Frank Smiley, Howard Knoche, Keith Allen, David Kirkendall, and George Sanders, City Sup

April 25, 2011

The regular meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m. by Mayor Todd Taylor at City Hall.

Those present were Council MembersAllison Layne, Dennis Bronson, Joe Byer,Kim Hoffman, and Jo Duvall,City Manager McMillian, City Attorney Knappenberger, Police Chief Brown, Plant Foreman Burgey,and City Clerk Engelbrecht.Kara Bonner was present as a guest.

Council Member Bronson moved and Council Member Layne seconded the motion to approve the Consent Agenda which included Minutes of April 11, 2011 and Approp. Ordinance #8-11 as follows:

#8-11

Vote 5-0

ADDITIONS TO THE AGENDA

Code of Procedures

PUBLIC COMMENT

Kara Bonner from the Stafford Recreation Commission was present to ask the Council’s permission to have the City Crew help the Recreation install their new LED scoreboard. She explained that there would need to be two holes dug six feet deep, the City would need to coordinate with having the cement filled in, and asked to have the electric department hook the power up. It was the Consensus of the City Council to have the City Crew help with the installation of the Recreation’s new scoreboard.

SCIP GRANT

City Clerk Engelbrecht spoke to the Council about the Small Community Improvement Program Grant. The eligibility falls to Kansas communities with a population of 5,000 or less. The maximum award amount will be $125,000.00 that is matched with volunteer labor, donated materials, land, and equipment hours. City Clerk Engelbrecht told the Council that it has not been determined yet whether or not the Kansas Department of Commerce will be offering the Grant this year, but as soon as she has an answer she will inform the Council. Mayor Taylor discussed brining in a facilitator to work with the Council on developing long term goals for the City. It was the Consensus of the Council to

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have Mayor Taylor contact a facilitator to see if someone could be available for an upcoming meeting.

FINANCIALS

City Clerk Engelbrecht presented the Council with the Account Status Listing report. She explained to the Council that the report would help the newer Council Members understand where the City is at financially. City Attorney Knappenberger explained to the Council that the budget meeting is a great way to understand the City’s budget. He also explained that the city complies with the state budget laws and proceeded to explain the laws to the Council.

Council Member Hoffman asked the Council what the money given to the Main Street Organization has been used for. Council Member Hoffman asked City Clerk Engelbrecht if the information could be printed in the paper. City Clerk Engelbrecht informed the Council that if they asked the Main Street organization to be present to inform the Council of the use of the money, then it would be printed in the minutes. The Council discussed the need for the organizations to combine efforts in order to effectively progress.

DELINQUENT HEARINGS – 7:30 P.M.

No Delinquent Hearings were present at the meeting.

UTILITY DEPOSIT INCENTIVE

City Clerk Engelbrecht informed the Council that Billing Clerk Downing would like to offer an incentive on the Utility Deposit in order to encourage new residents to sign up for automatic bill payments. Council Member Hoffman moved and Council Member Byer seconded the motion to have Billing Clerk Downing offer new residents to enroll in ACH when signing up for utility in order to take advantage of the deposit payment to be made in two payments;the first being due at the time of signing, and the second payment at the time the bill is due the following month. Vote 5-0

UTILITY CODE

City Clerk Engelbrecht discussed the Utility Code with the Council. The current Utility Code for the City needs to be updated. The Council had started work on updating the code in February 2011. City Attorney Knappenberger suggested that City Clerk Engelbrecht should hand out copies of the current code to the Council Members and to discuss the Code after the Council had time to review the material.

CODE OF PROCEDURES

City Attorney Knappenberger presented a Code of Procedures for Council Meetings to the Council. City Attorney Knappenberger explained to the Council that setting down guidelines for the Council Meetings would help keep the meetings in order and to keep the Council informed on the Agenda before

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meetings. The Procedure would require that any person wishing to speak at the Council Meetings would need to contact the City Clerk before 5:00 p.m. on the Thursday prior to the Meeting. This would ensure that the Council Members have time to look over the information before the Meetings. It was the Consensus of the Council to table the Code until the May 9, 2011 City Council Meeting.

EMPLOYEE EVALUATIONS

Council Member Duvall moved and Council Member Hoffman seconded the motion to go into Executive Session at 7:50 p.m. for 10 minutes including Mayor, Council, Manager McMillian, Police Chief Brown, and City Attorney Knappenberger to discuss matters of Non Elected Personnel. Vote 5-0

Council came out of Executive Session at 8:00 p.m.

Council Member Bronson moved and Council Member Duvall seconded the motion to give Shawn Burgey a merit increase based on Supervisor’s recommendation and to give Jessica Engelbrecht a merit increase based on Council’s recommendation and in compliance with the adopted pay plan.

Vote 5-0

READING OF COMMUNICATIONS

None

OTHER

Manager McMillian informed the Council that the City would have to start planning for updates to the Power Plant in accordance with the new regulations through the EPA. The City of Stafford is a member of Kansas Power Pool (KPP) and recently City Manager McMillian, City Attorney Knappenberger, and Mayor Taylor attended the meeting to discuss the new EPA regulations. The Power Plant will need to go through testing that will assess how much carbon the Plant is admitting during production.

Manager McMillian informed the Council that the water towers were cleaned last week as they are every other year. He informed the Council that the City would be looking at recoating the inside of the larger tank in the next few years and also cutting the access hole to a larger size.

Council Member Byer inquired on the Guest Tax Charter Ordinance. City Clerk Engelbrecht informed the Council that the petition had been found by the County Clerk to be non compliant with Kansas Statues, therefore had been thrown out. She also informed the Council that the Charter Ordinance had been certified to the State and the percentage of tax would need to be set by Resolution. City Attorney informed the Council that he would draw up a Resolution to set the tax percentage. The subject was tabled until a future Council Meeting.

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Council Member Byer asked Police Chief Brown why Municipal Court cases were not printed in the Courier. Police Chief Brown agreed that it should be published and informed the Council that he would inform Municipal Court Clerk Coleman to start writing a column for the paper.

Council Member Hoffman asked City Clerk Engelbrecht about the building permit process. City Manager McMillian explained that when a resident is adding to or constructing a building, building a fence, or altering a fence; the resident would need to come into the City Office to request a building permit. The City Clerk will then inform the resident that they will need to fill out the dimensions of their building project and then contact digsafe. Digsafe will contact the City and other utilities to mark the lines in the area. If a resident were to hit a line without calling digsafe, the damages would be at the expense of the resident. The City Clerk will then inform the City Manager of the project and the City Manager will then inspect the project. After these steps are completed, the building permit will be approved at the next Council Meeting and the permit will be available after being signed by the Mayor, City Manager, and City Clerk. Only after the resident has the building permit, can the building process begin. Council Member Hoffman informed the Council that the City Employees should stop and check building projects to see if the resident has a building permit because some individuals are not aware of the Codes and Ordinances in the City limits.

Council Member Hoffman moved and Council Member Byer seconded the motion to go into Executive Session at 8:25 p.m. for 10 minutes including Mayor, Council, and City Attorney Knappenberger to discuss matters of Non Elected Personnel. Vote 5-0

Council came out of Executive Session at 8:35 p.m.

Council Member Bronson asked if there is anything that the City could do with the open sewer on a property on North Main. City Attorney Knappenberger informed the Council that if it’s on the residents property, it’s their liability to leave it open, however if part of that falls on an easement or city right away, the City has the right to fill in the portion on the easement or right away.

Council Member Bronson informed City Manager McMillian that there was street mix on the 300 block of Green Street that needed picked up. City Manager McMillian stated that it would be picked up the next day.

Council Member Layne stated that residents should be more careful when hauling grass and tree limbs out to the dump. Council Member Layne has had to stop and pick up limbs that are along the side of the road from other residents on their way out to the dump. She stated that individuals should drive slower on their way to the dump in order to prevent limbs, leafs, and grass clippings from ending up on the road or in other residences’ yards. Her concern was for vehicles that may accidently hit the branches and cause damage to the vehicles.

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With no further business to come before the Council, Council Member Bronson moved and Council Member Duvall seconded the motion to adjourn the meeting at 9:02 p.m.

Signed:

______

Todd Taylor, Mayor

ATTEST: ______

Jessica Engelbrecht, City Clerk