MONDAY
JUNE 02, 2014
The
Governing Body of the City of Pratt met in Regular session in the Commission
Room located in City Hall.
PRESENT:
Jeff Taylor Mayor
Bill
Hlavachick Commissioner
Gary
Skaggs Commissioner
Lucus
Kumberg Commissioner
Doug
Meyer Commissioner
ALSO PRESENT:
Dave Howard City Manager
LuAnn
Kramer City Clerk
Ken
Van Blaricum City Attorney
Gary
Myers Police Chief
Russell
Rambat Public Works
Director
Brad
Blankenship Building Inspector
Kelly
Hemphill Dir. of
Electric Utilities
Bruce
Pinkall Recreation Director
The
regular meeting was called to order by Mayor Taylor. The Mayor instructed the Clerk to note that
all Commissioners were present.
INVOCATION AND PLEDGE OF
ALLEGIANCE:
Mayor
Taylor led the staff and audience in the invocation and Pledge of Allegiance.
MINUTES:
Commissioner
Skaggs made a motion to approve the minutes of the May 19, 2014 regular
Commission meeting. The motion was seconded
by Commissioner Hlavachick and carried unanimously.
RECOGNIZE PHS 2014 SOFTBALL STATE
CHAMPIONS:
Mayor
Taylor stated that it was a rare opportunity when you get to recognize 4A State
Softball Champions, but the Pratt High School girls were just that. Mayor Taylor explained that the team won convincingly outscoring
their opponents 35 to 5. Mayor Taylor
introduced Principal Blankenship, AD Nightingale and Coach Forshee and then had
the girls introduce themselves and the position they play. Mayor Taylor congratulated the team on an
accomplishment that they would remember for a lifetime.
BUSINESS:
CONSIDERATION AND APPROVAL OF 2014 CMB LICENSE
FOR LONESTAR STORE #22 (FORMERLY PRIME TIME) AT 823 N. MAIN:
Police
Chief Myers stated that Prime Time had sold and the new owners had applied for
the remaining 2014 Cereal Malt Beverage license. Chief Myers commented that they had met all
the requirements to do so and he recommended the approval of the 2014 Cereal
Malt Beverage to Lonestar Store #22. Commissioner
Kumberg made a motion to approve the application for the Cereal Malt Beverage
for the rest of 2014 for Lonestar #22, formerly Prime Time. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Meyer
and carried unanimously.
CONSIDERATION AND APPROVAL TO ADD A STORAGE
SHED AT ANGOOD FIELD:
PCC
Softball Coach Mike Manderino explained to the Commission that they needed a
storage unit at Sixth Street that would house their mower. Mr. Manderino stated that the existing shed
had been broken into several times and the proposed one was more secure. Mr. Manderino commented that he had been
driving the mower back and forth, which cost him time and money for gas. Mr. Manderino stated that they would be
painting the unit that had been donated by Southwest Truck and it would be
located just outside the dugout. Commissioner
Skaggs questioned if it would fit on the concrete slab that was there. Mr. Manderino stated about two feet of it
would be outside the dugout. Mayor
Taylor asked if it was metal construction.
Mr. Manderino commented that it was.
Mayor Taylor commented that it did not look very good in the pictures,
but he realized their need.
Commissioner
Kumberg questioned if there would be somewhere else they could store the
mower. Recreation Director Pinkall
stated that there was not a great place to put a mower in and other places also
have issues. Mayor Taylor questioned if
they had to also transport their equipment back and forth. Mr. Manderino stated that those were in the
other shed, but would be put in this shed.
Commissioner Skaggs stated that he thought the City could make it on a
temporary basis until we knew what the future of Lemon Park was going to
be. Commissioner Hlavachick asked if
they play fall ball. Mr. Manderino
stated that they do and they do a lot of work on the field. Mayor Taylor stated that it was a nice ball
park and we appreciated the work that they do.
Commissioner Meyer questioned if people could go from the back of the
bleachers to the top of the shed. Mr. Manderino
stated that there was too much distance between the two for that to
happen.
Commissioner
Skaggs made a motion to approve the placement of the shed in Lemon Park with
the understanding that it could be removed at our request in the future. Commissioner Skaggs added that our concern
was the appearance factor. Commissioner
Hlavachick seconded the motion and the motion and second passed unanimously.
CONSIDERATION AND APPROVAL OF 2015 BUDGET
REQUEST:
Library
Director Rochelle Westerhaus informed the Commission that the Library Board was
requesting the full 4 mill provided to them through the charter ordinance from
the City and additional funding from the County Commission. Ms. Westerhaus explained that the $161,733
from the City and $138,867 from the County would guarantee that they would be
able to maintain the high level of service historically provided by them.
Ms.
Westerhaus stated that there was a new line item in their 2015 budget under
material for digital materials. Ms.
Westerhaus commented that there was an increase in eBooks and eAudioBooks. Ms. Westerhaus added that, although they had
used gift money in 2013 and 2014, they needed budget funds for subscription and
content fees; however, they would continue to use gift money to add as much
content as possible. Ms. Westerhaus
stated that books and non-print materials had taken small cuts in an effort to
keep expenses down.
Ms.
Westerhaus commented that their personnel and IT services had large increases
for 2015 and they both impact their ability to provide access to high quality
services. Ms. Westerhaus stated that
they were able to increase one employee from half time to full time, but they
were still not at the same employment level that they were before the cuts in
2011. Ms. Westerhaus added that the
Library Board had set aside gift money to fund these additional personnel
expenses for three years. Ms. Westerhaus
stated that, with the addition of this employee, the Library had started
providing basic technology tutoring classes for the public. Ms. Westerhaus added that the weekly sessions
cover basic skill training such as how to use your eBook reader, apple
products, iPhone and Facebook. Ms.
Westerhaus commented that they had had classes of six and some were only one,
but they get individual attention with a smaller attendance.
Ms.
Westerhaus commented that IT services were increasing due to needing updates to
the technology infrastructure, such as the server and broadband connection
speed. Ms. Westerhaus stated that there
were two items that had been included in the 2015 budget that had previously
been free or at minimal cost, such as their internet service becoming a fee
based service and having to purchase Microsoft licenses at market rates. Commissioner Kumberg questioned why the
change in the technology infrastructure.
Ms. Westerhaus explained that their server was maxed out, so they would
be needing a new one and they would be going to cloud for their service
provider.
Mayor
Taylor questioned if we knew what 4 mills would be. City Manager Howard stated that we would not
know that until we got the valuation from the County. Commissioner Kumberg made a motion to approve
the 2015 budget request from the Library in the amount of 4 mill. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Meyer
and carried unanimously.
CONSIDERATION AND APPROVAL TO PURCHASE A PHONE
SYSTEM FOR OFF-SITE DISPATCHING LOCATION:
Assistant
Police Chief Jeff Ward informed the Commission that they had been working on an
off-site location for the last several years, but they did not have the
capabilities they should if there were a disaster. Asst. Chief Ward commented that the Pratt
County Health Department basement housed the complete radio communications and
off-site server, but they were lacking the phone system that the Police
Department needed.
Asst.
Chief Ward stated that the Sheriff Department had upgraded their phone system a
couple of years ago and the two phone systems do not communicate together. Asst. Chief Ward explained that he had
started visiting with Sheriff Chinn and they had a temporary agreement that we
would put in our phone system and upgrade the internal system and be able to
eventually tie into their system. Asst.
Chief Ward added that we could go right back to work with these things in place
at the Health Department.
Asst.
Chief Ward stated that DataVision could get them all the equipment they needed
for $14,850. Mayor Taylor stated that we
need to do this anyway to get the phone systems compatible. Asst. Chief Ward commented that they would be
‘dead in the water’ during a disaster without the phone system at the Health
Department. Commissioner Skaggs
questioned if the LEC was more structurally sound than the Health
Department. Asst. Chief Ward stated that
it was but, during a gas leak a few years ago, we had nowhere to go when we had
to evacuate. Commissioner Skaggs
questioned if they were just asking for authorization to spend money. Asst. Chief Ward stated that that was correct
and it would come out of the special police fund. Commissioner Kumberg stated that this had
been discussed in the LEC Committee meeting.
Commissioner
Kumberg questioned if there would be yearly licensing fees. Asst. Chief Ward answered that there would be
and that would be included in their budget.
Commissioner Meyer asked if we had to lease the area in the Health
Department. Asst. Chief Ward stated that
the Health Director and Mr. Mark McManaman agreed to let us use the space as
long as we provide all dispatch operations.
Commissioner
Hlavachick questioned if this was a biddable item. Asst. Chief Ward explained that they had not
gone out for bids because DataVision was the one who worked with the Sheriff’s
office and we would be upgrading to the same system. Commissioner Hlavachick made a motion to
approve the request from the Police Department for an off-site dispatch phone
system from DataVision in the amount of $14,850. Commissioner Kumberg seconded the motion and
it passed unanimously.
CONSIDERATION AND APPROVAL OF RESOLUTION 060214
TO SHOW SUPPORT AND PARTICIPATION IN THE REGION E MITIGATION PLAN’S FIVE YEAR
UPDATE:
Public
Works Director Rambat stated that there was a meeting about a month ago with
seven other Counties who participated in a County hazard mitigation plan
sometime back. Mr. Rambat commented that
State and Federal governments decided to manage and combine Counties in our
region and establish a regional plan that would include eight Counties and
Cities. Mr. Rambat explained that we
already have that plan, but the State had hired a company to put together
information on these eight Counties and put together the regional one.
Mr.
Rambat stated that the resolution tonight states that the City is interested
and that we would provide any information that the company may need. Mr. Rambat added that this would pave the way
for FEMA disaster money. Commissioner
Skaggs questioned if we had any financial obligations. City Manager Howard stated that we do not and
that this was just a requirement before a disaster. Mr. Howard commented that Mr. Rambat would be
the primary person going to the meetings on this.
The
following Resolution 060214 was then presented to the Commission for their
approval: RESOLUTION OF THE CITY OF PRATT’S SUPPORT AND PARTICIPATION IN THE REGION
3 MITIGATION PLAN’S FIVE YEAR UPDATE.
Commissioner Skaggs made a motion to approve Resolution 060214 approving
the five year update. The motion was seconded
by Commissioner Meyer and passed unanimously.
REVIEW OF CONCEPTUAL DRAWING OF LEMON PARK:
Mr.
Blake Himmelwright stated that Lemon Park was developed in 1920 by his
great-grandfather, George Lemon and that Mr. Lemon had given the park to the
City in 1940. Mr. Himmelwright commented
that there were no trees along the Ninnescah River and first attempts did not
survive the harsh Kansas climates, but those that did were nursed along by
buckets of water being carried to them.
Mr.
Himmelwright explained that he had hired an architect to develop a conceptual
drawing of the park and he pointed out some of the changes he would like to see
implemented. Mr. Himmelwright commented
that he hoped that the Commission could find it in their hearts and in their
budget to do some of the proposed improvements.
Mr. Himmelwright stated that there was a lot that could be done to make
the park better, but it was a matter of money.
City Manager Howard commented that prioritizing and setting a timeline
would be topics of discussion during the budget session later this summer.
Commissioner
Hlavachick questioned when the public would be able to take a look at this and
input their ideas. Mr. Himmelwright
stated that we could set up a time for them to look at it. Recreation Director Pinkall stated that they
had talked about it in the Advisory Board meeting. Mr. Howard commented that it was presented as
a concept, but they had all agreed that the park could be improved. Mr. Howard stated that, with the additional
land, it does need to be updated and it would be discussed during budget
time. Mr. Himmelwright stated that he
had talked to some of the members of the Advisory Board. Mr. Himmelwright commented that the park was
a wonderful community asset.
Commissioner Meyer questioned if we needed to do anything tonight. Mr. Howard stated that they were just making
the Commission aware of it and get a consensus of agreement. Commissioner Kumberg stated that he felt it
was a pretty amazing first draft. Mr.
Himmelwright stated that Derby would have something like this and urged the
Commission to go with him some time to check it out.
CONSIDERATION AND APPROVAL OF ORDINANCE 1408
AMENDING ARTICLE THREE OF THE PRATT CITY ZONING ORDINANCE BY ADDING DEFINITION
OF MOBILE HOMES AND MODULAR HOMES:
City
Attorney Van Blaricum stated that the Planning and Zoning Commission had been
working on new zoning classifications for Sandy Creek and noticed that there
were no definitions for modular and mobile homes. Mr. Van Blaricum stated that the definitions
would be incorporated in the definition section of the Code.
The following
Ordinance 1408 was then presented to the Commission for their approval: AN ORDINANCE AMENDING ARTICLE THREE OF THE
PRATT CITY ZONING ORDINANCE BY ADDING DEFINITIONS OF “MOBILE HOMES” AND
“MODULAR HOMES”. Commissioner Meyer made a motion to approve
Ordinance 1408 defining modular and mobile homes. Commissioner Hlavachick seconded the motion
and it passed unanimously.
CONSIDERATION AND APPROVAL OF ORDINANCE 1409
AMENDING ARTICLE FOUR DISTRICT REGULATIONS OF THE PRATT CITY ZONING ORDINANCE:
City Attorney
Van Blaricum stated that this was an ordinance that amends Article 4 of the
zoning ordinance and would help with the zoning of Sandy Creek. Mr. Van Blaricum added that Article 5 was for
R-1A Single-Family Residential Dwelling District. Commissioner Skaggs questioned if the City
would be responsible for enforcing this.
Commissioner Skaggs added that there were no obligation with
covenants. Mr. Howard stated that
covenants were made by people who originally owned the property. Commissioner Skaggs asked what extent the
City would use. Mr. Howard stated that
the City would enforce the zoning regulations by ordinance. Mr. Van Blaricum commented that covenants
work great sometime, but not always. Mr.
Van Blaricum stated that Section 2 of the ordinance were the new zoning
classifications and is nicely harmonious.
Mr. Howard added that they had just fine tuned what was currently in
there. Mr. Howard stated that we had not
sold any lots yet, but people would buy with the regulations in place.
The
following Ordinance 1409 was then presented to the Commission for their
approval: AN ORDINANCE AMENDING ARTICLE FOUR DISTRICT REGULATIONS OF THE PRATT
CITY ZONING ORDINANCE BY ADDING NEW SECTION 5, SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENTIAL
DWELLING DISTRICT R-1A.; AND RENUMBERING PREVIOUS SECTIONS 5 THROUGH 17. Commissioner Meyer made a motion to approve
Ordinance 1409 amending Article 4 District regulations of the Pratt City Zoning
Ordinance by adding new Section 5, single family residential dwelling district
R-1A and renumbering previous Sections 5 through 17. The motion was seconded by Commissioner
Kumberg and carried unanimously.
CONSIDERATION AND APPROVAL OF ADMINISTRATIVE
PROCEDURES FOR IMPLEMENTING RES. 020209 FOR FLOODPLAIN MANAGEMENT:
Building
Inspector Blankenship explained to the Commission that Ms. Lola Shumway was the
Floodplain Administrator and this was another FEMA requirement. Mr. Blankenship stated that there would be a
Community Assessment Visit on June 11th at 9:00 a.m. Mr. Blankenship commented that the City gets
points for all that is set in place and in working order and that could mean
lower insurance costs. Commissioner
Kumberg made a motion to approve the Administrative Procedures for Implementing
Resolution 020209 for Floodplain Management.
The motion was seconded by Commissioner Skaggs and carried unanimously.
OPEN AGENDA:
·
Luca Matei:
Before
Mr. Luca Matei could begin, Mayor Taylor reminded him that he was not going to
talk if this was not something that the Commission could take action on or if
it did not pertain to City matters.
Mayor Taylor commented that he was sympathetic to Mr. Matei’s situation,
but it was a legal judicial matter and not something the Commission could do
anything about. Mr. Matei stated that he
had made a motion to the City Clerk to have an issue on the agenda. Mayor Taylor interrupted Mr. Matei and told
him that he was on an earlier agenda and he did not show up. Mr. Matei questioned what the procedures were
of reporting and that none of this was done properly. Mr. Matei continued stating that in 2008 it
was the same situation and it was fabricated.
Mayor Taylor stated that this was not a City issue. Mr. Matei stated that Mr. Van Blaricum was
part of the City. Mayor Taylor stated
that this was a legal matter and we were done here.
Mr.
Matei changed the subject and said that the City needed to take action on an
agenda to remove cotton wood trees and that people complain.
·
Parking spaces in front of
Barron:
Mr. W.
E. Stewart addressed the Commission concerning the parking spots by the theatre
being no parking. Commissioner Skaggs
commented that that was painted that way when the theatre was in operation. Mr. Howard stated that some of the parking
downtown was done by Commission action, so we might have to undo it from long
ago. Mr. Van Blaricum stated that he
would look through that. Commissioner
Skaggs stated that it was a waste of two parking spaces. Commissioner Skaggs questioned if the police
would turn away and not issue tickets if they were used. Chief Myers stated that they would use
discretion. Mr. Howard commented that he
would visit with Mr. Rambat in the morning about temporary lines. Mayor Taylor stated that, if you wanted to
park there, go ahead.
·
Pick-up on Watson & Fifth:
Mr.
Stewart mentioned that there had been a Ford pick-up parked on Watson Street in
front of Hillside Terrace for about a year.
Mr. Stewart stated that there was a tag in the back window, but it makes
that a narrower street and ties up traffic.
Chief Myers questioned if moves or not.
Mr. Stewart stated that it did not.
Chief Myers commented that he would have it checked out.
·
Hoarding Ordinance:
Mr.
David Kerr asked the Commission to consider an ordinance against hoarding and
against indoor furniture and appliances outside. Mr. Kerr stated that he had neighbors that had
a collection of things inside a house and they have had skunks around there
during the day as well as armadillos. Mr.
Kerr added that there were three houses basically being used as storage units
and he was getting to enjoy more mice and roaches. Commissioner Meyer suggested looking at other
municipalities to see what might be out there.
Chief Myers stated that the City of Lawrence prohibits couches and
appliances on a front porch. Building
Inspector Blankenship stated that we do to but, if they were being used as
chairs, we do not have an ordinance that prohibits that. Mr. Van Blaricum stated that he would look to
see what other Cities do about this situation.
REPORTS:
City Manager:
·
Bouncy castle:
City
Manager Howard stated that he had been approached by the Young Professionals
Group about having a bouncy castle at the Movie in the Park. Mr. Howard commented that he had no problem
with that. Mayor Taylor stated that it
would be alright, because they could not use the inflatable screen if the winds
were more than 15 mph.
·
Congressman Pompeo:
Mr.
Howard informed the Commission that Congressman Pompeo would be at the
Municipal Building at 4:00 p.m. on Thursday.
·
Successful Tournament:
Mr.
Howard stated that there was a lot of work that goes into a successful
tournament. Mr. Howard explained that
Recreation Director Pinkall manages the people that put on the tournament and
tries to get them to come back again, manages hotel rooms and parking. Mr. Howard added that the parking for the
State tournament could have been a big issue, but it was thought about early
and there were no problems. Mr. Pinkall
stated that there were a lot of departments that help make a tournament
successful such as Mr. Rambat making banners, sanitation taking care of the
trash and the street department mowing the additional parking area.
Inspections:
·
Construction finishing up:
Building
Inspector Blankenship stated that the museum was finalized and open. Mr. Blankenship added that the Best Western
Plus should be finalized this Friday and they were waiting on the Best Western
people to okay it. Mr. Blankenship
commented that they have to okay the colors and furniture placement. Mayor Taylor stated that the lady was to be driving
out this morning and they could be open tomorrow.
·
Weed letters:
Mr.
Blankenship stated that they had just sent out thirty-nine weed letters and
twenty two weeks ago. Mr. Blankenship
reminded the Commission that the property owners had ten days to get the
property cleaned up. Mr. Blankenship
explained that the letters go out every other Monday and he gives them over the
weekend and a lot get done. Mr.
Blankenship commented that there were habitual owners that we mow every year,
so he would like to look at foregoing the ten day waiting period and just go
mow them as soon as a letter goes out.
Electric Department:
·
New power at PRMC:
Director
of Electric Utilities Hemphill stated that line distribution had been working
on completing the new power for Pratt Regional Medical Center and the rest of
the project would be waiting to switch gears.
·
Maintenance:
Mr.
Hemphill commented that the power plant crew had been working on the overhaul
and maintenance issues.
Recreation Department:
·
Future Tournament:
Recreation
Director Pinkall stated that he had a meeting with KSHAA and had shot them a
long term proposal for future tournaments.
Mr. Pinkall commented that he had heard that the need for more motel
rooms was a concern and they would have liked to see a bigger variety of
restaurants.
·
Youth:
Mr.
Pinkall stated that it was the start of the youth baseball season and there
were forty-two teams. Mr. Pinkall
commented that they would play Monday through Thursday starting tonight. Mr. Pinkall added that there were also
eighty-four kids at Lemon Park to start the summer youth program.
·
Tournament money:
Commissioner
Skaggs questioned if we had made any money hosting the State tournament. Mr. Pinkall stated that they should know more
tomorrow. Mr. Pinkall explained that we
would get 25% of the gate, 50% of the program and shirt sales and all of the
concessions. Mr. Pinkall commented that
they sold every t-shirt that they had and ended up ordering some. Mr. Pinkall added that he thought we would
end up on the plus side.
Power Plant:
·
Lightning strike:
Power
Plant Superintendent Smith informed the Commission that a lightning strike
during the storm the other day had knocked out their phone. Mr. Smith added that, if it did not hit the
plant, it was very close.
Police Department:
·
Posted Speed Limits:
Police
Chief Myers commented that Asst. Chief Ward had advised him that there had been
some questions concerning speed limits on Main Street. Chief Myers stated that those were State
designated roads and speed limits were set by KDOT. Chief Myers explained that they do studies of
roadways and the engineers make recommendations to the Transportation
Secretary. Commissioner Skaggs stated
that he had an eighty year old lady that wanted to know why some were at 20 mph
and some at 30 mph and he still did not have a good answer for her. Mr. Howard stated that he had visited with
Mr. Terry Coder and he told him that, if there was a traffic light, they did
not want someone to have to slam on their brakes so 20 mph makes that
doable. Chief Myers added that the
Commission had approved the 2013 Standard Traffic Ordinance and Section 33 had
been amended by Ordinance 1302 and that amends speed limits that were in there. Chief Myers added that the Commission had regulated
speed limits in STO’s for several years.
·
Grant application:
Chief
Myers informed the Commission that the Police Department had applied for a
$3,000 grant and participated in the click-it or ticket campaign. Chief Myers commented that they had written
one hundred safety, five child restraint, six speeding tickets and had
misdemeanor arrests. Chief Myers added
that they continued their regular calls, which added up to two hundred
fifty-one and that resulted in seventy-three reports resulting in arrests,
search warrants and other cases. Chief
Myers stated that they also continued regular traffic stops and the campaign
had been effective.
·
Radar signs:
Chief
Myers stated that he had finally received the titles for the radar trailers and
had gotten insurance on them, so he would be installing those in the morning.
City Clerk:
·
Joint Meeting:
City
Clerk Kramer stated that the County wanted to have a joint meeting in July and
asked if the Commission knew what would work best for them. After little discussion, the Commission
wanted the City Clerk to check and see if July 7th at 11:00 a.m.
would work for the County. Ms. Kramer
commented that she would check with County Clerk Kruse and get back to them.
Mayor and Commission:
·
S. High house:
Commissioner
Meyer questioned where we were on the South High Street house. Building Inspector Blankenship stated that he
could not get anyone to answer his calls and the father had been in and out of
jail, so it probably would have to take its course.
·
Landscape Ordinance:
Commissioner
Meyer asked where we were on the landscape ordinance. Mr. Blankenship stated that they had spent so
much time on Sandy Creek, that they had pushed it back.
·
Dog Park:
Commissioner
Meyer stated that he had been approached by a couple of people asking about a
dog park. Recreation Director Pinkall
stated that it had been talked about numerous times, but they did not have a
plan on where to put it. Mr. Howard
commented that he had visited a few and they would not be that hard to do. Mr. Howard added that we could talk more
about it during budget.
·
4th & Main lot:
Commissioner
Meyer questioned where they were on the lot at Fourth Street and Main
Street. Mr. Howard stated that the lot
had been deeded to the City with the stipulation that it be used for a park,
but the Parish Hotel project needed a third of it for parking. Mr. Howard commented that he had visited with
Mr. Porter Loomis and he was willing to adjust the deed, which would modify our
plans.
·
Building by Woody’s:
Commissioner
Skaggs commented that he did not see much going on with the building by
Woody’s. Mr. Blankenship stated that it
was secure, but he would contact them again.
ADJOURN:
A
motion by Commissioner Hlavachick was seconded by Commissioner Kumberg. The motion and second passed unanimously.
______________________________
JEFF
A. TAYLOR, Mayor
ATTEST:
_______________________________
LUANN
KRAMER, City Clerk