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CITY COUNCIL
SEPTEMBER 21, 2009
7:30 P.M.
The Council of the City of Augusta, Kansas met in regular session on September 21, 2009, with Mayor Kristey Williams presiding. Council present were Holly Harper, Matt Childers, Michael Huddleston, Michael Wallace, Tom Leffler, Mike Rawlings, Robert Griffith, and Ronald Reavis. Also present: City Manager Bill Keefer, City Attorney David All, Assistant to the City Manager Josh Shaw, Director of Public Safety Tyler Brewer, Public Safety Department Major Ray Marbut, and City Clerk Erica Jones. Visitors present were: Mike McDermott, Troy Palmer, Sharon Sudduth, Malissa Nesmith, Martin Goedecke, Kay Tee, Yan Wang, and Kevin Cowan.
Prayer: Pastor Penny Goldberg, First Christian Church, gave the invocation.
Minutes: Huddleston stated that in the final comments Leffler made, he remembered him saying “in my opinion, in the future the council should refrain…”. Huddleston made a motion to approve the Minutes of the September 8, 2009 council, amended to include “in my opinion”. Childers seconded the motion. Motion carried without opposition.
Appropriations:
September (9A): Wallace made a motion to approve Ordinance 9 in the amount of $807,463.16. Harper seconded the motion. Huddleston inquired about the two payments to Cox Communications. Keefer stated that was for multiple departments and the other was for the cemetery. Huddleston stated that a payment for the cemetery was approved at the previous meeting. Jones stated she would look into that and provide an update in the next packet. Huddleston inquired about the payment to William Morris. Keefer stated it was for the Airport Signage and design work for a possible future Public Works facility. Huddleston asked what Goedecke was paid for in addition to the $10,962.75 for the 7th Street ARRA Project. Keefer stated it also included Stone Lake Estates Streets, Belmont 3rd Addition, and the Levee. Childer’s inquired about the payment to 1st National Bank. Keefer stated that was for his credit card. Motion carried without opposition.
Visitors:
Chamber of Commerce: Sharon Sudduth, Executive Director of the Chamber of Commerce requested the painting of a “yellow brick road” along State Street for the October 3rd Homecoming Fest parade event. Reavis made a motion to deny the request to paint a yellow brick road along State Street for the parade. Wallace seconded the motion. Motion carried with Harper opposing.
New Business:
Global Parts: Council conducted a public hearing to take input on an application from Global Parts, Inc. for an exemption for property taxes for their new building located at 901 N Industrial Road. Troy Palmer, President of Global Parts, Inc. described the history of the business and it’s involvement in the community. Childers asked how many people Global Parts currently employs and Palmer stated 35. Huddleston asked if Palmer thinks they will out-grow the facility in the Industrial Park. Palmer was confident that there is a lot of room for expansion. Williams closed the public hearing.
Wallace made a motion to approve the application from Global Parts, Inc. for a property tax exemption. Harper seconded the motion. Reavis asked for clarification that they were only applying for the building located at 901 Industrial Park Road. Keefer agreed and stated that they originally filed for both buildings, but that under the guidelines of the policy the Council approved a couple months ago the new building would be the only building that would qualify for an exemption. Williams stated that this is the first request for exemption in quite some time, but that most of the other property owners in the Industrial Park have received an exemption at some point in the past. Motion carried without opposition.
Wallace made a motion to approve Resolution 2009-16 making certain Findings of Fact with respect to a property tax exemption to be granted to Global Parts, Inc. Rawlings seconded the motion. Motion carried without opposition.
Council considered approval of an Ordinance exempting certain property in the City of Augusta from Ad Valorem Taxation for Economic Development purposes. Huddleston inquired about the table for the amount of payment in lieu of taxes and asked why we would allow a 40% exemption when they fall to only 5 employees. Keefer stated these figures were based on what other cities do. Childers asked for the table to be clarified to state One to Five, Six to Ten, etc. instead of duplicating the numbers. Kevin Cowan explained that after five years they have the opportunity to appeal to the Governing Body to not have their payment in lieu of taxes increase if they have a reduction in employees. But, the requirement is that there will be a payment unless the Governing Body approves to waive it. Cowan stated the policy is the general guidelines, but this agreement requires that Global Parts provide proof that the ownership and use hasn’t changed annually. Cowan stated after the first five years, the Governing Body will only review the number of employees. Wallace made a motion to approve Ordinance 1988 exempting certain property in the City of Augusta from Ad Valorem Taxation for Economic Development purposes. Reavis seconded the motion. Motion carried without opposition.
Bids: Wallace made a motion to approve the purchase of the demo fire truck from Flint Hills Fire and Rescue in the amount of $773,795.00, subject to the issuance of general obligation bonds. Reavis seconded the motion. Motion carried without opposition.
Rawlings made a motion to approve Resolution of Intent 2009-17 to issue General Obligation Bonds for the purchase of a fire truck. Huddleston seconded the motion. Motion carried without opposition.
Goedecke Engineering: Griffith made a motion to approve an agreement with Goedecke Engineering for Construction Engineering Services for the 7th Street KLINK Project. Harper seconded the motion. Motion carried without opposition.
CMB License: Council considered a Cereal Malt Beverage license for the Panda Buffet Restaurant located at 711 W. 7th Street. Jones stated that the owners have now provided documentation to show they have been residents of Kansas for more than one year and became Butler County residents on 4/27/2009. Huddleston made a motion to approve a Cereal Malt Beverage license for Panda Buffet at 711 W 7th Street effective October 27, 2009. Wallace seconded the motion. Motion carried with Rawlings and Reavis opposing.
KDOT ARRA Project: Rawlings made a motion to approve an agreement with the Kansas Department of Transportation for an American Resource and Recovery Act Project for 7th Street. Harper seconded the motion. Motion carried without opposition.
Downtown Parking: Wallace made a motion to approve Ordinance 1989 repealing Section 13-209 of the Code of Ordinances as it relates to timed parking in the downtown. Childers seconded the motion. Motion carried without opposition.
Appointments: Harper made a motion to appoint Shirley Stueven, Rick Rawlings, Kevin Visor, Paul Oliver, Dalton Patterson, Karl Winter, Shannon Hettenbach, James McClure, Larry Courtney, Wayne Mathias, and Dave Bisagno to the Street Sales Tax Committee. Childers seconded the motion. Motion carried without opposition.
Council Meeting: Reavis made a motion to reschedule the October 5, 2009 City Council meeting to Tuesday, October 6, 2009 at 7:30 p.m. to accommodate the annual League of Municipalities meeting. Childers seconded the motion. Motion carried without opposition.
Informational Memorandum & Questions:
Williams – Williams stated it is good to hear that we may be able recycle plastics in the near future and asked if it will generate some income. Keefer stated that he was not sure about the revenue from plastics, but that staff has identified another vendor willing to pay more for some of our other recycled materials. Williams stated that she appreciates the updates on recycling and there was a consensus to provide those updates periodically. Harper stated it would help the community be aware of what is going on. Keefer stated that he would look into posting periodic updates about recycling onto the City’s website.
Reavis – Reavis asked where three wheeled scooters fall into the new State law prohibiting golf carts and micro-utility vehicles on streets. Keefer stated they are currently allowed. Huddleston stated that State Statue says that it applies to every device except electronic personal assistance devices. Reavis stated they would be exempt from this law and Keefer agreed.
Final Comments:
Huddleston – Huddleston asked if the extra sign holes that were drilled could be used for the street sweeping signs. Keefer stated that was the intent. Huddleston stated that the Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices says the legend will vary according to the regulations, and that the signs that were purchased were per the example not the regulations. Huddleston stated he does not think we should have to pay extra because the wrong signs were purchased.
Huddleston stated that 7th Street is getting a lot of big holes and asked what is being done in the meantime until the 7th Street ARRA project begins. Keefer stated that staff is looking into patching and other options to repair those holes.
Williams – Williams stated the annual Fly-In at the Augusta Municipal Airport will be September 26th from 7:30 am to 11:00 am. Williams thanked Griffith for filling in for her at the last meeting.
Childers – Childers inquired about whether or not the City is currently fogging for mosquitoes. Keefer stated he would check into that.
Keefer reminded the Council of the work session scheduled for next Monday. Keefer also apologized for the delay in getting the council packets out and explained that his computer crashed earlier in the week and he has yet to recover all the data that was on his computer.
Adjourn: At 8:47 p.m. Wallace made a motion to adjourn. Childers seconded the motion. Motion carried without opposition.
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