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CITY COUNCIL
MARCH 19, 2007
7:30 P.M.
The Council of the City of Augusta, Kansas met in regular session on March 19, 2007, with Mayor Ross Rountree presiding. Council present were Holly Harper, Douglas Marr, Michael Huddleston, Ken Bratton, Paul Oliver, Mike Rawlings and Robert Griffith. Councilmember Roger Chrislip was absent. Also present: City Manager Bill Keefer, Assistant to the City Manager JJ Allen, City Attorney David All, and City Clerk Erica Jones. Visitors present were: Michael McDermott, Harold Woolery Sr., Harold Woolery Jr., Andrea Carpenter, Tony Madrigal, John Welch, Eric Grooms, Connie Thurman, Martin Yeager, Travis Goeken, Darcy Herold, Danny Herold, June Pressnell, Dave Malone, Martin Goedecke, Scott Cheslic, and Thomas Leffler.
Prayer: Pastor Ken Becker, First Southern Baptist Church gave the invocation.
Minutes Council: Minutes of the March 5, 2007 council meeting were reviewed. Harper made a motion to approve the minutes of the March 5, 2007 council meeting. Oliver seconded the motion. Motion carried without opposition.
Appropriations:
March (3): Council considered appropriations in the amount of $773,741.08. Marr inquired about the payment to Cami Baker in the amount of $1,151.47. Keefer stated that the payment was for court cases prior to the agreement that was made with her. Oliver inquired about the payment to Associated Business in the amount of $1,555.04. Keefer stated the payment was for the utility billing cards and late notices. Marr inquired about the payment to Hale’s Sales & Service in the amount of $36,100.00. Keefer stated that the payment is for the mowers that were approved at a previous council meeting for the Park Department. Keefer stated that the check is being held until the second mower is delivered. Marr made a motion to approve appropriations in the amount of $773,741.08. Harper seconded the motion. Motion carried without opposition.
Visitors:
Grasshopper Festival: Rountree stated that Downtown Augusta, Inc. was requesting to use the downtown area for their annual Grasshopper Festival to be held on June 1st and June 2nd. Marr asked what the status of the street will be at that time. Keefer stated that hopefully the waterline project will be well under way. Keefer stated that he had spoken to Water Superintendent Haffner and he understood that the area would have to be returned to a safe area for both vehicle and pedestrian traffic by June 1st. Marr asked where the materials will be stored. Keefer stated that the materials will be stored at the water plant. Huddleston asked when the scheduled start date is. Keefer stated that Haffner will be providing a written schedule for the project. Bratton made a motion to approve the use of the downtown area by Downtown Augusta, Inc. for their annual Grasshopper Festival on June 1st and June 2nd. Harper seconded the motion. Motion carried without opposition.
WFO Car Show: Bratton made a motion to approve the use of the downtown area on August 4th for the annual WFO Car Show. Marr seconded the motion. Motion carried without opposition.
New Business:
City Growth Area: Council considered approval of an Ordinance changing the zoning classification from Commercial to Industrial for a tract of property located within the City’s Growth Area. Griffith asked if the process for handling these requests has been systematically worked out where they go to the County before they are discussed by the Planning Commission. Keefer stated that a notice should be sent by registered mail to the County twenty days prior to the public hearing. Keefer stated that the notice was not sent to the County in this instance due to an oversight and was not realized until the time of the public hearing. Griffith stated that the Council had previously decided that the Planning Commission should not discuss these requests until they had received a response back from the County. Keefer stated that was correct, but that it didn’t happen this time. Griffith recommended that the paperwork goes through Keefer’s office in the future. Bratton stated that a checklist should be sufficient. Griffith made a motion to send this issue back to the Planning Commission for further discussion. Bratton seconded the motion. Motion carried without opposition.
Insurance Coverage: Council then considered approval of the City’s annual Liability and Property Insurance coverage effective April 1, 2007. Huddleston asked how long was given for the bids to be submitted. Jones stated that the companies were given four weeks to submit their bids. Griffith made a motion to accept the bid from Madrigal & Welch in the amount of $260,730.00 for the City’s annual Liability and Property Insurance coverage effective April 1, 2007. Marr seconded the motion. Motion carried without opposition.
Temporary Notes: Council considered approval of the bids for Temporary Note Financing for Internal Improvements to Belmont Place 3rd Addition and approval of a resolution authorizing the issuance of Temporary Notes and authorizing the Mayor to execute the related documents. Dave Malone stated that Rose Hill Bank submitted the low bid with an interest rate of 3.55%. At that time, Malone turned the podium over to Eric Grooms who was representing Augusta Developers. Grooms asked the Council to reject all of the bids until Augusta Developers can review the costs associated with the project. Keefer stated that Augusta Developers had put the numbers together and felt that the special assessments would be too expensive for the type of housing they would be building. Keefer stated that they would like to visit about the project with the City Engineer to see how the cost can be reduced and come back to the Council at a later date. Keefer stated that Malone had assured him there would not be any additional expense and Keefer stated that all of the documents that have been prepared can be used again by just changing the numbers/dates. Rawlings inquired about the City Engineer’s expenses. Keefer stated that his expenses are built in to the cost estimate. Goedecke stated that he does not normally bill for his expenses, rather he adds it to the cost of the development. Goedecke asked Grooms if there was any additional cost if Augusta Developers would be willing to pay those expenses. Grooms stated they would. Goedecke then stated that he will not bill the City for any additional expenses as a result of rejecting the bids. Marr asked what the timeline is for this to be submitted back to the Council. Grooms stated that hopefully it will be re-presented to the Council in the next month. Marr stated that these lots fit into a niche in the market that the City of Augusta does not currently have, so he wants to make sure that it is re-presented soon. Rawlings stated that if the special assessments are too high, those homes would no longer fit into that niche. Rawlings asked Grooms if the property could potentially sit for a while if the cost cannot be lowered. Grooms stated that it could. Rawlings made a motion to reject the bids for Temporary Note Financing for Internal Improvements to Belmont Place 3rd Addition. Griffith seconded the motion. Motion carried without opposition. Rawlings then made a motion to table the resolution authorizing the issuance of Temporary Notes and authorizing the Mayor to execute the related documents. Bratton seconded the motion. Motion carried without opposition.
KMEA Board: Council then considered re-appointing Councilman Mike Rawlings to the Board of Directors of the Kansas Municipal Energy Agency (KMEA). Bratton made a motion to re-appoint Mike Rawlings to the Board of Directors of the KMEA. Marr seconded the motion. Motion carried without opposition.
Informational Memorandum & Questions:
Rawlings – Rawlings stated that the Council may want to consider moving up the meeting time for the next council meeting due to the Final Four games scheduled to air on television at 8:00 p.m. that same evening. Rawlings made a motion to move the next meeting to 6:00 p.m. instead of 7:30 p.m. Bratton seconded the motion. Motion carried without opposition.
Rawlings then stated that Garvin Parks looks a lot different than it used to and that he hopes the citizens notice how good it looks and that they stay on the road now that the posts and cable have been removed.
Oliver – Oliver stated that he continues to see a lot of people coming out of the Park through wrong way traffic, and that he is afraid something bad is going to happen. Oliver stated that maybe this area should continue to be monitored.
Bratton – Bratton commended Allen for what he is doing with the Airport. Bratton stated that he likes to see that the Airport is progressing forward.
Huddleston – Huddleston stated that he noticed the City Inspector is still driving his old truck. Keefer stated that Major Marbut is waiting for his new truck to be delivered. Keefer stated that after the new truck is delivered and the equipment is removed from the older truck, it would be delivered to the City Inspector.
Marr – Marr stated that there is running water in the 200 block of Broadway. Keefer stated he would have someone take a look at it. Marr stated that he had been contacted about homes in the 600 block of Santa Fe that need to be cleaned up. Keefer stated that the Inspection Department had sent letters out to some of those homes and were trying to work with them to get the property cleaned up by the deadline provided. Marr asked if the Park Department had started work on the Memorial Garden so that the problems experienced last year would not occur this year. Keefer stated that they had already started working on it. Marr stated that he would like to thank the folks who put on the Candidates forum. Marr then stated that he noticed that there had been several homes demolished in the First Ward, but on the inspection report it shows that no demolition permits had been issued. Keefer stated that he will check on this. Marr asked if Staff can review the Comprehensive Plan in regard to the growth area and the Hwy 54 corridor. Keefer stated that Staff had planned on setting a meeting in the not to distant future to review the Comprehensive Plan. Marr inquired about the comment in the Informational Memorandum about air pollution at the power plant. Keefer stated that the issue came up at the candidate’s forum and at a meeting with Senator Palmer and our Representative last week as well as other comments that had been made to him. Marr stated that it appears there is an annual inspection. Keefer agreed and further stated that all of the inspections have come back without any air pollutant problems.
Adjourn: At 8:02 p.m. Harper made a motion to adjourn. Oliver seconded the motion. Motion carried without opposition.
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