REGULAR MEETING

Monday, March 10, 2008 – 7:00 p.m.

     The governing body of the City of Coldwater met in regular session with the following present: Mayor Tony Smith , presiding, Council members Penny Bruckner , Klete Hackney , Charles Salisbury, Tiffany Sowa and Richard Thompson , Public Works Director Danny Shaw , Water Operator, Joe Ceballos, City Attorney Skip Herd, City Clerk , Kristal Sherman, and City Marshal, Doug Storie.

            Guests included Dave Timmons, Rusty Redding, Phyllis Sherman, Kathy Priddy and Jack Sooter.

Mayor Smith called the meeting to order and led the flag salute. 

            Minutes were approved as written, motion by Penny Bruckner , seconded by Charles Salisbury.  Motion carried.

            Kathy Priddy told the council she has a concern about her water bill.  She said her normal water usage is about 2,000 gallons per month, but was 9,000 gallons this last month.  She said she could not find a water leak, running toilet or dripping faucet so thought it had to be the water meter.  Joe Ceballos said he has changed the water meter, per her request, and checked it after 13 days and it had already registered using 10,000 gallons.  Council member Tiffany Sowa told Kathy they would check further into the situation and get back to her at a later date.

            Rusty Redding with Layne Western of Wichita has inspected water well #4 as part of the maintenance contract for the well.  He showed the council a video of the well and pointed out heavy mineral deposits lining the inside of the well casing and blocking the perforations which allow water to go into the casing so the pump can pick it up.  He told the council he could do an acid treatment to the well which has a 70 to 75% chance of working, but with the well being close to 40 years old, there are no guarantees.  The only other alternative would be to drill a new water well, which would cost the city an estimated $100,000.00.  The original estimate of the job was $23,136.00 and after adding the chemical treatment to the job list for maintenance of the well, Rusty gave a new estimate of the bill for Layne Western to be $28,350.00.  After discussing the situation, Chuck Salisbury made a motion to add the chemical treatment to the bill, seconded by Tiffany Sowa and the motion carried.

            Phyllis Sherman asked the council if they would consider the possibility of acquiring a speaker system for the Veteran’s Building.   She said it could be used by various groups with meetings, seminars, etc. that are held in the building.  Mayor Smith asked that she check into what a speaker system would cost and that she speak to the Chamber of Commerce to see if they would be willing to help with the costs. 

            Lake Manager , Jim Herd asked the council when they wanted the lake hosts to start working at the lake booth, they told him not until May 1^st .  He said that he thought he should have some help covering the booth in April.  After discussing the matter, Tiffany Sowa made a motion that Jim get help covering the lake booth just the weekends in April and the remainder of the lake hosts to start May 1^st, seconded by Klete Hackney and the motion carried.  Jim also asked about the monthly rate for campers that do not hook up to the water and electricity.  After discussing the lake rates, Klete Hackney made a motion to set the monthly rates as $150.00 for tent camping, $175.00 for camper without hookups and $225.00 for camper with water and electricity hookups and $250.00 for camper with water, electricity and sewer hookups, the daily rate being $10.00 for tent camping, $12.50 for camper without hookups and $15.00 with hookups, seconded by Richard Thompson and the motion carried.  Jim pointed out that the seasonal reservations are filling up and there are not a lot of empty spaces out there, should be a good summer at the lake. 

            Marshal Doug Storie gave a report of his activities for the past month.  He also gave a report of the vehicle maintenance he has had done, including replacing the alternator.  Doug asked the council if he could take off work April 25, 26 and 27 for a Boy Scout camping event.  The council tabled his request for later in the meeting.  Doug also told the council of a dog bite incident that will be going to court the next day. 

            City Attorney, Skip Herd told the council that the Lions Club has a podium with speaker system that anyone is welcome to borrow anytime, it is stored at his office.   Skip reported that he still needs to get the East Park property off the tax rolls, it was overlooked when he was working on getting property off the tax rolls last year.  The council discussed the Comanche Estates contract with Skip and he suggested that from now on all sales go through the council and once someone has bought a lot, they don’t sell to another member of that family until construction begins on the original lot purchased.  He reminded the council they can turn down a buyer anytime before a contract is signed.

            Jack Sooter met before the council and explained the job that he does at the park.  The council told him they were glad to have him back and working for the City again this summer.  He told the council he plans to start work April 1^st, 40 hours a week.  He also reported that some trees in both the East and West Parks need to be replaced and he also needs to re-seed grass in parts of the parks as well.  The council discussed with Jack adding a sidewalk around the shelter at the West Park .

            Water Operator Joe Ceballos first wanted to comment on Kathy Priddy’s water bill, he told the council he replaced her water meter and then tested it at the park and it appears to be working fine and after he reviewed her account from the past 12 months, found she had used higher than usual water once before and suspected that a toilet ran without being heard.  He told the council he feels like she owes the bill since the water went through her meter, and the council agreed.  One sealed bid for the old water tower was opened from Pixius Communications for $750.00.  After discussing the bid and charging companies to utilize the tower with their antennas, Chuck Salisbury made a motion to decline the bid from Pixius, seconded by Richard Thompson and the motion carried.

            Public Works Director, Danny Shaw showed the council a postcard from the Waste Tire Products Grant Program and asked the council if they wanted to apply for the grant again for 2009 to purchase more picnic tables at the lake.  Charles Salisbury made a motion to apply for the grant, and budget in 2009 for the purchase of 25 more picnic tables for the lake, seconded by Tiffany Sowa and the motion carried.   Danny told the council he needs to dispose of a transformer and Southern Pioneer, the electric company, refuses to dispose of it.  He has talked to CMS and they will dispose of it at a charge of $100.00.  The council agreed to have CMS dispose of the transformer.  Danny also had a request from Dave Snook that the City tear out the cement footings at the lot of his former residence (412 N. Topeka), the council denied the request to tear out the footings, but agreed to have the maintenance crew haul off the concrete once it is tore out.

Council member, Klete Hackney reported that he has checked with Tri-City Fence Co. in Manhattan , KS , to price the cost of the fence to go around the sewer lagoons/gun range.  They have 1,500 feet of chain link fencing that was from Fort Riley for a cost of $1,500.00, that is less than half the price of the two bids the council had received for new fence.   Klete also said he would be willing to go the next weekend and pick it up either with his own vehicle or a city-owned vehicle.  Tiffany Sowa made a motion for Klete to pick up the fence for the sewer lagoons/gun range for $1,500.00, seconded by Penny Bruckner and the motion carried.  Danny also asked the council if the city would write receipts for Brad Davis, Cam McMoran and Jayhawk Oilfield Supply for materials they had donated for the gun range for tax purposes, the council agreed.  Danny asked the council for permission to order a case of tanerite, which is an explosive, to eliminate some beaver dam problems at the lake.  Klete Hackney made the motion for Danny to purchase the tanerite for $98.00 a case, seconded by Tiffany Sowa and the motion carried.

            City Clerk, Kristal Sherman, presented the council with a letter from South Central High School requesting a donation to After Prom.  Tiffany Sowa made a motion to donate $200.00 for After Prom, seconded by Penny Bruckner and the motion carried.

            Tiffany Sowa asked the council for permission to hold an Economic Development Foundation public meeting at the Veteran’s Building and to also waive the usage fee.  Richard Thompson made a motion the Economic Development Foundation be allowed to hold a public meeting free of charge in the Veteran’s Building on March 25^th, seconded by Penny Bruckner and the motion carried with Tiffany Sowa abstaining from the vote.

            Discussion was held on how to dispose of the old City Hall computer.   After discussing the matter it was agreed to take sealed bids for the sale of the computer with the minimum bid of $75.00 since that is the amount Buy The Byte will charge to erase the hard drive of all city files.

            Mayor Tony Smith reported that the cost of fireworks has increased and for the same firework display that has been shown in the past, it will cost $505.00 more, or the city can opt for the same price as last year which is $2,525.00 and will get 13 less shells to display.  After discussing the matter, Charles Salisbury made the motion to stay with the $2,525.00 contract from Wald and Company, same as the 2007 price, seconded by Tiffany Sowa and the motion carried.

            The Employee Handbook was discussed.  City Clerk, Kristal Sherman, asked the council to review the additions and changes that she had made since the last meeting and asked, since it had just come up that day of the meeting, about adding a clause pertaining to employees being called for jury duty.  After a discussion, it will be added to the handbook that if an employee is called for jury duty, they will be compensated their regular hourly rate of pay while serving on the jury, not to exceed 8 hours per day or 40 hours total per week.  The remainder of the handbook was tabled for approval until the next meeting.

            Bills in the amount of $87,461.47 were presented for payment.   Tiffany Sowa made a motion to approve the bills as presented, seconded by Penny Bruckner .  Motion carried. 

            Under unfinished business, the council discussed  Doug Storie’s request for time off he made earlier in the meeting.  Penny Bruckner made a motion to approve April 25^th, 26^th and 27^th as days off for Doug Storie, seconded by Tiffany Sowa and the motion carried.  Mayor Smith asked the council to go into executive session for personnel reasons.  Tiffany Sowa made a motion the council go into executive session for one hour to review employee evaluations, seconded by Penny Bruckner and the motion carried, after one hour Tiffany Sowa made a motion the council go back into executive session for another hour, for personnel reasons, seconded by Penny Bruckner and the motion carried.  After returning to regular session, the council gave maintenance employee, Rodney Keith a 24 cent per hour raise to $9.00 per hour and City Clerk, Kristal Sherman a 10 cent per hour raise to $11.50 per hour.   Klete Hackney made a motion to terminate City Marshal, Doug Storie, paid in lieu of notice through March 31, 2008, plus 80 hours of vacation time, seconded by Richard Thompson and the motion carried with a vote of 3-2 with Penny Bruckner and Charles Salisbury voting against the motion.  Since Mayor Smith had to be gone first thing the next morning on business, the council set a special meeting for the next day (Tuesday)  at 5:00 p.m. to inform Doug Storie of his termination. 

No further business was presented.  Penny Bruckner moved the meeting adjourned at 2:00 a.m., seconded by Tiffany Sowa .  Motion carried.

SPECIAL MEETING

Tuesday, March 11, 2008 – 5:00 P.M.  

     The governing body of the City of Coldwater met in special session for the purpose of the resignation of City Marshal, Doug Storie, with the following present: Mayor Tony Smith , presiding, Council members Klete Hackney , Charles Salisbury, Tiffany Sowa, and Richard Thompson and City Clerk Kristal Sherman.

            Doug Storie was present, along with his wife Lourdes and two children, also present was Dave Timmons, Joe Spence, Chet Mendenhall and Linda Mendenhall.

            Mayor Tony Smith called the meeting to order, Mayor Smith then asked for Doug Storie’s resignation from the City Marshal position.  Doug offered his resignation, effective March 31, 2008 and then read a statement to the council.

            Doug’s wife, Lourdes asked the council what they could do to satisfy the council, saying they liked it in Coldwater, but compared it to being treated worse than she was in her home land the Philippines .

            Joe Spence, Chet Mendenhall and Linda Mendenhall all spoke in favor of Doug, saying they had not had any problems with Doug and felt he and his family were assets to their church and the community.

Tiffany Sowa said they were all there because they did respect Doug and felt that he deserved an explanation and their attention, and also added that for her, the problem with Doug was the issue of employee/employer relations and said he didn’t deal well with authority.

            Mayor Tony Smith told Doug he wished him luck and said he would do well in law enforcement wherever he went.

Klete Hackney made a motion to adjourn the meeting, seconded by Tiffany Sowa and the motion carried.

SPECIAL MEETING

Thursday, March 20, 2008 – 7:00 P.M.  

     The governing body of the City of Coldwater met in special session for the purpose of discussing the security of the Lake and City, with the following present: Mayor Tony Smith , presiding, Council members Penny Bruckner , Klete Hackney , Charles Salisbury, Tiffany Sowa, and Richard Thompson , Public Works Director Danny Shaw , Water Operator, Joe Ceballos and City Clerk Kristal Sherman.

            Guests present were Kelly Herd and Heather Puderbaugh.

            Mayor Tony Smith called the meeting to order, Mayor Smith then asked the council if they had ideas on what they want to do about security for the lake and City now that we do not have a City Marshal.  Klete Hackney asked if Sheriff Dave Timmons had given any suggestions. 

Mayor Smith said he talked to Dave and he will not patrol the lake or take care of city ordinances, but will cover if anything major happens.  Mayor Smith asked if they want to hire a police officer or just a security guard at the lake.   

            Heather Puderbaugh told the council she has filled in for her mom and dad working in the entrance booth at the lake and feels a strong presence is needed at the lake with the number of people that go to the lake.  Kelly Herd said she is also worried about the security of the City and would like to see a City Marshal hired.

            Mayor Smith told the council that there is a KLETC two-week class starting May 12^th and if they want an officer to work over the summer they need to take this class so they need to find someone as soon as possible.    Mayor Smith then told the council he knows of someone interested in the job and read a letter of recommendation from the Pratt County Sheriff for John Schmeidler from Pratt.  Tony said he and Klete both know John from the bowling alley in Pratt, where he now works.  John has worked in law enforcement in the past and would like to get back in that line of work.    After discussing the matter the council agreed to advertise the job in the paper and Tony will speak to John Schmeidler and get an interview scheduled with him.

Klete Hackney made a motion the council go into executive session for the purpose of discussing employee evaluations with Danny Shaw , Joe Ceballos and Kristal Sherman, seconded by Tiffany Sowa and the motion carried.

Tiffany Sowa made a motion to adjourn the meeting, seconded by Klete Hackney and the motion carried.

SPECIAL MEETING

Monday, March 24, 2008 – 7:00 P.M.  

     The governing body of the City of Coldwater met in special session for the purpose of interviewing John Schmeidler, with the following present: Mayor Tony Smith , presiding, Council members Penny Bruckner , Klete Hackney , Charles Salisbury, Tiffany Sowa, and Richard Thompson , Public Works Director Danny Shaw , Water Operator, Joe Ceballos and City Clerk Kristal Sherman.

Mayor Tony Smith called the meeting to order, Mayor Smith then asked the council to go into executive session.  Chuck Salisbury made a motion to go into executive session with John Schmeidler, seconded by Klete Hackney and the motion carried.  After returning to open session Tiffany Sowa made a motion to hire John Schmeidler as a temporary part-time City Security Officer, seconded by Penny Bruckner and the motion carried.   After further discussion, Richard Thompson made a motion to offer John $2,000.00 per month salary as City Security Officer, seconded by Tiffany Sowa and the motion carried.

Pat Wells, who resides at 513 N. Central, told the council his sewer is plugged with roots.  He said back in the fall when the maintenance employees were cleaning out the sewers in the City, they had killed the roots in his line and when they went to pull out the dead ones, the roots broke off leaving his line plugged.  After going over drawings that Pat had made and discussing the situation, the council agreed to have the city employees take the sewer camera to Pat’s residence and see if they can find where the line is plugged and Klete will call plumber, Doug Brooks to see if he can fix the problem.

Richard Thompson made a motion to adjourn the meeting, seconded by Klete Hackney and the motion carried.