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October 21, 2009 The Norton City Council met in regular session Wednesday, October 21, 2009, at 5:30 p.m., with Mayor David Corns presiding. Council members present were Jeff Otter, Donna Foley, Toby Kuhn, Kim Snyder, Roberta Ryan and Joe Leroux. Others present were Jerry Jones, Tony Grysch, Diane Stiles, Carolyn Applegate, Andrew Enfield, Charli Lawson, Erica Bradley, Deena Wente, Steve Cole, Jeff Wolf, Dan Bainter, Chris Frack, J.B. Carlton, Curt Bozarth, Cory Urban, Debbie Lawson, Pat Morel, Karen Griffiths, Rob Lawson and Darla Ellis. Motion was made by Kim Snyder and seconded by Jeff Otter to approve the October 7, 2009, city council minutes. Vote taken. Motion carried. The following building permits were presented: Mayor Corns stated the vacancy on the Housing Authority Board was advertised and Jeana Yost submitted her name. This term expires on November 30, 2009. Motion was made by Joe Leroux and seconded by Roberta Ryan to approve the appointment of Jeana Yost for the Housing Authority Board vacancy. Vote taken. Motion carried. Mayor Corns reviewed the terms that expire on November 30, 2009 on the Planning Commission, Housing Authority Board and Tourism Committee. Motion was made by Jeff Otter and seconded by Toby Kuhn to advertise for the open positions until they are filled. Vote taken. Motion carried. Motion was made by Roberta Ryan and seconded by Joe Leroux to adopt Resolution #9-2009, which modifies the Employee Handbook by including a provision that a disciplinary form will be removed from an employee’s personnel file after one year. Donna Foley asked if it is only removed if they don’t get in any other trouble during that year. Karen Griffiths stated that is not how the resolution was drawn up. Motion was rescinded with permission of the second. The resolution will be revised to state that a disciplinary form will be removed after one year if no further disciplinary action has been taken. City Administrator Rob Lawson reported a $1000 donation was received from John & Lee Mapes for parks maintenance in Westridge Acres, which was deposited in the Special Parks account. He also stated a report of revenue loss since 2007 has been included in the packets. Income from investments has decreased significantly due to interest rates. The revenue is also down for electric and water sales. The City received the final special city and highway tax distribution for 2009, and the total special highway tax distribution receipts for 2009 were $11,019.66 less than 2008. Rob Lawson stated John Kaus asked again about purchasing the property behind his house from the city. A copy of the appraisal report was included in the packets. Rob Lawson also reported that a copy of the Sewer Plant amendment #3 was copied for packets; the Utility Committee will discuss this at their next meeting. An email was received from Economic Development Director Diane Stiles, asking for a letter of support for the Lyons house rehabilitation. Rob Lawson stated the City received 4 tickets to the Valley Hope haunted house; they will be posted on the bulletin board in the council room if any of the council members want to attend. He also stated he has had a complaint from the Sheriff’s Office regarding the letterhead and the format of the letter which is being used by the Municipal Court’s collection agency; some people have thought it is a scam letter when they get it in the mail. The Public Safety Committee will discuss this. Rob Lawson presented his annual self evaluation, according to his contract. He stated the sewer plant project is complete and the plant is running efficiently. Repairs have been made to the sewer lift station which flooded in January of this year. The water plant renovation project is about 75% complete; phase I is complete and phase II is progressing. Items which remain to be completed include fencing of the water plant lagoons, installation of covers on the two clarifiers, replacement of the freight elevator in the water plant and the replacement of several faulty valves inside the water plant. The water tower painting has been completed. He stated the City received another clean audit and the annual budget was followed. The daily operations of the City are going very well and department heads are doing a good job of conserving resources. He stated he has taken on some projects, such as installing all of the police equipment in the two new police cars and performing troubleshooting at the power plant, to save the City money. He stated he realizes the economy is not as good as in the past, and so he did not take a salary increase on his most recent anniversary date. He stated an error was made on his salary increase last year and he was overpaid; he pointed out the error and had it corrected, having the amount he was overpaid withheld from his next paycheck. He stated his door is always open for questions or concerns. Rob Lawson asked what each council member would like from him. Mayor Corns stated that he has been satisfied and that Rob keeps him updated on what is going on. Joe Leroux stated he would like more information since he is new, and more communication. Roberta Ryan stated she would like the same thing, and stated sometimes the City Council needs to give him more direction. Kim Snyder stated she would also like more communication and that it seems like many things have been dropped on the council during the past year, such as the empty accounts. Toby Kuhn stated it has been a very trying year with all of the fund shortages. It stated it has seemed like a constant state of emergency. He stated he would like more consistency in the responses from the City Administrator. He also stated he was unhappy in the timeframe allowed to review the budget to determine the mill levy. Donna Foley stated she would echo everyone’s concerns, and would like to get a better understanding of the information they are given. She suggested when the new committees are started each year, a list of priorities be made for each committee for the year, so they can keep track of what has been done and what has not. Jeff Otter suggested that the City Administrator note the importance of each item when communicating them to the council. He stated the emergency items should be red flagged so they make sure they deal with them in a timely manner. Motion was made by Toby Kuhn and seconded by Kim Snyder that all requests for donations from the City of Norton come to the City Council for either approval or disapproval. Vote taken. Motion carried. Motion was made by Kim Snyder and seconded by Toby Kuhn to move into Executive Session at 6:01 p.m., for a period of time not to exceed 30 minutes with the Mayor, City Council and City Attorney present for discussion of non-elected personnel. Vote taken. Motion carried. Council resumed in regular session at 6:31 p.m. Motion was made by Toby Kuhn and seconded by Kim Snyder to return to Executive Session at 6:32 p.m., for a period of time not to exceed 10 minutes with the Mayor, City Council, City Attorney and City Administrator present for discussion of non-elected personnel. Vote taken. Motion carried. Council resumed in regular session at 6:43 p.m. Motion was made by Joe Leroux and seconded by Donna Foley to return to Executive Session at 6:44 p.m., for a period of time not to exceed 20 minutes with the Mayor, City Council, City Attorney and City Administrator present for discussion of non-elected personnel. Vote taken. Motion carried. Council resumed in regular session at 7:07 p.m. No motions were made as a result of Executive Session. Roberta Ryan reported the Personnel Committee will be reviewing and discussing the creation of a sick leave bank. Donna Foley stated Economic Development Director Diane Stiles will be assisting a group of citizens who formed a committee to discuss options for the water and sewer rates. Economic Development is still taking public input for their 5-year strategic plan. The Board also voted to add a 4th goal, which is to improve the quality of life. The other 3 goals are job creation, downtown development and housing. Twelve of the seventeen storefront renewal projects are completed and the remaining grantees were extended to the end of year. The Board approved the City of Lenora’s application for the demolition assistance program and 3 structures will be torn down. Motion was made by Jeff Otter and seconded by Roberta Ryan to approve Appropriating Ordinance #20 as a whole. Vote taken. Motion carried. Motion was made by Kim Snyder and seconded by Roberta Ryan to adjourn. The council meeting was adjourned at 7:13 p.m. ATTEST: City Clerk Mayor: David N. Corns
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