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CITY COUNCIL
OCTOBER 15, 2007
7:30 P.M.
The Council of the City of Augusta, Kansas met in regular session on October 15, 2007, with Mayor Kristey Williams presiding. Council present were Holly Harper, Douglas Marr, Michael Huddleston, Michael Wallace, Tom Leffler, Mike Rawlings, Robert Griffith, and Roger Chrislip. Also present: City Manager Bill Keefer, Assistant to the City Manager JJ Allen, City Attorney David All, City Inspector Dan Allen, and City Clerk Erica Jones. Visitors present were: Michael McDermott, Bill Morris, Julie Roller, Willis Wilson, Candace Armstrong, and Ken Bratton.
Prayer: Reverend Terry Deaver, First Baptist Church gave the invocation.
Minutes Council: Minutes of the October 1, 2007 council meeting were reviewed. Wallace stated that his comment on page five of the minutes should read “Wallace stated that there seems to be an agenda in the printed police reports the police hands out to the Gazette and other media.” Marr made a motion to approve the minutes of the October 1, 2007 council meeting. Harper seconded the motion. Motion carried without opposition.
Appropriations:
October (10): Council considered appropriations in the amount of $1,077,892.48. Chrislip stated that the payment to the Augusta Animal Clinic seemed high this month. Keefer stated that the Municipal Court ordered two pit bulls to be held, incurring a $1,000 boarding fee on top of the regular monthly charges. Mr. All stated that the dogs were impounded and the owners were unable to pay to have the dogs released. Mr. All stated that the Municipal Judge set a date that the owners would have to pay to have the dogs released or they would be put down. The animals were put down. Chrislip asked if the City would be stuck with the bill. Mr. All stated that the trail has not been held yet, but if the owners are convicted they can be forced to pay restitution. Marr made a motion to approve Ordinance 10 in the amount of $1,077,892.48. Harper seconded the motion. Motion carried without opposition.
Visitors:
Julie Roller, Executive Director of Downtown Augusta, Inc., was present and thanked councilmember Huddleston for attending the Governor’s Awards of Excellence on Main Street Banquet. She stated that Augusta received eight awards, more than any other Main Street Community. The awards given were as follows: Design under $5,000 – Strickler’s Shoes, Design under $45,000 – The Augusta Art Gallery, Design over $45,000 – Cooper Drug Store, Design back door entrance improvement – La Bella, Outstanding Merchant – Hardt’s Desire, Outstanding Downtown Advocate – Dr. Paul Mitsch/Augusta Family Dentistry, Kansas Main Street Volunteer of the Year – Darcy Herold, Emeritus City – Downtown Augusta, Inc.
Old Business:
Int’l Building Code: Council considered approval of an ordinance amending the 2003 Edition of the International Building Code. Rawlings made a motion to approve Ordinance 1952, amending the 2003 Edition of the International Building Code. Leffler seconded the motion. Motion carried without opposition.
New Business:
City Dump #1: Council considered approval of an agreement with Aqua Tech Engineering for engineering services related to the KDHE Dump #1 cleanup project. Marr made a motion to approve an agreement with Aqua Tech Engineering for engineering services related to the KDHE Dump #1 cleanup project. Huddleston seconded the motion. Motion carried without opposition.
Int’l Building Code: Council considered approval of an ordinance amending Chapter 10 of the International Existing Building Code, 2003 Edition, and Appendix K of the International Building Code, 2003 Edition. Wallace inquired about the color chart referenced in 1007.13 and stated that the Council did not have a copy of that chart available to them for their review. Morris stated that the Sherwin Williams “Victorian Color Chart” is the standard chart used for Main Streets. Morris stated that the chart will be used to give some guidance for choosing colors but also allow flexibility.
Wallace referred to section 1008.5.4 and asked who would judge whether the architecture is historic. Morris stated that the Main Street Design Committee would make that judgment.
Huddleston referred to section 1007.12 and asked what type of cloth would be required for existing flat metal awnings. Morris stated that the same material should be used in both new and existing. Huddleston stated that it should be clarified in the ordinance.
Wallace made a motion to approve Ordinance 1953, amending Chapter 10 of the International Existing Building Code, 2003 Edition, and Appendix K of the International Building Code, 2003 Edition with the following changes: amend section 1007.12 to read “Existing flat metal awnings directly above the storefront may be retained if a modern cloth valance or skirt is added to the face of the metal awning.”, and section 1008.5.4 to read “The use of plastic on the exterior of a sign shall be considered only when it is compatible with the surrounding architecture and that architecture is no longer judged to be historic by the Main Street Design Committee.”. Harper seconded the motion. Motion carried without opposition.
Temporary Notes: Council considered approval of the Resolutions relating to the issuance of Temporary Notes for Sanitary Sewer internal improvements. Marr made a motion to approve Resolution 2007-08, a Resolution for Advisability relating to the issuance of Temporary Notes for Sanitary Sewer internal improvements. Wallace seconded the motion. Motion carried without opposition.
Marr made a motion to approve Resolution 2007-09, authorizing the issuance of the Temporary Notes and authorizing the Mayor to execute the related documents. Huddleston seconded the motion. Motion carried without opposition.
Housing Tax Credits: Council considered approval of Resolutions of Support for applications for Housing Tax Credits. Huddleston stated that the letter specified improvements in the amount of $25,000 for each unit, but that doesn’t add up to the total project amount. Candace Armstrong with Belmont Development Company, LLC stated that there are two additional facilities in Andover that they are also requesting housing tax credits for and that the total cost of the project will be $5 million.
Rawlings made a motion to approve Resolution 2007-10 in support of an application for Housing Tax Credits for the Savannah Park of Augusta Apartments. Marr seconded the motion. Motion carried without opposition.
Rawlings made a motion to approve Resolution 2007-11 in support of an application for Housing Tax Credits for the Garden Walk of Augusta Apartments. Huddleston seconded the motion. Motion carried without opposition.
Insufficient Checks: Council considered authorizing the write off of sixteen outstanding insufficient checks in the amount of $1,977.77. Rawlings stated that he has been catching heat for writing checks off. Rawlings explained that the checks that are being written off are being sent to the State’s Set Off collection program in an attempt to recover the funds. Huddleston stated that the City’s auditor recommended that the checks be written off. Jones stated that the funds were counted as revenue and were never actually collected. Jones stated that if the funds are collected in the future, they will be credited as revenue at that time. Marr made a motion to authorize the write off of sixteen outstanding insufficient checks in the amount of $1,977.77. Harper seconded the motion. Motion carried without opposition.
Public Hearing: The Council considered approval of a Resolution scheduling a Public Hearing for December 3, 2007 to take input on whether the structure at 412 State Street should be designated a dangerous or unsafe structure. Huddleston asked why Staff was waiting so long for the public hearing. Keefer stated that State Statute requires it. Huddleston stated that Section Two should state “commercial structure” instead of “residential structure”. Dan Allen presented photos of the property to the Council for their review. Keefer stated that the reason this has taken so long is that there was an attempt by a local person to purchase the property and fix it up, but legal issues hampered that process and the potential buyer backed out. Marr asked if it is clear who owns the property. Keefer stated that it is clear who owns it according to the County. Keefer stated that there are still issues with the tax liens. Huddleston asked if there is a way that when there is observable issues of disrepair that an effort can be made to address those issues before it gets to the point of loosing the building. Keefer stated that there is, and that there were attempts made on this property previously. Keefer stated that issues were brought up a few years ago and that there were repairs made at that time. Huddleston asked if property can be inspected if it is thought to have issues of disrepair. Mr. All stated that the exterior of the building can be inspected, but that in order to enter the building you have to have the owner’s consent or a court order. Marr made a motion to approve Resolution 2007-12 scheduling a Public Hearing for December 3, 2007 to take input on whether the structure at 412 State Street should be designated a dangerous or unsafe structure, with Section Two amended to read “commercial structure”. Rawlings seconded the motion. Motion carried without opposition.
Work Session: Council considered scheduling a work session for 6:30 p.m. on Monday, November 5, 2007 as a follow up to questions that were raised at the September 24 Work Session on the Downtown Streetscape Project. Marr made a motion to schedule a work session for 6:30 p.m. on Monday, November 5, 2007 as a follow up to questions that were raised at the September 24 Work Session on the Downtown Streetscape Project. Harper seconded the motion. Motion carried without opposition.
Informational Memorandum & Questions:
Chrislip – Chrislip inquired as to how long the new Water/Wastewater Superintendent John Ball was with the City of Parsons. JJ Allen stated that he was there seven years. Chrislip stated that at the end of Akron the rain washed out the curb and the grass is four feet tall and a real mess. Dan Allen stated that he would take a look at it.
Griffith – Griffith stated that he was approached by the Methodist Church, wanting to know if they would be getting relief for paying back their under-billed utility bills last year. Griffith asked if there are any plans for Oak Street in the area of DJ Engineering. Keefer stated that he has had some talks with Williams Pipeline about cleaning up areas of their property to improve drainage. Keefer stated that Staff will continue to address the drainage issue at that location.
Williams – Williams stated that Staff had been looking at a scheduling a Strategic Planning Session on November 17th, but the facilitator will not be available on that date. Williams stated that Staff will keep the Council updated on this.
Adjourn: At 8:02 p.m. Harper made a motion to adjourn. Huddleston seconded the motion. Motion carried without opposition.
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