City Council
Council Chambers
 
April 16, 2013


The City Council of the City of Colby, Kansas, met in regular session on Tuesday, April 16, 2013, at 7:30 P.M. in the Council Chambers.  The meeting was called to order by Mayor Gary Adrian.


ATTENDANCE:

PRESENT: Mayor Gary Adrian.  Council Members Mark Beringer, Phil DeYoung, Mike Hake, Pat Mallory, Stan Schmidt, Fred Taylor, Dave Voss.

 ABSENT: Tim Hutfles.

ALSO PRESENT:  Tyson McGreer, City Manager; Omar Weber, Public Utilities Director; Gordon Gilbert, Assistant Public Utilities Director; Bob McLemore, Fire Chief; Sean Hankin, Assistant Fire Chief; John Gatz, City Attorney; Mike Albers, Technology Director; Randy Jones, Police Chief; Rick Dickman, Building Official; Ron Alexander, Police Sergeant; Mark Kendrick, Ken Bixenman, Airport Board; Mark Ostmeyer, Airport Manager; Sam Dieter, Colby Free Press; Megan Carmichael, Sue Evans, Thomas County Coalition; Lance Bolyard, Beverly Eicher, Jessica Dempewolf, Debbie Mariman, Kathy Britton, Chelsea Hays, Gary Baumfalk, Yvonne Baumfalk, Dryden Baumfalk, Joni Ketchum, City Clerk.


CONSENT AGENDA:

A.  APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF APRIL 2, 2013 REGULAR MEETING

B.  APPROVAL OF PAYROLL ORDINANCE NO. 3159

C. APPROVAL OF GENERAL ORDINANCE NO. 3160

D.  APPROVAL OF MAYOR’S APPOINTMENTS/REAPPOINTMENTS

 Airport Board
 Reappointment of Bill Rohr, Term to Expire April 30, 2016
 Reappointment of Paul Steele, Term to Expire April 30, 2016

 Code Standards & Appeals Board
 Reappointment of Jeff Unger, Term to Expire April 30, 2016
 Reappointment of Glen Strait, Term to Expire April 30, 2016

 Health Board
 Reappointment of Andy Rose, Term to Expire April 30, 2014
 Appointment of Mike Hake, Term to Expire April 30, 2014
 Reappointment of Gary Adrian, Term to Expire April 30, 2014

 KMEA Board
 Reappointment of Pat Mallory as Director #1, Term to Expire April 30, 2015

 Library Board
 Reappointment of Mike Larmer, Term to Expire April 30, 2017
 Appointment of Virgil Jones, Term to Expire April 30, 2017
 
 Recreation Commission
 Appointment of Luke Tubbs, Term to Expire April 30, 2017
 Appointment of Brett Arnberger, Term to Expire April 30, 2017

 Tree Board
 Reappointment of Jerry Arensdorf, Term to Expire April 30, 2016
 Reappointment of Jeremy Bridgeman, Term to Expire April 30, 2016
 Reappointment of Matthew Carmichael, Term to Expire April 30, 2016

 Zoning Appeals Board
 Reappointment of Gary Sloan, Term to Expire April 30, 2016

MOTION BY Dave Voss, seconded by Mark Beringer to approve the consent agenda. VOTING AYES: Mark Beringer, Phil DeYoung, Mike Hake, Pat Mallory, Stan Schmidt, Fred Taylor, Dave Voss. NOES: None. ABSENT: Tim Hutfles. Mayor Adrian declared the motion carried.


SWEARING IN NEWLY-ELECTED OFFICIALS:
    Lance Bolyard  Ward I
    Bill Mariman  Ward II
    Peg Tole  Ward III
    Francis Britton Ward IV

The City Clerk swore in New Council Members Lance Bolyard, Bill Mariman, Peg Tole and Francis Britton and then had them take their seats at the Council table.


ELECTION OF COUNCIL PRESIDENT:

Mayor Adrian called for nominations for City Council President. Pat Mallory nominated Fred Taylor. VOTING AYES: Lance Bolyard, Francis Britton, Mike Hake, Pat Mallory, Bill Mariman, Stan Schmidt, Fred Taylor, Peg Tole. NOES: None. ABSENT: None. Mayor Adrian declared the motion carried.


RESOLUTIONS OF APPRECIATION FOR:
    Phil DeYoung -  Ward I
    Dave Voss  -  Ward II
    Tim Hutfles  -  Ward III
    Mark Beringer -  Ward IV

The City Clerk read the Resolutions of Appreciation for Phil DeYoung, Dave Voss and Mark Beringer and each received a plaque from Mayor Adrian. Tim Hutfles was not present at the meeting.


ORIENTATION FOR NEWLY-ELECTED GOVERNING BODY MEMBERS:

John Gatz provided a brief review of the Governing Body Handbook for the new Councilmember’s and it gave the current Councilmember’s a good refresher course. He went over the duties of a Councilmember and told them how important their obligations and duties are to the City of Colby. He talked about the chain of command, the laws, the need to be well informed and the need to be accessible to the public. John reviewed the penalties for violating the Open Meetings Act, gave them tips for successful public service and told them how important he thought continuing education is to them. He also mentioned that they have no authority as one person, but they do as a whole governing body. Mayor Adrian thanked John for his presentation.


OLD BUSINESS:

A. None.


NEW BUSINESS:

A. PRESENTATION ON AMPHITHEATER – CHELSEA HAYES- Sue Evans and Megan Carmichael from the Thomas County Coalition introduced Chelsea Hayes, a senior architecture student from Kansas State University. Chelsea said she did her thesis on the natural amphitheater she designed for the new park at South Franklin. She showed the Council her plans for the amphitheater and told them where she would place picnic tables under the trees in the area south of the structure. She explained that the amphitheater would consist of rammed earth walls with dry laid brick floors and a wooden latticed ceiling. When asked, Chelsea told the Council that the estimated cost of the material will be around $65,000.00. The Mayor asked Sue whether there were grants for this kind of project and she said it was a possibility. Tyson asked the Council whether they were in favor of moving forward with this project. He said there will be no financial responsibility from the City, but they will ultimately take over ownership of the amphitheater. The consensus of the Council was to go ahead with the project and Tyson said he will bring the final estimates to them at a later date.

B. DISCUSSION OF TREE TRIMMING PLAN FOR ELECTRICAL LINES- Gordon Gilbert and Rick Carter prepared a map and a plan for the annual tree trimming for the electrical lines. The plan is to do a specific quadrant at one time and advertise when the crew is ready to work in that area. Originally, the City was going to give the homeowners the opportunity to trim the trees themselves or hire a trimming service. After some discussion, it was determined that the City crew will do the work because of the danger with the high voltage power lines.

C. APPROVAL OF ORDINANCE NO. 1518 DISIGNATING HEIGHT AND HAZARD REGULATIONS FOR COLBY MUNICIPAL AIRPORT – SHALZ FIELD- Tyson remarked that the Airport Board has approved the final Height and Hazard Ordinance and any landowners that have been present at the meetings are okay with the changes. MOTION BY Mike Hake, seconded by Pat Mallory to approve Ordinance No. 1518 designating the Height and Hazard regulations for the Colby Municipal Airport. VOTING AYES: Lance Bolyard, Francis Britton, Mike Hake, Pat Mallory, Bill Mariman, Stan Schmidt, Fred Taylor, Peg Tole. NOES: None. ABSENT: None. Mayor Adrian declared the motion carried.

D. DISCUSSION ON OLD POWER POLES- The City has 40-50 old power poles left from the last line project and it will cost around $250 plus labor to dispose of them at the landfill. It was suggested to advertise for a first-come, first-serve basis to the public to give them away as they would probably be good for landscaping projects. Fred Taylor mentioned that Midwest Energy requires a release form before giving away their poles because of the integrity of the poles and the danger of using them as fire wood. He had a sample of the form that he had revised for the City to use. Tyson said he will give it a month then see how many were left to dispose of at that time.

E. REQUEST TO BAN SMOKING IN PUBLIC PARKS – JESSICA DEMPEWOLF- Jessica Dempewolf addressed the Council requesting that smoking be banned in the public parks. Randy Jones said it would be too difficult to enforce non-smoking in every park. It was suggested to put up signage designating the non-smoking areas in each park and Megan Carmichael said there are grants available for this. Pat Mallory asked how they were going to enforce it even with the signs. Randy said if they have signs posted, they at least have backing so action can be taken. John Gatz suggested that Tyson and Randy take a look at each public park and bring the information for the designated areas back to the Council.

EXECUTIVE SESSION:  Attorney/Client Privilege- MOTION BY Pat Mallory, seconded by Lance Bolyard to retire into Executive Session at 9:00 P.M. for 20 minutes for attorney/client privilege and returned into regular session at 9:20 P.M. VOTING AYES: Lance Bolyard, Francis Britton, Mike Hake, Pat Mallory, Bill Mariman, Stan Schmidt, Fred Taylor, Peg Tole. NOES: None. ABSENT: None. Mayor Adrian declared the motion carried.

F. DISCUSSION OF KRISS PROPERTY- Yvonne Baumfalk prepared a letter going over a brief history of the John D. (Jack) Kriss property and their intentions of its use. She is asking the City to withdraw any legal action against the trust and the trustees. Jerry Fairbanks, legal counsel for the City, was present in case there were any questions pertaining to the lawsuit. After the discussion in Executive Session, Mr. Fairbanks stated that the City is willing to work with the Trust and the Department of Wildlife and Parks, but will not withdraw any legal action. MOTION BY Pat Mallory, seconded by Mike Hake to agree to work with the John D. (Jack) Kriss Trust and the Department of Wildlife and Parks, but will not withdraw any legal action. VOTING AYES: Lance Bolyard, Francis Britton, Mike Hake, Pat Mallory, Bill Mariman, Stan Schmidt, Fred Taylor, Peg Tole. NOES: None. ABSENT: None. Mayor Adrian declared the motion carried.


REPORTS & DISCUSSIONS:

Tyson mentioned that he would be gone for a KMU meeting.

Tyson said that he and the department heads will be meeting soon to start preliminary work for next year’s budget.

Fred asked Tyson how the trash pickup was working. Tyson answered that we just finished the first full month. Omar stated that it has cut back on Sanitation hours, but the Friday and Saturday routes still need tweaked.

ADJOURNMENT:

MOTION BY Lance Bolyard, seconded by Peg Tole to adjourn the meeting at 9:35 P.M.  VOTING AYES:  Lance Bolyard, Francis Britton, Mike Hake, Pat Mallory, Bill Mariman, Stan Schmidt, Fred Taylor, Peg Tole.  NOES: None.  ABSENT:  None.  Mayor Adrian declared the motion carried.

 

__________________________________________
Joni L. Ketchum, City Clerk