CITY OF
MINUTES REGULAR MEETING AUGUST 8, 2007
MEMBERS PRESENT: Larry Coursen, Bob Sisson, Don Schultz, Tadd Goodyear, Dorthy Chikly, Mayor Jack
Young.
OTHERS PRESENT: Michael Coffman, Michael & Jenna Blood, Joyce Rogers, Beverly Hix, Joni Hudson Winters,
Jason Hielscher, Tim Nedeau, Craig Meier, Rich Hamit, Jon Brady, David Gerisch, Cliff
O’Bryhim, David & Kathy Alcorn, Mary Pierpoint, Bobby Spry, Kevin & Tina Welch, Scott
Tucker, Ed Harmison, Everette Dannar, Jim Koger, Cheryl Brown.
Mayor Young called the meeting to order at 7:00 PM. Roll call by the clerk determined the presence of a quorum.
MINUTES / WARRANTS: Larry Coursen moved to approve the minutes of the June 13, 2007 regular meeting. Tadd Goodyear seconded; motion passed 4-0. (Dorthy Chikly hadn’t arrived at this time.)
Don Schultz asked about the warrant to Thunder Prairie Guide. He was told that this is the person who fills the fish feeder at the city lake as the city does not own a boat. Larry Coursen made a motion, seconded by Bob Sisson, to pay all warrants. 5-0.
POOL REPORT: Joni Hudson Winters was present to give the council a summary for the 2007 pool season. The report included details of incidents, water rescues, and pool closings. Dorthy Chikly was pleased with the detailed information. Don Schultz asked for Joni’s view of the season, and what changes she would recommend. Winters said that she won’t be managing the pool next year, but suggested that the assistant manager be made to understand that they need to follow the same guidelines as the manager, and be ready to fill in at all times. Winters also recommended sending a manager to a pool school to learn why the various chemicals are used to maintain the pool. Chikly asked if Winters has suggestions to improve the pool. Winters said that she would recommend putting benches outside the pool fence for parents to use during lessons. Sometimes having the parents inside the fence can be a distraction. Extra storage space for chemicals would also be beneficial to maintain the quality of the chemicals. Chikly then asked about the procedure for emptying the pool. She said she had received complaints about “stinky” water being drained into the yard behind Shirley’s Café. Bob Sisson said that a certain amount of water is left in the pool over the winter, and it does get very smelly even with super chlorinating the remaining water. The city hires someone with a large waste tank to drain the pool, and it’s emptied into the lagoons. The council agreed by concensus to have Bob Call drain the pool water into a manhole rather than into a ditch or the street. Dorthy Chikly was asked to work with Call on this matter.
Dorthy Chikly asked if someone could be hired that would be willing to keep the pool open through Labor Day weekend. It was explained that it’s hard to staff the pool once school starts, and it still requires daily maintenance even if open only on weekends.
Winters asked that the council work very hard to keep the swim team active, as this is something she’s worked on the past couple of years.
The council thanked Winters for doing a good job and wished her good luck.
CEREAL MALT BEVERAGE LICENSE: Craig Meier was present to ask for an extension of the CMB license granted for the fund raiser the last weekend of September. He would like to have it include Friday, September 28th from 6 PM until 11 PM. The council had previously approved September 29th from 11 AM until 11 PM. Tadd Goodyear moved to approve the extended hours on September 28th. Dorthy Chikly seconded; motion carried 5-0.
SECOND FULL-TIME POLICE OFFICER POSITION: Bob Sisson presented information obtained from different sources, indluding the KBI website, about several cities close to Overbrook in size and the changes they’ve made in their police department staffing. Sisson had contacted many of the cities. At this point, Mayor Young asked that anyone wishing to discuss this matter do so in an orderly manner. Sisson then said that every one that he had contacted had cut their budget by at least 50% or completely contracted with their county. Sisson said he’s lived here for at least 30 years, and up until 1999 the city has only had one full-time police officer with part-time help. He then presented information about crime statistics for Overbrook from 1996 to 2006 which shows that the number of cases has remained about the same. Sisson then said that he’d talked to Patty Hylton, City Treasurer, about the proposed 2008 budget which will raise the tax levy by 2 mills. Hylton had told him that eliminating one position would equal about 7 mills. Sisson then said that when the police department wasn’t reappointed, there were comments made that it was personal. He said that it was never personal with him, but that it was about the money. Dorthy Chikly asked when the change to two full time officers was made. Chief Harmison said he started as chief in the fall of 1999. He also said that prior to his starting, the police department always ran out of budget around September, and had to be supported by the General fund the rest of the year. One of his first priorities was to stay within his budget which he has done. Until recently, the city was under a tax lid and mills could only be moved from fund to fund, but not increased. Don Schultz provided information about other proposed 2008 budgets/mills compared to Overbrook. Cheryl Brown, City Clerk, pointed out that each town’s mills would be worth different dollar amounts, based on the total assessed valuation of the town. Schultz said that someone deciding where to move would be more impressed with a tax levy of fewer mills. He also said that he feels that part of the budget to be considered is the fact that people here are more comfortable with local police protection. He asked Sisson if he has figures about what it would cost to go back to one full-time officer and part-time officers. Sisson stated that the cost would depend on the number of hours worked. Chief Harmison stated that there’s a liability concern with part-time officers. They would have to attend training to be certified. He also stated that if and when the city would hire another full-time officer there would be more expense for their training as the time requirement has increased since he was hired. Harmison stated that the KBI stats don’t include any data from juvenile cases. Michael Blood asked how many of the towns contacted by Sisson have city lakes and bars and federal highways going through them. Sisson said he didn’t have that information at this time. Don Schultz said that the sheriff is asking for a 36.7% salary increase to fund the current county coverage, and he’s concerned that they would need even more to increase their coverage for Overbrook.
Dorthy Chikly suggested that this matter should be taken to the citizens, and let them decide whether or not to keep the police department as is. Mayor Young asked if she is referring to a special election. Chikly said that her thought is to keep the 2008 proposed as is, and hold a special election before the 2009 budget is adopted. There was discussion about deciding this matter at the 2008 budget hearing. Chikly asked if the budget process would have to start over if these changes were made at the actual hearing. The clerk said she’d have to check on the procedure. Sisson then said that he’d like to have the whole town voice their opinion concerning keeping 2 full-time officers. Larry Coursen said that the citizens have had a lot of time to voice their opinions, but it seems to be the same people who show up at all the meetings. The next time this could be added to a regular election would be November, 2008. Don Schultz then had questions about how a vote in November, 2008 would affect the 2009 budget IF the vote was to eliminate the second full-time officer. Michael Coffman said that was a question that should be answered by the auditor or county clerk, but he didn’t see a problem with the “extra” tax levy being distributed to the general fund in that event.
Jon Brady asked if there’s a plan on how to levy taxes to handle future improvements. Don Schultz said that he feels that any extra revenue will have to come from future growth. Bob Sisson said that he doesn’t see where Overbrook can grow in any great numbers. Schultz then said that he’s thinking there are directions in which the city could be looking at annexation in the future.
Mayor Young asked that the discussion come back to the matter at hand, which is the second full-time police officer. Larry Coursen moved to do away with the position immediately. Bob Sisson seconded; motion failed with Schultz, Chikly and Goodyear voting no. Don Schultz stated that he feels that putting the matter to a public vote is valid and reasonable, and moved to put it on the ballot for the November, 2008 election. Tadd Goodyear seconded; motion carried 5-0.
Chief Harmison asked if the council would consider re-appointing them at this time. Mayor Young said that the city has no plans to replace any of the department, and that there’s no need to re-appoint anyone at this time and the officers have a job. Officer Dannar asked if this matter will be brought up again month after month. Mayor Young said that if it is, there will be a new mayor listening as he’s tired of hearing about it. Chief Harmison asked if all that has to happen is for the matter to be brought up again and the mayor would resign. Mayor Young said that’s what he meant, whether it’s the council or Michael Blood or David Gerisch or anybody.
2008 BUDGET HEARING DATE: Tadd Goodyear made a motion, seconded by Don Schultz, to publish the Notice of 2008 Budget Hearing as prepared. Schultz commented that one mill increase will go to Streets and the other mill is for the General fund. The motion carried 4-1, with Coursen voting no. The hearing will be August 27, 2007 at 7 PM.
ORDINANCE NO 300: Don Schultz moved to adopt Ordinance No 300, which allows an increase in tax revenue in 2008. Dorthy Chikly seconded; motion carried 5-0.
ORDINANCE TO PROHIBIT
J-TURNS: After hearing
comments from Cliff O’Bryhim, the council agreed that
prohibiting j-turns in certain parts of town might add to problems rather than
solve them. Dorthy Chikly
moved to not adopt any ordinance to prohibit j-turns in certain blocks of
BUILDING INSPECTOR: Michael Coffman, City Attorney, recommended that Bob Call be appointed Building Inspector by ordinance to deal with unsafe structures and/or abandoned property. This is a result of concerns about the building across the street from City Hall where the roof partially collapsed. Coffman said that once Call has been appointed by ordinance, then Call will make a finding which he will report to the council in writing. If he finds the building to be unsafe, the council will need to pass an ordinance to set a hearing to give the owner a schedule to comply with safety issues. Larry Coursen moved to appoint Bob Call as Building Inspector. Bob Sisson seconded; motion carried 5-0.
LEAGUE TRAINING SESSION: Dorthy Chikly asked the council to consider hosting a League Of Kansas Municipalities training session in 2008. She would check into suitable locations and other details.
Chikly also would like the council to invite someone from the Department of Commerce to discuss the Community Development Assistant Program. The program is geared to help cities who join to find ways to promote growth though ideas and funding. The council agreed to invite Geanne Stinson to a future meeting to discuss the program.
ADDING A SECOND REGULAR MEETING: Don Schultz stated that accomplishing all the city business in just one meeting seems to be very difficult. Mayor Young asked if having 2 council members serving on committees after August 29th will help this matter. Schultz said he’s willing to wait and see if that helps, but is concerned when so many matters seem to take several meetings to resolve.
GRAVEL/DRAINAGE: Dorthy Chikly said that she’s been told by Steve Simmons that there’s more work to be done at Shirley’s Café regarding the sewer project. Simmons said that more gravel needs to spread, and also there’s been damage to some of the asphalt. The mayor said that he’s talked to Vic Robbins about this.
AGENDA: Don Schultz brought up having the agenda published before each meeting. This would require the agenda be set by 2 Monday’s before the regular meeting. Schultz said that maybe a “proposed” agenda be published. Dorthy Chikly suggested posting the agenda on the website. The matter was tabled until further consideration.
MILEAGE: Dorthy Chikly said she had attended a League workshop and her mileage was 172.3 miles. She will be reimbursed at the rate of $0.36/mile. Chikly also asked about a letter she received from the city attorney regarding a potential violation of the Open Meetings act related to 2 council members doing city business. Michael Coffman said he had received a complaint about 2 council members being together when supposedly doing city business. The mayor said that 2 council members discussing city matters by phone or email is also a violation, but after August 29th, the majority of a quorum goes from 2 to 3, so that 2 members can work together on committees, etc. Coffman said that there’s no mandatory recording that he’s aware of. Enforcing the law is up to someone else, but he feels that bringing it up in a public meeting is a good idea, which has been done tonight. The mayor said that we need to be more mindful of how we do things.
SEWER DAMAGE: Bob Sisson said that he’s been told by Vic Robbins that he’s notified a company to have the sewer lines inspected that would affect the McAnulty property at 206 W. Market. Someone will notify McAnulty about the inspection.
Don Schultz asked if the problem at Ken Dale’s property has been checked into by Robbins. Robbins has been told to visit with the Dale’s.
Schultz asked about buying the medical clinic property. The council agreed that it wouldn’t be in the city’s best interest to purchase the property at this time.
The council agreed to discuss building a message board. Schultz has talked about this with Ron Zeckser and will have more definite information at the September meeting.
LAW REPORT: Chief Ed Harmison gave a report to the council. The 6 cases included juveniles, an unattended death, and 5 traffic citations. There weren’t too many problems over July 4th. He is ordering a new control panel for his patrolcar. Schultz said he’d received some good comments about Chief Harmison’s assisting in some medical emergencies. Schultz also received a compliment on Officer Dannar’s notifying a person when they left their garage door open.
PASTURE: Tadd Goodyear asked if someone could remind Bob Call to finish the clean up on Bill Baldwin’s property so he can plant some grass there.
MISCELLANEOUS: Don Schultz asked what the procedure is for “junk vehicles” and weed/grass problems. Chief Harmison said that written notice has to be given, and then the person has a set time to respond before the city can take any action. Harmison said that only 3 people have yet to either move their vehicles or respond some other way. A couple have asked for more time. Harmison asked that the council consider a “blight” ordinance that would be more effective.
Schultz then asked about a dead tree on one of the mayor’s neighbor’s property. Harmison said that the city has trimmed trees in the past, but tree removal is up to the owner. There was discussion about some way to help people in this situation.
Cheryl Brown said she receives numerous calls from people wanting to know where they can take tree limbs and leaves since the dump site at the lagoons has been closed. A couple of piles have been left at the city park area. The mayor said that this is a problem since more than limbs are being left. In one pile, live shells were found in a dresser drawer so it’s hard to depend on people following the rules. Chief Harmison asked that an ordinance be drafted to regulate any dumping that the city allows.
COUNCIL MEMBER COMMENTS: Don Schultz asked if there’s a sign that states “No Alcohol” at the city park. The council agreed that such a sign be put at the park, especially when all the project is completed.
MAYOR’S REPORT: Mayor Young said that Scott Averill has requested that the 300 block of Maple be closed 30 minutes before the parades on Friday and Saturday nights. Chief Harmison said he’d take care of that matter.
The mayor said that Chief Harmison needs to talk to Nancy Durbin about security for Santa Fe Trail Days.
PUBLIC COMMENTS: Jason Hielscher said that the last tournament that was held at the park where there was a possible problem with alcohol was not put on by the Overbrook Athletic Association.
Hielscher asked the city to be fair to everyone where grass height is concerned as he’s seen grass almost 4’ high on platted ground in the Meadowbrook II subdivision.
Hielscher also commented that he doesn’t think that a 2-mill tax increase equals $200 tax increase on a house valued at $100,000. He asked if the council is going to question the assessed valuation as presented on the 2008 budget notice.
Hielscher asked about the trash pickup
contract. He called Osage Waste about a television he wanted to throw
away and was told he needed to take it to
RECREATION
COMMISSION: Jon Brady
said that he and Mayor Young and Michael Coffman had met about forming a Park
& Recreation Commission. Brady has visited with
Todd Goodyear finished clearing some trees for the new soccer field, and Brady asked what to do with the pile of trees. Brady asked if he needs to get the fire department’s okay to burn the pile. The mayor said to go ahead and burn it unless there’s a burn ban. In the process of moving the debris, they came across a lot of stuff that’s been dumped in the ditch and just wanted to give notice that there may be some things that the city will need to take care of.
Brady told the council that an engineer has put together a design for opening
up
VEHICLES: Tim Nedeau had a complaint about how one car was removed. He’s under the impression that if a car is tagged and insured, it’s okay. A neighbor of his received notice that their vehicle also has to be capable of moving under it’s own power. Chief Harmison said that the current tags and stickers must be on the vehicle. Nedeau is complaining that this same ordinance is being applied differently to different people and wants it to be done consistently. The mayor said he will visit with Chief Harmison about the matter.
There being no further business before the council, Dorthy Chikly moved to adjourn, which Tadd Goodyear seconded. Motion carried; meeting was adjourned at 9:37 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Cheryl L. Brown
APPROVED:September 12, 2007