MINUTES
CITY COUNCIL MEETING
REGULAR MEETING
MONDAY OCTOBER 11, 2004
PRESENT: Mayor
Wayne Beer
Councilman Bill Cross
Councilman
Les Smith
Councilman
Joe Evans
City Manager Kirk Davis
City Counselor David Ramsay
City Clerk Cathy Swenson
ABSENT: Mayor Pro Tem Carol Rudi
Mayor Wayne Beer opened the Regular October 11,
2004, City Council Meeting at 7:30 PM in the
Item 3. on the Agenda. PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE.
Mayor Wayne Beer led the Pledge of Allegiance, in
which all joined.
Item 4. on the Agenda. APPROVAL OF THE REGULAR SEPTEMBER 27, 2004 CITY COUNCIL
MEETING MINUTES.
Councilman Bill Cross moved to approve the Regular September 27, 2004, City Council Meeting Minutes as presented. Councilman Joe Evans seconded the motion.
The vote: “Aye” – Councilman Joe Evans, Councilman Les Smith, Councilman Bill Cross and Mayor Wayne Beer. (4-0)
Item 4a. on the Agenda. ARTS COUNCIL AND PARKS AND RECREATION ADVISORY BOARD
PRESENTATIONS.
Chris Yannitelli, Chairman of the Arts Council, read a resolution from the Arts Council unanimously supporting County Question 1, to reinstate a Bi-State Metropolitan ¼ Cent Sales Tax. This issue will be on the ballot on November 2, 2004.
Mayor Wayne Beer thanked Ms. Yannitelli for the Arts Council’s support of County Question 1, and explained to the audience that City Council members expressed their support of County Question 1 at the last City Council meeting.
John Houlihan, Chairman of the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board, read a resolution from the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board unanimously supporting County Question 1, to reinstate a Bi-State Metropolitan ¼ Cent Sales Tax.
Mayor Beer thanked Mr. Houlihan for the Parks and Recreation Board’s support of County Question 1. Mayor Beer asked Councilman Smith if he would like to say a few words about County Question 1.
Councilman Smith thanked Ms. Yannitelli and Mr. Houlihan,
and said the unanimous support of both the Arts Council and the Parks and
Recreation Advisory Board is yet another sign of the progressive citizens we
have in
Item 4b. on the Agenda. Mayor Wayne Beer read a PROCLAMATION
designating October 24 to October 31, 2004 as “NATIONAL RED RIBBON WEEK” in
the City of
Item 4C. on the Agenda. Mayor Wayne Beer read a PROCLAMATION designating
October 2004 as “VISUAL ARTS MONTH” in the City of
Mr. Howeth thanked Mayor Beer and stated he was happy to accept this proclamation on behalf of the Kansas City Artists Coalition. Mr. Howeth reported 15 downtown studios and approximately 200 artists will be participating in Open Studios 2004, scheduled for this Saturday and Sunday, 11:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Mr. Howeth invited all to attend this event. Mr. Howeth and his son will be showing their art at the Zone Gallery at 18th and Locust. The Kansas City Star will have locations of studios participating in Open Studios 2004 listed in an upcoming edition.
Item 5. on the Agenda. CONSENT AGENDA
Following the Clerk’s reading, Councilman Bill Cross moved to accept the Consent Agenda as presented. Councilman Joe Evans seconded. The vote: All “aye” – Councilman Joe Evans, Councilman Les Smith, Councilman Bill Cross, Mayor Wayne Beer. (4-0).
CONSENT AGENDA DETAIL:
Councilman Bill Cross moved to approve RESOLUTION R-04-68, authorizing the Mayor, City Council members, City Manager, Director of Parks and Recreation, and the Chairman of the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board to execute all necessary applications and other documents to seek a Grant-in-Aid under the Missouri Department of Natural Resources and Water Conservation Fund for construction, improvement and maintenance of walking trails in Oak Grove Park. Councilman Joe Evans seconded. The vote: All “aye” – Councilman Joe Evans, Councilman Les Smith, Councilman Bill Cross, Mayor Wayne Beer. (4-0)
Councilman Bill Cross moved to approve RESOLUTION R-04-69, authorizing the Mayor, City Council members, City Manager, Director of Parks and Recreation, and the Chairman of the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board to execute all necessary applications and other documents to seek a Grant-in-Aid under the Missouri Department of Natural Resources and Water Conservation Fund for construction, improvement and maintenance of walking trails in Happy Rock Park. Councilman Joe Evans seconded. The vote: All “aye” – Councilman Joe Evans, Councilman Les Smith, Councilman Bill Cross, Mayor Wayne Beer. (4-0)
Councilman Bill Cross moved to approve RESOLUTION
R-04-70, authorizing the City Manager to accept a Bill of Sale from
Lawrence D. and June E. Duncan and Clay County Sanitary and Ditching Service,
conveying to the City a Sanitary Sewer Line built in conjunction with
construction of a single-family home at
Councilman Bill Cross moved to approve RESOLUTION R-04-71, authorizing Change Order No. 3 in the amount of $33,994.00 to the contract with Metro Asphalt for the 2004 Full Depth Replacement and 2004 Overlay Programs. Project No. 045002-055001. Councilman Joe Evans seconded. The vote: All “aye” – Councilman Joe Evans, Councilman Les Smith, Councilman Bill Cross, Mayor Wayne Beer. (4-0)
Item 6. on the Agenda. COMMUNICATIONS FROM THE AUDIENCE.
Mel Lantz, 2002 NE 77 Street, began by saying he
and his wife moved to Continental North Apartments from Holiday Hills in
Mayor Beer replied that is a correct statement.
Mr. Lantz said the Manager of the Household Hazardous
Waste facility, Bill Lewre, told him that in the last year
Mayor Beer thanked Mr. Lantz for sharing his concerns, and stated he has not had hazardous waste to deal with for some time. From his standpoint, it has not been an issue.
Mr. Lantz stated he had just a few chemicals he no longer uses for plants and insects, and old paint. Mr. Lantz said he was suspicious that a lot of people dispose of their hazardous waste in their household trash, disobeying good sense and the law. Mr. Lantz asked if City Council would reconsider participating in a hazardous waste program.
Mayor Beer explained this program is reconsidered each year at the time for budget formulation. Mayor Beer said up to this time, he has not been aware of any complaints.
Mr. Lantz asked the media representative present at the City Council meeting to ask the public for their opinion.
Mayor Beer thanked Mr. Lantz and stated the Household
Hazardous Waste Program is considered each year. However,
Dale Newhouse, 7027 North Cherry, stated it has been several years since he has had a problem with the Gladfest parade. The area in which he lives is entirely blocked off during the parade. Mr. Newhouse’s wife, who has had two knee replacements, was coming back to their house, when a City employee told her she could park her car and walk home. His wife was not happy about this. This happens almost every year, but with some of the parade routes, provisions have been made for access to his area during the two to three hours of the parade. Mr. Newhouse said he talked to the Gladstone Area Chamber of Commerce. Mr. Newhouse said he is on-call for emergencies 24 hours a day, and he does not want to have to argue about access to his area. Mr. Newhouse asked what can be done about this problem.
Mayor Beer replied he thought provisions had been made for ingress and egress for homeowners during the parade, especially for emergency purposes.
City Manager
Councilman Smith remarked that Mr. Newhouse stated he has this access problem every year, but there may be an opportunity to at least to attempt to arrive at a possible solution. Councilman Smith said there is a Gladfest critique meeting every year, and he would be happy to take Mr. Newhouse’s concerns forward, and try to troubleshoot this issue. Perhaps with the cooperation of Public Safety, a way can be found to enable Mr. Newhouse to have accessibility to leave and return to his home in an emergency situation while the parade is in process. Councilman Smith said he did not believe there was an answer tonight, but it is something that can be discussed. Councilman Smith asked if Mr. Newhouse has emergency access problems every year during the parade.
Mr. Newhouse replied he discussed his problem with the
City when the parade was originating from
Mayor Beer apologized to Mr. Newhouse, and said he did not believe it was anyone’s intention to prevent people from having emergency access to their homes during the parade.
Mr. Newhouse stated even ordinary access is an issue.
Mayor Beer replied ordinary access during the parade is more difficult to try to accommodate. Mayor Beer continued by saying the City will do its best to alleviate problems in future years, and not provide any more disruption to Mr. Newhouse’s life than is absolutely necessary. Mayor Beer said he hoped Mr. Newhouse understands.
Mr. Newhouse stated he does understand, and the festival itself does not bother him. There is not a noise or crowd problem and traffic problems are minimal. He does hear from people that “No Parking” signs are installed, and are not enforced.
Councilman Smith and Mayor Beer said they believed the enforcement of the “No Parking” areas could be easily addressed.
Mayor Beer thanked Mr. Newhouse for his support of the Gladfest activities.
Councilman Smith stated he did not want to offer any grand illusions. The fact of the matter is as long as the City has a parade, there is going to be some disruption in normal lives of neighboring residents. Councilman Smith said he does not think the City can solve that problem. There is an issue with businesses and residents, and the City needs to try to minimize the problems. The point of being able to leave or return to their homes in the event of an emergency and what people have to do to prove it is an emergency is a matter that the City needs to address. The City will work on that.
Mr. Newhouse said his wife has had knee replacements, and it was uncalled for that a City employee would stop her. It was not a police officer. The one police officer that was present was willing to let her go through the parade, while it was stopped. Mr. Newhouse said he had to listen to his wife on the phone for 45 minutes discussing this matter.
Mayor Beer thanked Mr. Newhouse for his comments, and said the City will try to minimize future problems.
Councilman Smith asked Parks and Recreation Director Sheila Lillis to forward Mr. Newhouse’s concerns to the Gladfest Committee at their next meeting.
Anita Newsom, 7401
Ms. Newsom said when she served on City Council, two
Code Enforcement Officers were added to City staff. Ms. Newsom stated she endorses free political
speech and has two political signs in her yard with two more coming, all within
the size, number, and placement restrictions in place with the City. Political candidates know there are
restrictions with political signs and Ms. Newsom said she does not believe the
excuse they don’t know or they are uninformed is a valid excuse. There should not be oversized signs in a
residential area and they should be placed appropriately. Some sort of information should be given to
those folks to inform them they are not in compliance.
Ms. Newsom stated the attitude that bothers her is
that “in a few weeks the signs will all be gone anyway”. This is not fair to the people who are
compliant and following the rules. If
someone is compliant and follows the rules, they place the signs behind the
right of way, and buy signs of the proper size.
The people that are noncompliant, place signs in the right of way,
blocking vision and place over-sized signs in residential areas, and are
breaking the rules. If the City does not
do stringent enforcement of this, we are letting them get by with it and they
are receiving the favor of the City by the City not enforcing the compliance of
the issues. Ms. Newsom stated she hopes
City Council members will embrace her concern and make it their own. Ms. Newsom thanked City Council members.
Mayor Beer said the right people are in attendance
tonight to address this issue.
City Manager Kirk
Councilman Smith suggested that the enforcement
procedures for that section of the sign ordinance be reviewed, because he
believes part of the mentality is by the time the signs are put up, and the
proper notices are received, the election is over; therefore there is really no
penalty. Perhaps, as a City, we need to
review how we address that particular sign standard since it is somewhat time
sensitive. Councilman Smith said he
agrees it needs to be a level playing field for everyone.
Mayor Beer stated in most elections, the period of
time in which the political signs are up is a lot shorter, and probably
Councilman Smith’s analysis is quite correct.
With this particular election, however, signs are up for a great deal
longer, and there is enough time in this instance to deal with it. If a candidate is notified once on a sign, he
knows the ordinance for all signs that may be subsequently picked up and should
not need another notice for subsequent signs.
That may remedy some of the situation.
Mayor Beer said he agreed that all candidates should be on the same
playing field with the same set of plans.
If there are one or others that feel they must be an exception, then
they are going to have to deal with the consequences of that thinking and those
actions.
Councilman Smith suggested Staff review this matter
and bring recommendations to City Council as to how to attain that goal.
City Manager
Item 7. on the Agenda. COMMUNICATIONS FROM THE CITY COUNCIL.
Councilman Joe Evans stated to Mr. Newhouse that
he does feel his pain in regard to in and out access. Councilman Evans said he had a difficult time
getting from the east side of the City to the west side the morning of the
Gladfest parade, and was turned around by five officers, who were not
Councilman Les
Smith told Mr. Newhouse someone from the City will
communicate with him at some point as to what the City can do or not able to
do.
Councilman Smith stated
during the Council’s Open Study Session, there was a Municipal Pool Report from
Parks and Recreation Director Sheila Lillis.
Councilman Smith said one point he would like to make is that it was
discussed at length a year ago whether to make capital improvements at the
pool, and it was decided to make some improvements and reinvest in the
pool. Although daily paid attendance at
the pool was down this year, memberships increased 4.5 percent over 2003. Staff attributes the gain in membership to
the facility upgrade, and that shows the value and validity in reinvesting in
the small business that is the municipal pool.
Councilman Smith said he believes City Council made a wise decision and
he hopes this is looked at again in the future.
Councilman Bill Cross thanked City Clerk Cathy
Swenson, and her husband, Kurt Swenson for getting the convertibles and making
them so comfortable to ride in during the parade. Councilman Cross said he felt Gladfest was a
success and City staff did an excellent job working many hours at
Gladfest. Councilman Cross expressed his
appreciation to all who worked at Gladfest, which drew thousands of people.
Councilman Cross stated he and Mayor Beer had the
opportunity to attend a Mid America Regional Council Insurance Trust (MARCIT)
meeting over the weekend, and it was quite a learning experience. Councilman Cross told City Manager Davis he
received many favorable remarks on his
Councilman Smith said everyone works very hard at
Gladfest, especially our City staff. One
of the areas in which we needed to improve last year was keeping the park
clean. Councilman Smith reported our
City’s Parks and Recreation Director, Sheila Lillis was out Saturday afternoon
picking up trash on the street, and is to be commended for that and the example
she sets for her Staff. It is little
things like this that make people special, and she did a special job. Councilman Smith said he wanted Director
Lillis to know he recognized that.
Mayor Wayne Beer stated he saw Director Lillis do the same
thing on Sunday morning. Director Lillis
is a fine example of the dedication that the employees of this City provide to
the City. Mayor Beer thanked Director
Lillis. Mayor Beer said although the
weather was cool Friday night and Saturday night, Gladfest came off quite
well. The vendors with whom Mayor Beer
spoke said if they had hot food, they did pretty well on the cool nights. Those vendors who had cold food and beverages
did not do as well. The crowds seemed to
be pretty good, especially given the weather.
Mayor Beer said Gladfest was a success because of all the volunteers,
City staff, and Chamber members.
Item 8. on the Agenda. COMMUNICATIONS FROM THE CITY MANAGER.
City Manager Kirk Davis congratulated Chamber
members on a successful Gladfest and thanked Council members for the cudos for
Staff, who worked very hard at Gladfest and did a good job.
Item 9. on the Agenda. PUBLIC HEARING on a request for a Special
Use Permit subject to certain conditions to Joyce Vogt for operation of a nail
salon on property located at 2201 NE 56th Terrace. Applicant/Owner: Joyce Vogt.
File No. 1236.
Mayor Wayne Beer opened the Public Hearing and explained the hearing process that City Staff will make their presentation, followed by a presentation by the Applicant and finally comments from those in Favor and those Opposed.
Staff Presentation
Assistant City Manager Scott Wingerson began by saying
Ms. Vogt is requesting the renewal of a Special Use Permit that was originally
approved by City Council in 2003 for a one-year term. The renewal would allow continued operation
of a nail salon in the home at 2201 NE 56th Terrace. Staff is recommending approval of the renewal
for a period of five years. The Planning
Commission is recommending unanimously by a vote of 8 in favor to renew the
Special Use Permit for five years. There
were two members who abstained from the vote, but it was an unanimous vote.
Mayor Beer asked if there have been complaints from
the neighbors.
Mr. Wingerson replied there have been no documented
complaints. One neighbor called prior to
the Planning Commission hearing, but didn’t speak about her concerns. She was invited to attend the Planning
Commission or City Council Public Hearing, and did not appear at the Planning
Commission Public Hearing. The rest of
the neighbors appear to be very supportive.
Mayor Beer asked if Ms. Vogt is in full compliance
with Staff recommendations.
Mr. Wingerson replied yes, Ms. Vogt is in compliance
with Staff recommendations.
Applicant Presentation
Ms. Vogt thanked the City for Gladfest. She had a garage sale that weekend, which is
the best she has had. Ms. Vogt said she
only has one nail salon customer at a time and the neighbors were surprised she
had this service in her home. Ms. Vogt
said there have been no complaints and she has great neighbors.
There were no comments in FAVOR or OPPOSITION
to the application.
Mayor Beer closed the Public Hearing.
Item 9a. on the Agenda. FIRST
Councilman Joe Evans moved to place Bill 04-42 on First Reading. Councilman Bill Cross seconded. The vote: All “aye” – Councilman Joe Evans, Councilman Les Smith, Councilman Bill Cross, Mayor Wayne Beer. (4-0). The Clerk read the Bill.
Councilman Joe Evans moved to accept the First Reading of Bill 04-42, Waive the Rule and place the Bill on Second and Final Reading. Councilman Bill Cross seconded. The vote: All “aye” – Councilman Joe Evans, Councilman Les Smith, Councilman Bill Cross, Mayor Wayne Beer. (4-0). The Clerk read the Bill.
Councilman Joe Evans moved to accept the Second and
Final Reading of Bill 04-42 and enact the Bill as Ordinance 3.933. Councilman Bill Cross seconded.
Roll Call Vote: All “aye” – Councilman Joe Evans, Councilman Les Smith, Councilman Bill Cross, Mayor Wayne Beer. (4-0)
Item 10. on the Agenda. RESOLUTION R-04-72, authorizing execution of a
contract with Harmon Construction, Incorporated, in the total amount not to
exeed $599,038.00 for the Public Safety Headquarters Renovation. Project 025603.
Councilman Les Smith moved to approve RESOLUTION R-04-72, authorizing execution of a contract with Harmon Construction, Incorporated, in the total amount not to exeed $599,038.00 for the Public Safety Headquarters Renovation. Project 025603. Councilman Bill Cross seconded. The vote: All “aye” – Councilman Joe Evans, Councilman Les Smith, Councilman Bill Cross, Mayor Wayne Beer. (4-0)
Item 11. on the Agenda. OTHER BUSINESS.
There was no Other Business.
Item 12. on the Agenda. QUESTIONS FROM THE
NEWS MEDIA.
There were no questions or comments from the News
Media.
Item 13. on the Agenda. ADJOURNMENT.
Councilman Bill Cross made a motion to adjourn to Closed Executive Session pursuant to the Missouri Open Meeting Act exemption 610.021(2) for Real Estate Acquisition Discussion, and 610.021(3) for Personnel Discussion. Councilman Joe Evans seconded the motion.
Roll Call Vote: All “aye” – Councilman Joe Evans, Councilman Les Smith, Councilman Bill Cross, Mayor Wayne Beer. (4-0).
Respectfully submitted:
___________________________
Cathy Swenson, City Clerk
Approved
as submitted: ___
Approved
as corrected/amended: ___
______________________________
Mayor Wayne Beer