June 17, 2019 Commission Minutes

GOODLAND CITY COMMISSION

Regular Meeting

 

June 17, 2019                                                                                                                         5:00 P.M.

Mayor Brian Linin called the meeting to order with Vice-Mayor Jay Dee Brumbaugh, Commissioner Annette Fairbanks and Commissioner John Garcia responding to roll call.  Commissioner Jacque Schields was reported absent.

 

Also present were Rich Simon – Director of Public Works, Dustin Bedore – Director of Electric Utilities, Joni Showalter-Police Chief, Mary Volk – City Clerk, and Andrew Finzen – City Manager.

 

Mayor Linin led Pledge of Allegiance

 

PUBLIC COMMENT

1. Rae Stewart from Goodland Regional Medical Center (GRMC) invited Commission to the Meet and Greet on June 28^th from 12:00 to 1:30 p.m. for Dr. Khalifah, Pulmonologist at GRMC. He will begin services July 17^th and be working with Respiratory Therapy Department.  We also have Dr. McGuire, ENT specializing in sinuses beginning July 17^th.  Both doctors are from Denver and are going to do as many procedures in Goodland as possible.

 

CONSENT AGENDA

1. 06/03/19 Commission Meeting Minutes
2. Appropriation Ordinances, 2019-12, 2019-19A, and 2019-P12

ON A MOTION by Commissioner Garcia to approve Consent Agenda seconded by Commissioner Fairbanks.  MOTION carried on a VOTE of 4-0.

 

DISCUSSION ITEMS

400. Cemetery Ossuarium Fees – Andrew stated, the Cemetery Board has been discussing fees since purchase of ossuarium was approved.  At the May 9^th board meeting the board approved an all-inclusive fee structure for those utilizing the ossuarium. In looking at other communities the fee differs between rows because it is more appealing to purchase higher rows.  The fee includes engraving costs opening/closing and each niche holds two urns.  Fee structure recommended is Top row: $1,500; 2^nd row: $1,400; 3^rd row: $1,300; 4^th row: $1,200 and Ossuary: $400.  The ossuary is a communal cavity.  The board also wanted to review fee for burial plots because our fee is drastically low compared to other communities.  Board recommendation is to increase fee from $50 to $100.  The ossuarium is set to be delivered early July; they will give us a time when they have better time line.  Commissioner Fairbanks asked, are the niches the same size?  Jan Lohr, Board Member stated, yes, there are a total of eighty niches, so twenty on a row.  Mayor Linin asked, how do fees compare to the price of a traditional burial?  Andrew stated, the City currently charges $50 for a plot, $100 burial permit, then we contract grave digging, which is $450.  These do not include funeral costs.  Vice-Mayor Brumbaugh asked, do fees in Burlington include all costs?  Andrew stated, they charge $450 for grave digging, then additional $450 for the plot.  Mary asked, are recommended fees for two urns in niche or just the first one placed in niche?  Jan stated, that is for first opening.  There will be a cost for opening and engraving when placing second urn in niche.  Andrew stated, we are still determining cost for opening and additional engraving for second urn, but it will be whatever the cost is for engraving.  Mayor Linin stated, it seems if fees are in line with other communities and approved by board they are logical.  Commissioner Garcia stated, the $50 plot fee has been in place for a long time.  Andrew stated, we have had a lot of interest in the niches, seems cremation is the direction many are deciding to head.  By using this location in cemetery, there is room to grow.  Consensus of commission is to proceed with resolution for fees.
401. Employee Wellness Program – Andrew stated, Commission requested me to poll staff to gage interest in program, which I have done.  I received fifty-three out of fifty-five responses to my ten question survey. For the most part staff think a wellness program is a good idea and worth pursuing.  Commissioner Garcia asked, have you done assessment of costs involved?  Andrew stated, proposal startup costs were $10,000, then $550 per month plus $1,000 annual fee.  Mayor Linin asked, are there other providers, this one is Rhonda’s son, right?  Andrew stated, yes he is and comes with recommendation of PIC.  I have not explored other alternatives.  Commissioner Garcia asked, does he have this model in other municipalities?  Andrew stated, yes but uncertain which municipalities use service.  Mayor Linin stated, we have wellness program in place at Frontier Ag but through our insurance policy so pay less if meet requirements of program.  We do not pay outside party for service.  The driver is you participate to ensure less costs.  Vice-Mayor Brumbaugh stated, studies show claims go down if have program, but at end of day claims are what they are, the premium will not be based on participation in the program.  At the end of the day we are trying to get everyone healthier to reduce claims.  Mayor Linin stated, there is some benefit to see results and knowing where you are at.  Vice-Mayor Brumbaugh asked, are there fees for them to come out and do screening?  Andrew stated, that is included in cost of program.  Vice-Mayor Brumbaugh stated, so there is no out of pocket cost for employee and they do during work time.  Andrew stated, part of discussion was City currently pays 100% of premium, but if we begin to have employees pay part of plan, their participation could be reduced by participation in wellness program.  Mayor Linin stated, if employees are interested, we should also look at other plans.  I feel wellness program is a good idea.  Andrew stated, so I am clear, Commission recommends I solicit a couple options.  Commissioner Garcia stated, I would be interested in how Frontier Ag’s program works.  Mayor Linin stated, we pay for own results and have them go to the health fair or have health department come to business for screenings at employees expense, then employees get it back by paying lower premium.  Our insurance is through BCBS.
402. Sand Volleyball Court Location Revisited – Andrew stated, we have received feedback on location of pit that we dug for the court. This is a project proposed by the Girl Scouts to complete.  Rich and I have discussed and feel this is proper site but others have concerns and questions on location.  Girl Scouts need to have project complete by end of summer.  Commissioner Fairbanks asked, what are concerns of location?  Mayor Linin stated, shade, location to Arcade, which is a busy street.  Rich stated, it is 55′ from Arcade.  Commissioner Garcia stated, the concern I heard was there is no place to sit.  The Girl Scouts were over there when picked location and do not feel street will come into play.  Court sits parallel with Arcade.  Andrew stated, the recommended buffer zone is 10 ‘ outside of court plus that end of Arcade is not particularly a well-traveled area of street.  I looked at Hays Kiwanis location, it is about 55’ to 60’ from road.  When we looked at location, we looked at what that area will be in future; the trail will be there, trees will be planted, and possibility of shades in location.  Commissioner Fairbanks asked, the net will be east to west so court is north to south, where is this with trail crossing on Arcade?  Andrew stated, road crossing is at the corner to north of court, and yes the pit is parallel with Arcade.  Vice-Mayor Brumbaugh stated, most of the complaints I received were the condition of the grass since it is buffalo grass which is not watered as much as the grass in parks.  Andrew stated, I did walk around barefoot in this area and it is fine.  I spoke with Girl Scouts today and we discussed asking Community Foundation for fencing.  We need to look at long-term plan for entire park system not just where amenities are now.  Commissioner Fairbanks asked, will a fence keep a volleyball from going in street?  Andrew stated, it will only keep it from rolling there.  Commissioner Fairbanks stated, I like this spot.  Vice-Mayor Brumbaugh stated, those advocating for change want it put by tennis courts to use lighting and restrooms in park.  Andrew stated, my concern with that location is that the trail is going through that area.  Vice-Mayor Brumbaugh stated, I have played a lot of sand volleyball and feel better location is by tennis courts.  Andrew stated, part of concern with that area is the grass is not intended to handle a lot of foot traffic.  Rich stated, with that area everything is in one location with different families trying to use the same area.  This spreads amenities out a little bit.  Jason Erhart stated, if most are coming from college to use, can you put crosswalk and change speed limit for this area of Arcade to 20 mph?  Commissioner Garcia stated, changing the speed is a Commission decision.  If you provide shade and look at park system in long term this will work.  Commissioner Fairbanks stated, I like idea of this addition in the area.  Andrew stated, the biggest pro for City is that the hole is dug and project can proceed.  This was approved by Commission in March, 2018.  Vice-Mayor Brumbaugh asked, will the grass look like this in August?  Rich stated, it depends on moisture.  Mayor Linin stated, if we feel this is right location, do we do something with area to fix issues, like plant different grass, a sprinkler system, or plant trees?  Just ideas to get a compromise sooner than later.  Commissioner Fairbanks stated, I like the ideas but uncertain of expense, but if we fix grass in area and plant trees, those are barriers for balls running in street.  Commissioner Garcia stated, if they can go to the Foundation I feel they may consider the addition.  Andrew stated, this process has not been cost intensive if we want another one at another location in the future.  Vice-Mayor Brumbaugh asked, were they seeking donations for sand or is that something we can do?  Andrew stated, they are applying to the Foundation for sand.  We discussed today for City to pay for sand and to go to the Foundation for fence and other items.  Commissioner Fairbanks asked, how much fundraising have they done?  Andrew stated, I am uncertain but they are still fundraising because they are planning a pickle ball tournament.  When this came up, I wish we had more input on location in planning stage to avoid the issues coming up on the back end of project.  Commissioner Fairbanks stated, even if we had discussed it, there will always be other opinions you need to consider.  We have come up with ideas to help.  Consensus of Commission is to continue project at current location if we can make some adjustments as discussed.

 

REPORTS

1. City Manager – 1. Contractor continues to pave the south bound lane on Eustis Street.  2. Main Street Brick project got started today; anticipate completion first or second week of September, depending on weather.    The Dispatch project is progressing, working on finishing work, which takes time.  4. Bicycle roundup is Wednesday June 19^th from 8:00 to 10:00 a.m. at Elks Lodge.  5.  Joint City-County meeting is scheduled for tomorrow at Wolak Building at 12:00 p.m. to discuss Fire Consolidation. King Air Cafe is providing lunch.  Budget work session is scheduled for June 27^th at 5:00 p.m. in Commission Room.
2. Director of Public Power – Dustin stated, Distribution continues with several pole change outs, installing temporary service for Holiday Inn Express and a three phase service for resident on Cherry Street, addressing outages and line maintenance. In doing maintenance we found problem that needed addressed with lines that serve Police Department, Weather Service and Airport.  They put up flags for Economic Development on holidays.  We hired a new lineman Ty Withington that I will introduce to Commission at your next meeting.  I have three employees attending KMU substation training at end of the week.  In the Power Plant they are working through annual maintenance checklist.  On units six and seven, crews have rebuilt all valves, adjusted timing and performed head clearance to ensure run.  We had to send O-rings in to have them custom made because units are old.  They fixed a crack on unit six and treated underground tanks.  We would like to cutback to one tank and take other tank out of service which helps with KDHE regulations.  We continue to perform maintenance at plant, fixed drain system on new substation north of plant and doing capacity testing for Sunflower.  We participated in 6^th grade days at college.  Currently we are two guys short at plant and I just found out I have another one that will be getting married and moving to Colby in future.  Commissioner Garcia asked, have we been advertising?  Dustin stated, I have had advertisements out for a while, people do not understand what power plant is.  We lost a really good employee to American Implement.  Vice-Mayor Brumbaugh asked, are we doing exit interviews?  Andrew stated, yes we are.
3. Commissioners

Vice-Mayor Brumbaugh – 1.  I would like to thank Rich for helping hospital with water issues.  I also want to thank City employees that helped with swim meet.  They moved equipment and fencing in and the pool looked nice, we won the meet again.

Commissioner Fairbanks – 1.  Have we had any groups volunteer for adopt a highway?  Andrew stated, no one yet, some waiting for board meetings.

Commissioner Garcia – 1.  No Report.

Commissioner Schields – 1.  Absent, No Report.

1. Mayor – No Report.

 

EXECUTIVE SESSIONS

1. Under the authority of KSA 75-4319 (b)(1) for personnel matters for nonelected personnel – Mayor Linin made a motion at 6:10 p.m. to recess into executive session under authority of  S.A.75-4319 (b)(1) for personnel matters for nonelected personnel not to exceed twenty minutes.   I request only the Commission, City Manager and Lake and Carol Mellott be present.  Commissioner Garcia seconded the motion.  MOTION carried by a VOTE of 4-0.  Meeting resumed at 6:30 p.m.  Mayor Linin made a second motion at 6:30 p.m. to recess into executive session under authority of K.S.A.75-4319 (b) (1) for personnel matters for nonelected personnel not to exceed ten minutes.   I request only the Commission and City Manager be present.  Commissioner Garcia seconded the motion.  MOTION carried by a VOTE of 4-0.  Meeting resumed at 6:40 p.m.  Mayor Linin made a third motion at 6:40 p.m. to recess into executive session under authority of K.S.A.75-4319 (b) (1) for personnel matters for nonelected personnel not to exceed ten minutes.  I request only the Commission and City Manager be present.  Commissioner Garcia seconded the motion.  MOTION carried by a VOTE of 4-0.  Meeting resumed at 6:50 p.m.

 

ADJOURNMENT WAS HAD ON A MOTION BY Commissioner Fairbanks seconded by Commissioner Garcia.  Motion carried by unanimous VOTE, meeting adjourned at 6:50 p.m.  Upcoming meetings are Joint City-County Commission meeting June 18^th at 12:00 p.m. at Wolak Building, Special Meeting for Budget Workshop June 27^th at 5:00 p.m. in Commission Room, then next regular meeting is scheduled for July 1^st.

 

 

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ATTEST:                                                                               Brian Linin, Mayor

 

 

 

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Mary P. Volk, City Clerk