May 7
CITY OF HIAWATHA
CITY COMMISSION MINUTES
MONDAY, May 7, 2007
at 5:35 P.M.
HIAWATHA CITY HALL
723 OREGON ST.
1. Pledge of Allegiance/ Call to Order
The Hiawatha City Commission met in regular session on Monday, May 7, 2007, at 5:35 p.m. at City Hall with Mayor Gernon, Commissioner Gamble, Commissioner Schmitt, Commissioner Collins, Commissioner Shamburg, Commissioner-elect Denton, and Commissioner-elect Sheeran present.
2. Approval of Minutes of the April 30, 2007, City Commission meeting.
Mayor Gernon noted that a correction needed to be made on page three, under his comments in Item 10, concerning the repair of the tennis courts, which should say “east tennis courts” instead of “west tennis courts.”
Commissioner Schmitt made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Gamble, to approve the minutes of the April 30, 2007, City Commission meeting with the noted correction. Motion carried. 5 ayes.
Mayor Gernon presented Certificates of Appreciation from the Fire Department to retiring Commissioners Gamble and Schmitt.
3. Swearing in of new commissioners, Vicki Denton and John Sheeran.
City Clerk Vivian Constable swore in Vicki Denton as the new Commissioner of Streets and Parks and John Sheeran as the new Commissioner of Utilities. Commissioner Gamble and Commissioner Schmitt stepped down and the new Commissioners took over.
4. CONSENT AGENDA
a. Appropriation Ordinance #1120 in the amount of $23,029.49.
b. Approval of Contractor License for Bob Bachman Home Improvement.
c. Approval of payment to Torgeson Electric for March 2007 Post Lantern Streetlight Construction in the amount of $62,069.40.
d. Approval of payment to Torgeson Electric for April 2007 Post Lantern Streetlight Construction in the amount of $132,791.40.
e. Approval of payment to DMS Insurance for annual premium of EMC policies in the amount of $71,902.00.
f. Approval of payment of the Guest Tax Distribution in the amount of $1,508.11 to the Hiawatha Convention and Visitors Bureau.
g. Approval of payment to Citizens State Bank & Trust Co. for Interest due to Bondholders in the amount of $5,205.00.
Commissioner Shamburg made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Collins, to approve the Consent Agenda as presented. Motion carried. 5 ayes.
5. Presentation of petitions, public comments and memorials.
There were no petitions, public comments or memorials.
6. Sesquicentennial Quilt Committee presentation.
Beverly Sunderman, Jane Bebermeyer, and Esther Middendorf, members of the Sesquicentennial Quilt Committee presented to the City a check in the amount of $452.31. This was the amount which was left from the sale of the quilt blocks after expenses. The Committee asked that this amount be put in the City Lake Bridge Project Fund.
Old Business
New Business
7. Hiawatha Sesquicentennial Committee request for abatement of noise ordinance for the street dance on June 30, 2007, waiver of pool rental fee for dive-in movie on June 29, 2007, and request to clean up sand volleyball court at the City Lake for use on Sunday, July 1, 2007.
Rebecca Schmidtberger and Beth Spicer, members of the Sesquicentennial Committee, said that they hope to plan community worship with games and activities at the Hiawatha City Lake on Sunday, July 1. After checking the site at the lake, they had decided they needed the City to clean up the sand volleyball court and horseshoe pit area, and possibly put some new sand in the volleyball court.
Ms. Schmidtberger said that they plan to donate any remaining funds at the end of the Sesquicentennial to the Lake Bridge Fund.
Ms. Spicer asked if the fee could be waived for the swimming pool for the dive-in movie as a part of the celebration on June 29. She said that the City could still have the concession stand open.
They would also like to have the noise ordinance abated until 1:00 a.m. on July 1 for the street dance on June 30. They said that they had talked to some of the business owners and residents in the area of the dance, and had not run into any opposition.
Ms. Spicer then asked what the City allowed as far as alcohol in the area of the dance. She said that she had checked with the ABC [Alcoholic Beverage Control] in Topeka concerning regulations on this. The ABC had told them that the vendors would have to apply for a one-day permit; that the area would have to be a designated area; and that the City would have to approve it and provide a letter or a copy of the minutes indicating their approval. They would be required to have security at the parameters to keep the alcoholic beverages within the designated area. She indicated that the Hiawatha Fire Department had agreed to provide security for the event. Ms. Schmidtberger indicated that she had spoken with Police Chief Evans Woehlecke, who told them that none of the security personnel should handle any police matters, nor should any alcohol be served to minors. She said that there would also be police officers in the area.
Commissioner Collins asked if they thought they could not have a nice street dance without having alcohol involved.
Ms. Schmidtberger said that several people had asked that they have alcohol available.
Commissioner Shamburg mentioned that perhaps they could use wristbands [to identify who could buy alcohol.]
Mayor Gernon said that Police Chief Woehlecke would need to be the one to coordinate the security. He said that the sand volleyball area and the horseshoe pit needed to be cleaned up anyway, so there should not be a problem with that. He said that he had no problem with waving the fee for the dive-in movie at the pool, nor with the noise ordinance abatement. He expressed his appreciation for the work they had been doing to get the celebration together. He asked them if they had spoken with Kevin Hill, Assistant City Attorney, concerning the alcohol request.
Ms. Schmidtberger said that Mr. Hill had told them that if they followed the guidelines from the ABC and that if the vendor gets the required permit, there should not be a problem.
Commissioner Shamburg made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Collins, to waive the fee for the dive-in movie on June 29, 2007. Motion carried. 5 ayes.
Commissioner Shamburg made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Sheeran, to abate the noise ordinance for the street dance on June 30, 2007 to July 1, 2007. Motion carried. 5 ayes.
Commissioner Collins was not interested in waiving the alcohol ordinance, he didn’t think that alcohol needed to be involved in the community having fun.
Commissioner Sheeran asked if there would be a specific place where the alcohol would be served so that the people who were drinking would not be intermingled with the other attendees.
Ms. Schmidtberger said that they would have the wristband and that the alcohol would be served in specific containers.
Commissioner Sheeran again asked if the alcohol drinkers would be confined to a specific area to drink where they would not be intermingling with underage attendees in the dance area.
Ms. Schmidtberger said that according to the ABC, alcohol just had to stay within a certain parameter and did not require physically partitioned off. She said that ABC told her it would be sufficient to place barricades at Oregon and at Utah Streets on Seventh Street, with security positioned at each end to be sure that the alcohol remained in that area.
Commissioner Sheeran asked if it would be possible to have a designated area [for the alcohol] and not let individuals mix and still have a good time. He said that alcohol should not be served in an area where there are children present.
Ms. Schmidtberger compared the situation to having an alcoholic beverage at home or at a restaurant when the family was present. She said that the committee had discussed this a lot.
Mayor Gernon asked what their time table was on getting the paperwork turned in for the permit.
Ms. Spicer said that the paperwork would need to be turned in by May 14 in order to get it approved in time.
Mayor Gernon asked if they knew of other communities who had street dances with alcohol present.
Ms. Schmidtberger said that they did. She said that it all goes back to whether or not the City would support it.
Commissioner Collins asked why this had not been addressed on the agenda.
Ms. Schmidtberger said that they had been waiting to talk to ABC concerning the request.
Mayor Gernon asked them to have the information to them by May 14. He said they would like to see what the vendors’ plans were for dealing with this.
They said that the vendors who had bid on the service were LRB Catering and First Street Bar and Grill.
Mayor Gernon asked to table the request until next week.
8. Authorize additional transfer from fund 48 savings account to fund 48 checking account in the amount of $62,100.00 to provide funds to pay March payment to Torgeson Electric.
City Administrator explained that on May 3, 2007, Torgeson Electric presented the March payment request to the City in the amount of $62,069.40, after they had discovered that the City had not ever received the payment request. This was after last week’s transfer of funds, which was not enough to cover the March bill. Therefore we are asking permission to transfer an additional $62,100.00 to pay the March bill.
Commissioner Collins made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Shamburg, to authorize a transfer of funds from the Fund 48 Savings Account to the Fund 48 Checking Account in the amount of $62,100.00 to pay the March payment to Torgeson Electric. Motion carried. 5 ayes.
9. Lynne Ladner, City Administrator.
Administrator Ladner said that she had received a request from the Brown County Historical Society Ag Museum for two of the original street lights to display at the museum. She would like the Commission to authorize that request.
Commissioner Shamburg made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Collins, to donate two of the original street lights to the Brown County Historical Society Ag Museum. Motion carried. 5 ayes.
Administrator Ladner reported that the insurance company and property owner of the property at Sixth and Pottawatomie have reached a settlement. The property owner has requested a demolition permit.
She also informed the Commission that there has been a problem with sewer backups following this weekend’s heavy rains, which may require some insurance payoffs on the sewer backups.
She told the Commission that on Wednesday she would be meeting with project lead and the head contractor for the Post Lantern Project to get an update on their progress.
She updated the Commission on the property bid on Saturday, which was authorized at Friday night’s special meeting. She said that the City was not the successful bidder, and, in fact, the property did not sell as the bidding did not reach the minimum amount required by the owner.
Administrator Ladner noted the catastrophic disaster at Greensburg, Kansas, [where nearly the entire town was wiped out by a large tornado on Friday night.] She said that the KACM president is working on setting up a fund to help with the rebuilding of Greensburg. They are also setting up a private fund for employees to donate to, if they desire, to help the employees of the City of Greensburg. She indicated that our water superintendent and our sewer superintendent have both indicated that they would be willing to help get their water and sewer systems back up and operating. If they do this, their wages would be paid by FEMA, and they would need to be gone for 72 hours.
She said that equipment to give or loan has been requested. She asked that the City of Hiawatha check to see if we have any surplus property that could be loaned or donated.
Mayor Gernon said to see what we might have available.
The League of Municipalities has been sending out notices as to what assistance will be needed. They said that volunteers will be needed over the next several months.
Commissioner Collins said that there is equipment being sent there which is paid for by the federal government. He said that we should help them as much as we can, because if something like that happened to the City of Hiawatha, we would certainly need help.
Administrator Ladner said that she has set up a meeting to review emergency plans for the City of Hiawatha.
10. Mayor Gernon.
Mayor Gernon said that the water abatement policy needs to have a sewer policy added to it.
11. Com. William Collins.
Commissioner Collins said that he thought that the City crews are doing a good job of addressing every issue in the City.
12. Com. Vicki Denton.
13. Com. Steffen Shamburg.
14. Com. John Sheeran.
15. Adjourn.
Commissioner Sheeran made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Denton, to adjourn. Motion carried. 5 ayes. Meeting adjourned at 6:17 p.m.