CITY OF COLDWATER
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REGULAR MEETING
Monday, August 10, 2009
The governing body of the City of Coldwater met in regular session with the following present: Mayor Tony Smith , presiding, Council members Brian Adams , Penny Bruckner , Tiffany Sowa , and Richard Thompson , Public Works Director Danny Shaw , City Attorney Skip Herd, City Marshal John Schmeidler , Lake Manager Pat Puderbaugh , and City Clerk , Kristal Sherman.
Guests included Adele Lopez, Desi Lopez, Josh Asbury, Lorinda Lester, Dennis Byram and Larry Kleeman.
Mayor Smith called the meeting to order and led the flag salute. With council member Charles Salisbury absent and Tiffany Sowa going to be late to the meeting, Mayor Smith announced there was not a quorum present so no decisions could be made until there is a quorum.
Dennis Byram told the council he thought several other campers were going to be here to complain, but they must have changed their mind. He told the council he was disappointed a fence was built so close to the trailers at the north end of the lake where he camps, and also, there is a short post that’s in his driveway and asked that it be moved so more than one vehicle could park there. Dennis also expressed his concern about killing the reed grass around the lake so parents could see their children swimming. After Mayor Smith explained to Dennis the reason the fence was built was to keep golf carts from driving on the grass and to keep jet skis from loading and unloading there from the shore, he told Dennis the newly built fence would be discussed by the council later in the meeting.
Lake Manager , Pat Puderbaugh reported revenue is still up and attendance is holding up at the lake. Pat also reported he is still working on killing the reed grass, he hopes to make some head-way on the grass in the fall after the camping season.
City Marshal, John Schmeidler reported he had a very active month, writing 20-30 citations over the last month. He reported the 125th Celebration was an “excellent success” with only a couple of isolated incidents and didn’t think that was too bad considering the amount of people that were in town, and he gave out 3 gift baskets to random people going through town over the celebration weekend. John thought Danny Gossman was an excellent asset to have during the 125th Celebration weekend and reported he wrote 8 citations out at the lake. John reported he purchased the new siren for the patrol car, a yellow traffic vest, he told the council the patrol car is in need of new tires and there is a problem with the light bar on the patrol car he will be checking into. The council told John to go ahead and order new tires for the patrol car either at Central Fuel & Service or Kropf Oil, but just keep it local. John told the council he wants to organize another public taser class, and noted with the beginning of school tomorrow, he will be watching the school zones.
Council member, Tiffany Sowa arrived at the meeting so a quorum is now present.
No persons appeared for public comment concerning the 2010 budget hearing. Penny Bruckner moved the budget be approved as published, seconded by Tiffany Sowa and the motion carried. Penny Bruckner made a motion to approve Ordinance No. 2009-2, an ordinance attesting to an increase in tax revenues for budget year 2010. The motion was seconded by Brian Adams and the motion carried.
Minutes from the July meeting were approved as amended, motion by Richard Thompson , seconded by Tiffany Sowa . Motion carried.
Pool manager, Adele Lopez reported on harassment and accusations pointed at her family and foster children by certain individuals after a recent incident at the pool, causing a discussion between her and Marshal Schmeidler. After discussion of the incident, Adele, along with the council, decided to close the pool as of now due to the fact that some of the lifeguards have quit and others have gone back to school. Adele asked if she would have the pool manager job next year and the council told her they were going to discuss that matter later in the meeting.
City Attorney, Skip Herd said he has been in contact with Dave Rose concerning his Comanche Estates lots. Skip said he believes Dave’s intention is to build on the lot that has the existing foundation and would have done it by now, but the economy has set him back. Dave also told Skip the two Comanche Estates lots that were purchased by him and his sons, he would like the City to buy back from him. The council also asked Skip about the ownership of the Prairie Plaza Apartments. Skip said the apartment complex and the responsibility of the Coldwater Housing Authority, both belong to the City. Skip also advised the council, on the issue of hiring a lake manager and pool manager, those positions should be applied for every year since they are a “public entity”.
Public Works Director, Danny Shaw told the council there are two truck drivers that are parking their trucks in town without a truck parking permit, they are also driving on Topeka Street and tearing up the street. After a discussion, the council instructed City Marshal, John Schmeidler to talk to both Chris Barnard and A. J. Trummel about an alternate truck route and about parking permits. Danny asked the council for permission to purchase one more load of cement for the gun range. Penny Bruckner made a motion that Danny purchase a load of cement up to $1,500.00, seconded by Tiffany Sowa and the motion carried. Richard Thompson made a motion the council go into executive session for 5 minutes with Danny Shaw for personnel reasons, seconded by Brian Adams and the motion carried. After returning to open session, no action was taken. Richard Thompson thanked Danny for his volunteer work the weekend of the 125th Celebration. Danny asked the council for a final decision on tearing down the old water tower. He said the cost would be $6,000.00 to lay the tower down to the ground or $12,000.00 to drop it and haul it off. The council asked Danny if he thought him and his crew could haul it off once it’s dropped to the ground and he thought they could as long as it’s done at a time when they are not so busy. Tiffany Sowa made a motion the City pay $6,000.00 to drop the old water tower to the ground and let the city maintenance guys haul it off, seconded by Brian Adams and the motion carried.
Mayor Smith went through bids for replacing the air conditioning in the big room of the Veteran’s Building. The bids are as follows: Brooks Plumbing - $11,272.98; CMS Heat & Air - $12,098.00 and $13,079.00 adding 10 air registers and 1 new duct for better air flow; Adams Electric - $12,418.00 for Lennox brand equipment or subtract $650.00 for Carrier brand equipment ($11,800.00); Ray Omo, Inc. - $14,600.00. After discussion Penny Bruckner made a motion the City go with CMS Heat & Air with their bid of $13,079.00 adding the new air registers and 1 air duct for better air flow, seconded by Tiffany Sowa and the motion carried.
Mayor Smith opened sealed bids for repairing the shop roof, with the bids as follows: Kraft Construction - $2,250.00 labor & $5,497.52 labor and materials; Daniel Hess - $3,500.00 labor and $7,354.00 labor and materials; KAT Construction - $1,200.00 labor and $5,246.70 labor and materials. Brian Adams made a motion to accept the bid of $5,246.70 from KAT Construction to repair the shop roof, seconded by Penny Bruckner and the motion carried with Richard Thompson abstaining.
Danny Shaw told the council Chad Mull has been employed by the City for a year and he needs to start scheduling classes to get certified. The council agreed and will visit with him about that.
An application for a Cereal Malt Beverage license renewal was presented for M&W Midwest Properties LLC d/b/a Lucky’s #7. Penny Bruckner made a motion to approve the license, seconded by Tiffany Sowa and the motion carried.
An application for a Cereal Malt Beverage license renewal was presented for Garry G. Smith, Jr. and Donna L. Smith d/b/a Comanche Tavern. Richard Thompson made a motion to approve the license, seconded by Tiffany Sowa and the motion carried.
Bills in the amount of $106,869.85 were presented for payment. Penny Bruckner made a motion to approve the bills as presented, seconded by Brian Adams and the motion carried.
Under unfinished business, the council discussed the money request from Darlene Caraway on behalf of the Prairie Plaza Apartments that was tabled from the July meeting. The council reviewed the financial report they had requested from the July meeting and had questions about the report. After discussing the way bookkeeping is done at Prairie Plaza , Mayor Smith recommended the City purchase the 2010 Quicken software for the managers’ bookkeeping and asked Penny Bruckner to let Darlene know she will be receiving the computer program. They also asked that Darlene report to each meeting with a financial report of Prairie Plaza .
Penny Bruckner asked the council to consider paying an extra fee on the employee cell phone accounts so they can send and receive text messages. After a lengthy discussion, the consensus of the council agreed that if an individual employee wants to have text capabilities on their cell phone, they will need to pay for it themselves.
Discussion was held on a way to say “thank you” to all the businesses and individuals in the City for their support in making the 125th Celebration a success. Tiffany Sowa made a motion to run a full-page advertisement in this weeks’ Western Star to say “thank you” to everyone, the motion was seconded by Brian Adams and the motion carried.
Discussion was held on Dennis Byram’s earlier question as to why the fence on the north end of the lake was built. After discussion, the council made a decision that if they pull the fence, the campers will need to stay off the grass. If they don’t stay off the grass the following procedure will be followed: 1st offense - City Marshal John Schmeidler will write a ticket for driving on an unauthorized area; 2nd offense – the campers’ golf cart permit will be revoked; 3rd offense – expulsion from lake property. The council was in agreement to leave the northeast section of the fence that’s not in the camping area up and not to tear the remainder of the fence down until the City Marshal and the lake committee can explain to the campers why the fence was built in the first place and explain the consequences of their actions.
Mayor Smith asked how the council wants to handle the pool manager and lake manager positions. City Clerk, Kristal Sherman told the council there is no policy written that says they stay on one year to the next year after being hired and she reminded them what City Attorney Skip Herd said “public entities should hire those positions every year”. The council agreed to stay with that policy.
No further business was presented. Tiffany Sowa moved the meeting adjourned, seconded by Penny Bruckner and the motion carried.
September 2, 2009: Public works director, Danny Shaw has been in contact with Pixius Communications regarding the old water tower. Pixius has made an offer to purchase the water tower to house their antennae. Danny asked City Clerk, Kristal Sherman to conduct a call-around to the city council to see if they would be interested in selling the water tower to Pixius for $650.00 with the condition of Pixius continuing the existing internet service to the City for 24 months and pay one-half of the title insurance. All city council members were contacted and all voted yes to the sale of the water tower to Pixius Communications. Kristal then informed City Attorney Skip Herd to start working on the paperwork for the sale.
SPECIAL MEETING
Monday, August 17, 2009 – 7:00 P.M.
The governing body of the City of Coldwater met in special session for the purpose of discussing personnel with the following present: Mayor Tony Smith , presiding, Council members Brian Adams , Penny Bruckner , Charles Salisbury, Tiffany Sowa , and Richard Thompson , Public Works Director Danny Shaw and City Clerk Kristal Sherman.
After the meeting was called to order, Richard Thompson made a motion the council go into executive session to discuss personnel matters for one hour, seconded by Tiffany Sowa and the motion carried. After returning to open session, no decisions were made. Richard Thompson made a motion to adjourn the meeting, seconded by Tiffany Sowa and the motion carried.