MINUTES
CITY COUNCIL
MEETING
GLADSTONE,
MISSOURI
REGULAR
MEETING
MONDAY,
NOVEMBER 12, 2001
REGULAR MEETING:
7:30 PM
PRESENT: Mayor Anita Newsom
Mayor Pro Tem Bill Cross
Councilman Dan Bishop
Councilman Shirley Smith
Councilman Les Smith
City Manager Kirk Davis
Assistant City Manager Laura
Gay
City Clerk Marilyn Ahnefeld
Item
3. on the Agenda. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
Mayor Anita Newsom welcomed scouts from
Troop 271 sponsored by Gashland United Methodist Church and Scouts Jason Pruitt and Mark Weinzerl led the
Pledge of Allegiance in which all joined.
Item 4. on the Agenda. APPROVAL OF OCTOBER 22, 2001 MINUTES.
Mayor Pro Tem Bill Cross moved to approve the Regular October 22, 2001 City Council
Meeting Minutes as amended.
Councilman Shirley Smith
seconded the motion. The
vote: All “Aye” - Councilman Les Smith,
Councilman Shirley Smith, Councilman Dan Bishop, Mayor Pro Tem Bill Cross,
Mayor Anita Newsom. (5-0)
Item 5. on the Agenda. CONSENT AGENDA
Following the Clerk’s reading, Mayor Pro Tem Bill
Cross moved to approve the Consent Agenda as read; Councilman Dan Bishop
seconded. The vote: All “aye” - Councilman Les Smith, Councilman Shirley Smith, Councilman Dan
Bishop, Mayor Pro Tem Bill Cross, Mayor Anita Newsom. (5-0)
CONSENT AGENDA DETAIL
Mayor Pro Tem Bill Cross moved to adopt RESOLUTION NO. R-01-72, authorizing
acceptance of work under contract with Green Mountain Joinery, Inc. for the Oak
Grove Storage Building and authorizing final payment in the amount of $1,023.15
from the Capital Improvements Sales Tax Fund.
Councilman Dan Bishop seconded.
The vote: All “aye” - Councilman Les Smith, Councilman
Shirley Smith, Councilman Dan Bishop, Mayor Pro Tem Bill Cross, Mayor Anita
Newsom. (5-0)
Mayor Pro Tem Bill Cross moved to approve BUILDING PERMIT for a 384 sq. ft.
addition to existing structure at 6606 N Antioch Road. Applicant/Owner: Baldwin Properties, Inc.
Councilman Dan Bishop seconded.
The vote: All “aye” - Councilman Les Smith, Councilman
Shirley Smith, Councilman Dan Bishop, Mayor Pro Tem Bill Cross, Mayor Anita
Newsom. (5-0)
Mayor Pro Tem Bill Cross moved to approve INTERIM FINANCIAL REPORTS for October,
2001. Councilman Dan Bishop
seconded. The vote: All “aye” - Councilman Les Smith, Councilman Shirley Smith, Councilman Dan
Bishop, Mayor Pro Tem Bill Cross, Mayor Anita Newsom. (5-0)
REGULAR AGENDA
Item 6. on
the Agenda. COMMUNICATIONS FROM THE AUDIENCE.
There were no communications from the audience.
Item 6a. on
the Agenda.
Presentation to the City
Council from Trans Systems
regarding proposed Stop Sign at Brooktree & Kendallwood.
Assistant City
Manager for Development Scott Wingerson advised that
he and Mr. Tom Swenson of Trans Systems Corporation met with the Woodlands
Homeowners Association on October 13th. The purpose of that meeting was to gain input from the
association board and interested residents
about the concerns relative to a
stop sign that was requested at a recent council meeting. During that meeting, Board Member Kim Stevens requested some information relative to the placement
of stop signs further east on Brooktree, specifically Brooktree & Bales,
Brooktree & Norton and Brooktree
& Myrtle, as well as a stop sign at 61st & Cleveland in the
Carriage Crossings neighborhood He
intended to provide the traffic study and that information together to the
entire association board and City Council at the same time however, because of
the timing of the receipt of the traffic study we wanted to make sure that we
are able to address it to the City Council.
We just received the received
the final draft so there was not time to put together the information that Ms.
Stevens requested. He apologies to
Ms. Stevens and will provide that
information to her and the rest of the board this week.
Director Wingerson introduced Mr. Tim Swenson, TransSytems Corporation who the City
contracted to perform a recent traffic analysis at Kendallwood Parkway and
Brooktree Lane.
Tom
Swenson, noted the specific objective
of the traffic study at Kendallwood Parkway and Brooktree Lane was to determine
if a four-way stop was warranted. The
study they conducted was based on criteria in the Manual on Uniform Traffic
Control devices commonly referred to as the MUTCD recognized across the country
as the definitive source on the use of
traffic control devices such as stop signs.
The primary criteria for justifying a four way stops were safety
and traffic volumes to the extent that there are efficiencies or delays
caused by drivers. They were at this location on Tuesday, October 16th to collect
their traffic volumes over the course of a day from 7:00 AM - 7:00 PM.
They met with the Woodlands Board on Thursday October 18th
and the purpose of that was to listen to what their concerns. What did they see everyday as drivers of
that intersection that might help him to make sure he was in touch with what everyday drivers saw out there. Safety was cited as a concern in particular
for Woodlands drivers who come out and are southbound at the intersection. The difficulty they have looking back to the
west is not only because of the curvature on Brooktree but because of some
trees which block their sight lines
they can only see to the west a certain
distance. It was noted that there is
school bus pickup and drop off activity in the area. It was suggested that some of the other four-way stops suggesting in the area were seen as
intersections of equal or lesser importance than the intersection in
question. Speeds on Brooktree were
cited as higher than they would prefer to see and wrong way movement into the
office park, going the wrong way on Kendallwood to the
north, was noted as happening
occasionally. Overall drivers thought
that the delays they encountered at the intersection were rather minimal.
Mr. Swenson said there are three primary warrants
for stop signs:
a. Where
traffic signals are justified, the multi-way stop can be used as an interim
measure while arrangements are being made to install the traffic signals.
b.
Five
(5) or more reported crashes in a 12-month period that are susceptible to correction by a multi-way
stop sign installation.
c. Minimum traffic volumes of so many per hour over the highest 8-hour period on the main street and than similar thresholds are established for the minor street. In this case, Brooktree is considered the major street and Kendallwood Parkway the minor street.
The MUTCD also offers other guidance in addition to
this hard and fast objective criteria for the use of four-way stops. This guidance comes over decades of
experience with stop signs. Mr. Swenson
said two key ones that he will cite are the suggestions that four-way stops should only be used where the volumes of
both streets are about equal. In this
case, it is only three-fourths; one-fourth.
72% of the traffic they counted was on
Brooktree compared to 28% on Kendallwood.
The other guidance is not to use stop signs for
speed control. It has been proven in
study after study in this country that do not meet that objective. If the objective is to slow traffic
along Brooktree a long distance,
putting a stop sign here is not going to change that condition. So his assessments of these warrants is that
no traffic signs are warranted at this intersection. There have been no accidents in the last 12 months and we do not
meet the minimum volume
thresholds. We meet part of that on
Brooktree but not on Kendallwood at all.
As part of his review he did look at and drive the intersections several
times on different days and at different times of the day and on all approaches
to gain a sense of what drivers
encountered.
One of the most fundamental things we need to provide
at every intersection is good sight distance.
We want drivers to be able to look up and down the road before they
proceed through a stop sign and turn in front of other traffic to make sure
they can see it and make good decisions.
What he found when he looked at the intersection was that by and large
it is a pretty good sight distance with the one exception that neighbors
brought up that when you are southbound on Kendallwood and want to look
west it is very difficult to see very
far for two reasons: the curve in the
road, and the trees. There is a cluster of some deciduous trees right on the corner and
up the road to the west there are some rather large dense pine trees that
literally form a blockade and allow
drivers to see a few hundred feet up
the road. Likewise, if you are east bound on Brooktree you do
not see the intersection very quickly and it comes up on you primarily because
of the pine trees.
Mr. Swenson
said they do not recommend the 4-way stop. Frankly, there is no compelling reason to install them and
the MUTCD has a forceful tone when it comes to stop signs in that you do need a
very compelling reason to do that and that is because our goals on our street
systems are to move traffic efficiently
and safety. Safety is always the utmost
concern but we want to be efficient as well.
We do not want to needlessly force others to stop or stop ourselves if
there is no good reason to do that The
key is to provide drivers with the conditions so that they can make good decisions
and safely navigate our street system which gets him to his #1 recommendation
which is to remove those sight obstructions so that those southbound drivers on
Kendallwood can see adequately to the west
a much more comfortable distance.
We can argue that there have
been no accidents which means that drivers are adapting but he still thinks it
is importance to provide that fundamental good sight distance.
While not strictly a part of the study per se, Mr. Swenson said the are other tangents this intersection can take to address the travel speed which was an issue raised by the neighbors. That gets into traffic calming which is a term we have no doubt heard. The speeds on Brooktree measured by the City were relatively high compared to the posted speed limits. The speed limits 25mph and 85% of the drivers are driving 35mph. When he watched the intersection it did not necessarily strike him that drivers on Brooktree were going inordinately fast through there but there are some things that can be done. He points out that the conditions are pretty ripe for somebody on Brooktree to easily exceed the speed limit. It is a nice 36’ wide street with no parking so drivers have a very comfortable two-lane street and most of the intersecting streets and driveways do not carry a lot of traffic. So somebody traveling along Brooktree in addition to having a nice comfortable road does not expect to encounter much traffic turning in front of them. . Some things to consider are trying to effectively narrow the street, you could stripe a painted medium that would narrow the lanes, you could consider bike lanes on the outsides both of which would shrink those lanes from 16’ wide to 12’ wide which might have some effect on drivers speeds through there. You could consider cross walks at the intersection with prominent marking materials and signs to get peoples attention and drivers attention that they are approaching an intersection. There are a lot of things that would fall into traffic calming and a lot of communities engage the people who live on or near that street to work with staff to find the best solution to address the problem that people perceive is going on along that street.
Mr. Swenson invited questions at this time.
Councilman Bishop said one of the questions raised
by Councilman Les Smith several Council meetings ago when this issue was
brought forward under comments from the audience was safety of the actual
intersection because of the way the median protrudes out toward Brooktree
Lane. The question was is there a need
to reconfigure the design of that intersection coming out of the Woodlands and
Mr. Bishop asks if that was looked at as a p[art of this study.
Mr. Swenson said he does not see that the width of
the median in this case is contributing to any problems but he did mention
earlier that the Woodlands residents mentioned the wrong way movements that
occur at some times and he did recommend in his report some standard traffic
control signs to help prevent that. But
he does not see that the median itself is causing the problems, particularly safety issues.
Councilman Bill Cross noted the report tells him
that something definitely has to be done about the trees and secondly,
the need for closer supervision by our own law enforcement to slow some
of those people down if the study indicates that the majority of those people
are exceeding the speed limit. Mr.
Swenson agreed that enforcement is always an option that a community has. They always talk about the three E’s of engineering,
education and enforcement.
If they are exceeding the speed limit by that much, periodic enforcement
would be a good idea.
Councilman Les Smith said he will probably not be in favor of stop signs
at that intersection however he thinks we have to do more than rely on a couple
of signs and enforcement to solve the problem. In the minds of the residents who drive it there is a problem,
so therefore we do have a problem.
There is also the school bus issue and he understands that we are
working with the school district trying to get the buses to pull into the
Woodlands to collect the children rather than out on the street. The second issue raised was a cross walk
of some sort to enable the children to go to the library. Is it possible to put a sidewalk with
flashing lights to address that problem.
City Manager Kirk Davis said cross walks
were recommended as potentially one of the options to let people be aware they are coming to an
intersection. Mr. Davis said he had
not thought of the yellow lights.
Mr. Swenson said flashing lights or beacons is
discussed and he notes that you could also try things incrementally.
It is hard to say that flashing lights are absolutely needed but it is
something that can be considered.
Councilman Smith said he would like to see us doing
something literally tomorrow. This has
been an issue for some time and we should start doing something right away but
let’s try to exhaust all other possibilities before we get to the stop sign
issue.
Mr. Davis said we have contacted the school district
and are trying to encourage them to look at other alternatives to pick up the
kids on both sides of Brooktree. There
may have been an issue for the School District at one time when those were
private streets but the City has since taken them over and they are now public
streets so there is an ability to use the road system in there to at least turn
around without backing up a bus.
Mr. Smith asked
how we can expedite our discussions with the School District. Mr. Davis said we will try to get those
discussions moving forward at a faster pace but he cannot say how fast their
system would work in terms of any
changes. But the direction he hears is
move forward as quickly as possible with the school district and take a look at what traffic calming ideas might
work with the homeowners association and folks in the Woodlands.
Councilman Newsom
said round-a-bouts which she observed in Europe served to slow the
traffic and she realizes it is a major
construction but looking towards the future she asks if in their studies they find round-a-bouts
work or would we be better off to place some smaller configuration of an island.
Mr. Swenson responded that it is commonly discussed and the modern
round-a-bout is slowly being implemented. In this whole metro area there are probably
fewer than ten but it has become an alternative to consider and not just in
neighborhoods but also on major streets.
Like anything different it is slow to catch on. At this intersection, the wide medians
really don’t lend themselves to a good round-about design so that is why he did not mention it. It
is certainly a tool that can be considered because it is an intersection
control device and does calm traffic.
Councilman Les Smith said he thinks we should at
least explore that concept because it fits with the whole parkway theme in that
area.
Councilman Cross said those sound like good ideas
and he thinks we could work out something with the School District who want the
safety of the young people and make
contacts as far as cutting trees and placing cross walk signs so that drivers and pedestrians know what we
are trying to do. He agrees with
Councilman Les Smith that we need to start tomorrow.
Mayor Newsom said if there are audience members who
would like to address this issue she invites them to do so at this time.
Rita Gauer, said she resides in The
Woodlands and is present for the second time. About a year ago she spoke with Councilman Bishop and asked how they could go about getting a
four-way stop. Mr. Bishop told her
that as an individual he could do nothing but recommended that a petition be
generated signed by as many Woodlands residents as possible, take it to the City Council and tell them
why they need this four-way stop
desperately. They have done that and
have 86 signatures and an article from the Insurance Institute which recommends
that all two way stops be changed to four-way stops to benefit the safety of
older drivers and indicates that the
amount of accidents can be reduced by up to 50%. Mrs. Gauer said in her book that is very very compelling.
Mrs. Gauer
advised that Woodlands resident Bill Reynolds wrote a letter to the City of
Gladstone last June and received no response.
Carol Fisher who is also a resident
wrote a letter to the Mayor and Council and received no response. One of the recommendations is to tear the trees and shrubs out but Mrs. Gauer said when you are trying
to get into their development and are on Kendallwood Parkway there is a
building obstructing and the trees are not going to make any difference. You still can’t see as those cars come
racing down Brooktree. Although
there have been no accidents there she sees this as an accident waiting to
happen. We are all getting annoyed
with the business of traffic volume and traffic calming. There are all kinds of four way stops in
Gladstone and she mentions N Indiana
& Shady Drive and N Cleveland & 60th Street which do not
have as much traffic as they do. But we
cared enough to put those stops in for the safety of the people which she
thinks is great. There are 4-5 stop signs between N Indiana and N
Jackson and she was told those were in place for the safety of the people
living in that area because it is densely populated and serves four
developments with several entrances and exits.
There is only one way in and out to the Woodlands.
Mrs. Gauer
said as far as traffic calming, try to tell that to some family who will
eventually lose a loved one at the intersection of Brooktree and
Kendallwood.
Michelle Baker
apologized
for her emotion but said it was because she is a mother and referred to the
children with her and said there are five compelling reasons why we believe we need a stop sign in the
Woodlands. She asked that we look at
the children closely and said she would hate to think that an accident could
happen because they were trying to
cross the street to go to the library.
Flashing lights will not stop a vehicle if it is a yellow warning. She does not know how to word it any other
way but she would just respectfully
request that the Council please reevaluate
their decision on having stop signs so that Woodlands residents can
carefully and safely cross the
intersection.
Mayor Newsom asked if there were others who desired
to address the Council at this time.
No one responded.
Mayor Newsom asked members of the City Council if
they desired to discuss this issue further at this time or take action on it.
Councilman Shirley Smith said she realizes we have
to have rules and regulations on matters or things would get completely out of
hand but it does seem that our citizens should be listened to. As she sees it, up to now they did not know what to tell us to solve the
situation, and we did not know what to
tell them. What we need to do is study
this further and very quickly.
Ms. Smith said she is not one to say let’s do what
everyone wants us to do but this has been going on for a long time and we do
not have citizens really pursuing things like this unless they feel very
strongly about it and feel they are right.
She said she knows of a few stop signs that were put up at the whim of a
person and they have no value now.
That was many years ago and they have no value now. So if we are going to pick out one
intersection and say it has no value for a stop sign maybe we better review
other intersections where we have stop signs that have no value. She really thinks we have to consider the
safety of our citizens above and beyond
the rules and regulations.
Councilman Bishop asked Mayor Newsom what she is
suggesting. The Mayor said she does not
know if someone wants to make a motion to enact the guides of the study, if we
do some further research, or if we
over-ride the study and have the documentation prepared for placement of a four
way stop at that location. She asks the
preference of the Council,.
Councilman Bishop said for the record he wants
to be perfectly clear that his top priority is safety at that intersection and
he is sure we all agree on that. Mr.
Bishop said he did tell Mrs. Gauer if she had compelling reasons that should be
brought to the Council’s attention as to why stop signs should be there she
should initiate that dialogue and bring it forward for discussion. He believes that has been done and we have
all heard the message which is certain residents desperately want a stop sign.
But if you look beyond that
request for a stop sign what he really hears is that they want safety, they want their children safe and they want
to be safe. These people are fearful
and it is our job to give them what
they are really asking for which is safety at that intersection. Although he respects the opinion of each of
the Woodlands residents with whom he has spoken on this topic not one of them
has credentials as a traffic engineer,
nor does he, and that is what he
has said from the start that he is very dependent on the recommendations of
staff and traffic engineers. Mr. Bishop said he is impressed with the report
given tonight from TransSytems and the lengths they went to hear the concerns
of the residents of the Woodlands and they have given a report that analyzes
the problem and he is can’t imagine someone not agreeing with their analysis of
the problem. They have made what appear to be some very thoughtful
recommendations to insure the safety of that intersection. When you combine
that with our efforts to work with the school district to get the school bus to
come into the Woodlands and put a crosswalk in there so the children can go to
the library, it seems these things if
acted upon would go a long way in creating a safe intersection. He hears the request being made for a stop
sign but he has to say for the record that he has had telephone calls in the
past three weeks from Woodlands
residents telling him emphatically that they do not want a stop sign there. He said Council received
a letter in their packet from a resident in the area who had seen some
of the press coverage and said he emphatically does not want a stop sign
there. So we have people who care
enough on the one side to say they
really want it, and those on
the other side who say they really
don’t want it. So the Council is in a
situation where he thinks they have to rely on the recommendations of the
consultants.
Mr. Bishop said speaking for himself all he is
trying to do is insure the safety of that intersection. He is impressed with the report from
TransSystems and he thinks the best thing we can do is proceed with
implementation of those recommendations.
He would like to see an analysis of a traffic circle. He thinks that is an intriguing idea and he
does not know that cost should be a big barrier. Mr. Bishop said Mayor Newsom and Councilman Les Smith struck on something that sounds really
promising at that location and he would be interested in the analysis of the
feasibility of a round a bout. In his view that would accomplish every goal
that has been brought to our attention by the Woodland’s residents.
Mayor Newsom said she concurs with Mr. Bishop almost one hundred
percent. She said she is not a
traffic engineer but as a driver she knows when you see a wide stretch of road
it is easy to accelerate. There are
ways to solve the problem so it is a
win-win. It may not be
as easy as going out and putting four poles in the ground and putting
stop signs on them. In the interim
between the time we can getting started on implementing the traffic study and
recommendations she would certainly hope nothing happens and we move on and
implement this and see if those changes do
alleviate a good deal of the problem.
The Mayor said she is intrigued by the idea of traffic calming
devices. She received some information
a few years ago on round-a-bouts and when she was in Europe she was
watching them to see how they were used
because traffic was not stopped but slowed down significantly. But it is not like Meyer Circle in Kansas
City where motorists are spinning out in yards because that can be a bad
thing.
Councilman Les Smith said Councilman Bishop
articulated the consensus of the City Council very well. There are two things we can do,. We can do nothing or commit to doing something
and he thinks we are committed to doing something. It may not be the solution that is desired immediately but we are
committed to solving the problem and he thinks the solution should be more
important than the method. He told
the City Manager that he believes he has some very explicit direction from the City Council that we need answers, and we need them very very quickly. Those things that we can implement we need
to implement very very quickly and he agree that is the direction we need to go. We need to solve the problem somehow but it sounds like creating
a four-way stop might create problems in other ways and we do not need to trade
one problem for another. He told Mrs.
Gauer and Mrs. Baker that this may not be what they were looking for but
Council will commit to trying to solve that problem. It just does not sound like it will be with stop signs. We have a better solution that will be a
very nice solution for that area.
Ms. Baker
asked how a traffic circle would allow pedestrians to cross the street
any easier or safer.
Mayor Newsom answered that it would be in combination with a cross walk to slow down traffic. Ms. Baker said the only traffic circle she
is familiar with is off of Ward Parkway and she is not picturing where a pedestrian cross walk could be
placed in the middle of a traffic circle.
Ms. Newsom said it may not be in the middle of the circle, the traffic engineers
would have to draw it up. Ms. Newsom
said it would not be as large as Ward Parkway but what she saw used in other places was smaller so that people would not raise their speed going
around it but will have to slow down.
And then a cross walk could be at one end or another or designed to go
through the middle of it where the children and pedestrians could
cross at a green space and have
a spot to cross one lane and pause and cross the other lane as it clears, she
does not know how it would be designed.
Councilman Smith said the difference is that at Ward
Parkway there are six lanes of traffic with a large circle. We are talking about a much lower volume of
traffic and the main thing is it allows everyone to be seen and the traffic
slowed down quite a bit, as far as the intent. That might not be the final solution but at least we are trying
to go through all the other possibilities before we just say “no - we can’t do
anything”. That is probably leaps and
bounds as far as success in the past.
Mrs. Gauer said
an increase in accidents has been alluded to if a 4-way stop is put in.
She said she cannot for the life of her imagine why 4-way stops could
increase traffic accidents if people are going to stop they are going to stop
so she does not understand the reason.
When they are coming from Kendallwood to get into the Woodlands there is
only a 2-way stop. Taking out the trees
would be great for coming into the Woodlands but won’t help where the view is
obstructed by the law building.
Mrs. Baker said Mr. Bishop indicated he had received
several phone calls from residents of the Woodlands who stated they did not
favor a 4-way stop. She heard no one at
any of these meetings step before the City Council and indicate that view and
questions what their reasoning would be.
Is it the inconvenience of pausing for thirty seconds at a stop
sign? She has not heard any reasons why residents would be against
it.
Mayor Newsom thanked Mrs. Gauer and Mrs. Swenson for their comments.
Mayor Newsom asked the Council if a motion is needed
to give direction to the City Manager on this matter. City Manager Davis said the direction is clear.
Item 7. on
the Agenda. COMMUNICATIONS FROM THE CITY COUNCIL.
Councilman Les
Smith had no comments at this time.
Councilman
Shirley Smith advised
the City Council, City Manager and Management Team recently held their annual retreat which was a great opportunity to
focus on the last year and plan
future goals and direction. She also
expressed her appreciation to Finance Director Sweiven for his report on the
Local Government Employees Retirement system meeting. Ms. Smith also
commented that she agrees with comments
made by residents of the west side of the city that a grocery store is
needed in that area.
Councilman Dan
Bishop said he has talked frequently since coming on
the City Council about the fact that Gladstone has entered into the realm of
what is called a first tier suburb or
an inner ring suburb. What
this means is that as one of the first suburban communities as the metropolitan
area begins to move outside of the urban core, we have some great
opportunities such as mature
neighborhoods with beautiful
established trees. We have a stable
population and we also have some challenges in terms of aging housing stock
and aging retail corridors. We have really focused on the challenges in being a first suburb
and done this through the Neighborhood
Preservation Task Force, the North
Oak Corridor Study and we are trying to be pro-active in dealing with
those challenges and at the same time emphasizing our strengths as a first tier
suburb. He said he has been so
interested in this issue of first suburbs
and learned of an exciting
program the Kauffman Foundation has undertaken. They have entered into a significant financial contract with the
Brookings Institution which is one of the foremost think tanks in the
nation. The Brookings Institution will
come into Missouri and analyze issues affecting first suburbs not only in
Missouri but as a whole in the State
level in the metropolitan area .
He attended a kick off meeting on October 11th where a presentation was made by Bruce Katz from the Brookings
Institution who was former Chief of
Staff to the Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Henry Cisneros under the Clinton Administration. The point Mr. Katz made was that although their have been reams
of research on issues affecting urban
cores there really have been no
significant studies done of the first tier suburbs. The contract with the Kauffman Foundation and the
Brookings Institute is being facilitated by Mid America Regional Council and is
of the greatest significance. In
other metro areas where the first suburbs have
joined together in some sort association they are able to work together collectively to address their
common challenges as first suburbs and this means they are able to lobby at the
state level for a larger piece of the state budget to address their specific
challenges. And they are able to lobby
at the national level and get more federal dollars and some exciting things are
happening through these associations of first suburbs.
Councilman Bishop noted that only Gladstone,
Grandview and Raytown were represented at the meeting and he had only learned
of the meeting by chance and attended.
Forming an alliance of first suburbs was discussed and he hopes we can continue to be involved and
if we have opportunities to participate in
matters of this importance that
we are represented.
Mayor Newsom acknowledged that she had received an
invitation to this meeting but other commitments prevented her from attending
so it had been forwarded to our staff
for their interest and apparently no one was able to attend. Councilman Bishop said it does concern
him that we almost missed this opportunity
so we do need to insure that thinks like this don’t fall through the
cracks. The Mayor said she is glad
Councilman Bishop could attend because it does sound like an interesting program that would be beneficial to us.
Councilman
Bill Cross said
he attended a Board Meeting of TRY (Teaching and Reaching Youth) recently and was pleased to provide them with copies of our recently passed Beer Keg Registration
ordinance. He told Assistant City
Manager Laura Gay that one of the
members expressed appreciation for
receiving a letter from her advising of the passage of this ordinance. Only six other cities in Missouri have keg
registration which goes into affect
next month. TRY members were
extremely pleased to learn Gladstone had passed this ordinance.
Mayor Anita
Newsom thanked crews who placed the flag banners on our corridors. She also noted the successful brush cleanup recently. Our count was 2,771 over the three day period. This at great service we provide to our residents.
She echoes comments from Councilman Shirley Smith that goal setting was beneficial and a
good process we have come up with good goals for next year and beyond. She mentioned to Finance Director Cash
Sweiven that she had received some
comments about tax bills which had a discrepancy between the listing on the
county bill versus the city.
Direcor Cash Sweiven explained that we receive our tax information from the county and
we ask citizens to go back to the county if there are discrepancies and the
county will correct it and we will likewise correct the city’s tax bill. Because of our low tax rate in
some instances a resident may
receive a tax bill for a very low amount.
He said this year a policy was implemented in the Finance Department to
abate any personal property tax bill under
$3.00 so that would explain why their
might be some differences in the tax bills.
The Mayor asked if there is not some way we can communicate this better
to the residents to negate the confusion.
Director Sweiven said we definitely can through a flyer in the tax bills
next year and other means of
communication.
Councilman Les
Smith said if someone has an older vehicle that would result in a
$3.00 tax and they get a tax bill anyway, why would we not want to collect
that $3.00. Director Sweiven said his calculations were that our break even costs were at
$$2.80 which is time, effort, postage
and return of the envelope,
etc. His findings were that the
city’s loss would be less than $2,000
and it costs that plus more for the postage, handling and time and
effort involved in collection. Mr.
Smith said he has an older car that fell off of the tax bill this year and his point is if you are getting a tax bill anyway why would you not leave that
older vehicle on. Director Sweiven
said if you have multiple vehicles on your tax bill, the system does not allow
us to leave the older vehicle on your tax bill.
Councilman
Shirley Smith
said so if you only have one vehicle on your tax bill and it happens to be an older vehicle that would result in a less
than $3.00 tax bill then you would not receive a bill. Mr. Sweiven said that is correct. Ms. Smith said people were asking employees of the County Assessors office why
they did not get a Gladstone tax bill,
so at a minimum we should have made the
County Assessor aware of this change. Director Sweiven assured we would do a better job. He also said we will research this for next
year and will calculate it again and perhaps the result will be that we include
all vehicles for next year, but regardless we will do a better job of
communicating.
Mayor Anita
Newsom advised that one evening as she was walking through the court room
she observed Judge Rose and the Court
Clerk conducting court through TV
monitors with incarcerated
prisoners. This is a great
idea because prisoners do not have to be transported and maximizes safety and
minimizes cost. She had not been aware this system was in place and was amazed. She sees it as a
very efficient way to conduct this
business.
Mayor Newsom said she was contacted by a citizen who
suggested persons coming out of the Public Safety Citizens Academy might
benefit our Public Safety Department as
volunteers. There are 20 people
going through Citizens Academy
at this time and they might volunteer their time and interest to the
City and help support public
safety. She said they
could utilize their knowledge and this might be something we could
explore.
City Manager Davis said he will speak with Director
Adamo and we will certainly look at opportunities for volunteerism. He stressed that in areas of personnel matters there would have to be
some pretty restrictive rules and by-laws, but we can look at those privacy
issues.
Mayor Newsom wished all a Happy Thanksgiving.
The Mayor advised that Saturday December 15th
is the date set for Board and Commission interviews. Councilman Bishop asked if media releases soliciting interest
from residents have been sent as well as notifications to board members with
expiring terms. Staff advised they are
being sent.
Item 8. on
the Agenda. COMMUNICATIONS FROM THE CITY MANAGER.
City Manager
Kirk Davis announced
the 50th Birthday Committee
is meeting at 7:00 PM at the Elks Lodge this Thursday night and we are looking
for volunteers to be involved in that year long celebration. We encourage people who are interested
in working with committee to
attend.
He also announced that the Solid Waste Disposal
Public Meeting will be held
at 6:00 PM at City Hall on Monday,
November 19th to review the solid waste proposal received and obtain
citizen feedback.
The City Manager also announced the resignation of
Hamid Hashemizadeh as Public Works
Director effective later this month. He
advised that Mr. Hashemizadeh has decided to pursue other career opportunities and we wish him the best.
Item 9. on
the Agenda. CONTINUED PUBLIC HEARING: on a request to rezone property at 7508 N
Oak from C-1 to CP-3. Applicant: North Oak Garden Center. Owner:
Anthony and Final Scare. (File
# 1164
Mayor Anita Newsom opened this public hearing and
announced it will be continued to the Monday, November 26, 2001 City Council
Meeting at the request of City Staff.
Item 10. on
the Agenda. PRESENTATION OF COMPREHENSIVE ANNUAL FINANCIAL REPORT FOR THE
CITY OF GLADSTONE FOR THE YEAR ENDED JUNE 30, 2001 by Independent
Certified Public Accountants Cochran,
Head & Co.
Lew Herman,
Cochran Head and Company introduced himself and said
they worked on this project as a joint venture with Bruce Culley. His partner Tim Fitzgerald is present to
respond to any questions Council may have.
He said the
Council should have received a
copy of the Comprehensive Annual Report, in addition there was the Single Audit
Report, Management Letter and the
Gladstone Special Road District Report all performed in connection with the
audit. When they are asked to
come into the community as an auditor they try to answer three basic questions
when they are looking at the financial statements. Are the financial statements free of material mis-statement, are the effective internal
controls in place and do they work, and did the City comply in all material
respects with finance related laws and regulations both local, federal and
state. The answer to all of these is,
yes.
Their responsibility is to perform the audit within
generally acceptable auditing standards and government auditing standards which
govern the way in which the city
reports their financial affairs. Their objective is to provide reasonable, not
absolute, assurance that the financial
statements are free of material mis-statement and they report on the internal
control structure in compliance with laws and regulations.
When they go through an perform an audit they are
required to communicate certain things:
were there any irregularities or errors, any illegal acts they saw, significant accounting policy
changes. The answer to all of these
is, no there were none. Any
disagreements with management, no, there were none. As far as cooperation,
as he indicated earlier they were given full cooperation. He would note that when they do an audit
they do not look at every transaction, they could not possibly. They look at samples of transactions. They look at checks for both payroll and
regular, direct deposits and revenues and receipts and deposit slips, bank
statements backup documentation, This
does not mean that they have seen absolutely every record and can assure with
out a shadow of a doubt that there is not something that is irregular but they
can tell us from their sampling techniques that they are fairly reliably
assured that there are none of these particular issues evident here. The opinion on page 15 describes what they
have done and the limitations and in this case the report is unqualified which
means that there were no problems or qualifications. They have issued an internal report control as well that shows
no material weaknesses in the internal controls.
The Management Letter has a few items none of which
are earth shattering. Some items have
been noted before and Director Sweiven
has discussed the implementation of the new reporting model which starts July 1, 2002. He said
Cash Sweiven has asked them to assist him in performing the change and
implementing the new reporting model and they have agreed to help Mr. Sweiven
do so.
Cochran Head is asking staff to monitor the Bond
covenants and reserves. Details are
given in the Management Letter. Fixed
assets has to do with donated assets which becomes a more significant item in
the new reporting model, but basically refers to when a developer donates
pieces of property and/or streets from a development or improvements, the City
is responsible for maintaining those and take them in as a donation. They are asking the City staff to account
for those on a more current basis. This
is done at year end, but not on a month to month basis.
Public Safety funds were discussed last year in the
Management Letter and staff has been able to implement the changes recommended
and has agreed with the changes. The
same holds true with EMS and accounting duties. They were all implemented satisfactorily to their review.
The Bond collection is still a segregation of duties
issue. In the Management letter it
refers to the fact that one person who is collecting the money should not be
depositing the money and should not be writing checks on the same bank
account. It is a matter of personnel
and availability and transferring responsibilities between staff. Mr. Sweiven has looked into this area and is reviewing ways to practically implement some changes
to safeguard this issue.
Mr. Herman stated that he is with Bruce Culley,
Cochran, Head and Company and they did this as a joint venture. They will now go into some areas that
Director Sweiven thinks is important, the purposes of financial condition. Financial condition, for those on the City
Council, is how well, after you are gone, can this City and community meet
their financial responsibilities, both in long-term debt obligations as well as
paying the bills for next month and next year.
The first presentation deals with revenue as it
relates to population and can be a double-edged sword. This is the general fund revenue as it
relates to the population. The City is
basically a little over $600 per person in revenue as it relates to other
cities. There are 1530 cities in this
study throughout the United States and is not classified in any way, but
includes cities of all sizes and economic basis. Gladstone is right above the 50% level which is average in this
case.
Next is total General Fund revenue from the City’s
own source compared to the total general funds. In other words, how much does the City receive from the state and
other agencies to help support Gladstone.
The City is on the high side of this ratio, above the 50% mark.
General Fund
sources from other funds compared to other general funds has to do with how
much we have to get as transfers to help support the general fund
operation. Last year the City had a
transfer from the fund accounting of $160,000, putting it right at the 50%
range. A lot of communities have this,
but if you have a low ratio, it suggests there is little reliance on operating
transfers from other fund sources.
Mr. Herman stated that next is the operating
expenditures in relationship to total expenditures and how much the City is
spending.. A low ratio suggests
adequate maintenance of infrastructure.
In this particular case, the City is lower, considerably better than the
top 75% of communities in the survey.
Total revenues as it relates to total
expenditures. In this case, the City is
trying to build equity, so there is equity to carry over to meet expenditures
for the next year. You want those
revenues to be higher over the expenditures.
In this particular case, the City is a little bit below the average.
The fund balance is the money left over at the end
of the year. How much can be used for
next year’s operations. In this case, the
City is above average, just by a marginal amount. General Fund cash and investments as it relates to General Fund
liabilities. For those in the business
community, this is called liquidity. If
the City were shut down tomorrow, took all the cash, could you pay all your
bills. In this case, the City is better
than the average city and a higher ratio shows you can meet your short term
liabilities very well.
How do the short-term general fund liabilities
relate to the general fund revenues. A
low ratio suggests short-term obligations can be serviced by normal annual
revenues. In this case, Gladstone is
close to the top 75% again.
Long-term debt as it relates to the population. When we are all long gone and you have those
long-term bonds or certificates of participation that you are paying off, are
our kids still going to have to pay for it or am I going to have to pay for
it. Do we have a lot of debt in
relationship to the per capita. As you
can see, Gladstone is better than the average, not quite at the top of the 75%
of communities.
Debt service as it relates to total revenues. Again, the City is better than the
average. This refers to the ability to
pay debt service when required.
General Fund unreserved fund balance as it related
to general fund expenditures. In this
case, the City is in very, very good shape.
The City is one of the top 5%.
What it basically says is that the City has enough to meet three or four
months worth of expenditures on the normal General Fund operations without
getting any tax dollars. That is
healthy and where you should be.
As Gladstone relates to all the 1530 communities out
there, a year ago, the City was at 83%.
This year you are at 81%. The
difference is the debt service load which you picked up this year. The City went from a $425,000 debt service
amount in the year ending 2000 and this year you are at $925,000 and that is
what brought the City down just a little bit.
However, the City should be very proud of the fact that it is in the 81%
of all cities within the study.
Mr. Herman thanked the Council and restated that the
City is in a healthy position and he would be happy to answer any
questions.
ITEM 10a.
on the Agenda. CITY COUNCIL ACCEPTANCE OF 2000-2001 CITY OF GLADSTONE ANNUAL
FINANCIAL REPORT.
Councilman Bishop moved to approve the Annual
Financial Report; Councilman Bill Cross seconded. The vote: All “aye” - Councilman Les Smith, Councilman
Shirley Smith, Councilman Dan Bishop, Mayor Pro Tem Bill Cross, Mayor Anita
Newsom. (5-0)
Mayor Newsom thanked staff
for a job well done.
Item 11. on
the Agenda. FIRST READING BILL 01-42, establishing a Sister Cities Commission
for the City of Gladstone, Missouri; setting forth the duties, and providing
for the appointment of members and selection of Chairman and Officers.
Councilman Dan Bishop moved to place Bill 01-42 on First Reading; Councilman Bill Cross seconded.
Discussion.
Councilman Bishop stated that he thinks this is a good program. When we started talking about this last year, we could not possibly have imagined the events that happened this September. He thinks more than ever, it highlights the critical need for understanding of people of diverse backgrounds, races and cultures, to have a more international outlook and to enable us in times of crisis not to hold one ethnic group responsible for the atrocities of a few fanatics and to be able to approach things with a clear head. It is a great program and he is pleased by the commitment the core members have already shown and the committee work so far. This, in conjunction with our 50th anniversary celebration, will be a nice addition to the festivities and he supports this program.
Mr. Bishop stated that whenever he would meet the Honorable Councilman Bill Parker from Liberty at a meeting , he would corner him until he brought the issue forward. They are getting good results in Liberty and grateful we are moving forward with a Sister Cities Program it in Gladstone.
The vote: All “aye” – Councilman Les Smith, Councilman Shirley Smith, Councilman Dan Bishop, Mayor Pro Tem Bill Cross, Mayor Anita Newsom. (5-0) The Clerk read the Bill.
Councilman Dan Bishop moved to accept the First Reading of Bill 01-42, Waive the Rule and Place the Bill on Second and Final Reading; Councilman Bill Cross seconded. The vote: All “aye” – Councilman Les Smith, Councilman Shirley Smith, Councilman Dan Bishop, Mayor Pro Tem Bill Cross, Mayor Anita Newsom. (5-0) The Clerk read the Bill.
Councilman Dan Bishop moved to accept the Second and Final Reading of Bill 01-42 and enact the Bill as Ordinance 3.810; Councilman Bill Cross seconded.
Roll Call Vote:
All “aye” – Councilman Les Smith, Councilman Shirley Smith, Councilman
Dan Bishop, Mayor Pro Tem Bill Cross, Mayor Anita Newsom. (5-0)
Item 12. on the Agenda FIRST READING BILL
01-43, electing the Alternate LT-8(65) Benefit Program under the Missouri
Local Government Employees Retirement System (LAGERS) for the City of
Gladstone, Missouri pursuant to RSMO
70.646 as amended. Effective
Date: January 1, 2002.
Councilman Les Smith moved to place Bill 01-43 on First Reading; Councilman Dan Bishop seconded.
Discussion.
Councilman Bishop stated that this was something that we talked about during the adoption of the 2002 fiscal year budget in May. We know that one of our greatest assets in the City is our employees who have done so much for this community. He thinks it is appropriate and fitting that we are able to do it. We will increase this LAGERS benefit designation and he will support it.
The vote:
All “aye” – Councilman Les Smith, Councilman Shirley Smith, Councilman
Dan Bishop, Mayor Pro Tem Bill Cross, Mayor Anita Newsom. (5-0)
The Clerk read the Bill.
Councilman Les Smith moved to accept the First Reading of Bill 01-43, Waive the Rule and Place the Bill on Second and Final Reading; Councilman Dan Bishop seconded. The vote: All “aye” – Councilman Les Smith, Councilman Shirley Smith, Councilman Dan Bishop, Mayor Pro Tem Bill Cross, Mayor Anita Newsom. (5-0) The Clerk read the Bill.
Councilman Les Smith moved to accept the Second and Final Reading of Bill 01-43 and enact the Bill as Ordinance 3.811; Councilman Dan Bishop seconded.
Roll Call Vote:
All “aye” – Councilman Les Smith, Councilman Shirley Smith, Councilman
Dan Bishop, Mayor Pro Tem Bill Cross, Mayor Anita Newsom. (5-0)
Item 13. on
the Agenda. FIRST READING BILL 01-44, an ordinance amending Chapter 21 of the
Gladstone City Code to enact a new section prohibiting a person from leaving a
child unattended in a motor vehicle; and providing for penalties for violations
thereof.
Councilman Dan Bishop moved to place Bill 01-44 on First Reading; Councilman Bill Cross seconded.
The vote:
All “aye” – Councilman Les Smith, Councilman Shirley Smith, Councilman
Dan Bishop, Mayor Pro Tem Bill Cross, Mayor Anita Newsom. (5-0)
The Clerk read the Bill.
Councilman Dan Bishop moved to accept the First Reading of Bill 01-44, Waive the Rule and Place the Bill on Second and Final Reading; Councilman Bill Cross seconded. The vote: All “aye” – Councilman Les Smith, Councilman Shirley Smith, Councilman Dan Bishop, Mayor Pro Tem Bill Cross, Mayor Anita Newsom. (5-0) The Clerk read the Bill.
Councilman Dan Bishop moved to accept the Second and Final Reading of Bill 01-44 and enact the Bill as Ordinance 3.812; Councilman Bill Cross seconded.
Roll Call Vote:
All “aye” – Councilman Les Smith, Councilman Shirley Smith, Councilman
Dan Bishop, Mayor Pro Tem Bill Cross, Mayor Anita Newsom. (5-0)
Item 14. on
the Agenda. FIRST READING BILL 01-45, an
ordinance amending Chapter 21 of the Gladstone City Code by enacting a new
section prohibiting certain acts that constitute endangering the welfare of a
child and providing for penalties for violations thereof.
Councilman Les Smith moved to place Bill 01-45 on First Reading; Councilman Dan Bishop seconded.
Discussion.
Councilman Shirley Smith stated that there have been
cases where these kinds of laws have
been used by children to get their parents in trouble and asks if there are
safeguards for parents in this document.
City Counselor David Ramsay stated that they are not
specifically stated in the document.
Most of the charges require more than just neglect, they require
criminal negligence which is more akin to reckless action or knowingly
endangering a child. The state statute
is more involved because it does refer to sections of the juvenile code where
the child is involved in a crime or has been neglected by being allowed to live
in an unsafe structure. An adult or
parent who places a child in that situation or encourages a child to violate
the law, then is subject to being charged and possibly convicted in municipal
court separate and apart from what occurs with the juvenile. The first section which is criminal
negligence to act in a manner creates a substantial risk to life, body or
health of the child requires more than just an allegation by the child and is
going to be most useful for our police officers as they deal with domestic
relations, domestic disputes and problems in the home.
Councilman Shirley Smith stated that these things
seldom come up but she would hate to
see parents in a position where they are afraid to do anything.
Mayor Newsom stated that if this functions in any
way like the Clay County Juvenile Court works, then the parents and child are
given all the due process necessary to present their side and equitable
judgment is made to protect both parties involved. Ms. Newsom stated that she assumes we are functioning in the same format.
The vote:
All “aye” – Councilman Les Smith, Councilman Shirley Smith, Councilman
Dan Bishop, Mayor Pro Tem Bill Cross, Mayor Anita Newsom. (5-0)
The Clerk read the Bill.
Councilman Les Smith moved to accept the First Reading of Bill 01-45, Waive the Rule and Place the Bill on Second and Final Reading; Councilman Dan Bishop seconded. The vote: All “aye” – Councilman Les Smith, Councilman Shirley Smith, Councilman Dan Bishop, Mayor Pro Tem Bill Cross, Mayor Anita Newsom. (5-0) The Clerk read the Bill.
Councilman Les Smith moved to accept the Second and Final Reading of Bill 01-45 and enact the Bill as Ordinance 3.813; Councilman Dan Bishop seconded.
Roll Call Vote:
All “aye” – Councilman Les Smith, Councilman Shirley Smith, Councilman
Dan Bishop, Mayor Pro Tem Bill Cross, Mayor Anita Newsom. (5-0)
Item 15. on
the Agenda. RESOLUTION 01-73, pertaining to the financing of certain
improvements and authorizing the offering for sale of an issue of approximately
$6,500,000 Certificates of Participation, Series 2002.
Mayor Pro Tem Bill Cross moved to adopt Resolution 01-73; Councilman Les Smith seconded.
The vote:
All “aye” - Councilman Les Smith, Councilman Shirley Smith, Councilman
Dan Bishop, Mayor Pro Tem Bill Cross, Mayor Anita Newsom. (5-0)
* * * * *
There being no further business to come before the November 12, 2001 Gladstone City Council Meeting, Mayor Anita Newsom adjourned the Regular Meeting.
* * * * *
Councilman Dan Bishop moved to adjourn to Closed
Executive Session in the City Manager’s
Office pursuant to Missouri Open Meeting Act Exemptions 610.021(1) for
Privileged Communications & Litigation, 610.021(2) for Real Estate
Acquisition Discussion, and 610.021(3)
for Personnel Discussion. Councilman
Bill Cross seconded. The vote: All “aye” -
Councilman Les Smith, Councilman Shirley Smith, Councilman Dan Bishop,
Mayor Pro Tem Bill Cross, Mayor Anita Newsom.
(5-0)
Respectfully submitted:
________________________
Marilyn F. Ahnefeld,
City Clerk
__________________________
Anita
Newsom, Mayor