CITY OF FORT SCOTT

CITY COMMISSION MEETING

Minutes of November 17^th, 2020 Regular Meeting #21

The regular meeting of the Fort Scott City Commission was held November 17^th, 2020 at 4:30 p.m. in the Corey Larson Gymnasium at Buck Run Community Center, 735 S. Scott Avenue, Fort Scott, Kansas.

ROLL CALL:

Commissioners K. Allen, P. Allen, R. Nichols, and L. Watts were present with Mayor J. Mitchell presiding.

EXECUTIVE SESSION:

Mayor Mitchell said that they need to recess into Executive Session to discuss the search for a City Manager with Osenbaugh Associates for 1 and ½ hours.

Discussion was held regarding why this discussion needed to be in Executive Session.

Jeff Deane, City Attorney, informed them that they will be discussing the qualities of a City Manager and what you found enjoyable and what you did not care for in a City Manager, and you could discuss issues about previous City Managers, which would apply to the exception. You are protecting the privacy and rights of individuals.

L. Watts moved that the City Commission recess into Executive Session for the purpose of discussing non-elected personnel exception in K.S.A. 75-4319(b)(1). The open meeting will resume in the Corey Larson Gymnasium at Buck Run Community Center at 6:00 p.m. R. Nichols seconded. K. Allen, R. Nichols, L. Watts, and J. Mitchell voted aye. P. Allen voted no. Motion carried 4-1. This included the City Commission, City Attorney, Don Osenbaugh and John Deardoff of Osenbaugh Consulting.

L. Watts moved that the City Commission come out of Executive Session at 6:00 p.m. J. Mitchell seconded. All voted aye.

INVOCATION: Pastor Paul Rooks, Grace Baptist Tabernacle, said a prayer asking God for guidance for the City, our Government and City officials.

AUDIENCE IN ATTENDANCE: Travis Shelton, Russell Lingerfelt, Nate Stansberry, Dave Bruner, Megan Felt, Norm Conard, Donna Bowman, Beth Nuss, Janice Allen, Michael Hoyt, Don Osenbaugh, John Deardoff, Jeff Hancock, Rachel Pruitt, Ally Turvey, Heather Ethridge, Jason Pickert, Clayton Miller, Deb Needleman, Deb McCoy, Diana Morriss, Craig Campbell, Paul Rooks, Max Fanning, Anne Rawlins, Lindsay Madison, Chad Brown, Michael Mix, and representing the press, Tammy Helm, Fort Scott Tribune.

IV. PROCLAMATIONS/RECOGNITIONS: None

V. CONSENT AGENDA:

1. Approval of minutes of the regular meeting of November 3^rd, 2020 and special meeting of November 9^th, 2020.

2. Approval of Appropriation Ordinance 1275-A totaling $249,568.42.

3. Request to Pay – Insco Industries – $9,527.65 – Water Plant Clarified project

4. Request to Pay – Olsson Associates – $2,255.00 – Airport Runway Extension Engineering project

5. Request to Pay – Lauber Municipal Law Firm – $24,132.50

6. Request to Pay – 3RK – $26,984.07 – Housing Grant

7. Request to Pay – HDR Engineering – $1,477.50 – River Intake Project

8. Christmas Parade Permit Form – December 1^st, 2020 – 6:00 p.m.

9. October financials

R. Nichols moved to approve the Consent Agenda. L. Watts seconded. R. Nichols, L. Watts, and J. Mitchell voted aye. K. Allen and P. Allen voted no. Motion carried 3-2.

APPROVED CONSENT AGENDA.

Public Comment:

(Sign up required. Comments on any topic not on the agenda and limited to 5 minutes per person, at Commission discretion)

Diana Morriss – She said she has become quite discouraged with addressing this body. She asked herself why she should bother, but it’s because she cares about democracy, she cares about justice, and she cares about this city that has been her home for most of her adult life. If the Commission won’t hear her, at least the citizens that are here tonight or watching will hear. She is here tonight with a recurrent concern. That concern is a lack of transparency. If each of you Commissioners were well enough versed on the Kansas Open Meetings Act, this might not be a recurrent issue. Transparency requires the legal conduct of open meetings. In the interest of transparency, it would be beneficial if you would ensure that open discussion took place in changes in our city government and especially with high dollar budget items. Granted, democratic process is messy and it takes time, that we’d all prefer to be at home with our feet up, but you chose to govern in this system. It is her belief that transparent governance of the city would allow the public to observe your discussions and observe your thinking processes as you weigh actions that you are considering. The special meeting that took place on November 9^th left her feeling quite disturbed. It was stated at the Commission meeting on October 29^th, that discussion of hiring an Interim City Manager would take place following the outcome of the vote on the sales tax. The Thursday following that meeting was the day that the provisional ballots were counted, so that would have given us the true outcome of that tax proposal, which by the way only passed by 400 votes. That made your special meeting a bit premature and avoided the public sharing of your thought processes regarding filling this position. You chose to have a discussion completely behind closed doors in an executive session on November 9^th. It was stated during that short public portion of the meeting that hours and hours of research had gone into the decision. Why then would those findings of the research not be shared publicly? Would that not be a really good method for transparency? At the foundation of the issue regarding City management and budget concerns, she assured them that they would be most interested in hearing about the budget cuts that will afford a salary for an Interim or a replacement manager as we continue to generously fund the retirement of the past person filling that position. It is difficult for her to believe that this position can be funded without major cuts elsewhere in the City budget, she is eager to hear your plans. Those plans must recognize the poor condition of the infrastructure and the desperate need for more City employees to accomplish the work that will be required. Fort Scottians, if you have not watched the special meeting from November 9^th, she strongly encouraged them to do that. Most of the time is executive session, so just skip to the last five to seven minutes for the public portion. Your Commission voted 3-2 to offer an Interim position to Jeff Hancock without a firm contract and without budgetary allowances being explained. She is seriously concerned about an offer being made that did not include a job description. During the public portion of the meeting, she felt the conversation and motion surrounding the contract extremely unclear. She congratulated Ms. Clay for her ability to sort it out and make the motion in some sort of accurate form. From those special meeting minutes, she quoted, “R. Nichols moved that we engage Osenbaugh Consulting Firm and begin the process with them as soon as possible.” She assumes that the process is the development of a contract. “L. Watts seconded and recommended adding that since we have a draft of a contract that the H.R. Director and the Mayor finalize this contract. R. Nichols moved to add that to his motion and L. Watts seconded the motion”. If you observe the meeting, you will hear Ms. Watts stating, “there’s no contract”, and a few moments later she states, “we actually have the contract in front of us or a draft of the contract.” Transparent? Commissioners, I think not. Having more stress placed on our already stressed budget and this before we even have an opportunity to weigh in as a community. Should you find this transparency lacking as I have, it’s my hope that the citizens will make their voices heard and that you three Commissioners who voted in favor of this will be able to adequately explain your decision.

Lindsey Watts said that she apologized to her. She said that she has apologized to others for not explaining her position to the public. She said that she will be happy to provide information on research that was done. There were multiple options on the table, and she researched them for the Commission. These options included looking at our current City staff. She said that they did have a draft contract in front of them for the Osenbaugh firm which is who was hired to fill the City Manager position and search. She apologized if this was not explained perfectly.

Kevin Allen asked the City Attorney to explain why the Commission had to go into Executive Session to talk to the firm that is finding us a City Manager.

Jeff Deane said that the exemptions used in this case was K.S.A. 75-4319(b)(1), which is personnel matters of non-elected personnel. This protects the privacy of the persons discussed, whether current employees or fired or dismissed, retired or resigned employees. This protects their privacy of all those involved.

Deb McCoy – At the November 3^rd City Commission meeting, and the same day as the national election, a motion was made to table the discussion on a search for City Manager. Commissioner Watts made a motion to table discussion until a special meeting can be held after we understand the sales tax issue and the budget. She said she had a few questions. She asked who made the decision to get together after the election to begin the process of finding a new City Manager or has there been persons working behind the scenes since or before the October 31^st newspaper article in the Fort Scott Tribune. Who decided that an employee who had qualifications to be an Interim City Manager would not be considered? You recommended Jeff Hancock who recommended Osenbaugh Consulting Firm for the process of the City Manager, and who was included in the process of decisions to go with Jeff Hancock and Osenbaugh Consulting Firm. How many City Commissioners have actually met or had the opportunity to speak with the recommended candidate Jeff Hancock before tonight? How many City Commissioners were included in the decision to use Osenbaugh? At the last Commission meeting, it appeared you were going to seek assistance from the Kansas League of Municipalities as stated by Commissioner Randy Nichols. They, the League, would kind of hold our hand through the whole process. How is it that there was already a draft contract ready for a special meeting held on November 9^th just three working days after the election. Being present in the audience on the November 9^th meeting, it was very apparent there were present Commissioners that were working behind the scenes that did not include all the Commissioners as stated by Pete Allen at the meeting. He said you are asking us to vote on something that we know nothing about and keeping part of the Commission in the dark until it is time to spring it on. Commissioner Watts apologized and said that prior to the meeting each Commissioner was gathering information beforehand. She had spent 16 hours on Wednesday gathering information for Thursday’s meeting. What happened to work sessions and involving all of the Commissioners in the process? It is apparent there has been major decisions made behind the scenes by only a chosen few Commissioners. Why were the other two Commissioners not invited to participate in this very important decision and why behind closed doors? She said she would remind them in the 2020 Governing Body Handbook from the League of Kansas Municipalities on page 42, and she quoted, “When the Council or Commission is not in session, individual members have no more legal authority than a private citizen”. The phrase, Governing Body, is defined in K.S.A. 12-104 as follows, “In Commission and Commission-Manager cities, the Mayor shall be considered part of the city governing body in all matters. Mayor Mitchell, were you involved in the above research and decision making process? She said she wanted to continue the quote. “action outside of a meeting is not binding. An action of a City governing body cannot be taken by individual members acting independently. The Governing Body must act as a body or unit. Members of the Governing Body must assemble at a properly convened meeting in order for action to become an action of the City. Any powers that the Governing Body attempt to exercise outside of an official meeting of the Governing Body, as in the case of council committees, must be power that has been specifically delegated by the Governing Body. The final authority is the duly constituted Governing Body of the city as it meets”. Her question to Commissioner Watts is, was the power to spend so many hours on an investigation delegated to you by the Governing Body? She said she was again going to remind them that actions are not within the statutory requirements to the contrary, but the general legal rule is that the majority of the Governing Body in a Commission city constitutes a quorum. All constituents should have been in contact and given the opportunity to participate in your search and decisions that were made. In review today of our City expenditures, our City Attorney’s billing statement on 10/26/2020, documented that there were interactions with Lindsey Watts and Randy Nichols regarding “options for Interim City Manager vacancy and research for options on manager vacancy and a telephone call to Mr. Hancock to discuss a proposal made to the Commission”. This was done before Dave Martin’s final day of 10/30/2020 as City Manager. How can this be? We are being led down a rabbit hole and it is getting deeper and deeper. We are being misled by the statements that were made and this is the epitome of corruption.

Lindsey Watts asked the City Attorney about the discussions that were discussed in Executive Session that would answer a lot of these questions. She asked if the Commission could lay out a consolidated timeline that does not cover personnel.

Jeff said that what goes on inside Executive Session is not to be revealed, but the Commission can release a statement and you can vote whether to release it or not.

Discussion was held on what information could be released to the public and whether to release any information or not.

Michael Hoyt – He said he was going to break out in song. He said it’s a little too late to do the right thing. He addressed Jeff Deane and said that he cannot add words to a statute. Nowhere in the statute does it say that you can have an executive session for fired or previous employees. It does not say that. It says personnel matters of a personal nature of non-elected personnel – current employees. We can talk all we want to about Abraham Lincoln today, but he’s not an employee of the City of Fort Scott. He wanted to read an article from the Marion County Record. The headline reads, “Plan to hire an administrator discussed illegally in secret. Although no one has approved a plan to hire the long discussed county administrator, commissioners revealed a plan on Monday to recruit one, even without a job description. Commissioners discussed the proposal presented by the Commission Chairman behind closed doors using the personnel matters exception for open meetings law. There is no language in that law for a prior employee, a dead employee, a retired employee, it says current employee”. He said that he has already discussed this with Mr. Deane. His reply to him in an email was berating that he wanted to know what’s going on here. He said he had a right to know what’s going on here as well. He expects all five of them to answer how they can violate the law when you’re having these executive sessions. Madam Mayor, your time is up. He is going to recall you right along with the other two. Keep in mind he can only recall two at a time.

K. Allen said that they go on the advice of the City Attorney. If they go down, he will go down with them.

Old Business:

1. Discussion of skating rink – Allyson Turvey, Community Development Director, and Craig Campbell, informed the Commission that after the last meeting, she was given direction to look at Memorial Hall for a skating rink. When they started researching this, they found out some other community members had started this process. They decided to join forces with them so Craig Campbell is here also. Craig pointed out that the old gym at Buck Run doesn’t get a lot of use. You will see a comparison on Buck Run gym versus Memorial Hall. There were pros and cons to consider and some items make Buck Run more feasible. There is staffing available here as well as a point of sales system in place. The heat and air is already running and the building is being cleaned. The two biggest items were the actual floor for the rink and the skates. They had a man who refinishes flooring look at both facilities. The floor at Memorial Hall is not in good shape and it would cost a minimum of $10,000 to sand the floor down and get it in shape. Buck Run gym floor is already in good condition but just needs a good cleaning. They looked about getting 200 roller skates and it looks like they cost about $30.00 each. That is a major investment. Craig mentioned about renting roller skates. There are companies that offer that service, but they like to work with school districts. Buck Run already has that in place as they work with USD 234. She asked for direction to move forward with the Buck Run option rather than Memorial Hall.

Craig said that there is nostalgia going with Memorial Hall rather than Buck Run. Using Buck Run would get this project going quicker than Memorial Hall and would also be inexpensive. They received some information from Angie Kemmerer, who is an educator at USD 234. She polled some students and the feedback was very good from the students. If this idea goes over well, Memorial Hall could be resurfaced and could be used eventually. They would like to have this up and running by the end of December.

Craig and Ally thanked Leah Bowman for her assistance in this project.

The Commission all agreed with the idea of starting with Buck Run and moving forward.

2. Consideration of roof replacement at Wastewater Treatment Plant – Nate Stansberry, City Engineer, informed the Commission that he is appearing again on the roof replacement. His recommendation as well as the engineering firm that did the specifications recommended the low bid from Joplin Roofing Co., Inc. in the amount of $29,368.00.

P. Allen moved to approve the low bid from Joplin Roofing Co., Inc. in the amount of $29,368 for the roof replacement at the Wastewater Treatment Plant. L. Watts seconded. All voted aye.

APPROVED THE LOW BID FROM JOPLIN ROOFING COMPANY, INC. IN THE AMOUNT OF $29,368.00 FOR THE ROOF REPLACEMENT AT THE WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT.

Appearances:

Norm Conard – Unsung Heroes Park – Norm Conard, Lowell Milken Center Director, informed the Commission that they desire for the City to deed the Unsung Heroes Park to the Lowell Milken Center. Mr. Lowell Milken has donated thousands of dollars to this park.

Beth Nuss, who is the coordinator for the park, said that she remarked that Mr. Milken needs to be recognized for all his efforts and money donated to this community. They have a beautiful center at the corner of Wall and Main. This is a huge tourist attraction now. Beth said that her committee is made up of Carolyn Sinn, Elaine Buerge, Bernita Hill and herself. They have been working on this for a lot of years. They got a grant from Timken and used this for improvements. Mr. Milken came through with funding for the waterfall attraction at the park and she thanked him.

Norm asked that the City deed the property over to the non-profit Lowell Milken Center. Mr. Milken’s donation has been over $100,000 and will be close to $200,000 towards this park. They look to begin to finish the park in the spring of 2021. They would like to have it completed by the All School Reunion in June of 2021. The Center will be responsible for maintenance, upkeep, and insurance for the Unsung Heroes Park.

K. Allen moved to approve the City deed the Unsung Heroes Park to the non-profit Lowell Milken Center. J. Mitchell seconded. All voted aye.

APPROVED FOR THE CITY TO DEED THE UNSUNG HEROES PARK TO THE NON-PROFIT LOWELL MILKEN CENTER.

New Business:

1. City Employee Christmas Bonus – Deb Needleman, Human Resource Director, informed the Commission that during the budget session, that money for raises were not included. Money for the Christmas bonus was included as well as the turkey certificate. The turkey certificate is from Butcher Block. The Christmas bonus is for $100/full time employees, $50 for ¾ time employees, and $25/part-time employees. This amounts to $10,325.00.

R. Nichols moved to approve the Christmas bonus for City employees. L. Watts. All voted aye.

APPROVED CHRISTMAS BONUS FOR CITY EMPLOYEES.

 

2. Interim City Manager Contract Approval – Deb Needleman, Human Resource Director, said after the last executive session she was asked to secure a contract for the Interim City Manager. She introduced Jeff Hancock to the City Commission. Mr. Hancock works for Management Partners, Inc. and this contract is between the City and Management Partners, Inc. His rate of pay will be $5,500 per month. This is a four-month contract and includes a 15 day period for termination. He would be in Fort Scott three days a week.

Mr. Hancock introduced himself to the Commission and gave some background information on himself. He has been in City government for 47 years in 10 different cities.

Discussion was held regarding the amount of monthly pay, his role of City Manager, and what his daily activities would be.

R. Nichols moved to approve the contract with Management Partners, Inc. and approve the hiring of Jeff Hancock as Interim City Manager on a four month basis. L. Watts seconded. R. Nichols, L. Watts and J. Mitchell voted aye. K. Allen and P. Allen voted no. Motion carried 3-2.

APPROVED THE CONTRACT WITH MANAGEMENT PARTNERS, INC. AND APPROVE THE HIRING OF JEFF HANCOCK AS INTERIM CITY MANAGER ON A FOUR MONTH BASIS.

Kevin Allen left the room at 7:25 p.m.

3. Skitch’s Hauling & Excavation Invoice – $1,377.00 – J. Mitchell said the invoice for Skitch’s Hauling & Excavation is before them for approval.

 

R. Nichols moved to approve the Skitch’s Hauling & Excavation invoice in the amount of $1,377.00. L. Watts seconded. All voted aye.

 

APPROVED SKITCH’S HAULING & EXCAVATION INVOICE IN THE AMOUNT OF $1,377.00.

Kevin Allen returned at 7:27 p.m.

 

4. Consideration to purchase a used vehicle from Kansas Highway Patrol to replace the K-9 vehicle – Travis Shelton, Chief of Police, informed the Commission that he is requesting to purchase a used vehicle through the Kansas Highway Patrol Fleet Sales Program. Kansas Highway Patrol provides used vehicles to law enforcement agencies with some equipment provided and installed. They sell Dodge, Ford, and Chevrolet and vehicles that are under 50,000 miles with the exception of K-9 vehicles which are taken offline at 70,000 miles. He asked approval to purchase a vehicle at a cost of $25,000 or under through K.H.P. The current vehicle has over 134,000 miles and is starting to have equipment issues. Chief Shelton also asked to waive the bidding process this time as they will be using the K.H.P. program.

Discussion was held regarding if the officer takes this vehicle to his personal home and Chief Shelton said that he does as he is called out all hours of the day and night. This vehicle is equipped for the transfer of a K-9 dog.

P. Allen asked if the police officer and the dog could appear at a future meeting and give statistics regarding call outs and the dog and his drug finds.

L. Watts moved to approve to waive the bidding process and purchase a used K-9 vehicle through Kansas Highway Patrol at a cost up to $25,000. R. Nichols seconded. All voted aye.

APPROVED TO WAIVE THE BIDDING PROCESS AND PURCHASE A USED K-9 VEHICLE THROUGH KANSAS HIGHWAY PATROL USED FLEET SALES AT A COST UP TO $25,000.

5. Police and Fire SPARKS grant funding (Exception to bidding process) – Dave Bruner, Fire Chief, informed the Commission that in late September the City was notified that our grant application for SPARKS funding was approved. The first round of reporting was due on November 5^th for purchases made through October. The next round of reporting is due by December 5^th. In order to meet the guidelines set forth by the State of Kansas, we must have all funds expended by December 5^th. There will not be extensions granted if funds are not spent by this date. This time frame does not allow for the City to complete the competitive bidding process as set forth by the purchasing policy. We have also been told by several vendors that they are overwhelmed with purchases from other cities that are utilizing SPARKS funding like the City of Fort Scott and may not be able to meet the deadline. We are asking the Commission to provide an exception and allow us to use quotes received in lieu of the bidding process. There are quotes attached in the packet that the Commission received. These items are all over the $5,000 threshold but are sole source purchases to integrate with our current systems in Public Safety. The Fire Department is requesting purchase of four (4) Self Contained Breathing Apparatus (SCBA) units in the amount of $23,532.00. Casco Industries, Inc. of Shreveport, LA was the low bidder in the amount of $23,532.00. He asked for approval for the SCBA units. K. Allen moved to approve to waive the bidding process for the (4) SCBA units and approve the purchase from Casco Industries, Inc. in the amount of $23,532.00 to be paid for with SPARK funding. L. Watts seconded. All voted aye.

approved to waive the bidding process for the (4) SCBA units and approve the purchase from Casco Industries, Inc. in the amount of $23,532.00 to be paid for with SPARK funding.

Jason Pickert, Captain, Fort Scott Police Department, informed the Commission that they also secured bids with SPARK funding for items that are needed. One of the biggest items is the electronic citation system. This will replace the current paper citation system and save time. The City uses Tyler Technologies and this would integrate with the City’s system. The cost is $28,727.02 and the licensing is $9,720.00 Also looking to purchase is five (5) MDT computers for their in-car use. The low bid was from Turn-Key Mobile, Inc. in the amount of $30,833. Also looking to purchase is five (5) computers for telework at a cost of $14,161.56 from Connection.gov which was the low quote. He asked for approval to waive the bidding process due to the time constraints and purchase these items with SPARK funding.

K. Allen moved to approve the Police Department purchases with SPARK funding and to waive the bidding process. L. Watts seconded. All voted aye.

APPROVED TO PURCHASE THE ELECTRONIC CITATATION SYSTEM THROUGH TYLER TECHNOLOGIES AT A COST OF $28,727.02 AND LICENSING FOR $9,720.00; FIVE COMPUTERS FOR IN-CAR VEHICLES AT A COST OF $30,833; AND FIVE COMPUTERS FOR $14,161.56 AND TO WAIVE THE BIDDING PROCESS AS THESE ITEMS ARE BEING FUNDED THROUGH SPARKS FUNDING.

6. Consideration of Parks Board Members -5 members – Diane Clay, City Clerk, informed the Commission that letters of interest were received for the Parks Board. There were seven (7) letters of interest received which included the following individuals: Josh Jones, Frank Halsey, Alison Leach, Seth Needham, Jana Walker, David Harrison, and Madison Jones. Votes were taken and tallied for the following board members to be appointed: Frank Halsey, Alison Leach, Seth Needham, Jana Walker, and a tie between Josh Jones and Madison Jones. A vote was taken between Josh Jones and Madison Jones with Madison Jones being declared the winner.

L. Watts asked that a list of all the City parks and ball parks be given them and who is responsible for which park.

City Clerk will get that information for them.

P. Allen moved to approve Frank Halsey, Alison Leach, Seth Needham, Jana Walker and Madison Jones. The Board will decide on the terms. K. Allen seconded. All voted aye.

approved Frank Halsey, Alison Leach, Seth Needham, Jana Walker and Madison Jones. The Board will decide on the terms.

 

7. Approval of ballot verbiage for Charter Ordinance No. 31 – Jeff Deane, City Attorney, informed the Commission that he has talked to the County Clerk about the verbiage for the ballot vote. The ballot shall read as follows: Shall Charter Ordinance No. 31, entitled A Charter Ordinance Exempting the City of Fort Scott, Kansas from the provisions of K.S.A. 12-631p relating to the disposition of sewer and storm sewer reserve funds take effect? Yes or No.

L. Watts moved to approve the verbiage for the ballot vote for Charter Ordinance No. 31. J. Mitchell seconded. All voted aye.

APPROVED THE VERBIAGE FOR THE BALLOT VOTE FOR CHARTER ORDINANCE NO. 31. THE BALLOT SHALL READ AS FOLLOWS: Shall Charter Ordinance No. 31, entitled A Charter Ordinance Exempting the City of Fort Scott, Kansas from the provisions of K.S.A. 12-631p relating to the disposition of sewer and storm sewer reserve funds take effect? Yes or No.

 

8. Consideration to change meeting time for the December 1^st, 2020 meeting to 4:00 p.m. to allow for attendance at the Christmas parade – Diane Clay, City Clerk, informed the Commission that the next meeting is scheduled to begin at 6:00 p.m. on December 1^st, which is the same night as the Christmas parade which also begins at 6:00 p.m. The Mayor is scheduled to light the tree. She recommended moving the meeting to 4:00 p.m. that evening.

L. Watts moved to change the meeting time for the December 1^st, 2020 meeting to 4:00 p.m. to allow for attendance at the Christmas parade. J. Mitchell seconded. All voted aye.

approved to change the meeting time for the December 1^st, 2020 meeting to 4:00 p.m. to allow for attendance at the Christmas parade.

Reports and Comments:

1. Director Reports:

Susan Bancroft (written report in packet)

Michael Mix – Michael brought the Commission an update on the lining of sanitary sewers. He gave an update on open cut work that the City workers completed. He shared comparisons on hiring more City workers and bidding the work out.

2. Commissioner Reports and Comments:

L. Watts – Remarked that there have been a lot of changes these last few months and that the information has not been put out as much as it should have been. She is working diligently to do research on various issues. She is happy to discuss any issues with anyone.

She asked if there was a Planning Commission date set.

City Clerk said it is November 30^th.

L. Watts asked if the location could be moved.

Diane said that we need to check with the City Attorney as it is published.

R. Nichols – Remarked that he is sorry that the perception of corruption is going on. The retirement of Dave Martin and moving forward and the explanation has been difficult. We all don’t agree on issues but we are communicating with various people in the community. As Dave worked through his retirement, we had multiple closed sessions on that, which needed to be done due to the nature of it. There was a consensus and approval, but Lindsey was working hard on issues independently. He recognized that we would be moving quickly through the process and not have a designated leader. This included calling the League of Kansas Municipalities and getting their opinion. He gathered information to avoid a K.O.MA. violation. The information he had was brought back to the meetings and everyone had a copy of it. There was nothing hidden, no preconceived agenda, no agreements made outside of those meetings. They did collect information in order to make appropriate decisions. To say otherwise, bothers him. They all had the ability to talk to Jeff Hancock and Jeff Deane on any issues. We were elected to make decisions and were at a point where we were winding up leaderless and took the initiative to find information. That is how they got to where they are. We are moving forward. He appreciates both Jeff’s and looks forward to working with both of them. He said anyone is welcome to call him at any time. The Commissioners were all engaged and that’s how we got here.

P. Allen – He said he would like to comment on Randy’s comments. He thinks the process we went through to get here stinks. He thinks that the public has found out that it stinks. We need to do it up front.

K. Allen – He remarked that his feelings are that he would have liked to have had a special meeting after the City Manager resigned. He congratulated Jeff Hancock and welcomed him to the show. He also thanked Ally and Craig Campbell on the skating at Buck Run. The kids will love that. He thanked the City crews for replacing the Lake Fort Scott valve. The valve was repaired and fixed. He asked Michael if they were going to put a secondary valve on it.

Michael Mix said yes. They were going to order a new valve. A refurbished valve is not an option.

J. Mitchell – Nothing to report.

City Attorney Report and Comments: Nothing to report.

Interim City Manager Report and Comments: Jeff said that he looks forward to meeting individually with each of them. He found out he has a staff meeting in the morning at 9:00 a.m. with the Directors and will get to know them.

Adjournment:

R. Nichols moved to adjourn the meeting at 8:38 p.m. L. Watts seconded. All voted aye.

ADJOURNED MEETING AT 8:38 P.M.

Respectfully submitted,

Diane K. Clay, MMC

City Clerk