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CITY COUNCIL
JANUARY 4, 2010
7:00 P.M.
The Council of the City of Augusta, Kansas met in regular session on January 4, 2010, 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 Electric Utility Bill Webster, Electric Production Superintendent Jim Sutton, City Inspector Dan Allen, and City Clerk Erica Jones. Visitors present were: Kent Bush, Myrna Rogers, Gary Rogers, Karen Schaeffer, Harold Schaeffer, Randy Wharton, Colin Whitley, and Debra Hiser.
Prayer: Pastor Larry Snodgrass, Haverhill Christian Church, gave the invocation.
Minutes: Reavis made a motion to approve the minutes from the December 21, 2009 meeting. Harper seconded the motion. Motion carried without opposition.
Appropriations:
December (12A): Harper made a motion to approve Ordinance 12A in the amount of $760,029.96. Wallace seconded the motion. Griffith asked if the payment to OMB Guns was for the purchase of tasers. Keefer stated it was for the purchase of several handguns for our reserve officers. Keefer stated the tasers were purchased in November and the training had taken place in early December. Griffith asked if the reserve officer program is new and Keefer stated it is. Reavis inquired about the payment made to the Butler County Landfill for prisoner care. Keefer stated that the payment should have been to the Butler County Sheriff and that it has already been corrected. Motion carried without opposition.
Visitors:
Myrna Rogers addressed the community thanking them for their support and donations for our troops. Rogers stated they appreciate the continued support and prayers for their safe return.
New Business:
815 Money Ave.: A public hearing was conducted to take input on whether a structure located at 815 Money Avenue should be declared unsafe or dangerous. Randy Wharton, a representative for Home Loan Services, addressed the governing body. Wharton stated that Home Loan Services does not yet own the property located at 815 Money Avenue, but that he has been communicating with the homeowner. Wharton stated the property owner plans to make the repairs, estimated to be $77,000, but that the insurance company has not completed their investigation. Wharton stated they would like to secure the property and delay this determination so the insurance company can complete their investigation. Wharton stated if the structure is torn down before the foreclosure occurs, Home Loan Services will realize a loss.
Dan Allen stated that the fire occurred on July 24th and he spoke with the insurance company on multiple occasions when he was trying to locate the property owner. Allen stated he informed the insurance company that we wanted the structure secured and the yard cleaned up. Allen stated the insurance adjuster told him they consider the fire to have been arson. Allen stated he spoke to Major Marbut with the Augusta Department of Public Safety who also indicated that it was believed to have been arson. Huddleston stated if it is not arson, the insurance company will pay the claim and the mortgager will be the payee. But, if it is determined to be arson they will not pay the claim and the structure will have to come down. Williams stated it is unacceptable to leave it in its current condition.
Debra Hiser, 900 Money Avenue, addressed the governing body. Hiser stated that the neighborhood has been working hard to keep this area safe for their children and have instituted a neighborhood watch. Hiser stated they are afraid that this structure will turn into a drug house or used by the homeless. Hiser stated this property really needs to be taken care of because there are too many children in the neighborhood that they do not want see get hurt.
Wallace asked if this is an ongoing crime scene. Mr. All stated the insurance company is a private entity investigating the fire, not the Augusta Department of Public Safety. Mr. All stated he does not see how evidence could remain after this length of time, and that the City does not have any obligation to protect the property for the insurance company. Williams closed the public hearing.
Leffler made a motion to approve Resolution 2010-01 finding that the structure at 815 Money to be unsafe or dangerous and directing the structure to be repaired or removed and the premises made safe and secure. Harper seconded the motion. Motion carried without opposition.
Zoning Classification: Wallace made a motion to approve Ordinance 1993 changing the district zoning classification for a tract of property generally located at 1000 N Lulu from Commercial to Residential-2 (R-2) two family dwelling. Harper seconded the motion. Wallace inquired about the concerns that were addressed to the Planning Commission. Allen stated there were concerns about how drainage issues would be addressed, but that the property owner is working with Martin Goedecke on the drainage plan and will be required to submit a drainage plan. Motion carried without opposition.
Kansas Power Pool: Wallace made a motion to approve a contract with the Kansas Power Pool (KPP) amending the length of the City of Augusta’s commitment to the pool to 10 years. Harper seconded the motion. Griffith asked if there is a possibility that the 3 megawatts will be increased in the future. Colin Whitley with KPP stated the 3 megawatts is based on the City’s historical minimum load, but if that minimum load grew it could be possible to increase the number of megawatts. Keefer stated our current base load is around 6 megawatts. Motion carried without opposition.
Westar Energy: Council considered approval of a guaranty agreement with Westar Energy, Inc. Reavis stated the agreement says the City guarantees it will pay its bill timely to KPP so KPP can promptly pay Westar, but asked what would happen if KPP failed to pay Westar. Keefer stated if KPP failed to pay Westar, we would be responsible for paying Westar again. Keefer stated we would then look into our legal options for how to recover those funds from KPP. Griffith asked if the power pool price is established by the market. Whitley stated it is established by cost and is determined annually. Whitley stated by extending the agreement to 10 years, it could help reduce the cost. Wallace made a motion to approve a guaranty agreement with Westar Energy, Inc. Reavis seconded the motion. Motion carried without opposition.
Emergency Water Supply Plan: Keefer stated this is a very generic document and that staff is looking to add more detail to the document and bring the new document back to the governing body at a later date. Wallace stated he was going to ask for more information addressing certain scenarios. Keefer stated it is addressed in this plan in general, but that the response will vary from place to place. Keefer stated he has asked staff to look into options to provide water for our citizens if our service lines go down. Wallace asked how long that will take. Keefer stated he hopes to bring a new document back to the governing body in the next 60 days or so. Reavis made a motion to approve an updated Emergency Water Supply Plan. Wallace seconded the motion. Motion carried without opposition.
Job Classification and Salary Schedule: Leffler made a motion to approve Resolution 2010-02 establishing the Job Classification and Salary Schedule for 2010. Childers seconded the motion. Motion carried without opposition.
REAP: Harper made a motion to approve the City’s 2010 membership dues in the amount of $1,564 for the Regional Economic Area Partnership (REAP). Wallace seconded the motion. Huddleston inquired about the population figure that was used to determine the membership dues. Keefer stated he would look into where they obtained that figure and provide it in the next informational memorandum. Motion carried without opposition.
Work Session: Huddleston made a motion to schedule a work session on Monday, January 25th at 6:30 p.m. to review and discuss the proposed new Code of Ordinances. Childers seconded the motion. Motion carried without opposition.
Informational Memorandum:
Williams – Williams addressed the residents to explain that the executive sessions regarding the acquisition of real estate have had to do with purchasing property for the levee project.
Griffith – Griffith asked if staff has heard anything more about the building we were going to move to Santa Fe Lake from 7th Street, or if that was still going to be a possibility. Keefer stated he hasn’t heard anything new, but that they do not currently have a buyer for the property.
Huddleston – Huddleston stated the letter sent to Ken Stultz said the governing body decided not to renew or renegotiate his lease at the Augusta Municipal Airport, but according to the minutes the motion was only made not to renew the lease. Childers stated that Wallace’s motion was to approve option one, and the way he read it was that it could be reasonably inferred that there would be no renegotiation of the lease. Childers stated others might have a differing opinion, but that Huddleston brings up a good point.
Wallace stated that there was discussion during the meeting that Stultz could renegotiate his contract if he wanted to. Childers and Williams stated they did not recall that discussion. Shaw stated that option one was described in the memo as not to renew the lease and to authorize staff to notify API that the lease is up in March, and option two was described as authorizing staff to issue a notice of non-renew and to enter into negotiations for a new lease. Wallace stated the official minutes only say not to renew the lease. Jones stated the actual motion made by Wallace was to approve option one. Jones stated she inferred that as the wording in the memo for option one since it wasn’t specified in the motion, and therefore listed the motion exactly how option one was listed in the memo.
Wallace stated there was a misconbobulation on what was meant to be voted on. Williams stated the council seconded and voted based on the motion Wallace made, which was for option one and that was what the motion carried with. Wallace stated there was discussion that his contract would not be renewed, but that he had the option to renegotiate which Wallace stated he made clear during the discussion. Williams stated she did not recall that discussion and that we have to go by the motion that was passed which was for option one. Huddleston stated the minutes do not say the motion was for option one which he wants to make clear, so we need a new motion. Williams stated the minutes were already approved. Wallace stated the official transcript only says that we will not renew and asked Mr. All what the next step is. Mr. All stated that if the motion was to approve option one, which is what he recollected, then the memo would seem to be the body of information the council acted on. Mr. All stated he hasn’t heard anyone else say they didn’t think they were voting on option one, which was to not renew the lease and not to renegotiate.
Childers again read the options directly from the memo and stated it would be reasonably inferred that by voting on option one it was to not renew or renegotiate. Wallace stated inferrsions don’t count. Williams stated it was clear and that there were two very distinct options. Williams asked if there was anyone who did not know what they were voting on. Huddleston stated he know that we was voting on not to renew the lease, and thru discussions with some since then he was told if we wanted to renegotiate then we needed to let them know soon or otherwise we would need to start making plans to move someone into the space. Williams reminded Huddleston he voted against the motion. Huddleston stated he voted against not renewing the lease.
Wallace stated for the last two years he’s been asking why we don’t have the video as back up and he’s always been told it is not the official transcript. Jones stated the video was available and could be reviewed, but that her notes from the meeting state the motion was for option one. Wallace stated we should have both the minutes and the video so we can go back and look at it later. Jones stated that she has been specifically told by the League that you do not want to keep a second record of the meeting because it could potentially be used later against the City.
Williams stated that motions are not always specified and that she will sometimes specify it for them since it is right in front of her, so that would be accurate to put in the minutes. Wallace agreed. Reavis asked if there was a problem with the minutes why wasn’t that brought up when they were being approved. Huddleston and Wallace stated there wasn’t anything wrong with the minutes, but that the letter to Stultz reflected something different then what was voted on. Williams disagreed but stated that if they needed to review the tape to prove that they could. Wallace stated he would be in to review the tape. Reavis stated option two was to renegotiate, and since that was not what was approved then we effectively voted not to renew or renegotiate the contract so the letter was accurate. Williams agreed. Wallace stated it was a moot point until he reviews the video. Williams stated the motion was already made and voted on so it could not be changed, but that they could review the tape.
Final Comments:
Rawlings – Rawlings stated he was in El Dorado around noon today and compared their snow removal to ours, and ours was much better. Griffith asked how the new snow plows worked. Keefer stated they were good to the best of his knowledge. Griffith asked how the snow removal went downtown. Keefer stated it went good except for the 400 block because of the cars parked along the street. Huddleston stated the snow route signs say “when declared” and asked who makes that declaration. Keefer stated that according to city code, he has the authority to declare a snow emergency and that he would base that decision on information received from the Public Safety and Public Works departments. Keefer stated that had we received as much snow as northern Kansas did he probably would have declared a snow emergency, but then we would have to go about the process of notifying the owners of the vehicles. Keefer stated we probably need to re-evaluate the snow routes.
Childers – Childers thanked the City employees who worked through the holidays clearing the city streets.
Wallace – Wallace asked if the red donation boxes around town are for a charity or a private business. Keefer stated the boxes are owned by a private business that collects the used items and sells them for a profit. Keefer stated they give a portion of the profit to a charitable organization. Griffith stated the City of Wichita made them remove the red boxes. Shaw stated Wichita has regulations that pertain to recyclable items and that was why they were able to require them to be removed. Keefer stated our zoning regulations do not address these, so they can remain as long as they are on private property and don’t have debris or trash in the right of way. Keefer agreed that it is misleading on what happens to the donated items.
Executive Session: At 8:05 p.m. Wallace made a motion to go into executive session for 20 minutes to discuss personnel matters of non-elected personnel (the City Managers annual evaluation). Childers seconded the motion. Motion carried without opposition.
At 8: 25 p.m. Wallace made a motion to exit executive session with no action being taken. Childers seconded the motion. Motion carried without opposition.
Wallace made a motion to re-enter executive session for 20 minutes to continue the discussion on personnel matters of non-elected personnel. Childers seconded the motion. Motion carried without opposition.
At 8:48 p.m. Wallace made a motion to exit executive session with no action being taken. Childers seconded the motion. Motion carried without opposition.
Williams stated that the governing body appreciates Keefer’s service to the City and that they consider him a crucial factor in completing the levee project. Williams stated they understand that his pay does not accurately reflect the job he does. Leffler stated Keefer was offered a 2% merit increase, a 3% salary adjustment, and to extend his contract for three years. Leffler stated that Keefer turned down the 3% salary adjustment, as he did not think 2010 would be a good year fiscally to accept a 3% adjustment. Leffler made a motion to increase the City Manager’s salary by 2% and to extend his contract to three years. Childers seconded the motion. Motion carried without opposition.
Executive Session: At 8:50 p.m. Wallace made a motion to go into executive session for 10 minutes to discuss the acquisition of real estate relating to the levee project. Childers seconded the motion. Motion carried without opposition. Leffler and Rawlings excused themselves from the executive session due to a conflict of interest.
At 9:02 p.m. Wallace made a motion to exit executive session with no action being taken. Childers seconded the motion. Motion carried without opposition.
Adjourn: At 9:03 p.m. Wallace made a motion to adjourn. Childers seconded the motion. Motion carried without opposition.
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