ELLIS–The monthly bill to keep the street lights on in Ellis faces a big increase.

Council members were told at their Oct. 20 meeting that Midwest Energy has under-billed Ellis for its electric use the past 7 years. Effective immediately, Ellis will see a $1,002 monthly increase in its bill for street lights.

A representative of Midwest Energy will be invited to an upcoming Ellis City Council meeting to discuss options, which may include reducing street light use and increasing the franchise fee, with the extra cost passed on to Ellis residents.

In other business, three sealed bids were opened by Ellis Mayor Lyle Johnston and ultimately rejected, with a 4-2 vote, by the Ellis City Council.

The sealed bids were for the city-owned lots at 9th and Jefferson Street.

The complete meeting minutes follow.

ELLIS CITY COUNCIL REGULAR MEETING Minutes October 20, 2014

CALL TO ORDER
Mayor Lyle Johnston called the meeting to order at 7:30 p.m. Present were Council members Ron Johnson, Gary Luea, Dave McDaniel, Jolene Niernberger, Terry Redetzke, and John Walz. Also present were Public Works Director Alan Scheuerman, City Clerk Amy Burton, Police Chief Taft Yates, and City Attorney Olavee Raub.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG
AMENDMENTS TO AGENDA
None
PUBLIC PRESENT
Ellen Rochau, Brian Spano, Ryan Augustine, Bernice Karlin, Jim Metzler, Becky Metzler, Dakota Metzler, Colton Metzler, Dena Patee, Glen Keller, Chad Pritchett, Mark Polifka, Sylvia Kinderknecht, Nickole Byers, Brian Raub, Jim Moeder, Luke Karlin, Heidi Schmidt, and Wesley James.
CONSENT AGENDA
Council member John Walz moved to approve the consent agenda containing the Minutes from the Regular Meeting on October 6, 2014, Minutes from the Special Meeting on October 14, 2014, Bills Ordinance #1959, and the September Manual Journal Entries. Council member Dave McDaniel seconded the motion. The Council approved the consent agenda unanimously.
PUBLIC COMMENTS
Ellen Rochau addressed Council regarding property she shares with Guy Riedel at 815 W. 10th St. She questioned why she was not notified that her property was being discussed on the agenda. The property has a 3 ½’ split rail fence, an automated gate, private property signs, and a surveillance camera, yet she has heard that a Council member wants them to install a 5’ fence around the property to deter kids from entering the pond. Ms. Rochau stated that if the Council is going to require them to install a more secure fence around their property, then what about securing Big Creek, Memorial Park or other swimming pools or ponds? Council needs to treat everyone equal.
Dena Patee informed Council of an advertising opportunity and service provided by Ruben Schuckman, previous CVB director for the City of Hays. Mr. Schuckman will distribute City-related brochures along I-70 and I-35 for an annual fee of $450.00. The Chrysler Home has already committed to the services provided by Mr. Schuckman. If the City would join in with the Chrysler Home, the fee would be reduced to $400.00 per entity.
PRESENTATIONS OF AWARDS, PROCLAMATIONS, REQUESTS & PETITIONS (HEARINGS)
Mayor Lyle Johnston presented Employee Service Awards to James Metzler (15 years) and Wesley James (10 years).
SPECIAL ORDER
Land: Disposal
Mayor Lyle Johnston opened the sealed bids for the lots at 9th and Jefferson Street. The bids received were as follows: Mark Karlin – $500.00; Luke Karlin – $1.00; and the Ellis Baptist Church – $7,777.00. Council member Jolene Niernberger stated she still does not feel comfortable selling City property. Council member Dave McDaniel asked City Attorney
Olavee Raub if it would be appropriate for the City to inquire of the Church’s intentions of the lot. Ms. Raub stated the City could not discriminate one person’s use over another, and once title passes, the City would have no say over the property use anyway. After further discussion, Council member Gary Luea moved to reject all the bids for the lots at 9th and Jefferson Street until further notice. Council member Terry Redetzke seconded the motion. The motion carried 4-2, with Council members Ron Johnson and John Walz opposed. After the vote, Ms. Niernberger stated she would still like to see the City improve the lot in the future.
Public Works – Disposal
Mayor Lyle Johnston opened the sealed bid for the steel tank. Henry Wiesner submitted the lone bid for $256.00. Council member Ron Johnson moved to accept the bid from Henry Wiesner in the amount of $256.00 for the steel tank. Council member John Walz seconded the motion. The motion carried 5-1, with Council member Dave McDaniel opposed. The tank will be moved by the purchaser.
Streets: Accounting/Billing
City Clerk Amy Burton informed Council that she has recently met with Bob Muirhead with Midwest Energy. The utility company has under-billed the City’s street lights for up to 7 years. Midwest Energy is not looking to recover the discrepancies in those past bills, but effectively immediately, the City’s monthly charge for street lights will increase $1,002.36. Three options were discussed to reduce the impact on the City’s budget: (1) reduce the number of City street lights, particularly on Washington Street; (2) increase the franchise fee which would pass the increase on to the customers; or (3) a combination of both reducing the street lights and increasing the franchise fee percentage. Several Council members were quick to state they were not in favor of increasing the costs to residents by increasing the franchise fee. It was the consensus of the Council to invite Mr. Muirhead to the November 17th Council meeting to further discuss options.
General Government: Committee – Special Project
Senior Advisory Committee member Dave McDaniel presented results from the Committee’s recent survey campaign. The committee distributed 150 surveys and collected 74. The survey highlighted that two big issues of concern to seniors are transportation and the lack of a pharmacy. They would like to see more retail, particularly a dollar-type store. Many of those surveyed cited the newspaper as their primary source to receive information. Mr. McDaniel also announced the Committee received a $1,000 grant from Midwest Energy to purchase large-print books at the Ellis Library.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Tourism: Acquisition
City Clerk Amy Burton read an email from Galen Pfeifer, Adams, Brown, Beran & Ball, Chtd., regarding the Chamber’s request for the City to purchase the LED community sign in order to avoid the payment of sales tax. Mr. Pfeifer stated the purchase would be an allowable expenditure of the City, and the reimbursement by the Chamber would transfer ownership of the sign from the City to the Chamber. Mr. Pfeifer continued by stating it would be prudent to not pay the sales tax as it is an item that benefits the City as well, and could easily have been an expenditure of the City rather than the Chamber. City Attorney Olavee Raub stated the City should use caution in setting precedent for these
types of expenditures. Council member Jolene Niernberger moved to purchase the LED community sign from Stewart Signs in the amount of $12,972.00 with funds to come out of the General – Tourism funds, and such amount to be immediately reimbursed by the Chamber. Council member John Walz seconded the motion. The motion carried 4-2, with Council members Ron Johnson and Gary Luea opposed.
Ms. Patee then inquired of the City granting an easement for placement of the sign. Ms. Raub stated she has a rough draft of the easement agreement prepared, but needs more information on the dimensions for the placement of the sign. Ms. Raub and Ms. Patee will meet on October 21st to determine the dimensions. Council member Jolene Niernberger moved and Council member John Walz seconded a motion to grant an easement on the property commonly known as 911 Washington St. to the Ellis Chamber of Commerce, and to authorize the Mayor to sign the easement agreement. The motion passed 6-0.
To expedite the ordering of the community sign, Council member John Walz then moved to authorize the City Clerk to write a hand check for the purchase of the sign, rather than wait until the next Council meeting. Council member Jolene Niernberger seconded the motion. The motion carried 4-2, with Council members Ron Johnson and Gary Luea opposed.
Sewer: Repair/Maintenance
Brian Spano, Wilson and Company, was present to discuss the Preliminary Engineering Report. The report is due to KDHE by October 21st. Mr. Spano began by giving Council a brief timeline of events from submission of the engineering report to KDHE through final construction in 2016. Council then asked about the cost estimate on the demolition of the blowers. Mr. Spano explained the cost included some building removal and repair, as well as repairing the concrete damaged in the demolition. Council then asked about the need for a separate office and laboratory building versus just extending the existing building. Mr. Spano stated there could be some chemical and exhaust concerns by extending the current building, but that part could be explored more in the design phase of the project. Council then informed Mr. Spano that the City plans to apply for a low-interest KDHE loan and a rate increase to fund the required wastewater treatment plant improvements, and to include the SCADA computer system in the design plans. With that, Council member Ron Johnson made a motion to move forward with Plan A of the Preliminary Engineering Report including the SCADA computer system. Council member John Walz seconded the motion. The motion carried 6-0. City Clerk Amy Burton will contact Corina Cox, Northwest Planning and Development, to let her know the City is interested in obtaining a loan for the sewer project.
General Government: Violation
Luke Karlin was present to ask if Council had any further information regarding the code violations issued for 1018 Washington. City Attorney Olavee Raub reported that Frank Mercer has obtained legal counsel and he has expressed a willingness to clean out the property. Mr. Mercer has no interest in restoring the property but would like dialog with the City on consolidating ownership. Mr. Karlin stated he does not want ownership of the property unless certain conditions are met. The Council inquired on the timeframe allowed for Mr. Mercer to comply with the violation order. Ms. Raub will contact Mr. Mercer’s attorney to determine how much time is needed to comply. Being that Mr. Karlin is
nearing the end of his extension of time to comply, Council member Gary Luea moved to allow Luke Karlin an additional 60 days to address the code violations at 1018 Washington St. Council member John Walz seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously.
General Government: Financial
City Clerk Amy Burton presented revised bond refunding information from Central States Capital Markets. The revised numbers include updated lower interest rates and an option to include the refunding of the City’s KDHE revolving loan as well. The loan is currently financed at a higher interest rate than the potential bond refunding and only has four years left before payoff. The City’s net savings, as shown in the calculations, is projected to be between $391,727.42 and $473,997.66, depending on whether or not the KDHE loan is included in the refunding. Council cited some errors in past services provided by Central States and suggested obtaining a second bid on the refunding of the 2006 bonds. Council member Terry Redetzke moved and John Walz seconded a motion to disengage from the agreement with Central States Capital Markets for refunding services. The motion carried unanimously.
Water: Repair/Maintenance
Public Works Director Alan Scheuerman presented bids to repair Well #2 and also to drill a new offset well. Bids to repair Well #2 were as follows: Clarke Well Service – $13,550; and Layne – $8,853. Clarke Well Service would not submit a bid on drilling a new offset well without more information. Layne provided a bid of $43,869 to drill a new offset well. Council discussed whether to try to repair the well or to drill a new well. Well #2 historically has been the City’s second largest producing well. Mr. Scheuerman recommended drilling a test hole before a decision was made. It was the consensus of Council to have Clarke Well Service visit the well site to provide a recommendation on how to repair the well and to provide an estimate on drilling a new well.
NEW BUSINESS
General Government: City Code
Council member Gary Luea stated the pond on West 10th Street is a hazard and too tempting for kids to enter the water. He would like for the City Attorney to draw up documents to address the problem. City Attorney Olavee Raub stated the City would only be liable if the City wasn’t enforcing their own code – the City doesn’t currently have a code addressing security of open bodies of water on private property. Council member Jolene Niernberger questioned that wouldn’t it be trespassing for someone to enter another’s property, and is it the City’s place to tell residents what to do with their private property. Mr. Luea would like to see how other cities address open bodies of water. Ms. Raub will research ordinances from other cities for the next meeting.
General Government: Contracts
City Clerk Amy Burton requested approval to contract with Imaging Office Systems for the annual digital conversion of records. Council member John Walz moved and Council member Jolene Niernberger seconded a motion to approve the bid from Imaging Office Systems to scan the boxes of records at a total cost not to exceed $2,000.00. Motion carried 6-0.
General Government: City Code
The existing ordinance has been amended to follow the language as modified in the code
violation letter. Council member John Walz moved to approve Ordinance 1380 amending the provisions for environmental code violations. Council member Terry Redetzke seconded the motion. The motion carried unanimously.
REPORTS FROM CITY OFFICIALS
Public Works
Water
Public Works Director Alan Scheuerman presented the Comparative Water Report for the period of August 10th through September 10th. The water accounted for percentage of 83.68% would indicate the City may have a leak underground that hasn’t surfaced yet.
Water Exploration
Mr. Scheuerman has been in contact with Brad Vincent regarding the locations for the test drilling sites.
Sanitation
The City-Wide Cleanup will be held October 28th. Crews will be picking up items by type this year.
Personnel: Exit
Mr. Scheuerman reported that Matt Windholz, Water Operator, has given his two weeks’ notice. The City will need to apply for a temporary permit until his replacement becomes trained and certified. The resignation now makes the department short two employees. Council member John Walz moved to allow Public Works Director Alan Scheuerman to advertise for two General Public Works Employees. Council member Jolene Niernberger seconded the motion. The motion carried 5-1, with Council member Ron Johnson opposed.
Personnel
Mr. Scheuerman reported that he is having issues with employees responding to water leaks on the weekends. Employees are monitoring their calls and won’t answer their phones outside office hours. It tends to always be the same employees who do respond, and it is causing morale issues. Outside of putting employees “on-call” would there be a type of incentive to entice employees to respond to weekend or evening calls?
City Clerk
City Clerk Amy Burton presented the September Financial Statements consisting of the Statement of Accounts, Treasurer’s Report for September and the 3rd Quarter, and the Security Deposit Worksheet.
Ms. Burton stated she will be absent at the November 3rd Council meeting due to attending the IIMC Clerk’s Institute in Wichita that week. The City office will be closed on October 22nd to perform the annual inventory. The Clerk’s office has received 287 LMI surveys so far out of 965 distributed. The surveys are critical in the City’s ability to qualify for a Community Development Block Grant.
Police
Personnel
Police Chief Taft Yates reported that three candidates for the Department’s open position will be interviewed by the hiring board on October 25th.
Officer Moeder will complete his FTO status on October 24th. Per State Statute, he does not have to have another officer with him and can be on duty by himself. Officer Moeder
will leave for KLETC in January 2015.
Attorney
City Attorney Olavee Raub asked for an executive session to discuss non-elected personnel, and another to discuss property acquisition.
Mayor/Council
Mayor Lyle Johnston attended the County Commission meeting earlier in the evening to personally thank them for allowing the County to assist the City of Ellis with the street project.
Council member Jolene Niernberger complimented Mr. Scheuerman and his crew for what they are doing in the community. Many vendors at the recent LKM Conference complimented the Public Works Department.
Council member Gary Luea reported another property has been secured for a test hole site. That will give the City four quarters to drill test holes.
EXECUTIVE SESSIONS
Mayor Lyle Johnston called for an executive session for personnel matters of non-elected personnel. A 15-minute executive session was proposed starting at 9:56 p.m. Mayor Johnston asked for a motion to recess. Council member John Walz moved and Council member Dave McDaniel seconded a motion to recess to executive session for personnel matters of non-elected personnel with the City Attorney present. The motion carried 6-0. The Council returned to open session at 10:11 p.m. No action was taken in executive session.
Mayor Lyle Johnston called for an executive session to discuss property acquisition. A 15-minute executive session was proposed starting at 10:13 p.m. Mayor Johnston asked for a motion to recess. Council member Dave McDaniel moved to recess to executive session to discuss property acquisition with the City Attorney present. Council member Ron Johnson seconded the motion. The motion carried 6-0. The Council returned to open session at 10:28 p.m. No action was taken in executive session.
ADJOURNMENT
Council member Terry Redetzke moved and Council member Ron Johnson seconded the motion to adjourn the meeting. The motion carried unanimously. The meeting adjourned at 10:29 p.m.