CITY OF FORT SCOTT
CITY COMMISSION MEETING
Minutes of February 5, 2019 Regular Meeting #2
The regular meeting of the Fort Scott City Commission was held February 5th, 2019 at 6:00 p.m. in the City Commission Room, 123 S. Main, Fort Scott, Kansas.
ROLL CALL:
Commissioners Adamson, Bartelsmeyer, Mitchell and Nichols were present with Mayor Parker presiding.
INVOCATION: Michael Mix, Public Utilities Director, said a prayer asking God for guidance for the City, our Government and City officials.
AUDIENCE IN ATTENDANCE: Travis Shelton, Rhonda Dunn, Darrell Parker, Jerry Witt, Billy Keith, Bill Lemke, Michael Mix, Garth Hermann, Paul Ballou, Deb Needleman, Rachel Pruitt, Randy Ballweber, Venieta Ballweber, Alpha Money, Lindsay Madison, Chad Brown, and Clayton Miller
PROCLAMATIONS/RECOGNITIONS: Recognition of Alpha Money and Randy Ballweber – Codes Certification – Rhonda Dunn, Finance/Codes Director, recognized her Codes Enforcement officers, Alpha Money and Randy Ballweber for successfully completing the Kansas Code Enforcement Officer courses offered by the Kansas Association of Code Enforcement.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES AND APPROPRIATIONS/CONSENT AGENDA:
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Approval of minutes of the regular meeting of January 15th, 2019.
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Approval of Appropriation Ordinance 1231-A totaling $589,319.33.
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Approval of 2019 Cereal Malt Beverage License – Package Sales – GW2 DBA Cash Saver, 911 E. 6th Street
Mitchell moved the Consent Agenda. Nichols seconded. All voted aye.
APPROVED CONSENT AGENDA.
APPEARANCE/COMMENTS/PUBLIC HEARING:
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APPEARANCE: Jerry Witt, Riverfront Lighting – Jerry Witt, Chairperson of the Riverfront Committee, appeared before the Commission and informed them that three years ago the Riverfront Committee received a grant from Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks to construct a pavilion and an overlook. Both of these have been constructed and there are still some funds available. He contacted the State to see if lighting could be included under this grant and the State said it could be. He has visited with the Fort Scott National Historic Site and the Kansas State Historic Preservation Office (SHIPO) regarding the lighting. He also talked to K.D.O.T. who informed him that all materials have to be American made. It took him about two months, but he finally located a company with all American made lighting. He is working with Max Fanning who will be installing the lighting. They will have 14 lights at an estimated cost of $18,000. This lighting will be on the north side of the river. The City has stated they are willing to dig a ditch to lay the electrical. He asked for approval to install the lights at the north side of Riverfront Park.
Nichols moved to approve the lighting at Riverfront Park. Bartelsmeyer seconded. All voted aye.
APPROVED LIGHTING ON THE NORTH SIDE OF RIVERFRONT PARK TO BE PAID WITH REMAINING KDWP GRANT FUNDS.
B. CITIZEN COMMENTS (Concerning Items Not on Agenda – 3 minute
limit per citizen) – None
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PUBLIC HEARINGS: None
CONSIDERATION:
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Consideration of Resolution 4-2019 declaring it necessary to acquire Fire Fighting Equipment for use by the Fire Department of the City of Fort Scott, Kansas and to issue General Obligation Bonds of said City to pay the costs thereof; and providing for the giving of notice of intention to acquire said equipment and to issue said General Obligation Bonds – Garth Hermann, Gilmore & Bell, informed the Commission that this is the first step to secure funding for the two fire trucks the City needs to purchase. A public Notice of Intent will be published in the February 9th and February 16th newspaper notifying the public that the governing body has declared it necessary to acquire firefighting equipment at an estimated cost of $1,751,748.72. The costs of the equipment, interest on interim financing and associated financing costs will be paid from the proceeds of General Obligation Bonds of the City in an amount not to exceed $1,915,000 to be issued by the City. This notice shall be published for two consecutive weeks and if, within 60 days following the date of the last publication, a petition signed by not less than 5% of the qualified electors of the City is filed with the City Clerk, no such bonds shall be issued until the issuance shall have been approved by a majority of the qualified electors of the City voting on the question. If no petition is timely filed, the governing body of the City will proceed with the acquisition of the equipment and issuance of the bonds.
Paul Ballou, Fire Chief, updated the Commission on the age of the two fire trucks and the issues they have been causing. Parts are getting very hard to find due to their age.
Parker moved to approve Resolution 4-2019. Bartelsmeyer seconded. All voted aye.
Approved Resolution 4-2019 declaring it necessary to acquire Fire Fighting Equipment for use by the Fire Department of the City of Fort Scott, Kansas and to issue General Obligation Bonds of said City to pay the costs thereof; and providing for the giving of notice of intention to acquire said equipment and to issue said General Obligation Bonds.
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Consideration of appointments to Golf Course Advisory Board – Diane Clay, City Clerk, informed the Commission that the Golf Course Advisory Board met on January 17th, 2019 at the Golf Course Clubhouse. It was discovered due to the inactivity of meeting, that their terms had all expired. All the board members were willing to be reappointed. She asked for the reappointment of John Leek, Kenneth Holt, Mitch Quick, Steve Harry, and Jeffrey Sweetser for a two year term respectively expiring on December 31, 2021.
Nichols moved to approve the reappointment of the Golf Course Advisory Board members. Adams seconded. All voted aye.
APPROVED RE-APPOINTMENTS TO THE GOLF COURSE ADVISORY BOARD FOR JOHN LEEK, KENNETH HOLT, MITCH QUICK, STEVE HARRY, AND JEFFREY SWEETSER EXPIRING DECEMBER 31, 2021.
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Approval of 2019 ADM Contract – Michael Mix, Public Utilities Director, informed the Commission that after some minor changes, A.D.M. has finally signed the contract for purchasing reused water from our Wastewater Treatment Plant and paying for the treatment of the wastewater they haul to our lagoons. Approval is recommended.
Adamson moved to approve the 2019 ADM contract. Nichols seconded. All voted aye.
APPROVED 2019 A.D.M. CONTRACT.
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Approval to purchase sewer push camera – Michael Mix, Public Utilities Director, informed the Commission that he has received a proposal for a sewer push camera. This camera will enable the City to inspect sewer lines that are small or hard to reach. The main camera is limited to 8” or larger and also required good access to the manhole with our large camera van. This push camera is extremely light weight and portable. It will greatly increase our efficiency with sewer visual inspections. This camera is from Key Equipment in Kansas City and costs $10,995.00. This is a budgeted item.
Mitchell moved to approve to purchase the sewer push camera in the amount of $10,995.00 from Key Equipment. Bartelsmeyer seconded. All voted aye.
APPROVED TO PURCHASE THE SEWER PUSH CAMERA IN THE AMOUNT OF $10,995.00 FROM KEY EQUIPMENT OF KANSAS CITY.
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Approval to solicit bids for water leak correlator – Bill Lemke, Water Distribution Supervisor, informed the Commission he is requesting permission to solicit bids for the purchase of a leak correlator which is equipment that uses sensors to deter noise transmitted in the wall of the pipe and through water. Items such as meters, valves, and fire hydrants are used as access points to precisely pinpoint leaks between two points. He asked for permission to solicit bids for a leak correlator that will have the capabilities for both metallic and pvc pipe style piping. The estimated cost is $25,000. This is a budgeted item.
Mitchell moved to approve to solicit bids for the water leak correlator. Parker seconded. All voted aye.
APPROVED TO SOLICIT BIDS FOR THE WATER LEAK CORRELATOR.
City Manager commended Bill Lemke and his crew for working the water leaks during all times of the night.
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Consideration of new life insurance benefit offering – Deb Needleman, Human Resource Director, informed the Commission that there is a new life insurance option to our benefit offerings. This life insurance product would be one the employee could take with them when they leave City employment without conversion to a higher premium rate. There is also the option for a paid up at 65 policy.
Discussion was held regarding giving other life insurance vendors an opportunity to submit this same type of benefit to the City.
City Manager suggested tabling this item until the February 19th, 2019 meeting.
Bartelsmeyer moved to table this item until the February 19th, 2019 meeting. Adamson seconded. All voted aye.
TABLED THIS ITEM UNTIL THE FEBRUARY 19TH, 2019 MEETING.
COMMISSION/STAFF:
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Director Updates:
Ambulance Update: Paul Ballou, Fire Chief, informed the Commission that EMS has been very busy. In January there were 202 requests for service. Of those requests, there were 153 transports and 49 dry runs, which means an ambulance was called but did not transport a patient. As of February 5th, there were 25 requests already for service with five (5) of those being transports. Transports have been to Via Christi in Pittsburg, Girard, Allen County, and Nevada Regional Hospital. There are currently three ambulances and also the ambulance housed at the Fire Department. He thanked Tom Coffman, City Mechanic, for working on a fuel pump on an ambulance recently. It was out of rotation less than 24 hours which is great.
B. City Commission:
Nichols – He thanked the ambulance crews for the great job they are doing.
Adamson – Nothing to report.
Mitchell – Nothing to report.
Bartelsmeyer – Nothing to report.
Parker – She stated that she received a nice letter from a lady who visited Fort Scott recently. She said she had a great time but did mention she was concerned with a couple of areas where there was a lot of trash and debris. She asked the City Manager about how to address the trash issue.
City Manager said that the City will need to get tougher with people and the trash violations.
C. City Attorney: Not present.
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City Manager:
Health Care Update: City Manager said that last week was a good week for health care. He said that on October 1st our world fell out from beneath us with the announcement of the closure of Mercy Hospital. A task force was formed with three goals: Secure primary care; Ambulance service; and Emergency Room. He asked the public to be patient as the new Community Health Care Walk-In clinics are transitioned.
Meet and Greet: City Manager said that he attended this morning’s Meet and Greet in downtown Fort Scott. Parking downtown seems to be a big frustration to business owners. This is a good problem with all the development going on in downtown, but a frustration to others. It is public parking and business owners don’t own the parking in front of their store fronts. He asked them to be patient as this is public parking.
EXECUTIVE SESSION:
Parker moved to move into Executive Session for 10 minutes to discuss non-elected personnel to include City Commission, City Manager, and Human Resource Director. There is no action anticipated. Bartelsmeyer seconded. All voted aye.
WENT INTO EXECUTIVE SESSION AT 7:00 P.M.
ADJOURNMENT:
Mitchell moved to adjourn the meeting at 7:10 p.m. Bartelsmeyer seconded. All voted aye.
ADJOURNED MEETING AT 7:10 P.M.
The next regularly scheduled meeting is to be held on February 19th, 2019 at 6:00 p.m.
RECORDED BY:
DIANE K. CLAY
