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Archived Meeting Agendas
Every effort is made to ensure that the Agendas and Minutes provided on this and subsequent pages is timely and correct; however, users should keep in mind that this information is provided only as a public convenience. In any case where legal reliance on information is required, the official records of the City of Ballwin should be consulted. The Board of Aldermen meet on the second and fourth Mondays of each month at 7 p.m. in the Board Room of the Ballwin Government Center, 1 Government Ctr. Schedule and place subject to change. Meetings are open to the public. All citizens are urged to attend. Finance & Administration Committee and Board of Aldermen MeetingMeeting AgendaCity of Ballwin Board of Aldermen Meeting Agenda and BriefsAgendas and Briefs are available before a meeting takes place. Minutes of a meeting are reviewed at the following meeting and are available after approval by the Aldermen. MEETING NOTICE The Finance & Administration Committee of the Ballwin Board of Aldermen will meet on Monday, September 11, 2006 at 6:30 p.m., prior to the regular scheduled Board of Aldermen meeting at 7:00 p.m. in the Board Room at the Donald Red Loehr Police & Court Center, 300 Park Drive. The purpose of this session is to discuss the upcoming budget preparation. No formal action will be taken. A Public Input Opportunity Session will be held on Monday, September 25, 2006 at 6:30 p.m., prior to the regular scheduled Board of Aldermen meeting, to discuss the 2007 budget preparation. Residents of Ballwin are afforded an equal opportunity to participate in the programs and services of the City of Ballwin regardless of race, color, religion, sex, age, disability, familial status, national origin or political affiliation. If you are a person requiring an accommodation, please call (636) 227-8580 (V) or (636) 527-9200 (TDD) or 1-800-735-2966 (Relay Missouri) no later than 5:00 P.M. on the third business day preceding the meeting. Offices are open between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. Monday through Friday. Meeting MinutesFinance & Administration Committee Meeting Minutes
Minutes of the September 11, 2006 Board of Aldermen Meeting
The meeting was called to order by Mayor Young at 7:00 p.m.
A moment of silence was observed in remembrance of those who lost their lives on September 11, 2001, and all of the military personnel who are fighting for freedom.
The Pledge of Allegiance was given.
The Minutes of the August 28, 2006 Board of Aldermen meeting, closed session, and Finance & Administration Committee meeting were submitted for approval. Alderman Fleming asked that an agenda be included with the Finance & Administration committee meeting summary. A motion was made by Alderman Lembke and seconded by Alderman Buermann to approve the Minutes as amended. A voice vote was taken with a unanimous affirmative result and the motion passed.
OLD BUSINESS
None.
CITIZEN COMMENTS
Dan Fox, 20 Meadowbrook Country Club Estates Drive: Mr. Fox said he has been a Meadowbrook homeowner since 1990. He said that streets should be a higher priority in the community and the condition of the streets is getting worse. He spoke mostly about the Meadowbrook streets and said that these streets are in very bad condition. He disagreed with the street rankings and said that the City agreed to upgrade the streets when the City took them over for maintenance. He believes that this will affect home values in Meadowbrook. He said that Meadowbrook residents would support a tax increase for street maintenance.
Alderman Buermann said that it will take years to upgrade all of the streets even if a significant amount of revenue becomes available. Alderman Robinson said that one of things that is considered for street repair is volume of traffic. He explained that the volume of traffic on Dutch Mill, Spring Meadow, or Hill Trail is considerably higher than Meadowbrook. He said that something else in the budget would have to be removed to accommodate the cost to improve the Meadowbrook streets.
Alderman Lembke said that there are streets in Ballwin that the patchwork looks bad, but from a physical standpoint, the streets are very sound. This is a perception issue. Street repair is a big issue. He said that if a property tax is necessary, then this discussion should move forward in that direction.
PUBLIC HEARINGS
None.
NEW BUSINESS
LEGISLATION
None.
CONSENT ITEMS: (Budgeted items which are low bid and do not exceed expenditure estimates and/or items which have been previously approved in concept.)
A motion was made by Alderman Robinson and seconded by Alderman Buermann to accept the Consent Items. A voice vote was taken with a unanimous affirmative result and the motion passed.
MAYOR’S REPORT
Appointments:
Planning & Zoning Commission: Mayor Young nominated Jim Leahy for the Planning & Zoning Commission. He said that after talking with Mr. Leahy and Aldermen Robinson and Fleming, it is believed that Mr. Leahy is a good recommendation for this position.
A motion was made by Alderman Robinson and seconded by Alderman Fleming to appoint Jim Leahy to the Planning & Zoning Commission. A voice vote was taken with a unanimous affirmative result and the motion passed.
Board of Adjustment: Mayor Young said that he would like to see the Board of Adjustment membership more balanced by Ward. He said that this is not a requirement but recommended this for consideration. He said that if a regular member leaves the Board sooner than the expiration of their term or at the end of the term did not want to continue, he recommended that the alternates be given the opportunity to be moved into the regular membership position.
Alderman Robinson asked what is the procedure for appointments. City Attorney Lucchesi said that the Mayor asks for recommendations from the Board of Aldermen, and after talking with the potential member, the Mayor makes the recommendation and the Board votes. The Mayor does not have to recommend appointment of a candidate that has been suggested by the Board if he does not agree. Alderman Robinson said that he had recommended appointment of John Bacheldor for the Board of Adjustment. Mayor Young said that he is not willing to make that nomination.
CITY ADMINISTRATOR’S REPORT
Administrative Search Warrants: Assistant City Administrator Aiken said that a sample ordinance has been provided for review. He said that most of the municipalities surrounding Ballwin have instituted this procedure. Alderman Buermann suggested holding off on this issue until the municipal judge has been appointed and has the opportunity to review and comment. City Attorney said that the judge should not have input on this because the judge will have to decide the case. He said this is a tool that will give the City the opportunity to get the evidence in order to get the convictions. He said the judge should not comment on legislation in that situation.
Alderman Lembke said that it is his understanding that this legislation further protects the individual’s rights because in order to investigate something, if officials want to come onto someone’s property, enough evidence must be provided to an independent judge who will determine if there is enough evidence to enter someone’s house. He would not want a neighbor hooking up a gas hot water heater in the back of their truck or car and using a garden house. This could cause an explosion of their house or a neighbor. He said that this is an issue of public safety and health and provides more than just a rumor.
Mayor Young asked if there have been situations in the past few years when this tool could have been used. Assistant City Administrator Aiken said that it took many years to get enough evidence which included the exterior deterioration of a house on Dennison. He said this does not happen a lot. There has probably been 10 instances over the years that this legislation may have dealing with it much easier.
A motion was made by Alderman Robinson and seconded by Alderman Suozzi to prepare legislation for consideration. A voice vote was taken with 7 Ayes and Alderman Fleming voting Nay. The motion passed by a vote of 7-1.
Storm Clean Up: Assistant City Administrator Aiken said due to the recent extended power outage, people were not able to clean up their yards within the standard 7-day time frame.
Alderman Suozzi corrected the double negative wording in item 5.
Alderman Pogue asked how will the City know when power has been completely restored to Ballwin and when will the 7-day time frame begin. Director of Parks and Recreation Bruer said that we can contact AmerenUE for this information. He said there should be a better way of determining this and more defined.
Assistant City Administrator Aiken said that another approach would be to state that the normal time frame is 7 days. In the event that there are power outages, the start will be delayed 2 days and go for 7 days. The City Administrator or Parks Director could determine if it will be extended.
The Board agreed to ask City Administrator Kuntz to redo this section for consideration at the next Board meeting. Assistant City Administrator Aiken said that power outage used to be part of the formula, but another way to approach the problem will be considered.
Telephone Service Contract: Alderman Fleming abstained from discussion and voting regarding this matter since he is familiar with someone involved in the negotiations.
Assistant City Administrator Aiken said that our local contract with AT&T expired in August. The long distance service is not a separate contract and is part of the base rate. We have re-bid both services. Including internet service as a complete bundle package was the previous approach. Five proposals were received. The bundle proposal for local and long distance from McLeod is the best deal. Information Systems Manager Paula Reeds has concerns with the amount of pipeline capacity on the internet element in the McLeod is adequate for our needs. She recommended that we not accept that element and that we stay with Charter until May, 2007. That service can be re-bid separately at that time or give the successful bidder at this time to re-bid as part of their bundle in May, 2007. He said the recommendation is that the McLeod bid be accepted.
Alderman Suozzi said that speed is everything. She said that speed could be an issue regarding the internet service. She asked if the 2 free months would still be available. Information Systems Manager Reeds said she will check on this.
Mayor Young said that he does not want to go with a 3-year contract with any phone service without an out-clause. He said there are services being offered today that were not available a year ago. He prefers a 1-year contract. He asked if we can continue with the present service as is without having a contract with AT&T. Information Systems Manager Reeds said that there would be a $100 increase in the rate. The cost would be $1,200 more per year to stay at the current service and AT&T would require a 1-year contract. She said a 2-year contract could be used for a slightly higher fee. If different technology becomes available during the term of the contract, a lateral move or upgrade to a different product could be done.
Alderman Terbrock said that this is a large savings of $9,800 per year. Alderman Lembke said that trying to determine future needs for telephone system, computers, or internet usually costs more money to get to that point. Whatever we have in hardware won’t match with the technology. Mayor Young said that the hardware that we are using is 10 years old system.
Alderman Robinson said that the Board should follow the recommendations of staff who does a good job of researching and analyzing the situation. He asked what does staff recommend. Assistant City Administrator Aiken said that the recommendation was that based on the bids, McLeod bid the best rate for a 3-year contract. It is compatible with our current system. Based on the bids and services being provided, McLeod offered the best option.
Information Systems Manager Reeds said that she could modify a 2-year contract and the cost would be $6.00 - $10.00 more per month. Mayor Young suggested that this approach be researched and presented to the Board at the next meeting.
A motion was made by Alderman Robinson to approve the contract based on a 2-year duration and give Information Systems Manager Reeds the authority to negotiate this approach and move forward if the increase is only $10.00 per month.
The representative in attendance from McLeod said that she will prepare a 2-year contract as agreed if the Board approves this approach.
The motion was seconded by Alderman Pogue. A voice vote was taken with a unanimous affirmative result and the motion passed by a vote of 7 Ayes. Alderman Fleming abstained from voting on this issue.
Policy Manual: Assistant City Administrator Aiken said that City Administrator Kuntz has submitted a revised policy on “Vacancies / Appointments (Board & Commissions) for consideration. Alderman Suozzi said that requiring a resume and a list of qualifications means that the individual is attempting to sell themselves to the Board to volunteer. She said we need have a variety of people serving on these committees. They should not all be from the same type of background and experience. Assistant City Administrator Aiken said that this is similar to the formula used for people to serve on the Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee. Information is published inviting people to submit their interest in serving on the committees. Mayor Young said that there aren’t a lot of volunteers for the committees. The Board agreed to change the word “applications” to “responses”.
Alderman Buermann said that in Item 4, “contributions and cohesiveness” is very subjective and should not be in the policy. Mayor Young said that the purpose of this is to determine if the person is working with the team, attentive and involved. If they are not doing this, the chairman should inform the aldermen. Alderman Suozzi also suggested that the statement “shall be considered” be changed to “may be considered”.
Alderman Pogue said that the proposed policy sets out many steps that must be followed. He said the Board should be able to approve a resident at-large that has not sent in this information.
City Attorney Lucchesi said that this is complicating matters and puts more obstacles on getting people to volunteer. The better approach is to get people interested in the committee positions without having to present a resume, background, or expression of interest. Just a name is all that is needed in order to talk to the person about the position. Most cities, including Ballwin, have a difficult time getting people to volunteer, and this policy will make it even more complicated.
Alderman Fleming suggested that we do a better job of communicating to people that there are opportunities to get involved, and if they want to come forward, we will talk with them. There is nothing to preclude getting a name and phone number and giving it to the Mayor.
Mayor Young said there needs to be a format to select the appropriate volunteer. There should be an expression of interest from the person interested in serving. Alderman Lembke said that one a year, the City can make a request for interested volunteers. This will give people a sense of knowing that this is an open opportunity and we are looking for people of all backgrounds to help direct the city.
Alderman Buermann said that a Board policy is not necessary. This is an extra complicated step. We should do a better job on the website to inform the people what the commissions do. Alderman Pogue said the proposed policy states the vacancies shall be filled in accordance with the following procedure, that this is how it will be done. City Attorney Lucchesi said that future Boards could look at the policy and say it cannot be done any other way.
A motion was made by Alderman Lembke and seconded by Alderman Terbrock to refer the proposed policy to City Administrator Kuntz to be reworked to simplify the procedure for people to be approved for the commissions. A voice vote was taken: Ayes: Buermann, Lembke, Pogue, Kerlagon, Terbrock, and Suozzi. Nays: Robinson and Fleming. The motion passed by a vote of 6-2.
Alderman Pogue said that the current policy should not be changed but the amount of advertising should be increased when there is a vacancy. Volunteers could be requested once per year. This should not have to be spelled out in an exact and complicated policy. Alderman Terbrock said that we don’t want to have applications on hand for months and draw only from that.
Real Estate and Potential Litigation – Closed Session
Legal Issues – Closed Session
CITY ATTORNEY’S REPORT
None.
ALDERMANIC COMMENTS
Finance & Administration Committee: Alderman and Chairman of the Finance & Administration Committee Fleming reported that this committee met at 6:30 p.m. on this date. 1) The members of the committee discussed asking for the Board’s opinion on developing a list of items for revenue increase and expense decreases that we can give to Dr. Warren for advice on creating a Public Opinion Survey to see what people would be willing to support. 2) He said also discussed was as part of the regular budget process on a yearly basis, after the budget is approved, we attach a small supplement that is a list of recommendations for the future. On the list could be any item that there wasn’t enough money in this budget, and include recommendations for the future on how to alleviate that situation. He asked if there is support from the Board on these two items.
Alderman Fleming said that Dr. Warren has offered to meet with City Administrator Kuntz or anyone on the Board this week to explain how this would proceed, the cost, information needed. He said the cost could be $12,000 - $15,000 for the Public Opinion Survey. He said we could go beyond what is typically done and keep it very specific regarding what people would and would not be willing to support.
Alderman Fleming said that after the budget is completed, a forward analysis could include a list of recommendations that could be done to improve the budget constraints. The Board agreed.
Alderman Fleming asked if the Finance & Administration committee should write a draft and give it to the Board or should the Board do this together as a whole after the budget is completed. Alderman Buermann said that it would be appropriate for the Finance & Administration committee to bring the list to the full Board.
Alderman Suozzi said that all of the department heads give a forward projection on things that they see as major. She said that the Board should feel comfortable with the budget. If an expenditure was not possible in the budget, this could be stated for future Boards to address. This would be similar to a CPA’s comment at the end of the budget. Alderman Lembke agreed that this statement should be included at the end of the budget.
Alderman Fleming said there is general support for both recommendations. The Board agreed that staff should be directed to work with the Finance & Administration Committee to prepare a list of recommendations 30 days after the passage of the budget.
MSD Letter and meeting: Mayor Young said that MSD has engaged an engineering firm to design improvements for a project which consists of almost 5,000 feet of new sanitary sewer replacement. The general area of the project extends from in front of the Firestone store on Manchester Road westward to the Bob White Park approximately 1,100 feet west of Reinke Road. The meeting is on Thursday, September 21, at 7:00 p.m. at the Blue Bird Park Administration building.
Judicial Appointment Process: Alderman Robinson asked for an update on the status of this item. Mayor Young said that two meetings are scheduled. He asked the Board for their opinion for him to ask if they are not selected as the municipal judge, will they be willing to be appointed the provisional judge. He said there will be a time when there will be a separate court session for housing code violations and traffic and police operations on a separate night. He suggested the provisional judge could be scheduled for the housing codes and a second provisional judge could work with both sessions assisting the municipal judge.
A motion was made by Alderman Buermann to have the three candidates be offered the position of provisional judge. The Board agreed.
He also said that he has been asked what Ballwin is doing to address the issue of illegal immigrants and if we are considering doing something similar to what Valley Park and Hazelton, Pennsylvania have done. He asked for discussion on this issue at the next Board meeting. Mayor Young said that today there was a Supreme Court decision on this in Pennsylvania and the Hazelton, Pennsylvania ordinance was thrown out. The Valley Park ordinance was based on the Hazelton ordinance.
CLOSED SESSION
A motion was made by Alderman Buermann and seconded by Alderman Terbrock to adjourn to closed session, according to the provision of the Missouri statutes for the purposes of discussing potential litigation and real estate. A roll call vote was taken with the following results: Ayes: Buermann, Fleming, Pogue, Robinson, Kerlagon, Suozzi, Lembke, Terbrock. The motion passed unanimously to adjourn to closed session at 8:43 p.m.
The Board convened in closed session at 8:47 p.m.
Business License: The City Attorney mentioned that he had received a second request from Schnucks for $900 credit on their business license in each of two coming years. A motion was made by Alderman Robinson and seconded by Alderman Pogue to accept the City Attorney’s recommendation to settle this issue. A voice vote was taken with a unanimous affirmative result and the motion passed.
Proposal: There was also discussion on a potential development and several questions were raised. Is the land sold? Will the Board allow eminent domain? The Board vote was split and Mayor Young voted yes.
Land switch with Chesterfield: Alderman Fleming said that without support from either group nothing should be done. The Board agreed that more information should be collected.
A motion was made by Alderman Buermann and seconded by Alderman Suozzi to adjourn the closed session. A roll call vote was taken with a unanimous result, and the closed session was adjourned at 9:21 p.m.
The Board reconvened in open session at 9:22 p.m.
Mayor Young announced that the Board met in closed session to discuss potential litigation and real estate. He apologized to the Aldermen for an outburst made after a vote during the closed session.
A motion was made by Alderman Buermann and seconded by Alderman Robinson to adjourn the open session. The motion passed unanimously and the meeting was adjourned at 9:27 p.m.
Walter S. Young, Mayor
ATTEST:
Robert A. Kuntz, City Administrator
MC
Finance & Administration Committee Meeting:
SEPTEMBER 11, 2006 -- 6:00 p.m.
300 Park Drive - Donald “Red” Loehr Police & Court Center
The Finance & Administration Committee meeting was called to order at 6:30 p.m. by Chairman Fleming. Committee members in attendance included Aldermen Buermann, Pogue, Kerlagon. Also in attendance were Mayor Young, Aldermen Lembke, Terbrock, Assistant City Administrator Aiken, Finance Officer Loehr, and Chief of Police Biederman.
Chairman Fleming recommended the following format for the Public Input Opportunity Session regarding the budget preparation on September 25: 1) Have the department heads briefly present their budget recommendations; 2) Spend a lot of time discussing options and recommendations.
Alderman Kerlagon asked if the budget is 0 based. Finance Officer Loehr said basically yes, although most expenses do not change much from year to year.
Chairman Fleming said that the Board has traditionally reviewed staff proposals. He suggested: 1) the budget to be more user friendly; 2) wants the Board to recommend changes for the rest of the budget cycle to be part of the budget.
Alderman Pogue asked if this would be an addendum that may suggest specific changes. Chairman Fleming said that these changes would then be considered for implementation for the subsequent year. Alderman Buermann asked how will the after-the-fact recommendations be used. Chairman Fleming said this will be part of the 2008 budget preparation.
Alderman Buermann said he would like to have a copy of the draft budget for review sooner than four days before the meeting. Finance Officer Loehr said we usually do not have good revenue and expenditure numbers before September. Mayor Young said he would like to have the draft budget two weekends before the Board meeting.
Chairman Fleming said the Board needs to come up with a list of suggested budget changes that could be used to put together a survey to guide the possible implementation of any acceptable recommendations. Alderman Buermann said that they need the survey results to be able to make budget recommendations.
Chairman Fleming said that Dr. Warren is willing to meet with the Board to assist with this process.
Adjourn: A motion was made by Alderman Buermann and seconded by Alderman Kerlagon to adjourn. A voice vote was taken with a unanimous affirmative result and the meeting adjourned at 7:00 p.m.
Chairman Frank Fleming
ATTEST:
Thomas Aiken, Assistant City Administrator |
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