Official Minutes

June 16, 2010

The Norton City Council met in regular session Wednesday, June 2, 2010, at 5:30 p.m., with Mayor David Corns presiding.  Council members present were Kim Snyder, Roberta Ryan, Jeff Otter, Donna Foley and Toby Kuhn.  Others present were Justina Smith, Sandy Smith, Yandan Chen, Dali Chen, Dan Bainter, Erica Bradley, Deena Wente, Pat Morel, Karen Griffiths, Rob Lawson and Darla Ellis. 

Motion was made by Kim Snyder and seconded by Roberta Ryan to approve the June 2, 2010, city council minutes.  Vote taken.  Motion carried.

Motion was made by Roberta Ryan and seconded by Kim Snyder to approve the June 4, 2010, special city council minutes.  Vote taken.  Motion carried.

No building permits were presented.

Motion was made by Jeff Otter and seconded by Toby Kuhn to suspend the rules and waive the 3 reading requirement for Ordinance #1601.  Vote taken.  Motion carried.

Motion was made by Jeff Otter and seconded by Toby Kuhn to approve Ordinance #1601, approving the interlocal cooperation agreement between the City and the County, for the joint operation of an offender work detail crew with the Kansas Department of Corrections.  Vote taken.  Motion carried.

Mayor Corns said Justina Smith has submitted her name for the council vacancy for Ward III, and was a candidate in the last election.  He stated he would like to appoint her to fill the vacant council position.  Motion was made by Toby Kuhn and seconded by Kim Snyder to approve Resolution #6-2010, pursuant to K.S.A. 12-16,128.  Vote taken.  Motion carried.

Motion was made by Roberta Ryan and seconded by Toby Kuhn to approve the Mayor’s appointment of Justina Smith to fill the vacancy in Ward III.  Vote taken.  Motion carried.

City Clerk Darla Ellis gave the oath of office to Justina Smith and she assumed the Ward III position on the council.  Mayor Corns informed her that she will be the Chairman of the Utility Committee, Vice Chairman of the Public Works Committee and a member of the Personnel Committee.

Rob Lawson reported the Nex-Tech security system for the power plant has been ordered at an estimated cost of $1,000.  He stated some transformers for New Age were bad and have been sent in for repair.  Temporary transformers have been put in until they are repaired and the crew will reinstall them later this summer.  Natoma Corporation will be upgrading their buildings and will need an additional 1,200 amp service, which will require transformers, wire and new metering.  The transformer will be $9,350.  KDOT is remodeling their shop and wants the City to move our electrical lines and transformers to allow for the renovation.

Rob Lawson stated the new pole shed has been completed at the Public Works yard.  The grant application for the new fire truck has been submitted.  The grant application for the new windows and HVAC system at the Recreation Center has been sent in.

The Airport Board is considering replacing the wind break trees along Armory Drive that were removed several years ago.  A drip system will also be installed with the new trees.  The City will make a tap for the system if needed.  They are going to have some snow fence put up in October to catch the debris that will be left behind from the corn field that is planted there now.  They have completed the budget for 2011 and will be submitting it to the County and the City. 

Jeff Otter stated the Finance Committee met with Norton County to discuss details for the inmate work crew.  Norton County will administer the program for the first 3 months, starting July 1, 2010.  The crew will be used to remodel the old ambulance building with a wall down the center so one side can be used for storage and the other side for the work crew to use.  They discussed utilizing the inmate work crew to help with fair rides and pouring concrete around the sheriff’s office.  Diane Stiles was going to look into using the County’s contract with MCS, Inc. for the billing.  Motion was made by Jeff Otter and seconded by Donna Foley to have City Administrator Rob Lawson serve on the selection committee for the inmate work crew supervisor.  The County will have Robert Wyatt serve on the selection committee as well.  Vote taken.  Motion carried.

Donna Foley stated the Chamber of Commerce met and discussed having a beer garden for the Young Professionals event on July 26.  They are selling afghans, and also discussed the Winner’s Circle.

Motion was made by Donna Foley and seconded by Roberta Ryan to waive the formal first reading of Ordinance #1602, increasing municipal court costs by $1.00.  Vote taken.  Motion carried.

Kim Snyder stated the Utility Committee met with Bob Muirhead from Midwest Energy on June 14 and had a conference call with a representative from North American Electrical Services, which Midwest Energy contracts through them.  They are a third party operator who could step in and provide the labor to operate the plant.  However, the labor for the plant is not a problem for the city.  The Committee asked if they would be interested in buying the plant and they were going to consider this.  This was a meeting to consider any options the City might have regarding the future of the power plant.  A representative from Sunflower Electric will meet with the City on June 23 to discuss more options. 

Roberta Ryan reported she attended the Economic Development meeting and Aaron Herman was elected as President, Curtis Eveleigh as Vice President and Gail James as Secretary/Treasurer.  They reviewed and approved the budget.  An inventory of housing is needed because 17 openings are expected at the Prison when the Stockton unit opens back up.  The Young Professionals are having a kick-off event on June 26th and have requested to block off Washington Street from S. Kansas to S. Norton.

Motion was made by Toby Kuhn and seconded by Kim Snyder to approve the 2010 cereal malt beverage license for the Hidden Dragon for consumption on the premises at 118 S. State Street.  Vote taken.  Motion carried.

Motion was made by Donna Foley and seconded by Kim Snyder to approve the Chamber of Commerce’s temporary cereal malt beverage license on June 26th for consumption on the premises at a confined beer garden area located at 216 E. Washington Street for the Young Professional’s event.  Vote taken.  Motion carried.

Motion was made by Kim Snyder and seconded by Toby Kuhn to approve Appropriating Ordinance #12 as a whole.  Vote taken.  Motion carried.

Motion was made by Toby Kuhn and seconded by Kim Snyder to adjourn.  Council adjourned at 5:59 p.m.

ATTEST: City Clerk               Mayor: David N. Corns