Cottonwood Falls, Kansas

City Council Meeting Minutes

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July 5, 2010

Minutes are posted after they have been approved at the following meeting which means minutes for the most recent meeting will never be posted because they haven't been approved yet.

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CITY OF COTTONWOOD FALLS
MEETING MINUTES - JULY 5,2010

MINUTES--July 5, 2010 -

The City Council of the City of Cottonwood Falls met at 7 p.m. on July 5, 2010 at their meeting room in the Municipal Building in downtown Cottonwood Falls.

In attendance were Mayor Mike D. Swartz; council representatives Adam Turner, Jim Zeiner, Brian Groh and Bob Sturms; City Attorney William T. North and City Clerk Deb Zeiner.

Following roll call, Turner made a motion to set the agenda with two additions under the Mayors Report. Sturms seconded and the motion carried 4/0.

Sturms then made a motion to approve the minutes of the previous meeting. Turner seconded and the motion carried 3/0 with Groh abstaining due to his absence at the last meeting.

Swartz began the Mayor’s Report by asking permission of Council to use the city golf cart and the old string Christmas lights formerly used at the fair as well as some sand for the 2010 Relay for Life on July 9. Sturms made a motion to approve; Groh seconded and the motion carried.

Then Swartz went over a quote from Dan’s Electric to relocate duct work, electrical and gas lines to make the Council room as well as storage room entry and kitchen in the Municipal Building on separate meters from the area currently leased by Sue Smith; a quote of $5655.00. $950.00 was approved by motion at the previous meeting for moving the duct work and thermostat. Swartz said Council can wait until later in the year to determine if funding is available. No action was taken.

City Attorney North said he had been to the Register of Deeds office to determine the current owner of the house at 209 Union. The property is still in the name of Larry Meyers with repossession not officially having taken place at this point in time.

After discussion, Council directed the Clerk to send a weed/mow letter to Meyers, giving a set length of time to clean the property. If there is no response, the city will have to clean the property and apply the fees for doing so to the property taxes.

North also reported Karl Harder had not contacted him, so North has sent him a reminder. Council will wait until next meeting to take action.

Swartz gave the report of the Utility Supervisor due to Randy Talkington’s absence. Swartz suggested holding off on purchasing millings until Fall of 2010. Sturms asked if applying millings to streets doesn’t work better in warm weather. Swartz replied that applying the millings will be fine if applied in the fall. Groh said in his experience the results are better during the summer.

No action was taken.

Zeiner gave the Clerk’s report. She requested permission to attend the LKM class on Kansas Open Meetings/Open Records on Aug. 6 in Iola. Sturms made a motion to approve her attending the class; Groh seconded and the motion carried 4/0.

Zeiner requested Council permission for $50 in cash for the office mailing fund, which has been depleted. Turner made a motion to approve; Sturms seconded and the motion carried 4/0.

Councilman Zeiner asked why the city credit card couldn’t be used on postage. Clerk Zeiner will implement this practice.

Clerk also reminded Council of the dates of the LKM annual conference, Oct. 9-12 in Overland Park – encouraging council members to attend.

She also reported that to date in 2010, $1,275 has been received by the city in RV fees at Swope Park.

Carl Studer, chair of the Planning Commission, showed Council a report on 348 State Street, saying it appeared the structure is simply not worth saving. Studer and Bill Kewley of Kewley Construction inspected the building.

North said Council has little choice regarding the structure, saying it appears nothing can be done to save the property. North said the city could send a letter giving the owner of the property 30-60 days to tear down the property, or the city would do it. A lien can be placed on the property taxes if the city tears it down.

Groh made a motion to give the owner 30 more days to tear down the structure. Zeiner seconded and the motion carried 4/0.

There was no Utilities Committee report.

During the Street, Alley and Property report, Sturms reported that he has checked on the streets on the list prepared by Talkington and finds four streets that haven’t been worked on – Sycamore from Second to Third; Oak at Third, Cedar and Sixth and Eighth from Walnut to the East. Sturms also reported that he wanted to check on the price of cold patch.

Groh asked about maintenance of Eighth Street. Swartz said it is the responsibility of the county to maintain Eighth. The city will maintain Eighth from 177 to the East. Talkington and the crew will work on that section later this year.

There was no formal Parks and Recreation Committee report. Council discussed the old Merry-Go-Round in Swope Park, which has been removed by the crew. By consensus, Council agreed not to replace the unit.

Turner reported that the spring-operated toys at the park have some loose parks. The crew will inspect the toys.

During the Sidewalks Committee report Zeiner reported that everyone who had called the office to ask to be on the sidewalks list had been contacted by the committee. They will proceed with obtaining bids and report back to Council.

During the Economics, Taxation and Finance Committee report Zeiner reported there were 19 new fans of Cottonwood Falls. He also told Council about the Rural Kansas workshop on July 14 in Marion and said he will contact Marci Penner to see when future workshops are since participation would seem to be beneficial for Cottonwood Falls.

At this time Swartz told Council that he was at a ball game in Swope Park last weekend and overheard good comments on the park facilities from visitors.

There was no Community Relations Committee Report, no unscheduled visitors, old or new business.

Groh moved to approve time cards; Zeiner seconded and the motion carried.

Groh and Swartz questioned overtime on May 31 for Sandy Van Buren and 31 ½ hrs of overtime for Brenda Wessel, pool manager.

Groh moved to approve the overtime, with a ‘contingency’; Sturms seconded and the overtime was approved.

Groh made motion to approve bills #18724 through 18799; Sturms seconded and the motion carried.

Sturms moved to adjourn at 8:06 p.m. Groh seconded and the motion carried 4/0.

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