CITY OF OVERBROOK

MINUTES REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING OCTOBER 10, 2007

MEMBERS PRESENT: Don Schultz, Larry Coursen, Bob Sisson, Dorthy Chikly, Tadd Goodyear,

Mayor Jack Young.

OTHERS PRESENT: Mark Jones, Gary Stahel, Mary DesChamps, Michael & Jenna Blood, Allan Inman,

Bev Hix, Eula Fuller, Jon Brady, Craig & Kristine Meier, David Alcorn, Michael

Coffman, Patty Hylton, Bob Call, Jim Koger, Ed Harmison, Cheryl Brown.

The meeting was called to order by Mayor Young at 7 PM. Roll was called by Clerk Brown.

MINUTES / WARRANTS: Larry Coursen moved to approve the minutes of the September 12, 2007 meeting as written. Dorthy Chikly seconded; motion carried 5-0.

Larry Coursen, made a motion, seconded by Don Schultz, to pay all warrants. Motion carried 5-0.

BUS ROUTE PROBLEM: Gary Stahel came before the council to discuss problems that the school bus have making left turns on Elm Street from 7^th Street. He would like the council to consider limit street-side parking in the vicinity of the school. After discussing why that particular route is preferred to going back on Hwy 56, the council agreed to designate the area between 7^th St and the Walt Martin property on the west side of Elm as “
No Parking” between the hours of 2:30 PM – 4 PM. After more discussion, Dorthy Chikly moved to draft an ordinance designating the west side of Elm Street between 7^th Street and the property of Walt Martin as “No Parking” on weekdays. Bob Sisson seconded; motion failed with a 0-5 vote. Chikly then moved to draft an ordinance designating the west side of Elm Street between 7^th St and the Walt Martin property line as “No Parking” on weekdays from 2:30 -4:00 PM during the school year. Tadd Goodyear seconded; motion carried 5-0. Stahel thanked the council for their cooperation.

NEIGHBORHOOD COMPLAINT: Mark Jones told the council that he gave a letter to the Chief of Police and also one to Don Schultz regarding the condition of his neighbor’s yard regarding the number and condition of vehicles. Mayor Young asked Chief Harmison if all of the vehicles on Jeff Good’s property are legal. Chief Harmison said that he’s not sure about the most recent addition, but thinks the other’s are legal. Mayor Young told Jones that the city is studying a “blight” ordinance that might address the problem. Jones said that the current ordinance for “junk vehicles” should handle the problem. Jones also mentioned 2 auto shops that cause problems with weeds, etc. Mayor Young said that the city will check into the situation. Don Schultz said that there are 5 vehicles sitting in Good’s yard at this time, and the license plates are not up to date. Schultz was told that Jones did not bring his letter to City Hall, but gave one to Chief Harmison and one to Schultz. Harmison said he didn’t understand that the letter was to be made available to anyone other than the police department. Harmison said that he’s contacted the Osage County Health Dept who referred him to Osage County Land Use Coordinator. Good has been cited for these matters in the past, and has been required to pay fines. Jones remarked that paying fines doesn’t remove the problem. Don Schultz asked Mayor Young what direction he’ s wanting to go regarding a blight ordinance. Mayor Young asked Schultz and Sisson to work with Michael Coffman, City Attorney to draft an ordinance that would address a variety of “blight” conditions.

OVERBROOK EVENT COMMITTEE REPORT: Craig Meier reported that the committee’s OcktoberFest was successful and as a result, they were able to show positive results. Meier said that a good portion of the funding was provided by out-of-town sponsors. Meier said that most of the vendors were pleased with their efforts and plan to come back again next year. The dates for 2008 are September 26^th and 27^th. Meier said that they will ask for some changes regarding the beer garden area as specified on the city’s beer license to allow for families to remain together.

WATER/SEWER MATTERS: Mayor Young brought up the sewer service/backup problems at 206 W. Market. A letter from Vic Montgomery, KDHE was discussed. Montgomery had been asked to investigate the situation, and had sent his report. He recommended that the service line be re-routed and also to install a check valve on the service line to prevent back-up’s. It was decided to table the matter until the property owner contacts the city again.

INSPECTION REGARDING 323 MAPLE: Bob Call submitted a letter to the council stating that he has concerns about the safety of the building at 323 Maple, due to the recent roof collapse. Call stated that it needs to be examined by a construction professional. Michael Coffman explained that the next step will be for the council to schedule a hearing to determine whether or not the building be condemned. Don Schultz moved to send a letter of condemnation and proceed to schedule a hearing to determine the fate of the building at 323 Maple. It was determined that the notice of a hearing must be published at least 30 days before the hearing, and that the property owner(s) be notified by certified mail within 3 days after the first publication. Tadd Goodyear seconded the motion; motion carried 5-0. The first notice should be published on Octboer 18^th.

PUBLISHING AGENDA/HIGHLIGHTS: Don Schultz has contacted the Capital-Journal about publishing a summary of council meeting news. We are to send him a sample of what we might be wanting published for further evaluation. It is possible that this could be done at no charge. There was discussion about who would be responsible for writing the summary. Schultz also said that Ron Zeckser is willing to honor the price of $600 for a 4’X8’ message board with 5” letters. The sign will be installed as soon as the planter can be repaired. Don Schultz moved to purchase the message board for $600 with Dorthy Chikly seconding. Motion carried 5-0.

SECOND COUNCIL MEETING: Don Schultz again mentioned that there seems to be too much city business to handle with just one regular meeting. The mayor stated that when this was done previously, the meetings were shorter, but he wasn’t sure that business was handled any faster than now. The matter was tabled.

ORDINANCE FOR WORK-SITE UTILITY VEHICLES/ ALL TERRAIN VEHICLES: After deciding to add the term “Golf Carts” to the section addressing All-Terrain Vehicles” and requiring a valid driver’s license based on the age and requirements for the operator, the council agreed by concensus to have the city attorney draft a final ordinance for consideration at the November meeting.

PROPERTY SURVEY: The council will be reviewing the recommended zoning ordinance at the next meeting, with the possibility of including a requirement for boundary surveys if the building inspector needs confirmation of property lines before issuing building permits.

THIRD PARTY FOR JOB EVALUATIONS: Don Schultz reported that the person he’d mentioned at the last meeting is no longer available to do city employee evaluations. He will be asking that the current job descriptions and evaluations be discussed in the near future.

FRANCHISE FEES: After discussion, the council agreed by concensus to contact the utility companies who have the franchises for the city. This would be Embarq, Westar, Galaxy Cablevision and Kansas Gas Service. Schultz has learned that other towns have been successful in negotiating a higher franchise fee even during a contract period.

SECURITY FENCING AROUND POOLS: Dorthy Chikly asked if the city should consider requiring private swimming pools to have security fencing. After some discussion, the council agreed by concensus that this is the property owner’s responsibility and liability.

RECALL OF DECISION TO PARK POLICE VEHICLE IN TOWN: After discussion about the previous resolution to keep both patrol cars parked in town, Don Schultz made a motion, seconded by Dorthy Chikly, to allow Officer Dannar to drive the patrolcar home again. Motion failed with Sisson, Coursen and Goodyear voting against.

Dorthy Chikly will contact the city’s insurance agent about liability in regards to where the patrolcar is parked. The mayor asked that the car be parked in front of the police station for the time being, and he also asked that city employees and council members park somewhere other than the south side of City Hall.

ELECTION TO KEEP SECOND FULL-TIME POLICE OFFICER: Bob Sisson made a motion, seconded by Larry Coursen, to have the election to keep or not keep the second full-time police officer right after the first of the year rather than on the ballot for the November, 2008 election. The motion failed with Schultz, Chikly, and Goodyear voting against.

LAW REPORT: Chief Ed Harmison reviewed his written report for the council. He has received 8 hours of training since the last meeting. Dorthy Chikly asked about the relation between the citations issued and the revenue from fines. Michael Coffman said that the court costs are meant to cover actual costs but the fines collected are to be punitive as a means to enforce the city ordinances.

Bob Sisson asked about the 9 hours of overtime recorded by Officer Dannar the night of the recent street dance. Harmison said that part of that 9 hours was for another incident for which Dannar had been called out earlier in the evening. Harmison said that he and Dannar both try to adjust their week to avoid either of them having overtime on a regular basis.

MAINTENANCE REPORT: Bob Call said that the ditch along 7^th Street between Elm and Locust should be done Thursday or Friday. Call said that the chip and seal has been done using the remaining street money. He was hoping that more could be done. Call is planning to do more repairs next year, and would like to use Harbour Construction again. Call said that he may have to rent a skidloader to do some work on shoulders, etc. He was told to also check into the cost to lease/purchase the equipment.

Call reported that it’s been suggested that the repairs be made with an epoxy rather than silicone. It’s Call’s understanding that improper backfilling has caused the problem. Using an epoxy will be very expensive, several thousand dollars per area repaired. Schultz asked if there’s a way to distinguish the pool revenue from out-of-town customers. His reason for asking is he’s learned some cities have added a small fee to the utility bills which amounts to that person being able to swim for free with approved identification. The amount of the fee would depend on the number of utility services and how much revenue is to be collected. The council agreed to consider this in more detail before the pool opens next year.

Call will be winterizing the pool soon. Call has been in contact with Ed Hickman and there is a new contract to be considered. Bob Sisson moved to approve the contract with Hickman Environmental Services. Don Schultz seconded; motion carried 5-0.

Don Schultz asked if we’ve heard anymore about the damage from when the new roof was put on the library. The clerk said that we haven’t received a bill from Midwest Coating so is assuming that the repairs were made under the warranty.

TREASURER’S REPORT: Patty Hylton reviewed the financial reports for the council. She has sent another request for payment from the KDHE loan, but the funds haven’t been received. Cheryl Brown said that KDHE is wanting a break-down of the last pay request from Joshua Excavating. Brown has requested the bill be itemized, and also an amended contract from King & Associates Engineering. There was discussion about items that remain to be done to complete the “punch list” for the sewer project. Hylton reported that most of the funds are okay as far as budget, but the amount of cash available for spending will need to be watched. Hylton said that there won’t be as much money for street repairs in 2008 due to less tax being levied. There was discussion about the uses of the mill levy increase for 2008. Schultz is under the impression that 1 mill was designated for streets. The water and sewer rates will be discussed at the next meeting.

CLERK’S REPORT: Cheryl Brown asked that the city get some additional trash cans with lids for the city lake, rotary shelter and the tennis court. Larry Coursen moved to approve the purchase. Bob Sisson seconded; motion carried 5-0.

The clerk asked that the caution tape used for OcktoberFest be donated rather charge the committee.

She also thanked Beverly Hix for the yummy brownies. All agreed.

MISCELLANEOUS: Don Schultz asked the clerk if someone has provided her with a list of board members and officers for PRIDE Jon Brady then stated the following:

PRIDE board: Jon Brady, Pat Martin, Larry Woodson, Bob Klinger, and Zac Anschutz.

PRIDE officers: Jon Wilhite, President

JoEllen Criger, Vice President

Kathy Coffman, Secretary

Nancy Durbin, Treasurer

The PRIDE officers will change as of November 1^st. This will be determined by the board.

COUNCILMEMBER COMMENTS: Don Schultz asked if the city has ever submitted personnel names to the League for recognition. Brown said that this used to be done. Schultz said that he feels a disservice is being done to the employees if this isn’t done. Brown explained that since 1992, she would be the one submitting her own name and she didn’t feel comfortable doing that. The mayor and council said that she needs to make the information available and someone will be responsible for seeing that it’s submitted to the League. Schultz said that there’s a lot of people who have service in various positions that should be recognized.

Schultz also asked if anyone has heard from Roger Harmon about the Trails Grant. Brown said that Harmon attended the committee meeting, but doesn’t expect an answer until late October. He was optimistic about being awarded at least part of the requested amount.

PUBLIC COMMENT: Mark Jones asked if a letter could be mailed with the next utility bill to ask the public’s opinion about parking the police car rather than have the decision made by just the council members. The clerk explained that the utility bills are postcards, and a separate mailing would cost more than $160. Goodyear said that he was against spending that much money for a mailing.

Allan Inman stated that he had asked for copies of all the city ordinances at the last meeting and he hasn’t received the copies as of now. The clerk stated that he hadn’t been back to pick them up, and she asked if he expected them to be delivered. At this point, the clerk handed Inman copies of over 300 ordinances, amounting to more than 500 pages. She also clarified that these are city ordinances, and in response to Inman’s question they are not recorded with the state. The law only requires that the ordinances be published in the official city newspaper, and not “recorded” with the state.

Michael Blood asked who maintains the tennis courts. He was told to contact Derrick Dahl for that information. Blood then asked if the city would accept $8/week from them to allow Dannar to drive his patrolcar back and forth to work. The mayor said this would be considered at the next meeting.

Blood then asked about the status of the Recreation Commission. The mayor said that it’s still in the beginning stages.

Blood then said that he had delivered letters to the mayor and council members, partly to address his concerns about the reason for calling an executive session. He explained that the session can’t be called to discuss anything related to elected personnel. The mayor stated that the executive session will be called to discuss legal matters under attorney/client privilege that are related to an issue, and not elected personnel.

The mayor stated that he gets very irritated that everyone in this town seems to be putting every single detail that the council does under a microscope.

Jon Brady said that they’re still working on determining ownership of the property needed to expand Fifth St into Jones Park. He stated that they’re very close to begin awarded the tax shelter that will help bring in donations. They have to wait for some of the planning until they learn about whether or not the city gets the Trails grant. Brady said that there are about 105 kids signed up for soccer.

EXECUTIVE SESSION: Don Schultz made a motion, seconded by Dorthy Chikly, to go into executive session for 10 minutes to discuss client/attorney privileged matters with the city attorney present. Motion carried 5-0. Meeting was recessed at 9:20 PM. Mayor Young called the meeting back to order at 9:30 PM.

No action was taken as a result of the executive session.

There being no further business to come before the Council, on a motion duly made and seconded by Larry Coursen and Tadd Goodyear, the meeting adjourned at 9:33 PM.

Respectfully submitted,

Cheryl L. Brown

\ City Clerk

APPROVED: November 20, 2007