09/08/15-Approved Regular Commission Meeting Minutes

TUESDAY

 

SEPTEMBER 08, 2015

The Governing Body of the City of Pratt met in Regular session in the Commission Room located in City Hall.

PRESENT:     

             

Lucus Kumberg            Mayor

Bill Hlavachick            Commissioner
Jeff Taylor                    Commissioner
Gary Skaggs                 Commissioner
Doug Meyer                 Commissioner
      
ALSO PRESENT:        

 

Dave Howard                City Manager

LuAnn Kramer             City Clerk
Ken Van Blaricum       City Attorney  
Gary Myers                  Chief of Police
Russell Rambat            Public Works Director
Brad Blankenship         Building Inspector                        

Bruce Pinkall                Recreation Director

                                                          
CALL TO ORDER:

 

The regular meeting was called to order by Mayor Kumberg.  The Mayor instructed the Clerk to note that all Commissioners were present.

The Mayor reminded the audience that this meeting may be taped and/or recorded.

INVOCATION AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE:

Commissioner Taylor led the staff and audience in the invocation and Mayor Kumberg led the Pledge of Allegiance.

MINUTES:

Commissioner Taylor made a motion to approve the minutes of the August 17, 2015 regular Commission meeting.  The motion was seconded by Commissioner Skaggs and carried unanimously.  

BUSINESS:

CONSIDERATION AND APPROVAL OF CITY MANAGER’S AGREEMENT:

City Attorney Van Blaricum stated that he had drafted an agreement for the City Manager over the last several months and it was before the Commission for their approval.  Mayor Kumberg questioned whether everyone had had time to review the agreement and they had.  With no further discussion, Commissioner Skaggs made a motion to approve the contract as submitted and written effective September 01, 2015.  The motion was seconded by Commissioner Hlavachick.

Commissioner Taylor stated that Mr. Howard had been the City Manager for thirteen and a half years and during that time, he had negotiated a lot of contracts and got good deals for the community.  Commissioner Taylor commented that he had paid for his salary with things that he had done and the Commission had wanted to lock him in for more years even though his contract was on a year to year basis.  Commissioner Taylor added that Mr. Howard had surrounded the City with good employees and it spoke highly of this Commission to enter into this contract.  Commissioner Skaggs also added that this was a five year contract.  

The motion and second passed unanimously.

CONSIDERATION AND APPROVAL OF DELEGATE(S) AT THE LKM ANNUAL CONFERENCE:

Mayor Kumberg questioned if anyone was planning on going to the League’s Annual Conference.  Mr. Van Blaricum stated that he was going and would be glad to represent the City as a voting delegate.  Mr. Howard stated that he had not asked Finance Director Garten if she was going, but they could appoint her if they so choose to.  Commissioner Taylor made a motion to appoint City Attorney Ken Van Blaricum and Finance Director Diana Garten as delegates at the League of Kansas Municipalities Annual Conference.  The motion was seconded by Commissioner Hlavachick and carried unanimously.

OPEN AGENDA:

·        Story Walk in Lemon Park:

K-State Research employee Jody Drake approached the Commission about having a Story Walk in Lemon Park.  Ms. Drake explained that this was something new to Pratt, but they take pages from a story book and post them around the park.  Ms. Drake stated that she had been in contact with the library about partnering with them and they were on board.  Ms. Drake commented that this would start in the spring and would go along with the Walk Kansas program; however, they would be doing a test run during the Christmas event.  Commissioner Taylor questioned if they would need to close down the park.  Ms. Drake stated that they would not and this was going to be an on-going thing with the books being changed out once a week.  

 

Ms. Drake stated that they encourage the children and parents to read the whole book.  Ms. Drake explained that they have to buy two books to post the whole book and that prevents any copyright issues.  Commissioner Skaggs questioned if they expected some vandalism.  Ms. Drake stated that there could be and that could up the cost if they had to purchase more books.  Commissioner Taylor asked where they would be doing it.  Ms. Drake stated that it would be on the sidewalk trail.  Commissioner Meyer questioned if they would be putting stakes in the ground.  Ms. Drake explained that there would be something in the ground. 

Ms. Drake commented that she would be applying for a grant.  Mayor Kumberg stated that this was a great idea and asked that she call Public Works Director Rambat if she had any questions.  Commissioner Taylor questioned if this was a year around program.  Ms. Drake stated that it would be for about eight weeks and coincide with the Walk Kansas program.  

With little more discussion, the Commission were in agreement to allow Ms. Drake to go ahead with her plans for the Story Walk in Lemon Park in the spring.

·        Private property flooded:

Mr. Ernie Smith commented to the Commission that there was private property in the 200 block of South Hamilton Street that had flooded during the heavy rain this afternoon.  Mr. Smith stated that it had gotten up on two properties and was an on-going issue when there were sudden down pours.  Public Works Director Rambat stated that he had examined the drainage ditch for restrictions and there were not any.  Mr. Rambat commented that this property was fairly level and did not have any grasp to pull the water back down.  Mr. Rambat added that other properties tend to taper up from the top of the concrete on the ditch.  

Commissioner Skaggs stated that there had not been any history before the ditch was concrete.  Mr. Smith commented that water got in one time.  Commissioner Skaggs questioned if the City had any liability.  City Manager Howard stated that other properties had had this happen and it was fairly common to flood into yards.  Commissioner Skaggs asked if the McFarland’s had flood insurance.  Mr. Smith stated that they did and added that the Gimpel’s had built a retainer wall and the water was coming up the back side and would not drain.  Mr. Howard stated that this was not something that the City caused, but it was a natural event.  Mr. Howard added that the City does what they can to prevent areas of flooding, but there were some areas that we cannot do much about.  

REPORTS:

City Manager:

·        Home Lumber project:

City Manager Howard stated that the Home Lumber project had been put on hold due to the economic conditions and the down turn of the oil industry.  Mr. Howard stated that he had talked with the general manager and they were just being cautious.  Mr. Howard commented that he felt the City should continue with the Fincham Street project.

·        Sales Tax:

Mr. Howard reported that sales tax was down for the third month in a row.

 

City Attorney:

·        Crime and Punishment in Pratt: 

City Attorney Van Blaricum stated that he had had a good conversation with Chief Myers after he left the joint meeting and he had since jotted down some thoughts and facts for the Commission.  Mr. Van Blaricum informed the Commission that there had not been any home invasions that he knew of and there had been no robberies.  Mr. Van Blaricum commented that the police had had a number of leads on the recent business burglary, but they had not checked out.  Mr. Van Blaricum stated that there had been some home burglaries where some had been solved and others had not.  

 

Mr. Van Blaricum stated that 95% of all police reports were prosecuted due to our police department being as good as any in the State.  Mr. Van Blaricum commented that bond conditions were flexible and were set by the Judge.  Mr. Van Blaricum stated that he does not set bond.  Mr. Van Blaricum stated that he was unaware of any unusual crime in the City, but there were rumors that crime was up and prosecution was down.  Mr. Van Blaricum stated that he did not know where they came from.  

Commissioner Skaggs asked if he had any comments on the drug situation in Pratt.  Mr. Van Blaricum stated that there was one and a lot of people use marijuana.  Mr. Van Blaricum commented that attitudes were changing in Pratt, but he still prosecutes.  Mr. Van Blaricum stated that he absolutely prosecutes meth and heroin cases, but they typically do not go to prison the first time around.  Mr. Van Blaricum commented that those that do go to prison were those who sell to others and they were hard to catch, but they were prosecuted all the way through.  Mr. Van Blaricum added that they were sent to prison on a regular basis.  Commissioner Skaggs questioned if Pratt had more of a problem than other communities this size.  Mr. Van Blaricum stated that we did not.  Mr. Van Blaricum explained that, if caught in Wichita in a routine traffic stop, they might not be charged at all and we do.  Mr. Van Blaricum stated that we were pretty hardnosed on those cases and were very hard on robberies, home invasions, etc.  Commissioner Skaggs commented that the rumors they were hearing were either exaggerated or they had been misinformed about drugs being a severe problem and that our schools were full of drugs.  Commissioner Skaggs added that negative rumors give the community a bad name and he wants what we have heard to be accurate.  Mr. Van Blaricum stated that you need to be careful what you read on Facebook.  

Police Chief Myers reported several crime statistics that included aggravated burglary, assaults, disorderly conduct, drug violation and driving while on a suspended license.  Chief Myers stated that burglaries were on the rise this year.  Commissioner Meyer commented that he hears about repeat offenders and a core group of people.  Chief Myers stated that they know that those individuals are out there and some are on the bicycles.  Chief Myers commented that those individuals were in their twenties or late twenties and most were on probation.  Chief Myers explained that the judges make a decision to put them in prison or put them back out on the street and, if they are out there, they are up to no good.  .Chief Myers stated that people were encouraged to not leave any valuables in their cars and to secure their garage and house.  Chief Myers added that he had a limited number of officers, but they do the best that they can.  Chief Myers stated that the economy had put people out of work and some were out doing criminal acts to subsidize their lack of income.  Chief Myers commented that there were no towns in the country that were immune to drug issues, but we had had a pretty good success rate even if it was only the small time users.  City Manager Howard questioned when the Attorney General’s office was called in.  Mr. Van Blaricum stated that it was on cases that we were not geared up to handle, such as child molestation.  

Mr. Jeff McCaskey stated that he meant no disrespect to Chief Myers or Mr. Van Blaricum when he made his remarks at the joint meeting.  Mr. McCaskey commented that he had voiced the opinion of many people in the community and they wanted to see the level of crimes lowered and to see progress and results.  Commissioner Skaggs asked if anything that Chief Myers or Mr. Van Blaricum had said changed anything he had talked about earlier.  Mr. McCaskey stated that he sees that there are no comments at the meetings from the community; however, the perception was that there was no action taken on these matters.  Mr. McCaskey commented that he might have caught Mr. Van Blaricum off guard and that was not his intention.  Mr. McCaskey explained that he was not pointing the finger at anyone, but the community just wants to see results whether that means policy adjustments or a ‘tune-up’ that would be visible to the community.  Mr. McCaskey stated that people do not realize the work that the Commission and attorney do.  Mayor Kumberg agreed that there should be more communication.  Mr. McCaskey stated that more people should come here to listen to what Mr. Van Blaricum had to say, but he was not sure how to get them to come in. 

Mr. Van Blaricum commented that it was hard to get the media to report results and he did not have time to call Hutchinson or the Tribune and try to go through what they had accomplished.  Chief Myers stated that he does send a daily email to the Tribune with their activities.  Chief Myers explained that citizens need to call as soon as they see something happening, but many did not want to be a witness to the fact.  Chief Myers commented that he was disappointed in the discontinuance of Crime Stoppers.  Chief Myers stated that that was something that we needed to try and get back and people would know that they were going to stay anonymous.  Mayor Kumberg stated that any help from the community would be worthwhile and we take that very serious.  Mr. Howard stated that citizens had the fear of retribution if they call in.  Commissioner Skaggs encouraged the officers to stop and visit if they see someone sitting outside so that we keep the lines of communication open.  Chief Myers stated that they would be glad to talk to any civic organizations and he or someone in the department with expertise could address different areas. 

Public Works:

·        Wastewater Plant:

Public Works Director Rambat stated that the wastewater plant was back in business.  Mr. Rambat commented that they had been working with the tech on any forms that needed to be protected and they would be keeping an extra controller on the shelf from now on.  Mr. Howard stated that the lightning strike several weeks ago could have weakened the system.

·        Pool closed:

Mr. Rambat stated that yesterday was the last day for the pool to be open, but they had not drained it yet.  Mr. Rambat explained that they would let the chlorine dissipate some before they do drain it.

Inspection Dept.:

·        Hampton Inn:

Building Inspector Blankenship stated that the Hampton Inn had been putting furniture in and were looking at being ready to open by the end of the week.  Mr. Blankenship informed the Commission that he would be doing a mechanical inspection there tomorrow.

·        Parrish Lofts:

Mr. Blankenship stated that tomorrow was the final roof inspection at the Parrish Lofts and they were working on the parking lot.  Mayor Kumberg asked how much further they had to go.  Mr. Blankenship stated that there was quite a bit, but the top floors were done and they were working on the bottom floors.  

Mr. Blankenship assured the Commission that the windows would eventually only open up to about four inches and that would be done with a kit that was locked in.  Commissioner Skaggs questioned if there would be screens.  Mr. Blankenship stated that there would be.  Commissioner Hlavachick asked if they were all rented.  Mr. Blankenship commented that he did not know, but he thought they were getting close.  Mr. Howard stated that he had heard that they only had two left.  

Recreation Dept.:

·        Movement on Main Street project:

Recreation Director Pinkall stated that there was movement on Main Street and they were getting closer to getting done.  Mayor Kumberg commented that the light poles looked awesome.  Commissioner Taylor asked if they would move the electrical wires among the stop lights.  Mr. Pinkall stated that Director of Electric Utilities Huber had the plans for all that, but it was the last thing to get done.  Commissioner Hlavachick questioned if they were going to paint the stop light poles.  Mr. Pinkall stated that he was not aware that they were, but Mr. Howard stated that that was an idea.

Mayor and Commission:

·        City/County meeting:

Mayor Kumberg stated that he had enjoyed the City/County meeting earlier and he thought that they had several good discussion points.  

·        Allocate funds for Joint Mental Health Program:

 

Commissioner Meyer questioned if the Commission should allocate funds for the Mental Health Program.  Mr. Howard stated that we should get everything in place first.  Commissioner Skaggs stated that we had accomplished several things today and it was a true joint venture.  

ADJOURN:

Commissioner Hlavachick made a motion to adjourn.  Commissioner Meyer seconded the motion and it passed unanimously.

_______________________________

LUCUS KUMBERG, Mayor

ATTEST:

________________________________

LUANN KRAMER, City Clerk                     

 

09/08/15-Approved Recessed City/County Joint Meeting Minutes

TUESDAY

SEPTEMBER 08, 2015

The Governing Body of the City of Pratt met in Recessed session in the Commission Room located in City Hall.

 

PRESENT:                  

 

Lucus Kumberg            Mayor

Bill Hlavachick             Commissioner
Jeff Taylor                    Commissioner
Gary Skaggs                 Commissioner
Doug Meyer                 Commissioner
     
ALSO PRESENT:        

 

Dave Howard                City Manager

LuAnn Kramer             City Clerk
Ken Van Blaricum       City Attorney  
Glenna Borho               County Commissioner
Joe Reynolds                County Commissioner
Dave Ward                   County Commissioner
Sherry Kruse                County Clerk
Bob Schmisseur           County Counselor                                                           

CALL TO ORDER:

The recessed meeting was called to order by Mayor Kumberg.  The Mayor instructed the Clerk to note that all Commissioners were present.

The Mayor reminded the audience that this meeting may be taped and/or recorded. 

BUSINESS:

TRANSITION TO NOVEMBER ELECTION:

City Manager Howard stated that the State had approved uneven year elections in November, so there would no longer be City Commission elections in April.  Mr. Howard explained that the officials that were up for reelection could be reappointed by the Governing Body and their term would be extended until the following January.  Commissioner Taylor questioned if provisions were for odd years of Commissioners and odd years for sales tax.  Mr. Howard stated that that was correct and that we needed to get everything in order.  Commissioner Borho questioned County Clerk Kruse about whether she had any other information.  Ms. Kruse stated that LKM had a disagreement on the wording and that had not been addressed yet, so she could not do anything until that was resolved.  Mr. Howard commented that we needed to be thinking about the direction we were going.  

Mr. Howard also addressed the issue of term limits and how this plays into all of this.  City Attorney Van Blaricum commented that he would have to look at the ordinance, but that could be an issue.  Mr. Van Blaricum stated that the LKM conference was coming up, so he would raise that question.  County Counselor Schmisseur suggested that the City or County Clerk ask the Attorney General’s office.  Mr. Schmisseur commented that the appointing process could also be relevant to the term limits.  Mayor Kumberg stated that somebody should ask questions and get a clarification.

CITY WIDE CLEAN-UP & FEES; CONSIDERATION OF RECYCLING:

Mayor Kumberg stated that the City Commission had talked about holding a City wide clean up and a variety of ways to handle it had been discussed.  Mayor Kumberg commented that they wanted to ask the County Commissioners what the options could be and whether we could tag recycling into that as well.  Mayor Kumberg added that we would put out dumpsters for card board, construction material, etc. but did not want it to go directly into the landfill.  Commissioner Borho questioned when the City had done the last one.  Mr. Howard stated that it was about eleven years ago.  Commissioner Borho added that it always made the town look like a dump for three months and it seemed to go on forever.  Mayor Kumberg explained that this would not be a pick-up at the residence, however; there would be dumpsters set at certain locations.  Mr. Howard stated that we had talked to Simpson’s and they would charge what they normally would for a dumpster and it would be monitored daily.  Mr. Howard added that we could have an employee at each site over the weekends so we could regulate it and so the County would not get junk in that part of the landfill.  Commissioner Skaggs commented that part of the problem was that a lot of people did not have a vehicle to haul material.  Commissioner Skaggs stated that it was better than doing nothing and it would get rid of yard trash.  Commissioner Skaggs added that he was still open to having it at the home site. 

Commissioner Skaggs questioned if the County would give the City some consideration on what we send out there.  Commissioner Kumberg questioned if they could get to the recycling center instead of pitching it in the landfill.  Commissioner Borho questioned if there would be only one location with dumpsters for actual trash and recycling items.  Mayor Kumberg stated that we were not sure how to do it yet and questioned if we should talk to Mr. Jason Winkel to see what would be better for the environment.  Commissioner Taylor stated that door to door was a pain and it could be difficult to put it out on the day that it should be out there.  Commissioner Skaggs commented that we set dates with the understanding that it had to be out on that day.  Mr. Howard stated that we did not have the people to do this if it goes from a week to three months.  Commissioner Skaggs suggested doing it in the summer so we could hire school kids.  Mr. Howard stated that we could not put summer kids on the truck due to liability issues.  

Commissioner Reynolds questioned if they would just throw everything out in a pile.  Commissioner Skaggs commented that they would if we did not recycle.  Commissioner Skaggs stated that we could have points all year around in some places that were not in view of the traveling public or one day where they could put furniture out at the curb.  Commissioner Skaggs stated that it would be confined to the residential property if we do not do anything.  Mayor Kumberg stated that we were trying to do something that we needed to do and figure out how we needed to do it.  Commissioner Borho stated that they would ask Mr. Winkel about doing it next spring or summer.

 MENTAL HEALTH TRAINING FOR OFFICERS:

Commissioner Meyer stated that he wanted to talk about community needs assessments and the need for mental health training for first responders.  Commissioner Meyers commented that we need to train our officers properly and did not want anyone injured or killed dealing with mental issues.  Commissioner Meyer added that we could not expect the officers to assess cases in the field.  Commissioner Hlavachick stated that there were signs to look for and he commented that, even after a trip to the ER, a family member was still thought to be on meth, but the diagnosis was a disorder.  Commissioner Hlavachick commented that he had had a long talk with a head psychiatrist and she was willing to come and do training.  Commissioner Hlavachick added that we would be remiss not to do that. 

 

Commissioner Meyer questioned if the Sheriff had training.  County Counselor Schmisseur stated that they were exposed while in training at the academy.  Mr. Schmisseur added that they get so many hours in so long a time and they want to do it, but want to get continuing education credit for it also.  Mr. Schmisseur stated that we could try to get a couple different folks to come from Wichita or Lawrence and the City and County could share the expense to have it happen.  Mr. Schmisseur commented that with some effort put into it, we could invite Barber County, Kingman County and Greensburg.  Mr. Schmisseur stated that most employees get paid while achieving education hours and this would provide locally rather than going somewhere else.  Commissioner Kumberg stated that, once we get the training, we need to beef up what we have to handle those issues and identify those issues.

Commissioner Reynolds stated that the State did not want the responsibility, so they just put them in jail.  City Attorney Van Blaricum stated that a large percentage of law enforcement deal with these issues and they were acutely aware that domestic violence was one of the most serious things they deal with locally.  Mr. Van Blaricum stated that we needed to enhance training locally for mental health/domestic violence issues and tie it in with alcohol and drugs.  Commissioner Meyer stated that we could provide our law enforcement people with education and this would be a cheap way of solving a lot of problems.  Commissioner Hlavachick commented that thirty days of treatment was not enough time and sixty to ninety days would be better.  Commissioner Ward stated that our law enforcement officers need to be able to recognize mental illness and how to approach it.  Commissioner Ward commented that it was usually out of their hands and that was where the problem comes in about what to do with them.  Mr. Howard stated that most officers handle it differently than what you think and they try to talk to them, but not be physical.  

Mr. Schmisseur stated that another issue was dealing with them in the jail.  Mr. Schmisseur suggested setting a budget and either turn to the Chief or Sheriff to organize a program and get it scheduled.  Mr. Schmisseur commented that speakers and programs would take time, but we should be able to get people several hours away for about $1,000 to $2,000.  Commissioner Taylor commented that that was not bad and suggested we offer this to the surrounding counties for a fee.  Mr. Howard stated that there were some that may have training, so they could be a part of it.  

Commissioner Borho questioned who approves the accreditation.  Mr. Schmisseur stated that some were State approvals.  Mr. Schmisseur commented that you could always add range time with it.  Commissioner Ward stated that besides the Sheriff and police, we should add EMS also.  Mr. Van Blaricum stated that Mr. Schmisseur was good at getting things like this put together.  Mr. Schmisseur stated that, if that was the direction of the Commission, he would be looking at a time frame of late winter or early spring.  Commissioner Borho stated that the County would pay Mr. Schmisseur.   Commissioner Meyer asked who they needed to talk to about funding that.  Commissioner Taylor stated that they should do it in regular session, but it would be within Mr. Howard’s budgetary authority.  Mr. Schmisseur suggested that each entity set a $1,000 budget and allow City and County employees attend without additional fees.  Mr. Schmisseur commented that he would see about setting something up for the end of March or early April.  

Commissioner Borho questioned if we would want to do this on a Tuesday and Wednesday so that not everybody was here at one time.  Commissioner Meyer questioned if it could be taped and watched and counted as credit.  Mr. Schmisseur stated that that would depend on each entity and the classes could do role playing exercises.  Mr. Schmisseur added that this may not catch everybody, but it was a good start.  Mr. Schmisseur suggested that we could run a three hour program twice a day using the same program.  Commissioner Meyer and Commissioner Hlavachick thanked the other Commissioners for talking about that.  

GENERAL DISCUSSION:

·        Bind Weed:

Mr. Howard stated that he wanted to address the bind weed problem and let the Commissioners know that we had the problem worked out for the most part.  Mr. Howard commented that we had been spraying everywhere we found that was on public property.  Commissioner Borho stated that there was always going to be bind weed.  Mr. Schmisseur commented that it was a difficult year for bind weed with all the water we had gotten.  Commissioner Skaggs stated that most rural communities were aware of bind weed, but some City people were not.  Mr. Howard agreed that it had gotten away from the City.  Mr. Howard added that we could not spray on private property due to liability issues.  Commissioner Taylor stated that you could spend a lot of money on it.  Mr. Howard commented that it was tough to be effective with all the rain.

·        Alcohol question:

Commissioner Hlavachick stated that he had visited with Mr. Bobby Eastes from the Club D’Est and he had a major concern about his bar income being about half of what it used to be.  Commissioner Hlavachick commented that Mr. Eastes had a major conflict with how the Elks Lodge and American Legion conduct their business.  Commissioner Hlavachick stated that, after reading the law, local people could enforce liquor laws.  Commissioner Hlavachick stated that this new law took effect on July 1^st and he wanted the City Attorney to check on it.

Mr. Van Blaricum stated that he would call and visit with Mr. Eastes.  Commissioner Hlavachick stated that the State was putting a lot of stuff on locals.  Mr. Schmisseur stated that the City and County would be enforcing underage drinking or selling without the proper license.  Commissioner Hlavachick stated that Mr. Eastes was concerned with the Elks advertising that the public was welcome to a school reunion for the class of 1980.  Mr. Howard stated that they could do that if they were going to give the alcohol away, but selling it was a different story.  Commissioner Hlavachick commented that he wanted input on whether locals could step in if ABC does not.  Mr. Howard stated that City Clerk Kramer had questioned their permit when she was asked to sign it.  Ms. Kramer commented that she had received a call from ABC and she was told to sign the permit and that the Elks would de-license for the evening.  Mr. Van Blaricum stated that ABC was working with a skeleton crew and that was part of the problem.

COURT ISSUES AND COMMUNITY CORRECTIONS:

Mayor Kumberg stated that he was not sure there was anything we could do or talk about concerning needs assessments.  Mayor Kumberg stated that one of the topics that had been discussed at the SWAT team meeting was the ‘revolving door’ on drug issues.  Mayor Kumberg added that the frustration was that the drug violators we put in were bonded out rather quickly.  Mr. Van Blaricum explained that law enforcement’s thoughts on drug violation were that the go to jail, bond was set and the bond out, but the case may not be resolved for a year or two.  Commissioner Borho stated that that reflects on jail space and Sheriff Chinn had been talking about needing an annex.  Commissioner Borho commented that she did not want to ask tax payers to shell out another two or three million for another facility.

Mr. Van Blaricum explained that the typical individual picked up for shop lifting goes to court and put on probation.  Mr. Van Blaricum stated that, after court, if they do not live up to their probation by not showing up, there would be a bench warrant issued and it could take a week or two to find them and they go back to jail, but post bond again.  Commissioner Borho questioned why they had the chance to bond out.  Mr. Van Blaricum stated that everybody had that chance.  Commissioner Taylor asked if they could bond out even if they broke their probation.  Mr. Van Blaricum explained that that had not been proven yet.  Mr. Howard stated that the officers were the most frustrated because they keep picking up the same people and they did not know if they were accomplishing anything.  Mr. Van Blaricum stated that they would have to be put somewhere else if they were not released.  Commissioner Borho stated that that place should be prison.  Mr. Van Blaricum stated that the prisons were full.  

Commissioner Reynolds stated that someone was going to have to wake up and put in some type of home.  Commissioner Reynolds added that some of the bad people were doing better than we were.  Mr. Howard stated that being a crook was easier than working.  Mayor Kumberg stated that these were interesting situations, but questioned if we were doing a disservice.  Mr. Van Blaricum stated that there needed to be more money for prison space, mental health and drug treatment.  Mr. Schmisseur commented that it was cold hard reality that we lock more people up than any other place in the world.  Mr. Schmisseur added that we lock up people because they are a pain, but not dangerous or for failure to appear.  Mr. Schmisseur questioned what the penalties should be.  Mr. Schmisseur stated that the locals could be undercut when people were brought in from other places, but the State was not going to build more prisons to lock-up dangerous people for a long time.

 

Commissioner Meyer stated that Commissioner Reynolds was right when he stated that we need a rehab program, but that takes tons of money.  Mayor Kumberg questioned what happens when someone comes in several times for the same crime.  Mr. Van Blaricum stated that their bond increases and they go to prison.  Commissioner Skaggs questioned what we were supposed to tell our officers.  Mr. Howard stated that they were told to keep doing their job.  Commissioner Ward stated that it all comes down to money and what we do costs a lot of money.  Commissioner Reynolds added that it takes a lot to keep them in prison too.  Commissioner Taylor stated that he was all in favor to try to educate them rather than put them in prison, but they had to want to do that.  Mr. Howard commented that a lot of people did not want help.  

Mayor Kumberg stated that the question was how we fix this.  Mr. Howard stated that you start by getting the real criminals in jail.  Commissioner Meyer commented that hiring more officers was not the solution, but we need to target the hot spots and focus on repeat offenders.  Commissioner Meyer added that he felt that that would get 75% of the problem taken care of.  Commissioner Borho stated that certain streets were drug streets and we know the vehicles, but she questioned why they were still out there.  Mr. Van Blaricum stated that it was not because law enforcement were not on them, because they do an excellent job.  Mr. Howard agreed that the police officers were doing their job.  Commissioner Ward questioned if the Commissions should go as the Governing Body to all the businesses in town and set up an anti-drug program in Pratt.  Commissioner Reynolds stated that someone was bringing the drugs in here.

Mr. Jeff McCaskey addressed the Commissioners as a landlord and he felt that it came down to prosecution of those people that were the problem.  Mr. McCaskey commented that the buck stops with the Chief of Police and the City Attorney and the community wants the Commission to clean up the community.  Mr. McCaskey stated that there was not a lot of trust with the City and County Commissioners and that may sound a little bit burnt and straight forward, but that was what people were saying.  Mr. McCaskey stated that, as elected officials, it was up to them to get results or have possible solutions.  Mr. McCaskey added that the people want their community back.  Commissioner Skaggs asked what part of town Mr. McCaskey’s rentals were.  Mr. McCaskey stated that they were all over town.  Commissioner Skaggs asked if he had ever had any drug situations.  Mr. McCaskey stated that he had not and added that they were more behavioral situations. Commissioner Skaggs questioned if Mr. McCaskey thought we had a bigger drug problem in Pratt than other cities.  Mr. McCaskey commented that he did not have any numbers, but Pratt had a higher percentage that were involved.  Mr. Schmisseur commented that the problem was that a big time ball player that is into drugs gets to go back out on the field, so we want a war on drugs but no casualties.  Mr. McCaskey stated that the consequences were not high enough.  

 

Mr. McCaskey stated that we would be amazed at the results if we did drug testing while legislatures were in session.  Mr. McCaskey added that people did not want to make decisions as leaders, but we need to find a way to get results even though that would not happen overnight.  Mr. McCaskey commented that people want to see progress and they were not and they did not feel like the rubber meets the road.  Mayor Kumberg thanked Mr. McCaskey for voicing his opinion and stated that he had been one of the only ones that had really said anything.  Mr. McCaskey stated that he was not the only one that felt this way, but you would not know if people do not tell you.  Mr. McCaskey added that the economy was not that great, so we needed to make an impact on what we could.  Commissioner Ward stated that the police were doing their job and the courts and judges were restrained by Federal and State laws.  Mr. McCaskey stated that almost everyone in the community feel that the employees in the City and County do a remarkable job.

Mr. Van Blaricum stated that shop lifting was a real problem and he knew that it was frustrating to the merchants.  Mr. Van Blaricum commented that everyone that gets caught for shoplifting gets convicted, but that was sometimes hard to prove.  Mr. Van Blaricum explained that many felony theft convictions never go to prison, because legislature does not think that it is as serious as other crimes.  Mr. Van Blaricum added that person felonies or selling drug convictions go to prison.  Commissioner Skaggs asked how many were sent to prison last year.  Mr. Van Blaricum stated that he thought it was around twelve to fifteen.  Mr. Van Blaricum commented that those that were convicted were placed on community corrections and were intensely supervised.  Mr. Van Blaricum urged everyone to contact their legislature about their concerns.  Mayor Kumberg stated that Mr. David Wiley did the best he possibly could with the funding that was available.  Mayor Kumberg added that a possession charge ruins a person’s life if they are trying to apply for a serious job.  Mayor Kumberg stated that a person should go to prison if they go through a year or two in community corrections, drug treatment, impatient counseling for sixty days and do not pass. 

Mr. Schmisseur stated that more than 80% of the repeat offenders did not grow up with a father and mother in the home, had no successful school experience, not confirmed into any church and had no one who cared or to mentor them.  Mr. Schmisseur added that it was pretty hard to go back and fix things if their life was in disarray and it was not going to help them by getting the ‘crap’ kicked out of them.  Mr. Howard stated that nobody was responsible for their actions.  Mr. Schmisseur stated that that was not what he was saying, but send them to a counselor or treatment center if they did not learn along the way.  Commissioner Reynolds stated that it was rough and he did not know what the answer was.  

Mr. Van Blaricum commented that these people reproduce quickly, but he assured the Commissioners that they prosecute them all the time and send many serious offenders to prison.  Mr. Van Blaricum stated that some of them were really good at gaming the system and there were parents and grandparents that come up with bail money and get them off with technicalities.  Mr. Van Blaricum explained that it takes time to move through the system if they have resources.  Mayor Kumberg suggested asking the Sheriff and Chief to come up with a program that brings this more to the forefront.  Commissioner Borho stated that she was all for that and she would like for them to come up with ideas for a solution.  Commissioner Borho added that there were always going to be bad people committing crimes and good people wanting them convicted.  

 

Mr. Howard stated that people want to be able to go home and not worry about being broken into and the solution is to get them off the street.  Commissioner Meyer agreed that this problem was huge and was not going to be solved overnight.  Commissioner Meyer added that he knew that it was easier said than done to get them off the streets.  Mr. Howard stated that the focus needs to be on the criminal and be more concerned about the innocent people.  Commissioner Meyer stated that we live with our heads in the sand unless you had been a victim.  Commissioner Borho stated that we needed to arrest the king pin.  Mr. Van Blaricum stated that was what they were working for and they did have stuff on him.  Mr. McCaskey stated that this was a good start to set a goal and he hopes it would be achieved, but he repeated that we needed to enforce ordinances or make additional ones.  Commissioner Taylor suggested that Mr. McCaskey start a landlord association.  Mr. McCaskey stated that he would do it if he had the time.

Commissioner Meyer questioned if the cars were confiscated if drugs were found.  Mr. Van Blaricum stated that the cars were not usually worth it.  Commissioner Meyer asked if they harass them.  Mr. Van Blaricum stated that they do.  Mr. McCaskey commented that people needed to share information and he was at a point where he was not sure that he wanted to continue to invest in Pratt.  Mr. McCaskey stated that he wants to stay in Pratt, but there needs to be things happening.  Commissioner Taylor commented that he would find these problems everywhere and encouraged him to be part of the solution and not run away.  Mr. McCaskey stated that we needed to pledge support to the officers so they know that we support them with the events that had gone on across the country with officers being murdered.  Mayor Kumberg stated that the Commissioners know that they need to do something and they would set up a meeting with the Chief and Sheriff.

·        Health Insurance:

 

Mayor Kumberg stated that the landscape of insurance had changed dramatically the past two years and premiums were not going down.  Mayor Kumberg questioned if the County would be interested in going out as a group to see what rates we could get collectively.  Mayor Kumberg stated that he had talked to several other taxing entities and they were very interested if it meant saving money.  Mr. Howard stated that we should probably start with the insurance representative, because there could be problems of why you should not do that.  Commissioner Borho stated that renewal dates could be a problem, but they could always extend the policy for a time.  Mr. Howard commented that group history was a big deal and the City’s history was favorable right now.  Mr. Howard stated that, for example, if the City’s history was favorable and the County’s was not, one of the two groups would be at a lower rate and the other would be at a higher rate.  Commissioner Meyer stated that there was also the self-funded program.  Commissioner Meyer commented that the college did that, but things were changing and rates were so high.  Commissioner Meyer added that the guy in the middle was getting squeezed, so it was either give the employee a raise and take it back to pay for the higher premium or do not give raises at all.  Mayor Kumberg stated that he had visited with the college, Skyline and PRMC.  Mr. Howard stated that the City and County would be one thing, but it was another thing adding others.  Mr. Howard suggested talking to the rep and to look at this really carefully. 

·        Landfill and Wastewater:

Commissioner Borho stated that the wastewater sludge was getting better.  Mr. Howard stated that we were using old equipment, but Mr. Winkel was good about using the mixing strip at the landfill.  Mr. Howard explained that they had had a spill over the weekend and it went outside the plant, but it did not reach the river.  Mr. Howard stated that KDHE had been contacted and took water samples, but there were no effects and no smells.  Mr. Howard added that this was taken very seriously and was being monitored.

Commissioner Skaggs questioned if it was an electronic valve.  Mr. Howard stated that there were alarms that go off when something fails and this was the controlling mechanism that controls the valve and it goes to the clarifiers.  Commissioner Skaggs asked if we had a trench for it to go in.  Mr. Howard stated that we do not, but it cut a little channel and filled into a pond area.  

·        LEC Committee meeting:

Commissioner Borho suggested setting a meeting date for the LEC Committee.  Mayor Kumberg stated that it had been about two and a half years since the last one.  Commissioner Borho commented that she had volunteered to take the place of former County Commissioner Rinke on the committee and no one objected.  After little discussion, September 28^th at 2:00 p.m. was set as the meeting date for the LEC Committee and they would meet at the LEC.

·        Officers being recruited:

Commissioner Borho commented that Sheriff Chinn felt that his officers were being recruited by City police.  Commissioner Ward stated that they were not, but they do apply if there was an opening.  Mayor Kumberg questioned why he felt that way.  Commissioner Borho stated that he just felt that way, but she did not feel that it was good to switch back and forth.  Commissioner Meyer stated that he sees that at the hospital and this was not an excuse, but they target the best.  Commissioner Skaggs questioned if Sheriff Chinn was hard to work for.  Commissioner Borho stated that he could be.  Commissioner Ward stated that there was an instance where Sheriff Chinn had hired off of the police department and had to pay for the training the officer had received, so it does go both directions.  Mr. Howard agreed that it did go both ways, but he was not sure if they were recruiting or not.  Mayor Kumberg stated that that was certainly not our policy.  Commissioner Reynolds stated that the Sheriff and Chief of Police do not get along and that was part of the problem.  Commissioner Borho stated that they would not condone recruitment from the other agency.  Commissioner Ward commented that his belief was that there was no open recruitment, but if there was an opening they could apply.  Commissioner Borho stated that most changes were for better pay or benefits. 

·        Next meeting date:

After little discussion, the next meeting date was set for November 16^th at 11:00 a.m. at City Hall.

·        Executive Session:

Mr. Howard requested an executive session to last ten minutes for attorney/client privilege.  Mayor Kumberg made a motion to enter into executive session for ten minutes for attorney/client privilege.  The motion was seconded by Commissioner Taylor and carried unanimously.

Mayor Kumberg made a motion to return from executive session with nothing to report.  The motion was seconded by Commissioner Taylor and carried unanimously.

ADJOURN:

The meeting was adjourned upon proper motion and second.

 

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LUCUS KUMBERG, Mayor

ATTEST:

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LUANN KRAMER, City Clerk