Catching up, part 1: DRAFT COPY NOT OFFICIAL UNTIL APPROVED BY COUNCIL ELLIS CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING Minutes August 5, 2013 CALL TO ORDER Mayor Lyle Johnston called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. Present were Council members John Walz, John Leiker, Jolene Niernberger, Loran Gottschalk and Terry Redetzke. Also present were Public Works Director Alan Scheuerman, City Clerk Amy Burton, Police Chief Taft Yates, and City Attorney Olavee Raub. Council member Steve Ferland arrived at 7:35 p.m. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG AMENDMENTS TO AGENDA City Clerk Amy Burton requested to table the consideration of ordinances creating special capital improvement funds. The funds need to be added into the Capital Improvement Plan before formally added by Council. It was the consensus of Council to table the item. PUBLIC PRESENT Galen Pfeifer, Andrew Allen, E. L. Patee, Glen Keller, David McDaniel, Wesley James, Maggie James, Jim Carthew, Joyce Carthew, and Charlene Weber BUDGET HEARING General Government: Financial – 2014 City of Ellis Budget The 2014 City of Ellis Budget Hearing began at 7:31 p.m. Mayor Johnston stated the proposed budget for the City has been published the required amount of time and that tonight is an opportunity for the citizens of Ellis to comment on the proposed budget for 2014. No one from the public chose to comment; therefore Mayor Johnston adjourned the budget hearing at 7:32 p.m. General Government: Financial – 2014 City of Ellis Budget Councilmember John Walz moved to approve the 2014 City of Ellis budget as published. Councilmember Jolene Niernberger seconded the motion. Motion failed 2-3 with Councilmembers Niernberger and Walz in favor and Councilmembers Redetzke, Leiker and Gottschalk opposed. Councilmember John Leiker stated that he is not in favor of targeting one department over another to reduce the budget. Mr. Leiker made a motion to reduce each department’s budget and outside agency requests by three percent across the board. The motion died for lack of a second. Councilmember Jolene Niernberger noted with a full council now present she would like to make a motion to approve the 2014 budget as presented. Councilmember John Walz seconded the motion. Upon a call from the Mayor for discussion, Ms. Niermberger stated that the City’s accountant has mentioned several times over the years that the City is barely maintaining its current budget level. The mill increase may seem extreme, but it is important to maintain the current City staff with the level of benefits already established, and street repairs have been put off long enough. Ms. Niernberger stated the proposed budget is not extravagant and feels a three percent cut across the board is extreme. Councilmember Walz stated the City’s water and street issues are expensive and this proposed budget allows for both issues to be addressed. Councilmember Redetzke is in favor of the street project, but feels the police and fire department budgets should be reduced. Councilmember Gottschalk inquired if the City could cut back patrol hours to reduce overtime within the department. Councilmember Leiker stated that people want 24-hour police protection and is not in favor of reducing patrol hours. Upon a call for a vote from the Mayor, the motion failed 3-4 with Councilmembers John Walz, Steve Ferland and Jolene Niernberger voting in favor and Councilmembers Loran Gottschalk, John Leiker and Terry Redetzke voting opposed. Mayor Johnston broke the tie by voting against the motion, noting he would like to see the mill levy reduced by even one mill. Galen Pfeifer, City Accountant, noted that if the City wants to reduce the budget by one mill, Council will need to cut approximately $11,522 from the proposed budget. The City could use savings to fund the one mill or reduce department budgets and outside agency appropriations by 1%. Mr. Pfeifer reminded Council that just because an amount is budgeted, doesn’t mean that it has to be spent. He explained that the mill levy as proposed in the 2014 budget supports operations and balances the funds properly without using savings. If the budget continues to be underfunded and the City utilizes savings in order to fund operations, it is only a short-term benefit at a long-term expense. Mayor Johnston stated that if the fire truck lease purchase was paid off in 2013 that could save approximately 2 mills in payments for 2014. Galen Pfeifer noted that would not have any effect on the 2014 budget because the money would still need to be budgeted in order to reimburse savings for the payoff amount. The City would, however, save interest costs in the long run. Currently the proposed budget includes the addition of two employees in the Street department. Councilmember Walz questioned Public Works Director Alan Scheuerman if the department could facilitate the street project with only one additional person. Mr. Scheuerman noted he needs skilled workers for street projects and if Council wants streets repaired and maintained, then the department needs two employees. Mr. Walz noted that citizens have expressed a desire to get the streets repaired. Councilmember Steve Ferland noted the other option to pay for street projects instead of raising the mill levy would be to assess property owners through special assessments. It was the general consensus of the Council that no one wanted to raise the mill levy but felt the proposed budget was an honest budget that made provisions to move forward on some projects that needed to be addressed. Councilmember John Leiker then made the motion to approve the 2014 budget as published. Councilmember Jolene Niernberger seconded the motion. Motion carried 6-0. General Government: Financial – 2014 City of Ellis Budget Councilmember John Walz moved to approve Ordinance #1355 attesting to an increase in tax revenues for the 2014 budget year. Councilmember Terry Redetzke seconded the motion. Motion carried unanimously. CONSENT AGENDA Councilmember John Leiker moved to approve the consent agenda containing the Minutes from Regular Meeting on July 15, 2013, Bills Ordinance #1930, and June manual journal entries. Councilmember Terry Redetzke seconded the motion. The Council approved the consent agenda unanimously. PUBLIC COMMENTS E.L. Patee addressed Council regarding land he currently leases from the City. He asked if the City would consider pulling the sand from under the trees to allow water to run by the trees and bushes. Mr. Patee also asked if the Public Works department could “square” off the corners on Calvary Street to slow drivers down. Over time, the corners have rounded and drivers use excessive speed around the bends. Council instructed Public Works Director Alan Scheuerman to look into Mr. Patee’s concerns. PRESENTATIONS OF AWARDS, PROCLAMATIONS, REQUESTS & PETITIONS (HEARINGS) None SPECIAL ORDER None UNFINISHED BUSINESS Public Works: Special Projects – Big Creek Public Works Director Alan Scheuerman contacted several municipal agencies on the possibility of spraying the weeds in Big Creek. Three of the agencies contacted did not recommend spraying the weeds, but also did not have anything on record prohibiting it. However, Kansas Department of Health and Environment informed Mr. Scheuerman that the City is not allowed to spray weeds in the creek and could be fined for doing so. Mr. Scheuerman would like to use dozers in the late fall to clean out the creek bed. To do so, the Division of Water Resources, the Corps of Engineers, and possibly the Department of Agriculture would require the City to obtain a permit. Any debris pulled out of the creek must be disposed of outside of the flood zone. It was the consensus of Council to direct Mr. Scheuerman to proceed with the process of obtaining the necessary permits from the various agencies in order to clean out the creek bed. Council discussed the possibility of coordinating clean-up efforts with the church groups and schools. Police Chief Taft Yates will also contact the Ellsworth Correctional Facility to see if a work crew might be available this fall to help. NEW BUSINESS Parks: Event Requests Councilmember John Walz moved to approve the Public Property Permit Application from USD 388 for use of Creekside Park on August 16, 2013, and to ratify approval of the Public Property Permit Application from Ellis Recreation Commission for use of Creekside Park on August 2, 2013. Councilmember John Leiker seconded the motion. Motion carried 6-0. General Government: Financial During the budget process, Galen Pfeifer, City Accountant, noted that since the cemetery expansion project was complete, the fund should be closed out to the General Fund. John Leiker moved and Terry Redetzke seconded a motion to close the Cemetery Expansion Fund into the General Fund. The current amount in the fund is $709.37. Motion carried 6-0. General Government: Financial During the budget process the Council discussed paying off the lease purchase agreement for the 2009 fire truck. City Clerk Amy Burton reported that the purchase option price is only available on the rental payment date - the next payment date being March 27, 2014. The Council will revisit the lease purchase agreement in January 2014. General Government: City Code - Conservation Water Rates City Clerk Amy Burton presented a proposed ordinance implementing conservation water rates for usage in excess of each customer’s base usage. A customer’s base usage would be equal to the usage calculated during the sewer rate evaluation period. Ms. Burton explained different scenarios of how the customer’s water rates would be calculated under the proposed ordinance. The proposed ordinance would only be in effect during Stage 3 water emergency declaration. Council discussed changes that need to be made to the current policy, including raising the amount for reconnection of services due to termination of services for violation of City Code (i.e. leaks). It was the consensus of Council to direct Attorney Raub to modify the proposed ordinance to charge a conservation rate of $10.74 per 1,000 gallons and to add wording stating the conservation rate would be effective only under the declaration of a water emergency. Water: Policy The Council discussed a letter received from the Ellis Golf Club requesting a variance on the watering restrictions. The Council wants it noted that neither the Council, the Mayor, nor the Police Chief knew the Ellis Golf Club had been watering in violation of the watering restrictions. City Attorney Olavee Raub stated that the Ellis Golf Club straddles two classes of water use, Class 1 and Class 2. Under the declaration of a water emergency, only Class 1 water use is prohibited. Golf courses are specifically defined as a Class 1 water use; however, commercial and industrial water use is defined as Class 2. Attorney Raub suggested possibly developing a special use permit that would limit the number of gallons allowed for commercial use. Being that a representative from the Ellis Golf Club wasn’t present; the Council would like the opportunity to discuss the letter received with the Ellis Golf Club. The Council directed City Clerk Amy Burton to invite a representative from the Ellis Golf Club to the special meeting on August 8, 2013. Capital Improvement: Repair/Maintenance Public Works Director Alan Scheuerman presented two bids for lighting the City Shop. Mr. Scheuerman recommends the low bid from Don’s Electric & Rewind. Councilmember John Walz moved and Councilmember Loran Gottschalk seconded a motion to accept the low bid from Don’s Electric & Rewind in the amount of $2,800 with funds to come from Capital Improvement. Motion carried unanimously. REPORTS FROM CITY OFFICIALS Public Works Public Works Director Alan Scheuerman presented the updated water well levels and discussed the drainage issues on 10th Street. He spoke to the Council on the possibility of trying to alleviate some of the drainage issues during the waterline improvement project. Mr. Scheuerman also reported that the material has been received for the street project and spoke on updates to the National Flood Insurance Program. The Director informed Council that the City has been using effluent water for the street sweeper. The pool is scheduled to be drained on August 22, 2013. The City will make the pool water available to residents; as long as they are aware the pool water is chlorinated and will also have other debris in it from use this summer. Approximately 100,000 gallons will be released and will be available on a first-come, first-serve basis. Police Police Chief Taft Yates presented the August officer schedule. He also reported that Officer Casey will be attending training on crime scene investigations later this month. City Clerk City Clerk Amy Burton presented the June financial statements consisting of the Statement of Accounts, Treasurer’s Statement for June and also the 2nd quarter, and the Security Deposit Worksheet. Ms. Burton noted the Water Utility Fund will need to be monitored closely due to decreased revenues from the water emergency declaration. Ms. Burton also discussed the possibility of implementing a low-flow shower head incentive program for residents. Charlene Weber would like to present the possible project to the Fort Hays Leadership Team as a semester project. It was the consensus of the Council to be in favor of the possible program. Attorney City Attorney Olavee Raub reported she has filed a formal complaint against the owner of a cemetery memorial that has been in violation of City Code for several months. Ms. Raub stated the memorial is to be taken down immediately and if the owner would like to resize the memorial in order to meet code specifications, then a permit must be applied for with the new sizing and approved through the City. Ms. Raub is also working with the Water Advisory Committee to revise and clarify certain definitions in the water conservation plan. MAYOR/COUNCIL Mayor Johnston read a letter addressed to Ellis Fire Chief Denis Vine from Gary Brown, Hays Fire Chief thanking the volunteer fire department for their assistance during the train crash and fire on July 16, 2013. Mayor Johnston also noted he will not be in town to attend the August 8, 2013 special meeting. Councilmember John Walz discussed with Council the possibility of drafting ordinances that would automatically increase the water and sewer rates by a small percentage each year, rather than large increases periodically. Once the ordinances were in place, the actual percentage could be adjusted up or down by resolution each year. It was the consensus of Council to direct the City Attorney to prepare a draft of the ordinances for further review and discussion. Councilmember Niernberger congratulated former Mayor David McDaniel on his nomination of Vice-Chairman of the Ellis County Joint Planning Commission. ADJOURNMENT Councilmember John Leiker moved and Councilmember Terry Redetzke seconded a motion to adjourn. The motion carried unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 10:21 p.m.
Posted on: Thu, 15 Aug 2013 02:01:19 +0000
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