CITY OF OVERBROOK

MINUTES REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING JANUARY 11, 2006

MEMBERS PRESENT: Ira Allen, Rich Hamit, Bruce Smith, Bob Sisson, Mayor Jack Young. Larry

Coursen absent.

OTHERS PRESENT: Max Friesen, Mark & Gaylene Jones, Ron & Cindy Zeckser, Kris Stangis, Carol

Anno & Donnie Bryant, Kevin Stone, Bob Gloss, Larry Coffman, Lois Harris,

Eunice Breithaupt, Pat McKenzie, Beverly Hix, Greg & Maryann Childress,

Allan Inman, Mike Dickerson, Ed Harmison, Everette Dannar, Mark Tomlinson,

Jim Koger, Patty Hylton, Cheryl Brown.

The meeting was called to order by Mayor Young at 7:00 PM. Roll was taken to determine the presence of a quorum.

MINUTES / WARRANTS: Ira Allen moved to approve the minutes of the December 14, 2005 meeting as written. Rich Hamit seconded; motion carried 4-0.

Bruce Smith made a motion, seconded by Ira Allen, to pay all warrants presented. Motion carried 4-0.

FUTURE DEVELOPMENT: Max Friesen came before the council to refresh the council on future plans of his to develop approximately 24 lots east of the city lake and a road that would provide access from Highway 56 to the southeast part of town. Friesen said that it would probably be at least a year before the development would actually begin, but wanted the council to have this information to use after the engineer, Vic Robbins, has evaluated the capacity of the lagoons. There was discussion about other development in this area and possible methods of handling the sewer utilities for all the development.

WATER USAGE CONCERNS: Mark and Gaylene Jones were present to voice concerns about being double charged for the water when Bob Call installed a new water meter. Call is not present, so the actual date when the meter was changed is not available. Jones said they had felt their water bill was too high for some time compared to the neighbors, and when they had Call look at the meter, Call agreed that the meter needed to be replaced. The council agreed to have Jones come to the next meeting and asked the clerk to print a customer history as far back as possible before making any decisions. Gaylene Jones said they moved to this location in October, 1999.

DRAINAGE PROBLEMS: Kris Stangis, 104 Ash Street, was present to let the council know about her concerns regarding storm water drainage from property east of her house. Stangis had questions for the council as a result of researching easements, etc after discovering how much damage had been done to her house during last summer’s rains. Stangis had been told by the county that she needs to get the plat of her development and also Meadowbrook II from the city. She was also upset when she learned that the city doesn’t have subdivision regulations, or a comprehensive plan. Stangis asked the council who is responsible since there are no rules or regulations? She has been denied compensation for the current damage done to her house by her insurance company since she doesn’t have “flood” insurance. Stangis is even more concerned that the problem will get worse because of the way a new house in Meadowbrook II is being built. Stangis is also upset that this house was started before a building permit was approved. Mayor Young said that the current ordinance addresses the distance between houses and the set back from the street, but nothing about drainage. Vic Robbins, city engineer, said that even without regulations, the city should try to do something to help. After discussion, the council agreed by concensus to inspect the property of Stangis and also the neighboring area to see what, if anything, can be done to channel the run-off away from the houses on Ash Street. Mayor Young said that he and the engineer would check into the matter.

LIQUOR STORE CONCERNS: Kevin Stone, pastor of the Overbrook Bible Church, asked exactly what is on the table regarding packaged liquor sales. Mayor Young said the clerk had been asked to put the matter on the agenda. Pat McKenzie said her understanding is that if the city does nothing about voting in an ordinance to prevent someone from opening an liquor store, they can automatically do this on February 15^th. Cheryl Brown, City Clerk, said that a person has the legal authority at this time to open a liquor store, but the council has until February 15^th to rule against it. Ron Zeckser asked if the council plans to pass such an ordinance. Rich Hamit said he plans to make that motion, but doesn’t know if it will pass. The clerk said that there are state regulations against a liquor store being located within 200 feet of school or church property even if the city allows one to open. Larry Coffman said that the vote against Sunday beer or liquor stores should show the support against the opening of a liquor store, and they are asking the council to keep the city “dry”. Rich Hamit moved to have an ordinance prepared to prohibit the sale of packaged liquor. Bruce Smith seconded the motion; motion carried 4-0. The clerk said that she’ll have the ordinance prepared by the city attorney to be considered at the January 25^th meeting. Greg Childress, Associate Pastor of Grace Community Church, thanked the council for taking a stand, followed by applause.

WATERLINE PROJECT PAYMENT: Bruce Smith made a motion, seconded by Rich Hamit, to pay D & D Excavating $14,961.00 with the balance, less 10%, due upon approval of the change order. Motion carried 4-0.

WATER/SEWER PROJECT REPORT: Vic Robbins reported that the final bill from MidAmerican Environmental has been received, and will be paid as soon as Donna Crawford signs it. That will complete the de-sludging part of the wastewater improvements.

Robbins has talked to Michael Coffman about the easements in regards to the next step towards repairing and/or replacing sewer lines and manholes. Coffman will have to notify each property owner where the city does not have sufficient utility easements. David Peimann is working on this project also.

Robbins said he’s prepared the official quarterly reports and will mail them as soon as the mayor signs them. Two of the three property owners notified of legal action by the city attorney have complied, but there has been no contact from the third party so this will have to be settled in court. There are two sump pumps that were connected to the city sewer at the time of inspection that need to be re-inspected, and if necessary have legal action taken.

Robbins said that there are two issues regarding adding more services to the existing sewer system. The first is the capacity of the treatment ponds which have gained about 4 million gallons of capacity. Based on the permitted Person Equivalent Loading, 1280, he thinks the system could handle another 150 persons, or 40-50 more houses. The second concern is the collection and transfer system, or the sewer lines themselves. This part of the project hasn’t been started at this point. His opinion is that any more houses added on the north side of the city should be independently pumped into a main line, and not through the existing lift stations.

Ira Allen asked if anything has been done about the storm water draining onto Bob Gloss’s property. The mayor said that he hasn’t talked to Bob Call about this lately. He also said that the problem has gotten worse since the school parking lot was built. Mayor Young said that Call was checking into some kind of box drain, but doesn’t know any more details at this time.

Robbins said that he still thinks we should be testing the lagoons monthly even though the state just requires quarterly reporting. The council agreed to have Robbins contact the lab.

UNFINISHED BUSINESS: The recreation commission and Barnett property drainage matters were tabled.

Mark Tomlinson submitted a bid for installing electricity at the city lake. The matter was tabled until all three bids can be reviewed. The mayor hasn’t checked with Westar to see if this can be done.

Mark Tomlinson said he’s been writing warnings for animals at large, and the mayor can get them from Chief Harmison. Mayor Young said he would visit with Dr. Tucker about notifying us when an animal is adopted by someone from Overbrook. Beverly Hix asked if the ordinance requiring licenses for all cats and dogs over 6 months old is being enforced. Tomlinson said that everyone who had a 2005 license is being notified by letter, and is being given a 30-day grace period. The mayor said his personal opinion is that there are people who have animals that have never had licenses so they won’t be getting a letter. Chief Harmison said that there were $227 worth of licenses sold in 2003, and last year it amounted to $454 so there’s been improvement. The mayor said that if people know of unlicensed animals they should report them.

2006 DESIGNATIONS: Bruce Smith moved to name Kansas State Bank and First Security Bank as official depositories. Rich Hamit seconded, motion carried 4-0.

Ira Allen moved to designate the Osage County Herald as official city newspaper. Rich Hamit seconded; motion carried 4-0.

Rich Hamit moved to add Bob Sisson as a check signer in addition to the mayor, clerk, treasurer, Ira Allen and Bruce Smith. Bruce Smith seconded; motion carried 4-0.

EMPLOYEE SALARY REVIEW: After a brief discussion, this was tabled until after employee evaluations have been conducted. Ira Allen suggested having the mayor and Bruce Smith do the evaluations in the next 2 weeks and make recommendations at the January 25^th meeting. Everette Dannar asked if the employee would get a cost of living raise in addition to any merit raise as a result of the evaluations. The mayor said that would have to be decided by the council as the city doesn’t have a pay scale. Chief Harmison stated that if the employees don’t get at least a cost of living raise, they’re going backwards.

DUMP TRUCK BIDS: There weren’t any bids submitted prior to the meeting. After discussion, Jim Koger was asked to check into putting the truck on EBAY if no bids are received before the next meeting.

LAW REPORT: Chief Ed Harmison reviewed his report to the council. He also said that he and Officer Dannar have gotten their training to use the tasers. He also reviewed the cases for 2005. He also restated that the animal license letters will be sent this coming week. Ira Allen said that he’s noticed a lot of people making illegal u-turns in front of the post office the past couple of weeks. Mayor Young said that it’s a problem in front of the grocery store, too. Chief Harmison said he’d watch it more closely, but to expect some irrate people who might threaten to shop somewhere else. The mayor said to use discretion, but he is concerned about possible accidents.

TREASURER’S REPORT: Patty Hylton reviewed the December financial reports. She pointed out the new line which indicates the $25,000 CD recently purchased. She has a request for payment ready to send to KDHE, but will have Donna Crawford check it over tomorrow. Hylton said that we may need to consider amending the 2006 budget so the law department can spend the approximately $9,000 cash balance from 2005. She’ll have more definite figures at the February meeting. She reviewed all the cash balance summaries for all departments.

Hylton was pleased to report that all the funds have grown this past year. Rich Hamit gave a lot of the credit to Patty Hylton for her work. She was concerned about the decrease in the city sales tax revenue over the past few years, and there was discussion as to why that might be. Ira Allen questioned if the new destination based tax laws were affecting this. Mayor Young said that the information provided by Hylton has been very valuable.

MISCELLANEOUS: Mayor Young asked Mike Dickerson, Osage County Herald, if he had spoken to Carol Anno about what was in the paper a couple of weeks ago. She was concerned that people would have the impression that the “overpricing” being discussed would reflect on the way D&D Excavating was doing business. The mayor asked if something could be written to explain that it had to do with the final cost of materials compared to the original estimate.

CLERK’S REPORT: Cheryl Brown commended Jim Koger’s work on the website and encouraged everyone to check it out. She would also like Koger to be included in the salary review process even though he’s only been with us since the first of December.

EXECUTIVE SESSION: Bob Sisson moved to go into executive session for 5 minutes to discuss personnel matters. Rich Hamit seconded; meeting was recessed. The meeting was called back to order at 9:30 PM at which time no action was taken.

COUNCILMEMBER COMMENTS: Bob Sisson said that he’s known Larry Coursen for a long time, but he’s concerned about all the meetings he’s missed. The council agreed that the mayor should visit with Coursen to see if there’s a problem. The mayor asked the clerk to check into possible action in the event a council member doesn’t attend the meetings. The clerk said she would, and reminded the council that discussing other elected members cannot be done in a closed meeting. The council assured her that hadn’t been done.

Ira Allen presented some information on a skid loader for Bob Call to look at. Allen asked why nothing had been done about the house being built in Meadowbrook II without a building permit. The clerk read the portion of the zoning ordinance stating the penalty for violating the zoning ordinance. Each day that construction is on going without an approved building permit is considered a violation, and subject to penalty.

The city has an ordinance requiring that the permit be displayed on site as well. Ira Allen said he had noticed the dirt work, but didn’t think about the building permit. Dannar also stated that construction should be stopped until an approved permit is displayed. There was discussion about determining how many days the contractor was out of compliance. The concensus of the council was to proceed with issuing a citation for not complying with the zoning ordinance. Chief Harmison said he would proceed.

Ira Allen said he had no problem with drafting an ordinance to keep the city “dry”, but he’s concerned about the revenue the city would lose if someone opens one just outside the city limits. Bruce Smith said he’s supporting the ordinance because he thinks the community has strong feelings against it. Allen said that selling liquor by the drink seems to be more of a danger than selling packaged liquor. The mayor said that those who support a liquor store have the same option regarding petitions, and voting as those who were against the Sunday sales.

Rich Hamit said that he’s had some calls about lifeguard jobs and he told them to call the mayor since he’s no longer the liaison for the pool. All applications can be obtained from City Hall. The mayor said that they need to contact City Hall if they have questions about jobs, etc.

Hamit also said there’s an exhibit at Washburn University on small towns and Overbrook is one of the featured towns.

There being no further business before the council, Rich Hamit moved to adjourn. Bruce Smith seconded; motion carried and the meeting was adjourned at 9:50 PM.

Respectfully submitted,

Cheryl L. Brown

City Clerk

APPROVED: January 25, 2006