Approved 8-25-14 City of Peabody Minutes of the City Council Meeting Office of the City Clerk CALL TO ORDER: The regular meeting was called to order by Mayor Larry Larsen, at 7:30 p.m. in the council chambers of City Hall located at 300 N. Walnut, Peabody, Kansas. The following council members were present: Steve Rose, Janice Woodruff, Tim Peterson, Robert Knapp and Travis Wilson. Mayor Larsen stated that a quorum was established. STAFF: Stephanie Ax - City Clerk VISITORS: Susan Marshall - PeabodyGazette-Bulletin, Jim Rippe, Jan Brandom - Development Director, Wheat State Manor, Charles Orcutt. The Pledge of Allegiance I. MINUTES: The council reviewed the minutes from Special Meeting July 28, 2014; Minutes from Regular City Council Meeting July 28, 2014. Councilman Peterson noted that in the Regular Meeting Minutes, page three, D 2 - the word not should be inserted in the phrase between the words Sometimes it s and the resident s fault. MOTION by Peterson to approve the minutes of both minutes listed above as corrected. Motion was seconded by Wilson. Motion carried 5-0. II. APPROPRIATIONS: The council reviewed Payables 2014 8A $ 31,607.69 Payroll 2014 8A $ 10,883.11 Payroll Tax & Ben 2014 8A $ 10,333.57 MOTION by Wilson to approve all three (3) appropriations listed above: Payables 2014 8A in the amount of $31,607.69; Payroll 2014 8A in the amount of $10,883.11; and Payroll Tax and Benefits 2014 8A in the amount of $10,333.57.. Motion was seconded by Knapp. Motion carried 5-0. III. PUBLIC COMMENT: Mayor Larsen invited anyone to speak during this portion of the meeting if it were three (3) minutes or less, or to request to be on the agenda if more time was needed. There was no public comment. IV. APPROVAL OF AGENDA: MOTION by Peterson to approve the agenda as amended. Motion was seconded by Woodruff. carried 5-0. Motion
V. AGENDA ITEMS: Page 2 A. Charles Orcutt - Poplar & 8 th Street Ditch Mr. Charles Orcutt of 812 Poplar addressed the city council. He was very displeased with the city s attempt to shore up the drainage ditch on the west and north sides of his property. He presented multiple color photographs of the appearance of the drainage ditch to the governing body but addressed his comments to Mayor Larsen. Mayor Larsen requested to have a meeting with Mr. Orcutt and Interim Public Works Superintendant, Ronnie Harms, during the week to discuss and resolve the matter. Mayor Larsen thanked Mr. Orcutt for attending the city council meeting. B. Wheatland Card Solutions City Clerk Ax presented a Commercial Card Certification of Resolution from Wheatland Card Solutions - Corporate Services to the council. This needed to be approved for city staff to continue using the corporate credit cards in our possession. Councilmen Steve Rose and Janice Woodruff agreed to the resolution. C. State of Kansas No-State Public Employer Contract City Clerk Ax presented the State of Kansas Non-State Public Employer Contract. All groups renewing must sign a new contract and return it to the SEHP (State Employee Health Plan) by October 1, 2014. Mayor Larsen commented that this program has standard coverage and the cheapest prices we have found. Larsen further stated an employee having recent surgical procedures raved about the quality of the coverage. The council still requested to see current costs compared to what estimates will be for 2015. D. Employee Reports: 1. Stephanie Ax, City Clerk City Clerk Ax reported that Darin Neufeld of EBH had supplied the city with an invoice #9287 dated October 31, 2013 that was originally addressed to Shane Marler @ 300 N. Walnut. Somehow, this bill was lost in the mail shuffle or change in management. The service provided was for professional services from August 14 - October 26-2013 for structural evaluation for the City s insurance claim on the Peabody Baker Furniture roofs. Mayor Larsen added that the original bill was $5,000.00 and it was reduced to $3,620.00 MOTION by Knapp to pay invoice #9287 to EBH in the amount of $3,620.00. Motion seconded by Wilson. Motion carried 5-0. City Clerk Ax presented information about a previous contract between the City and Whitecotton Webservice for a year s service at the cost of $900 covering September 1, 2013 through August 31 st, 2014. City Clerk Ax has not been able to receive any communication or satisfaction from Whitecotton Webservice for at least four (4) months and had no alternative than to seek other assistance. Mr. Rick Burky of FlorenceWeb Computers has filled in and provided webservice for free for the past four (4) months. Clerk Ax presented an invoice to the city council on Mr. Burky s behalf for one year s service September 1, 2014 through August 31, 2015 in the amount of $692.00 which would be due 8/31/2014. MOTION by Knapp to pay invoice 14-398 to FlorenceWeb Computers in the amount of $692.00. Motion seconded by Wilson. Motion carried 5-0.
Page 3 City Clerk Ax informed the council that she had been approached by Larry Kleeman of CityCode Financial. The group is made from former LKM and local government officials and they provide bond finance service and always up-to-date city codes to cities throughout Kansas. CityCode currently has Newton, Hillsboro, Marion, and Benton online. Our codes would be available at peabodyks.citycode.net. The codes are made to be easily searchable online by city staff as well as citizens of your community. Mayor Larsen was concerned about the fee for the initial codification ($3,750) and the annual fee of( $850.00) paid each year beginning when the new code is adopted. Mayor Larsen suggested that Clerk Ax look into listing our city code and ordinances on line through our new web service provider. We already had a maintenance contract with Denny s. Our records indicated we had coverage from 2011-2012. Denny s informed Clerk Ax that the contract automatically renews, but the new office staff had not located a folder indicating that. The new invoice we just paid will cover maintenance for all of 2015, Spring and Fall. There is a new store in Peabody called, This and That, owned by Britton and Mary O Dell. They are located at 524 W. Ninth (The old Payne Propane building). Wheat State Manor is sponsoring a charity bike ride Miles for the Manor on Saturday, September 6, 2014 which will be passing through Peabody and breaking at our city park. At this point, Jan Brandom stood up and introduced herself. Ms. Brandom, Development Director at Wheat State Manor, Inc. addressed the city council about their upcoming one-day bike ride in scenic in NW Butler and SW Marion counties. Miles for the Manor offers various rides: 56 miles of paved road starting at 8:00 am - registration fee $35; 50 miles of gravel roads starting at 8:30 a.m. - registration fee $35; 17 miles of paved road starting at 9:00 a.m. - registration fee $25. Online registration is available at www.wheatstatemanor.org or contact Jan Bradsom at 316/799-2181. Clerk Ax sent a thank you letter to Mr. Gilbert Loewen for installing the handicapped gate at the Peabody swimming pool; a 30-day notice letter to Spur Ridge Veterinary Clinic. Clerk Ax closed her report by requesting a signature on the new contract with Countryaid Vet. E. Reports from Standing Committees 1. Water Committee (Rose) Councilman Rose reminded city council that Peabody s water line to Hillsboro runs right by Nighthawk and 130 th meridian correction. The county got a grant to redo this area of road. Indications are that there are too many accidents in this area due to the severity of the curve and deep culvert. It is possible that several 100 feet of 8 line will have to be moved at the city s expense. A county representative should come and visit the city council. Mayor Larsen reiterated he has talked with EBH about our water lines and possible grants. Everything is on hold as nothing is available through CDBG until November. It might cost each household $10-$12 for a large water line but it wouldn t be paid off for 40 years. Mayor Larsen has also been talking with Morgan Marler and a man with Rural Water Development about phosphorus in the water lines. 2. Streets and Alleys Committee (Woodruff & Wilson)
Page 4 Martin Koslowsky is concerned about obtaining handicap access to the Baptist Church located at Vine and Third Streets. Mayor Larsen has spoken with Pastor Charles about the existing curb and cement step-up along the Third Street parking. Would the city consider sharing the expense with the church and convert some area of curbing to a handicap ramp? Councilman Woodruff stated we should be doing this at the corner sidewalk only or the city may be setting a precedent. A modified proposal from Middlecreek Corporation was received and distributed which included the modification of adding an apron to Alternate #1 (previously #2). The apron would add a cost of $1268.00. This will still not take care of the roadway. Councilman Woodruff stated that something has to be done with the hole. 3. Sanitation Committee (Larsen & Wilson) nothing to report 4. Lights Committee (Rose & Wilson) Light pole at the fire house is rotted through at the bottom and needs to be reported to Westar; There is also a light out at Third and Elm. 5. Fire Committee (Rose & Peterson) - nothing to report 6. Park and Swimming Pool Committee (Woodruff & Wilson) Councilman Woodruff reported that the Porta Potty was removed from the swimming pool area too early. Councilman Knapp noted that the minutes from the Peabody Burns Recreation indicated they had planned to encumber $13,000.00 and must have increased it later to the sum of $20,000.00. 7. Building Committee (Larsen & Woodruff) Mayor Larsen informed the council that Baker Lofts, LLC has a bank account with $1,000.00 which will be added to the till towards roofing repair. The check for $4,909.62 was received from Marion County. Wray Roofing will be in position on September 1 st. 8. Finance and Ordinance Committee (Peterson & Knapp) - Councilman Knapp said he had received a phone call from Krishyn requesting a meeting to discuss what fund account numbers should be used to post a bill. They will be meeting soon along with Councilman Peterson. 9. Economic Development Committee (Larsen & Knapp) - Jim Rippe mentioned that a realtor suggested Peabody have a city-wide open house for all the realtors on the same day. 10. Personnel (Larsen & Peterson) - Mayor Larsen informed the council that there was a clause in the City s personnel policies that was causing concern about nepotism. He was unsure if we should keep the policies as they are written, change the policy, delete the nepotism section altogether or just delete the last sentence. Article E. Recruitment- Selection and placement #5 AS WRITTEN: No person shall be employed in any department supervised by a member of his immediate
Page 5 family. Immediate Family is defined to include only an employee s parents, stepparents, spouse, children sister or brother, grandparents, grandchildren, mother or father-in-law or brothers or sisters-in-law. If two employees within the same department marry during the period of their employment, one of the employees shall be transferred to another department without loss of pay or other benefits. However, the establishment of such a relationship shall not be the basis for termination of employment. No member of an elected official s immediate family shall be employed by the city. Mayor Larsen indicated his father-in-law was Animal Control Officer, his brother-in-law was a police officer for the city but that his situation was different than that of a council member. The reason he brought this up was because he and Ronnie Harms would like to hire Todd Woodruff for the open position in Public Works, and Todd Woodruff is the grandson of Councilman Janice Woodruff. Clerk Ax informed the council she had written city attorney Rob Lane about the nepotism issue. Attorney Lane responded in writing that the whole nepotism section should be deleted. Mayor Larsen said that he had spoken to LKM legal department and that had they said it was okay not to change the personnel policy - to hire a councilperson s grandson - because a councilman only had power while sitting in a council meeting and did not directly supervise staff in the public works department. Councilman Rose requested that Mayor Larsen provide the council, in writing, the opinion from LKM. Councilman Peterson expressed displeasure that he was not involved or invited to the interviews for this open position and requested to be removed from the Personnel Committee. MOTION by Knapp to eliminate the last sentence from the nepotism section of the personnel policy which reads No member of an elected official s immediate family shall be employed by the city Motion was seconded by Wilson. Motion carried 4-1 (Rose) Councilman Rose repeated he wanted Mayor Larsen to provide the council, in writing, the opinion from LKM. Mayor Larsen requested the hiring of Todd Woodruff be brought to a vote. Getting information from the lawyer, or getting an opinion should not be a part of the motion. MOTION by Knapp to hire Todd Woodruff for the position in public works. Motion was seconded by Wilson. Motion carried 2-2-1. Knapp and Wilson yea, Rose and Peterson nay..woodruff abstained, Mayor Larsen s vote broke the tie. F. Report from the Mayor - Mayor Larsen commented that the work has been completed with Pixius for both agreements with City Hall and with the Public Works Building - Police Department. Mayor Larsen commented on the difficulties with the process of mowing, sending out mow letters and then when having to mow property owners not understanding getting such large bills from the mowing. Some of the property owners live out of state - don t get the certified mail, and are not aware of height of vegetation or thought that tenants were keeping the property mowed. We will work to improve on this communication. VI: COMMUNICATIONS: No comment on communications
Page 6 VII: ITEMS TO BE ON AGENDA FOR UPCOMING MEETINGS: 1. Contract for city with Caring Hands Humane Society 2. Report on Removal of Grass Growing in Streets. 3. Purchase of a new pool cover. 4. Fire Cadet Program 5. Roof repair on Baker buildings 6. Siren VIII. ADJOURNMENT: There being no more business to be brought before the council. MOTION by Tim Peterson to adjourn the meeting at 9:40 p.m. Motion was seconded by Rose. Motion carried 5-0. CERTIFICATE I hereby certify that the foregoing minutes are a true and correct recording of the proceedings of the governing body of the City of Peabody, Kansas, held on the date stated therein, and that the official minutes of such proceedings are on file in my office. (SEAL) Stephanie Ax, City Clerk