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Board of Aldermen Minutes - 4/13/2009

MINUTES OF A REGULAR MEETING OF THE BOARD OF ALDERMEN OF THE CITY OF UNION, FRANKLIN COUNTY, MISSOURI.

Union, Missouri

April 13, 2009

Be it remembered that the Board of Aldermen of the City of Union, Franklin County, Missouri, met in regular session at City Hall, 500 E. Locust St. at the hour of 6:30 p.m. on the 13th day of April, 2009, at which time there were present the following:

Alderman: Dale Schmuke, Ward 2, Acting Board President

Aldermen:

Paul Arand, Ward 1

Robert Schmuke, Ward 3

Tammy Stowe, Ward 3

Don Wurdack, Ward 4 Michele Schroeder, Ward 1

Bill Isgriggs, Ward 2

Karen D. Erwin, Ward 4

Absent: Mayor Mike Livengood

Others: Russell Rost, City Administrator Harold Lampkin, Pub Wks Dir.

Jonita Copeland, City Clerk Ruth Dowil, City Collector

Norman Brune, Chief of Police Tim Melenbrink, City Attorney

Kevin Arand, Park Director Jonathan Zimmermann, City Eng.

Joseph Graves, Comm. Dev. Dir. Patty Pohlmann, Dep. City Clerk

Heather Keith, Finance Director Leneigha Downs, Municipal Judge

Media: 1 Others: 2

*Denotes items approved by Consent Agenda.

1. OPENING OF MEETING – Mayor Mike Livengood was unable to attend this meeting due to a prior commitment. Therefore with a quorum being present, Alderman Dale Schmuke, acting Board President, declared the Board to be in session for the transaction of business.

a) The Pledge of Allegiance - The Pledge of Allegiance was recited by those present.

b) Approval of Consent Agenda – Motion to approve the Consent Agenda Arand/B.Schmuke,2nd, approved 8-0.

2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES

a) Board of Aldermen: March 9, 2009*

b) Special Board of Aldermen Meeting: March 16, 2009*

3. OLD BUSINESS

a) Certification of April 7, 2009 Election Return:

April 7, 2009 Municipal Election Results:

Alderman Ward One: Total Votes Cast = 166

Jim Albrecht 164*

Write-in Votes 2

Alderman Ward Two: Total Votes Cast = 447

William Isgriggs 218*

Bill Martindill 203

Tori Karim 26

Alderman Ward Three: Total Votes Cast = 280

Tammy Stowe 170*

Michele Schroeder 110

Write-in Votes 0

Alderman Ward Four: Total Votes Cast = 159

Don Wurdack 153*

Write-in Votes 6

Motion: To approve the results of the April 7, 2009 election return. Erwin/Wurdack-2nd, approved 8-0.

3.1 SPECIAL ORDER OF BUSINESS

a) Adjourn Sine Die

Motion - To adjourn sine die R.Schmuke/Arand-2nd, approved 8-0.

b) Swearing in of Newly Elected Officials

City Clerk, Jonita Copeland, administered the Oath of Office to those persons winning elective office for the City as follows:

Jim Albrecht, Ward One Alderman

William Isgriggs, Ward Two Alderman

Tammy Stowe, Ward Three Alderman

Don Wurdack, Ward Four Alderman

Leneigh Downs, Union Municipal Judge

c) New Board Convenes

Jim Albrecht, Aldermen Ward 1, took his seat with the Board. Aldermen Dale Schmuke then thanked Michele Schroeder for her service as Aldermen Ward 1, as her term ended.

d) Election of Acting President

Nomination – Acting Board President, Dale Schmuke, called for nominations from the Board for Acting Board President. Alderman Robert Schmuke nominated Alderman Dale Schmuke and the nomination was seconded by Alderman Karen Erwin. With no other nominations being made, the nomination was approved 8-0.

4. CITIZENS HEARINGS AND PRESENTATIONS

a) None

5. MAYOR AND BOARD COMMITTEE REPORTS

a) Mayor's Communications

Acting Board President, Dale Schmuke, reported the following:

The elected officials training conference will be held in June and if any aldermen plan on attending to please let the City Clerk know. A reminder that the 2009 Show Me Green Sales Tax Holiday will be next week (April 19 – 25th) to purchase energy star appliances. This will be placed on the City of Union’s Channel 6.

b) Parks, Building, Development and Public Service Committee

Karen Erwin, Chairman - Paul Arand, Bill Isgriggs, Michele Schroeder, Robert Schmuke and Tammy Stowe, Members.

Chairman Karen Erwin reviewed over the committees report as follows:

Update Paperless Council – The City Clerk, Jonita Copeland, updated the committee on the progress of working toward implementing a paperless council. She reviewed over what the agenda would look like and the links that pertain to each agenda item, which was set up by Wanda Parsons of the Community Development Department. Staff will continue to work in house with the project for now using the resources they have to progress to paperless. Next step will be to figure the cost for the hardware needed, which will be presented at the next meeting of the Personnel, Finance and Public Works committee.

Discuss Landlord Responsibilities per Ordinance – Alderman Michele Schroeder addressed the issue of concern from some of the landlords in town, per ordinance, that holds the landlord responsible for the utility bill if not paid when their tenant vacates. Several landlords were present (Vic Parmentier, Robert Borgmann, James Cooper, and Anthony Bequette) to express their concerns. Their concerns consisted of solutions for the City to collect the bills when they are left by a tenant and to not hold the landlord responsible. They questioned the shut off process and the possibility of raising the deposit. The City Administrator explained the process of how the landlords are informed of delinquent accounts and clarified how the billing process works relative to shutoffs. After much discussion, the Utility Billing Clerk, Debbie Klenke, made a suggestion to have the utility customer pay the balance in full at shutoff time, instead of just the required amount to have the water turned back on. The City Administrator, the City Attorney and Debbie will meet to address this issue for possible amendment to the ordinance to reflect such change and bring back to the committee in draft form.

Propose parking lot at East Main and McKinley – Jasper Development - The City Engineer, Jonathan Zimmermann, explained that Jasper Development will be tearing a house down and clearing the lot at East Main and McKinley and would like to see if the City would be interested in entering into some type of agreement to utilize this lot as a parking lot.

Update – Discussion of connection to Hwy 50 West of Independence – Nothing to report at this time.

Update – Discussion of 2010 Comprenhensive Plan – Community Development Director, Joseph Graves, reported the RFQ for the Comprehensive Plan 2010 will be forthcoming and he will present at the next meeting of the Personnel, Finance and Public Works Committee meeting.

Update – Park Projects – Parks Director, Kevin Arand, reported on the following:

The ADA water fountains are complete. The swing set in Hoffert Park is in place.

Sandblasting at the pool has begun, with painting to follow. The painting will be done by the Parks Department. The ten pieces of exercise equipment will be installed within the next week; seven in the main park and three by the City lake. The Liberty Swing’s (handicap wheelchair swing) down payment order is in process. A portion of the shipping, approximately $1,400, will be saved thanks to the Phoenix Company. A tree planting is being proposed relative to Arbor Day in conjunction with the Kiwanis and the American Legion at the City lake. The American Legion would like to place plaques that would recognize each branch of the service for fallen soldiers.

Update – East Park Property – The committee discussed developing a sub-committee of the parks department to assist with the development of the east park property. This committee will consist of: Two aldermen (Tammy Stowe, Robert Schmuke), Two park staff (Kevin Arand, Terry Bliss), Three City personnel (Russell Rost, City Administrator, Jonathan Zimmermann, City Engineer Joey Graves, Community Development Director),one member from the Park Advisory Board, one member from the Franklin County Youth Association. The committee recommended forming a sub-committee for the East Park Property.

Discussion of 911 Resolution – Nothing to report at this time.

Discussion of gardening City Property – Aldermen Dale Schmuke reported that a request was made from Roy Weirich to garden property owned by the City at the corner of Park and Independence, with the proceeds being donated to the food pantry. Committee discussed and decided to postpone the request for now, as it was noted that the food pantry may not allow fresh produce. Mr. Weirich will need to verify with the food pantry.

Discussion of City Flag – Joey discussed changing the design of the City flag with the committee. He is suggesting not using the City Seal and presented a logo that he is currently using for marketing. The committee will review and bring back to the next meeting of the committee.

Request from Union Fire District to close Main Street at Garfield to Christina from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on March 27 and 28 for training.

A motion was made to close the street as requested from the Union Fire District for training on March 27-28, 2009, from Main Street at Garfield to Christina from 8-5 p.m. for training.

Motion: To accept the Committee Report. Arand/R.Schmuke-2nd, approved 8-0.

c) Personnel, Finance and Public Works Committee

Dale Schmuke-Chairman, Paul Arand, Bill Isgriggs, Michele Schroeder, Karen Erwin and Donald Wurdack, Members.

Member Don Wurdack reviewed over the committees report as follows:

Update – Emergency Pool Repairs - Russell Rost, City Administrator, explained the new changes that will have to be made to the grates in the pool and the cost, so that the City will be in compliance. This change is in reference to the Virginia Graeme Baker Pool and Spa Safety Act, to make the grates safer. All the grates, except for one, will be in compliance. Lifeguards will be trained to be aware of this grate, which will be repaired in the fall of 2009, as it requires more detail to change. The pool should open on schedule and there is sufficient funding available to make these changes.

Update – Paperless Council – The City Clerk reported that the approximate cost for the hardware, which would be the laptops – software equipped, is around $10,000. This funding will not be available for the upcoming budget year, therefore the process will continue with in house steps of making the packet agenda available through the website to access. The agenda will also be made available to download if a board member would like to use their own laptop to start viewing it in this way at the meetings. An archive of the agenda and materials will then start to build and the project will keep proceeding.

Update – Hwy 50 Project – The City Engineer, Jonathan Zimmermann, reported the plans are in the final preparations, and he is still waiting for a breakdown of the right-of-way cost. They are looking at a May letting, with a July notice to proceed. Scheduling is uncertain. Waterline work on the south side of Hwy 50 is proceeding, along with the boring to start soon. They have encountered little rock at this point. The water service in the area will be temporarily interrupted on Wednesday (April 8) morning.

Update - Public Works Projects – The City Engineer addressed the following:

Request from Ben Homeyer, to open a miniature golf course on Hwy 47 (the old Skate-A-Way property), using portable restroom facilities and or pump tank, until they can hook up to the City sewer when it becomes available. The previous drain field has been covered with a storage building and previous restrooms are not in compliance. Although this type of business is allowed in the B2 zoning, Jonathan cannot address the temporary facilities, without Board direction. Committee discussed the situation with Mr. Homeyer and the owner of the property. The City Attorney, Tim Melenbrink, noted that although this type of business is allowed in the B2 zoning, it should fall under a conditional use as there are so many variables to consider.

The committee recommended and approved a motion to issue a business license to run the golf course with temporary restroom facilities, with the condition it is being maintained properly and per the Franklin County Health Department requirements. The license would be revoked if these stipulations are not followed.

Aldermen Dale Schmuke asked for a separate motion to approve this recommendation by the full Board of Aldermen. Karen Erwin made the motion and Bill Isgriggs seconded to proceed with the committee’s recommendation. Approved 8-0.

Cochran Engineering Proposal – Highway 47 Lift Station Stimulus Application – Jonathan addressed proposal and requested to proceed. The committee recommended proceeding with the proposal from Cochran for the Hwy 47 Lift Station Stimulus Application, for the fee of $25,500.

Church Street Change Order – Jonathan explained the Missouri Highways and Transportation commission STP/ARRA Funding - Urban Program Supplemental Agreement for the Church Street Bid Alternates and recommended to proceed. The committee recommended proceeding with the Church Street change order, per stipulation in ordinance upon approval.

Bridge Replacement Funding – Jonathan presented for the committee information on funds available for bridge replacement.

Cochran proposal to use a contractor to acquire right-of-way land acquisitions – Jonathan presented a proposal from Cochran Engineering to have a contractor assist in acquiring the land acquisitions on the federal projects, Park Road Bridge and Independence Drive Sidewalk projects. Committee discussed proposal and fee. The committee recommended to have the City Engineer acquire the right-of-way land acquisitions, and if more work is required then look at this proposal.

Water changes per the Department of Natural resources – Jonathan presented notification to the committee, for informational purposes only, of the modified reporting requirements from the Department of Natural Resources.

Update – Hwy 50 Partnership – Russell reported a meeting will be held at the end of April, to present the study for discussion with the legislators relevant to the area.

RFQ’s submittal process – Setup – The committee discussed the viewing of RFQ’s annually.

It was suggested to start the process in December, then view them in January. This led to discussion on how to categorize the RFQ’s for evaluations, relative to fairness and time consumption. There being no action taken, it was decided to postpone this for further discussion and to leave on this committee’s agenda.

Update – Discussion of 2010 Comprehensive Plan – Joey presented a draft of the request for written statements of qualifications for the development of a Comprehensive Plan for the City. He discussed the draft with the committee and the procedure to follow. Estimated cost for such plan is approximately $50-60,000, which will be funded out of two budget years. The committee recommended presenting the draft as submitted to the full Board.

Union Police Department – Authorization Forms for Grant Applications – Police Chief, Norman Brune, explained two authorization forms for grant applications that require the Mayor and the full Boards signature. The first one is for the authorization to apply for the HMVE (Hazardous Moving Vehicle Enforcement) grant and the second is for the authorization to apply for the DWI grant. The committee recommended proceeding with the authorization process to apply for the grants, whereas the full Board can sign at the April 13, 2009 Board meeting.

Aldermen Dale Schmuke asked for a separate motion to approve this recommendation by the full Board of Aldermen. Don Wurdack made the motion and Paul Arand seconded, to proceed with the committee’s recommendation. Approved 8-0.

Budget Update – Russell Rost, City Administrator, and Heather Keith, Finance Director, listed and explained the budget cuts (list attached), for the proposed budget for fiscal year 2009-2010 and discussed with the committee. Also addressed was the overtime expense of the departments, specifically the Police Department, whereas Norman explained this expense per his department. Alderman Erwin requested to have a breakdown of the overtime expense, which Heather will prepare per department. Russell explained the merit type increase that is within this proposed budget to be addressed toward the final budget meetings. The next budget update will be at this committee meeting.

Motion: To accept the Committee Report. Isgriggs/Stowe-2nd, approved 8-0.

6. DEPARTMENTAL REPORTS

a) Chief of Police – Monthly Report*

b) Municipal Court – Monthly Income Report and Docket*

c) City Collector – The City Collector’s report included a letter addressed to the Mayor and Board to request a salary increase for the City Collector. Acting President, Aldermen Dale Schmuke placed this request in the Personnel, Finance, and Public Works Committee.

Motion: To approve the report of the City Collector. Isgriggs/Erwin-2nd, approved 8-0.

d) City Clerk - Union CID Annual Budget FY 2009-10, Semi Annual destruction request*

e) City Engineer – Monthly Report*

f) Parks & Recreation – Monthly Activity Report*

g) Street Department – Monthly Report*

h) Water & Sewer Department - Monthly Report*

i) Community Development Director - Monthly Report*

7. REPORT OF CITY ADMINISTRATOR

a) cash flow*

Russell has a request from Operation Stream Clean, to use a piece of city equipment (loader) to help with the removal of discarded tires on April 18, 2009. A city street department employee has volunteered his time and he would be operating the equipment.

Motion: To allow use of the city equipment by the city employee to help Operation Stream Clean. Erwin/Isgriggs-2nd, approved 8-0.

8. COMMITTEES, COMMISSIONS, AND BOARD REPORTS

a) Planning and Zoning Commission Minutes - Minutes of March 23, 2009*

b) Park Board Minutes – No Meeting

c) Board of Adjustments – March 18, 2009*

d) Urban Forestry Council – No Meeting

9. RESOLUTIONS AND PROCLAMATIONS

a) Arbor Day Proclamation – Acting President, Dale Schmuke, asked for a motion to approve an Arbor Day Proclamation proclaiming April 13, 2009 as Arbor Day in the City of Union.

Motion: To approve Arbor Day Proclamation as submitted. Erwin/Stowe-2nd, approved 8-0.

10. ORDINANCES – Originals and/or copies, including recorded votes of the following are attached hereto. Each Ordinance read a minimum of twice by title, unless otherwise noted.

a) Bill 09-132/Ordinance 3454 – Amend Article 1 of Chapter 210 – Pertaining to farm animals and poultry and amending Chapter 405 pertaining to kennels. See pg. 28.

b) Bill 09-133/Ordinance 3455 – Annexation – Part of Klenke Farm. See pg. 29.

c) Bill 09-134/Ordinance 3456 – Annexation - City of Union – Park of Klenke Farm property purchase for park property. See pg. 30.

d) Bill 09-135/Ordinance 3457 – Agreement – Cochran – Hwy 47 lift station stimulus application. See pg. 31.

e) Bill 09-136/Ordinance 3458 – Change Order – Contract Kozeny Wagner, Inc./Church Street bid alternates. See page 32.

f) Bill 09-137/Ordinance 3459 – Approve Stonebrook Village Condominium Plat 3. See pg. 33.

g) Bill 09-138/Ordinance 3460 – Approve Stonebrook Village Common Area – Brookmoore/Stonebrook Village. See pg. 34.

11. MISCELLANEOUS – None

12. ADJOURNMENT

Adjourn Regular Session

Motion: There being no further business to transact, motion made and approved to adjourn the regular session of the Board of Aldermen.

________________________________________

Dale Schmuke, Acting Board President

Attest:

_____________________________________

Jonita Copeland, City Clerk

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