CITY OF
MINUTES REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING APRIL
26, 2006
MEMBERS PRESENT: Rich Hamit,
Larry Coursen, Ira Allen, Bob Sisson, Mayor Jack
Young. Bruce Smith absent.
OTHERS PRESENT: Jon Brady, Peggy Waldman,
Becky Coltrane, Vic Robbins,
Ann Hassler (Osage
The meeting was called to order at 7:00 PM by Mayor
Young. Roll call established the
presence of a quorum.
MINUTES/ WARRANTS: Rich Hamit moved to
approve the minutes of the April 12, 2006 meeting as written. Bob Sisson seconded; motion carried 4-0.
Bob Sisson made a motion, seconded by Ira Allen, to pay
the warrants. Motion carried 4-0.
INSTRUCTIONS: Mayor Young asked that questions
and/or comments from those present would be held until the person with the
floor has finished their presentation.
LIBRARY BUDGET: Peggy Waldman was present to give the
council more information about the proposed 2007 library budget. These details included increasing the hours
the library is open, putting the card catalogue online, and also the time she
spends doing the accounting, processing books, memorials, thank you’s, etc. Some of
these expenses will be funded by a grant, but she needs to secure funding in
case they don’t get the grant. Waldman
was asked by the mayor to recommend areas to be decreased, if necessary. Waldman also said that the bathroom floor may
need to be replaced, and the floor in the backroom needs painted. Waldman was asked to get some bids for these
improvements and bring them to the council.
The council thanked her for coming and said they would take these
requests into consideration when preparing the 2007 budget.
BID FROM WESTAR:
Mayor Young presented a bid from Westar to provide electricity at the
city lake. The council had previously
approved a bid from Westar, but a new bid was sent after someone from Westar
had met with Bob Call about this matter.
The new bid is almost $2,000 more than the bid given in September,
2005. The mayor pointed out that the
latest bid is for a larger transformer, which may be necessary for future plans
around the lake. The matter was tabled
until Bob Call reports on his last visit with Pat Gomez, Westar Energy.
WATER/SEWER REPORT: Mayor Young informed the council that Donna Crawford, Governmental Assistance Services, will be unable to attend tonight’s meeting, but has reported that she’s obtained most of the 29 easements necessary for the wastewater project, and is confident of having them all signed before the bids are opened. Vic Robbins, King Engineering, was present and encouraged the council to help get the easements if necessary. Michael Coffman is working on some that need the legal descriptions corrected.
Robbins has received the official notice from KDHE that the plans were approved and the bid notice has been published. They need a project activity schedule which Robbins has prepared. This schedule is available for viewing at City Hall and will be put on the website. Bids are set to be opened on May 15th at 2 PM. Robbins said that King’s have sent out 15 or 16 sets of plans, so is hopeful that will result in favorable bids for the city.
Robbins then said that there has been some activity in the street-repair phase of the waterline project. He helped with measuring the sub-grade elevation, and hopefully this can be finished as soon as the weather permits. Robbins has talked to the company that sold us the tower water sensor system. He was told that the response time can be adjusted, and the company is going to contact Bob Call.
Robbins said he hasn’t had time to check on the rural waterline area regarding the re-seeding and doesn’t know if Bob Call has been out there either. Mayor Young said that D&D Excavating had problems with a gate being locked, and the city doesn’t have a key either. It was decided that someone should talk to the property owner about getting a key.
Mayor Young said that Patrick Neil, Sr is concerned about temporary fence for his dogs while the sewer work is being done on his property. The contractor will be responsible for replacing permanent fence, but temporary fencing would be up to the city. Ira Allen moved to put up temporary fencing for Pat Neil, Sr. Rich Hamit seconded; motion carried 4-0. The mayor then said that Chuck and Linda Musick have concerns about the ditch between the east lift station and Jack’s Café parking lot. They would like a commitment from the city to make improvements after the rehabilitation has been done. The mayor suggested putting some rock in the ditch and keeping the weeds sprayed. Robbins said part of the problem is the way dirt gets built up and blocks the ditch.
EASEMENT CONCERN: Jon Brady said that he’s agreed with Michael Coffman to re-write the description of the permanent easement but leave the temporary easement worded as is. He hasn’t received the revised document yet. Mayor Young said he would call Coffman tomorrow and check on the status of Brady’s easement. Brady said that Lee Flowers’ easement would have to be re-written also.
AD SAMPLE FOR HERALD: The council reviewed the sample page for an upcoming edition of the Osage County Herald. After discussion, the council agreed that there should be more pictures of Overbrook in general and not specific businesses. Blaine McCartney had told Cheryl Brown that he has several pictures on hand, and he can take more if necessary.
SIGNATURE CARD: The council agreed by consensus that there should be two signatures on checks written on the Jones Fund account at First Security Bank. Bob Sisson moved that the mayor and city clerk be authorized to sign checks at this time. Larry Coursen seconded; motion carried 4-0. Up to this time, Bob VonStein has been the only one to sign checks.
2007 BUDGET ITEMS: There was discussion about the revenue needed to fund the library’s requests. This would be about $16,000 more than the 2006 budget, but not all would come from the city. Bob Sisson said that he was concerned about some of the funds appearing to be basically the same. The clerk suggested that someone attend the next library board meeting. The mayor and Larry Coursen agreed to go to the meeting.
Mayor Young asked if anyone has any thoughts about major increases for any of the other departments. Sisson said that none of the other departments have requested any major increases yet. Larry Coursen said that he thinks we have serious issues with the condition of the streets. The mayor said that he would like to start a plan to asphalt a certain number of blocks each year rather than chip and seal half the town each year. There was discussion about how many streets would be affected by the sewer project.
Brown said that Jim Long usually brings a draft of the budget in July when he gives the audit report. Ira Allen said that any increases should be in the general fund so that it can be transferred to where it’s needed. There was discussion about how to increase the general fund without increasing the mill levy. Brown said that Patty Hylton may have more reports for them at the next meeting regarding this matter.
RECREATION COMMISSION: Mayor Young brought up forming a recreation district with the school district. Michael Coffman has told the clerk that he doesn’t think the city needs a partnership with the school district. There was discussion about the possibility of someone living outside the Overbrook community being on the Overbrook Recreation Commission if the whole school district is included. Jon Brady said that only the kids who go to school in Overbrook play on the Overbrook teams through junior high school. This brought up having someone who lives outside the city limits on the commission. The library passed a charter ordinance several years ago to address this issue. The mayor feels that a recreation commission should be funded in some way besides entry fees in order to run the programs. Decisions need to be made about the number of members and what requirements should be met regarding where they live. Brady and the council agreed that the board should have at least 5 members, and possibly stagger the first terms to avoid having all new members at the end of each term. Brown said that Michael Coffman has been asked to provide more information about state requirements.
Jon Brady said that the cost of the drag will be more than the amount approved at the previous meeting, but the Athletic Association would pay the difference. Brown said that the total cost with shipping will be about $484. Ira Allen made a motion, seconded by Bob Sisson, to pay the whole bill from the Jones Fund account. Motion carried 4-0.
COUNCILMEMBER COMMENTS: Rich Hamit said that Joni Hudson wanted the pool filled by May 15th which will be shortly after the next meeting. Brown said that Bob Call has been working on getting the pool ready, and should have it filled by the 15th.
MAYOR’S REPORT: Mayor Young asked if there were a lot of people in town for the city-wide garage sale. Several thought the numbers were down from past years.
There being no further business before the council, Rich Hamit moved to adjourn. Larry Coursen seconded; meeting was adjourned at 9:10 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Cheryl L. Brown,
City Clerk
APPROVED: 05-10-2006