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CITY COUNCIL
DECEMBER 15, 2008
7:30 P.M.
The Council of the City of Augusta, Kansas met in regular session on December 15, 2008, 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, City Attorney David All, Assistant City Manager JJ Allen, City Inspector Dan Allen, and City Clerk Erica Jones. Visitors present were: Michael McDermott, Diana Herrman, Lynne Holloway, Stan Taylor, and Tim Kasting.
Prayer: Reverend Paul Andrew, Life Church, gave the invocation.
Minutes: Huddleston clarified his statement on page 8 to read “Huddleston stated the road backing up to Lehr’s Motel and Bluff Street floods when it rains”. Wallace made a motion to approve the Minutes of the December 1, 2008 council meeting with the correction as noted by Huddleston. Chrislip seconded the motion. Motion carried without opposition.
Appropriations:
December (12): Council considered appropriations in the amount of $410,641.74. Griffith inquired about the payment to Butler County Planning in the amount of $400. Keefer stated it was payment for assistance with zoning cases and identifying property owners. Dan Allen stated the charges are $25 each case and this fee was for multiple cases. Griffith inquired about the payment to Link Tree Spade Service. Keefer stated it was for trees the City purchased. Griffith inquired about the payment to The Hunting Shack. Keefer stated it was ammunition for the qualifying of Safety Department officers. Huddleston inquired about the amount of the payment to Cami Baker. Keefer stated there were several cases that extended back to 2007. Huddleston inquired about the delay. Keefer stated some of the cases weren’t completed until this year, some of the attorneys do not bill for an extended period of time, and sometimes the Judge does not turn the bills in for payment in a timely manner. Griffith made a motion to approve Ordinance 11A in the amount of $410,641.74. Wallace seconded the motion. Motion carried without opposition.
Old Business:
RV/Trailer Parking & Storage: Griffith made a motion to approve Ordinance 1977 amending the City’s Zoning Regulations by adding provisions addressing the outdoor parking and storage of recreational vehicles and trailers. Griffith seconded the motion. Motion carried without opposition. Keefer stated the ordinance will take effect after it is published later this week.
Utility Abatements: Rawlings made a motion to approve a 2009 utility abatement for Augusta Arts Council (Theatre) in the amount of $8,500; Augusta Arts Council (Gallery) $1,500; Augusta Chamber of Commerce $1,700; Augusta Community Caring Center $2,300; Augusta Historical Society $4,500; Augusta Public Library $22,000; Augusta Senior Center $1,500; Kansas Museum of Military History $4,000; and Mid-Kansas CAP $6,000; for a total of $52,000. Leffler seconded the motion. Motion carried without opposition.
New Business:
Public Hearing: Council conducted a public hearing to take input on a waiver of Section 3-102 of the City’s Code of Ordinances that would allow for the sale of alcohol for consumption on premises at the Red Brick Café located at 419/421 State Street. Williams stated the church is zoned Mainstreet Commercial and read the code pertaining to the waiver of distance requirements for the sale and consumption of alcoholic liquor. Huddleston removed himself from the discussion, as owner of the property, due to a conflict of interest.
Tim Kasting thanked the Council for allowing this to be an agenda item. Kasting stated he spoke to the pastor of the church after the previous council meeting. Kasting stated the pastor told him he would probably not protest the request for waiver, but that he would not put it in writing. Keefer stated Staff did not receive any public response to the notice that was mailed out and published in the newspaper. At that time, the hearing was closed.
Griffith made a motion to approve a waiver to Section 3-102 of the City’s Code of Ordinances allowing for the sale and consumption of alcohol at the Red Brick Café located at 419/421 State Street (Subject to the receipt of Conditional Use Permit from Planning Commission). Wallace seconded the motion. Motion carried with Rawlings and Chrislip opposed and Huddleston abstaining. Chrislip made a motion for Kasting to reimburse the expenses associated with the mailing and publication of the notice of public hearing and to apply the payment towards the cost of the conditional use permit application fee. Leffler seconded the motion. Motion carried with Marr and Rawlings opposing.
Cereal Malt Beverage: Leffler made a motion to approve 2009 Cereal Malt Beverage Licenses for Holiday Bowl Inc. and Pizza Hut of SE KS, Inc. for sale for consumption on premises, and for Dillon’s, Presto Convenience Stores, LLC., Wal-Mart Stores, Inc., and 24K, LLC dba Jumpstart Augusta for sales not for consumption on premises. Wallace seconded the motion. Motion carried with Rawlings opposing.
Public Hearing: Council conducted a Public Hearing to take input on amending the City’s 2008 Budget. The Public Hearing was closed after no public comment. Rawlings made a motion to approve the amendments to the 2008 Budget. Harper seconded the motion. Motion carried with Marr opposing.
Keefer asked Marr if he would explain his opposition to the amendments. Marr stated his opposition goes along with things moving forward from the budget planning sessions. Marr stated he is waiting for further discussion about the funding for the Streetscape project. Keefer stated that discussion will take place on January 5th. Marr stated he believes that discussion should have already taken place and that we had full control in making the funding decision as part of the 2009 budget process.
Zoning Classification: Chrislip made a motion to approve Ordinance 1978 changing the zoning district classification for two tracts of land commonly referred to as 1515 Robbins and 1517 Robbins from Residential R-1A to Assembly. Rawlings seconded the motion. Motion carried without opposition.
Website: Harper made a motion to approve an agreement with NetSystems, LLC for the development of the City’s website. Leffler seconded the motion. Motion carried without opposition. Huddleston stated there was $7,000 budgeted for this and the estimated cost is significantly lower than that amount. Huddleston stated he would like the remaining balance of the budgeted funds to be used to allow streaming video on the website. Keefer stated we could probably do that if the funds are available. Huddleston stated the council meetings could be viewable for the citizens who do not have cable television and we could archive the meetings for viewing at a later date.
Financial Advisor: Wallace made a motion to designate Piper Jaffray as the City’s Financial Advisor and authorize the Mayor to execute the agreement. Chrislip seconded the motion. Motion carried without opposition. Griffith asked if the agreement is for one year. Keefer stated the agreement is for three years with the opportunity to renew for two additional years.
Frontier Refinery: Council considered approval of the Water Supply Agreement with Frontier Refinery. Keefer stated that staff has been working on this agreement in excess of one year. Williams commended staff for thinking ahead and setting aside $160,000 for this project.
Huddleston stated the agreement says Frontier will give the City the readings, but asked what would be the process if we believe there is an error or the reading is not correct. JJ Allen stated there are allowances in the agreement for us to enter the site to inspect the meter. Keefer referred Huddleston to Article 6, Section 6.02 of the agreement. Williams referred Huddleston to Article 6, Section 6.01 of the agreement. Mr. All stated the agreement further states that all equipment must be approved by the buyer and seller. Griffith asked Keefer if the amount of funding from Frontier was close to the amount he was planning on receiving. Keefer stated $250,000 was the amount he expected from the beginning, but staff has been working on the legal documents all this time. Keefer stated if the Council approves the agreement tonight, we will receive a $250,000 check by the end of this year. Keefer stated the construction will be done over the fall and winter months of 2009. Rawlings made a motion to approve the Water Supply Agreement with Frontier Refinery. Marr seconded the motion. Motion carried without opposition.
Court Appointed Attny: Chrislip made a motion to approve an agreement with Cami Baker & Associates to provide court appointed attorney services for 2009. Wallace seconded the motion. Huddleston asked if there has been a problem with timely payments. Keefer stated that there has been. Keefer further stated the Judge has previously not turned in bills for payment for an extended period of time. Huddleston asked if the Judge has provided an explanation. Keefer stated he has for some, but not all. Keefer further stated he has discussed this in depth with the Judge and this should not continue to be an issue. Marr clarified that the agreement is for $200 per case. Motion carried without opposition.
Health Insurance: Council considered approval of Coventry Health Care as the City’s employee health insurance provider for 2009/2010 and authorize the City Manager to execute related documents. Huddleston stated he was not clear if there is a change to Coventry Health Care if Delta Dental will be dropped. Keefer stated Coventry Health Care would be used for health care insurance only and the dental coverage will continue through Delta Dental. Chrislip stated this is the best plan available for the City’s employees. Keefer stated we have to look at the total program and the budget limitations. Rawlings made a motion to approve Coventry Health Care as the City’s employee health insurance provider for 2009/2010 and authorize the City Manager to execute related documents. Wallace seconded the motion. Motion carried without opposition.
Keefer stated Coventry Health Care agreed to hold their rates for two years. Huddleston stated in reviewing the Library’s budget he saw that they have a health care plan and asked if they could be included in the City’s health care plan. Keefer stated they are part of the City’s health care plan, but that the City doesn’t pay any portion of their premiums. Keefer stated the Housing Authority is also part of the City’s health care plan, but the City doesn’t pay any portion of their premiums either.
Utility Write-Offs: Leffler made a motion to approve the write-off of sixteen utility accounts totaling $1,673.41 as uncollectible for various reasons. Marr seconded the motion. Rawlings clarified for the record that this is being done for bookkeeping purposes only and that the funds may still be recovered. Motion carried with Huddleston opposing.
Wilson and Company: Wallace made a motion to increase the authorization for legal fees for the City’s lawsuit against Wilson and Company by the amount of $40,000. Leffler seconded the motion. Motion carried without opposition.
Informational Memorandum & Questions:
Marr – Marr stated he appreciates the effort made by the Library to shorten their hours, and that he would hate to see services reduced beyond that.
Wallace – Wallace stated he thinks the market will come back for recyclables with the economy the way it is. Keefer stated the vendor believes it could get worse in the short run, but in the long-term the market will come back.
Marr – Marr stated there was a reference to wind farm funding in the Butler County Board of Commissioner minutes and asked staff to provide information on what this is about. Keefer stated the County receives funding from the company that owns the Beaumont wind farm. Keefer stated the County gives grants out of those funds for one-time capital projects. Keefer reminded the Council that we applied for a grant from those funds for the Depot. Williams stated it would be a good idea to keep this grant funding in mind. Keefer stated he has a couple of ideas for how a grant like this could be used, including the Depot and a Skate Park. Williams stated Butler County Commissioner Waldorf does a good job of keeping us informed of these types of things.
Wallace – Wallace asked what “NRV” in the Inspection Department’s monthly report. Keefer stated it stands for Neighborhood Revitalization Plan.
Williams – Williams thanked JJ Allen for the Airport recap. Marr stated he would like to see a summary of the shared vision and strategies referenced in the recap. Allen stated it has not been completed yet, but that they will be working to develop those.
Final Comments:
Williams – Williams stated she and Sharon Sudduth, Chamber of Commerce Executive Director, visited seven specialized industrial businesses on December 11th to touch base with them and get an overall temperature reading from them. Williams stated she will provide a brief summary of those meetings to the Council at a later date. Williams stated she will not be holding regular office hours at City Hall next week, but she would be available after the first of the year.
Marr – Marr stated a previous memo said some groups were looking for suggestions on what to do with Christmas lights downtown. Marr stated he would like 7th Street to be included in that discussion, as there is a need to address issues with the Christmas lights on 7th too. Keefer stated there is a wholesale need for review of some of those types of things.
Adjourn: At 8:14 p.m. Marr made a motion to adjourn. Wallace seconded the motion. Motion carried without opposition.
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