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April 21, 2010 The Norton City Council met in regular session Wednesday, April 21, 2010, at 5:30 p.m., with Mayor David Corns presiding. Council members present were Kim Snyder, Roberta Ryan, Joe Leroux, Jeff Otter, Donna Foley and Toby Kuhn. Others present were Laurie Cliff, Erica Bradley, Deena Wente, Debbie Lawson, Mitch Jones, Dan Bainter, Jeremy Hartwell, Pat Morel, Rob Lawson and Darla Ellis. Motion was made by Kim Snyder and seconded by Roberta Ryan to approve the April 7, 2010, council minutes. Vote taken. Motion carried. The following building permits were presented: Motion was made by Toby Kuhn and seconded by Kim Snyder to waive the formal second reading of Charter Ordinance #13, repealing Charter Ordinance #9 and levying an annual tax for the purposes of maintaining the Norton Public Library at a rate not to exceed seven mills. Vote taken. Motion carried. City Clerk Darla Ellis gave the oath of office to re-elected Council Members Jeff Otter of Ward I, Donna Foley of Ward II and Toby Kuhn of Ward III. Motion was made by Toby Kuhn and seconded by Joe Leroux to nominate Jeff Otter as Council President. There were no other nominations from the floor, so Toby Kuhn moved that nominations be closed and Roberta Ryan seconded. Vote taken. Motion carried. Motion was made by Kim Snyder and seconded by Joe Leroux to approve the Mayor’s Council Committee and Sub-committee appointments for 2010-2011 as follows:
Airport Board -- Kim Snyder / Rob Lawson Motion was made by Jeff Otter and seconded by Kim Snyder to approve the appointment of Darla Ellis as Norton City Clerk. Vote taken. Motion carried. Motion was made by Joe Leroux and seconded by Jeff Otter to approve the appointment of Patty Rowh as Norton City Treasurer. Vote taken. Motion carried. Motion was made by Toby Kuhn and seconded by Roberta Ryan to approve the appointment of Pat Morel as Norton Chief of Police. Vote taken. Motion carried. Motion was made by Kim Snyder and seconded by Donna Foley to approve the appointment of Karen Griffiths as the Norton City Attorney. Vote taken. Motion carried. Motion was made by Roberta Ryan and seconded by Donna Foley to approve the appointment of Doug Sebelius as the Norton City Prosecutor. Vote taken. Motion carried. Motion was made by Jeff Otter and seconded by Joe Leroux to approve the appointment of Mitch Jones as the Norton Fire Chief. Vote taken. Motion carried. Motion was made by Toby Kuhn and seconded by Roberta Ryan to approve the appointment of Kirk Nuzum as the Assistant Fire Chief. Vote taken. Motion carried. Motion was made by Roberta Ryan and seconded by Joe Leroux to approve the appointment of Jerry Hawks as the Norton Municipal Judge. Vote taken. Motion carried. Motion was made by Donna Foley and seconded by Toby Kuhn to approve the appointment of the Norton Telegram as the Official City Newspaper. Vote taken. Motion carried. Motion was made by Kim Snyder and seconded by Roberta Ryan to approve the appointment of KQNK as the Official City Radio Station. Vote taken. Motion carried. Motion was made by Kim Snyder and seconded by Roberta Ryan to approve the appointment of Dr. Jeff McKinley as the City Health Officer. Vote taken. Motion carried. Mayor Corns read the Fair Housing Proclamation, declaring the month of April as Fair Housing Month, which he had signed. Mayor Corns stated Jerry Jones, Laurie Cliff and Jennifer Henrickson have submitted their names for the vacancy on the Housing Authority Board. Motion was made by Jeff Otter and seconded by Joe Leroux to approve the Mayor’s appointment of Jerry Jones to the Housing Authority Board to fill the unexpired term which expires November 30, 2012. Vote taken. Motion carried. Mayor Corns stated numerous applications were received for the Economic Development Board. Motion was made by Donna Foley and seconded by Kim Snyder to approve the reappointment of Deena Wente for the Economic Development Board at-large position for a two year term, from May of 2010 to May of 2012. Vote taken. Motion carried. Motion was made by Donna Foley and seconded by Kim Snyder to approve the request from the Norton Classic Cruisers to block off the streets around the Norton County Courthouse square on July 10, 2010, for their 7th annual car show. Vote taken. Motion carried. Rob Lawson reported Dale Henry’s last day was today and he is retiring after working 30 years for the City. He also stated today is Administrative Assistant’s day and thanked the ladies in the Office for all of their work for the City. KDHE has requested access to the City of Norton’s right-of-way and easement properties to collect some groundwater samples to determine the extent and magnitude of carbon tetrachloride contamination at the Norton Carbon Tetrachloride Site. The City Attorney has reviewed and approved the agreement. Motion was made by Joe Leroux and seconded by Kim Snyder to approve the Access to Property Agreement with KDHE. Vote taken. Motion carried 5-1 with Jeff Otter voting no. Rob Lawson reported Dave Barber is tentatively setting the closing date for the USDA loan payment for June 1, but it will probably be closer to July 1. A request was received from KMEA for a voluntary assessment to help offset their cost of intervention in the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission proceeding regarding a proposed formula rate for transmission and scheduling service. No action was taken regarding the request. Rob Lawson is still working on the five year plan and needs the ideas from the Mayor and Council regarding the items they want included in the plan. Jeff Otter stated the Public Safety Committee met and reviewed the capital outlay requests for 2011 from the police and fire departments. The committee is going to hold off on many capital outlay items until some city improvements can be made. Motion was made by Jeff Otter and seconded by Donna Foley to purchase a cage for the Ford Explorer at a cost not to exceed $1,800 from line item 01.11.469. Vote taken. Motion carried. Bids were received from Weis Fire Company and Conrad Fire Equipment on the trade in value of the old SCBA compressor. Motion was made by Jeff Otter and seconded by Toby Kuhn to approve the low bid from Weis Fire Company of Salina for an air compressor Cascade System at a cost of $34,376 from line item 01.12.463. Vote taken. Motion carried. Donna Foley reported the installation of the sewer plant aeration system will be done this fall. The Public Works Committee also reviewed the 2011 budget requests. Donna Foley stated the Economic Development Board met and approved 11 storefront renewal projects. They also approved the contract for the Norton Visitor’s Center and business incubator. Toby Kuhn stated the Finance Committee met and discussed Tommy’s Trucks with Karen Griffiths. She is investigating the out of state service and our legal options to file suit against him. The Finance Committee also discussed the liquidated damages for Downey Drilling and reviewed the calendar presented by Miller and Associates. Staff stated they have done excellent work on the wellfield project. Motion was made by Toby Kuhn and seconded by Jeff Otter to deny Downey Drilling’s change order for a time extension. Vote taken. Motion carried. Motion was made by Toby Kuhn and seconded by Kim Snyder to accept the estimated engineering fees of $7,304.19 from Miller and Associates or the actual final engineering fees not covered under the original contract, whichever is higher, from Downey Drilling to the City as payment for liquidated damages for not finishing the project by the contract deadline. Vote taken. Motion carried. Toby Kuhn stated for several months the City has been discussing the various options of having a Kansas Department of Corrections inmate prison crew. They have received input from the employees and the public and have considered various funding options. Motion was made by Toby Kuhn and seconded by Kim Snyder to use 1% from the general fund balance to fund an inmate work crew, with an interlocal agreement with Norton County. Toby stated the council hopes to have this in place by July 1. Vote taken. Motion carried 5-0 with Joe Leroux abstaining due to his employment with KDOC. Motion was made by Kim Snyder and seconded by Roberta Ryan to approve Ag Valley’s curb replacement request at 314 W. North Street, with the City paying the cost of the concrete, and the owner paying a private contractor for the labor. Vote taken. Motion carried. Motion was made by Kim Snyder and seconded by Roberta Ryan to approve Jon and Wendy Sloan’s curb replacement request at 208 E. Wilberforce, with the City paying the cost of the concrete, and the owner paying a private contractor for the labor. Vote taken. Motion carried. Laurie Cliff introduced herself and stated she has lived in Norton almost 10 years and has been looking for ways to volunteer in the community. She had expressed interest in the Norton Housing Authority Board position, and wanted to introduce herself to the council. Motion was made by Roberta Ryan and seconded by Kim Snyder to approve Appropriating Ordinance #8 as a whole. Vote taken. Motion carried. Motion was made by Toby Kuhn and seconded by Kim Snyder to adjourn. Council adjourned at 6:06 p.m. ATTEST: City Clerk Mayor: David N. Corns |