accurate numbers when we decide exactly which streets will be paved then bring that information back to the council. Councilman Hendrickson made a motion to adjourn. Councilman Channell seconded the motion; vote unanimous. The meeting was adjourned at 8:38 p.m.

October 19, 2021

The Jetmore City Council met in special session on October 19, 2021. Mayor Derek Olson called the meeting to order and led the group in the Pledge of Allegiance. Roll call was answered by Councilmen Jeff Channell, Connie Chavez and Larry Steinbring. Not present were Councilmen Kyler Fetters and Michael Hendrickson. Also attending were City Administrator Michael Ort and City Clerk Deb McKivergan.

The meeting was called to hold a public hearing as required for USDA funding for the city park bathroom project. The council discussed details and the current status of the project with no public in attendance. Councilman Channell made a motion to adjourn. Councilman Chavez seconded the motion; vote unanimous. The meeting was adjourned at 7:06 p.m.