THE MINUTES OF ALL CITY OF BALLWIN MEETINGS CONTAIN A RECORD AND RESULTS OF VOTES AND PROVIDE A GENERAL SENSE OF THE DISCUSSION.  THE MINUTES ARE NOT A VERBATIM RECORD OF THE MEETINGS.

The meeting was called to order by Mayor Young at 7:00 p.m.

Boy Scout Troop 631 from the Henry, St. Clair, and West Middle Schools posted the colors and the Pledge of Allegiance was given. 

The Minutes of the September 12, 2005 Town Hall meeting were submitted for approval.  A motion was made by Alderman Suozzi and seconded by Alderman Pogue to approve the Minutes.  A voice vote was taken with a unanimous affirmative result and the motion was declared passed.

The Minutes of the September 12, 2005 Board of Aldermen meeting and Closed Session were submitted for approval.  A motion was made by Alderman Lembke and seconded by Alderman Robinson to approve the Minutes.  A voice vote was taken with a unanimous affirmative result and the motion was declared passed.

None.

Don Mertz, former Board of Adjustment Chairman and long term member, was presented with a plaque in recognition of 33 years service to the City of Ballwin. 

City Engineer Gary Kramer introduced Karl Berger, the new Deputy Public Works Director.  Mr. Berger was previously the Street Superintendent in Desoto, Missouri, and a construction inspector for St. Louis County.

Captain Bobbie Saulters introduced Jacob Fouts (age 8), Andrew Moritz (age 8) and Brian Dally (age 9), third graders at Claymont Elementary, who raised $508 for the American Red Cross Hurricane Relief Fund, from their lemonade stand at Country Club Drive and Kenilworth Lane.  The boys were commended for their outstanding efforts.

City Engineer Kramer introduced Joe Kindler, of KMS & Associates, specializing in pavement evaluation and maintenance.  KMS did the street assessment in 2001, 2003, and 2005. 

Mr. Kindler reported that the ratings of the Ballwin streets has stayed relatively level since the previous study.  The percentage of excellent pavements has increased, but streets with a poor rating have also increased from the last study.  He said this indicates that not enough money is being spent on streets.  Ballwin is putting a certain amount on the really bad pavements, a large amount in the middle, and a little on the better pavements.  This is definitely the right procedure.  The worst first is the most inefficient procedure. 

City Administrator Kuntz said that a breakdown of the street assessment will be provided before the next Board meeting.  The budget proposal will follow which will include the blended approach.  Next year fewer streets will be repaired because of 25% higher costs for all petroleum related products.  The same amount of dollars will repair fewer streets in 2006. 

Alderman Suozzi said that Ballwin’s standard is asphalt and asked if concrete is better than asphalt.  Mr. Kindler said that it’s easier to fix asphalt streets.  He said using asphalt is a good decision. 

Alderman Buermann said he is interested in knowing the cost of reconstruction.  The Birchwood Acres subdivision streets will probably all require reconstruction.  The overlay on those streets is almost 35 years old.  He said we do not have a real property tax in the City of Ballwin, and when the sales revenues are flat, there is a lack of revenues coming in to pay the bills. 

Alderman Pogue asked about the cost of recycled asphalt and the rate of deterioration vs. the cost savings over normal asphalt.  Mr. Kindler said that keeping the recycled amount of asphalt to 10% - 15% at the most, it will last as long as normal asphalt, if it is done properly.  He said that recycled tires are being used as filler in asphalt.  This makes the road quieter and in some cases, the cost may be less than normal asphalt. 

City Engineer Kramer said that a street with cracking is not a candidate for microsurfacing.  For streets that are candidates for this process, preparation work is done one year and then the next year the microsurfacing is applied. 

Mike Apple, 912 Kylemore, representing Ballwin Masonic Temple Association:  City Administrator Kuntz said that one of the neighbors had contacted Ballwin and expressed total opposition to the proposed plan.  It is staff recommendation that this proposal not be approved, however, it will be back on the agenda when requested.  Alderman Terbrock said that he thought a survey of the involved properties would be provided to Ballwin.  Mr. Apple said he will provide more information.

Gary Wolf, 279 Oak Path Drive:  Mr. Wolf said he is opposed to the zoning change that is being proposed for 310 Hill Trail.  He said the density is too high and there will be a negative impact on surrounding property values and the project will detract from the whole neighborhood.  He said that multi-family dwellings should not be put in a single-family neighborhood.

Alice Lawher, 321 Hill Trail:  Ms. Lawher said she supports the plan recommended by Planning & Zoning for the 310 Hill Trail rezoning. 

Jim Leahy, 308 Wildforest Ct., Wildwood Subdivision trustee:  Mr. Leahy said he is in favor of the Hill Trail rezoning plan, however, he feels that there are issues to be resolved, such as the common ground improvement guarantee.  He said the developer has designated $100,000 for the work, and Mr. Leahy is pleased with this amount.  He said the timeframe for this process is one year from next Spring.  Mr. Leahy said that if Mr. Simon builds 4 units and then stops as he stated at the hearing, this project could last 3 or 4 years.  He and Mr. Simon have agreed upon a 2-year conclusion.  Mr. Leahy said that it is his understanding that for the first few months, if approved, Mr. Simon will be doing the construction on the clubhouse.  Next Spring, he will break ground, and hopefully take 18 months from that time to complete all construction.

Donna Jelovic, 311 Wildforest Ct., President of Hill Trail Bath & Tennis:  Ms. Jelovic said that Mr. Simon is a quality developer and has spent many hours with the Hill Trail residents addressing their concerns.  Due to these concerns, adjustments have been made.  She said that the Planning & Zoning Commission passed this proposal without any opposition and she asked the Board of Aldermen to do the same. 

David Brush, 244 Aspen Trail Drive, Trustee:  Mr. Brush said he is in favor of the Hill Trail proposal.  He said that this property is small and would not accommodate single-family homes because a lot of infrastructure work would have to be done.  Traffic should be minimal when this project is completed.  Mr. Simon is willing to save a piece of history (the clubhouse) in this community.  It was designed prior to World War II.  Mr. Simon is willing to invest in common ground which is in need of maintenance.  He said the majority of the people in the neighborhood support this project.  He said this plan is good for the character of the neighborhood.

None.

BILL # 3374 - AN ORDINANCE AMENDING ORDINANCE 99-52 BY REMOVING CERTAIN PROPERTY FROM THE REDEVELOPMENT AREA DESIGNATED IN SUCH ORDINANCE.

A motion was made by Alderman Buermann and seconded by Alderman Suozzi for a first reading of Bill No. 3374.   A voice vote was taken with a unanimous affirmative result and the motion was declared passed.  Bill No. 3374 was read for the first time.

Mayor Young said that the Ballwin Tax Increment Finance Commission has determined that areas not previously developed in area 2 should be removed from the development area.  He said that this is basically where the old furniture store was located, west to the funeral home on the south side of Manchester Road.

A motion was made by Alderman Suozzi and seconded by Alderman Pogue for a second reading of Bill No. 3374.  A voice vote was taken with a unanimous affirmative result and the motion was declared passed.  Bill No. 3374 was read for the second time.

A roll call was taken for passage and approval of Bill No. 3374 with the following results:  Ayes –Lembke, Pogue, Robinson, Buermann, Fleming, Suozzi, Terbrock, Gatton.    Nays – None.  Whereupon Mayor Young declared Bill No. 3374 approved and it became Ordinance No. 05-41.

BILL # 3375 - AN ORDINANCE RELATING TO THE REGULATION OF NOISE EMINATING FROM ELECTRICAL GENERATION DEVICES DURING PERIODS WHEN THERE IS NO ELECTRICAL SERVICE AVAILABLE FROM THE PRIMARY SUPPLIER DUE TO NATURAL DISASTER OR POWER OUTAGE.

A motion was made by Alderman Pogue and seconded by Alderman Robinson for a first reading of Bill No. 3375.   A voice vote was taken with a unanimous affirmative result and the motion was declared passed.  Bill No. 3375 was read for the first time.

Alderman Terbrock expressed concern about medical equipment being unusable during the hours of prohibited use for generators.  Alderman Pogue agreed with this issue.  Alderman Gatton agreed and suggested an exclusion for people with necessary medical devices.

Alderman Lembke said he is not in favor of any exclusion.  He asked who is going to enforce this and how is the Police Department going to determine whether someone has a medical device or insulin in the refrigerator.  This has the potential to be an enforcement nightmare.  This is not a frequent occurrence,  and the police officers would have to carry noise meters to enforce this ordinance.  He said whoever has a generator should be able to use it in a power outage. 

City Administrator Kuntz said that we have a noise ordinance that corresponds, Ballwin are trying to balance the conflicting interests of the residents.  Neither staff nor the Board has the qualifications to ascertain what is a true medical emergency. 

Alderman Lembke asked what other city has an ordinance addressing this issue.  Mayor Young said that he asked this question at the recent Lafayette Area Mayor’s meeting and the response was that no one does because it would be too hard to regulate, therefore they were not interested. 

City Administrator Kuntz said that the police do not have the authority right now to exempt generators from the noise ordinance.  This legislation provides that discretion.  At this time, it’s not permitted after 11:00 p.m.  City Attorney Lucchesi said that at this time, generators are not permitted at all.  If a complaint is received, they have to turn it off.  This legislation allows generators except for the restricted hours in the noise ordinance. 

Alderman Pogue said he would be willing to eliminate the timeline in Section 2 by eliminating the exception during the hours of 11:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m..  Alderman Fleming agreed.  Mayor Young also agreed that restricting the hours can put a hardship on people with medical situations. 

A motion was made by Alderman Gatton and seconded by Alderman Terbrock to amend the proposed legislation by deleting the words “except during the hours of 11:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m.” 

Alderman Pogue suggested an amendment to delete the word “portable”, and state that generators may be operated. 

City Attorney Lucchesi suggested that this legislation apply to portable generators only, which this legislation will allow.  He said that he thinks permanent installations are allowed, but recommends this not be changed.

A motion was made by Alderman Lembke to amend the proposed legislation to state “they are equipped with a functioning muffler”. 

Mayor Young asked who will make this determination.  Alderman Lembke said the Police Department would be responsible for doing this.  He said that someone could take the muffler off the generator to irritate the next door neighbor.  Captain Saulters said that the officers would have to be trained.  Alderman Fleming said this is putting the responsibility on the police officer to determine what is properly functioning.  The motion was withdrawn by Alderman Lembke.

A motion was made by Alderman Lembke and seconded by Alderman Suozzi for a second reading of the ordinance with the understanding that the proposed legislation be amended in Section 2 to delete “except during the hours of 11 p.m. – 6 a.m.”.  A voice vote was taken with a unanimous affirmative result and the motion was declared passed.  Bill No. 3375 was read for the second time.

A roll call was taken for passage and approval of Bill No. 3375 with the following results:  Ayes –Buermann, Fleming, Pogue, Robinson, Gatton, Suozzi, Lembke, Terbrock.    Nays – None.  Whereupon Mayor Young declared Bill No. 3375 approved and it became Ordinance No. 05-42.

BILL # 3376 - AN ORDINANCE AMENDING ORDINANCE NO. 557, KNOWN AS “THE ZONING ORDINANCE” OF THE CITY OF BALLWIN, AND AMENDING “THE DISTRICT MAP” BY CHANGING THE ZONING CLASSIFICATION OF CERTAIN LAND IN THE CITY OF BALLWIN FROM PA PUBLIC ACTIVITY TO PSD PLANNED SINGLE FAMILY DWELLING DEVELOPMENT ZONING DISTRICT.

 A motion was made by Alderman Buermann and seconded by Alderman Suozzi for a first reading of Bill No. 3376.   A voice vote was taken with a unanimous affirmative result and the motion was declared passed.  Bill No. 3376 was read for the first time.

Alderman Gatton asked why decreasing the number of units would require the elimination of the clubhouse.  Mr. Jay Simon, of Metropolitan Design & Building, 7174 Manchester Road, Maplewood, Mo., said that 14 units are included in the development.  Two of the 14 units are the major renovation of the existing clubhouse that is referred to as the Manor Home.  The issue is whether it would be financially feasible to still do the Manor Home if the project were limited to 12 units.  It is his preference to keep the Manor Home, but he cannot guarantee that this would be the result.  He said there are other options, but it is not desirable to take a quality development and take away the strength of the development. 

Alderman Gatton said the Planning & Zoning Minutes state that Mayor Young said the Strategic Plan was inoperative and the Planning & Zoning Commission should not consider it in their decision making.  Mayor Young said that this is incorrect in the Planning & Zoning Minutes.  At the time that the plan was developed, it was strictly a recreational facility.  At this point, we had to look at it as a new part, not objecting to the old.  The new comprehensive plan would address how all of the area is going to be addressed.  The Minutes need to be amended by the Planning & Zoning Commission. 

Alderman Robinson said that his understanding is that the statement was made that in light of the fact that the Strategic Plan is being considered for changes this year, the Planning & Zoning Commission should not consider this as restricting this type of development.  This could create some legal exposure for this Board and the City in terms of whether or not that Planning & Zoning hearing was properly held and if the Strategic Plan is applicable to this development.  He said it’s a concern when the Mayor advises the Planning & Zoning Commission that it isn’t.  If there is a problem with the Planning & Zoning Minutes, this should be corrected before proceeding. 

Assistant City Administrator Aiken said that the Strategic Plan of 1997 anticipated that the property would be recreational.  He said that the changing economic environment, may be justification for the change in zoning.  It’s apparently no longer economically viable to operate a private recreational facility at that location.  He said it seems reasonable that this is justification for changing the zoning and single family residential zoning was not out of character with the surrounding neighborhood which is zoned residential.

Alderman Buermann said that Mr. Simon is described as a man of his word.  He said that everything that the trustees had mentioned, he expects, on record, that Mr. Simon will say that he will carry out for the trustees and the subdivision.  Alderman Fleming asked about 4 units being built and then the project stopped until they are sold.  Mr. Simon said that he agreed in writing to Mr. Leahy and the trustees that the project would be completed in two years.  Mr. Simon said he has no loan requirement for pre-sales.  In the rare event that if he had no pre-sales at the time that the Manor Home has been renovated, and one each of the garden villas and town homes built, he said he would take a pause, but not stop the development, to make sure the design doesn’t have a flaw, and to redesign it if necessary to get the sales and then continue with the development. 

Alderman Robinson asked how long is a pause.  Mr. Simon said it could be 60 days to rethink the design.  He said he will commit in writing to complete the project without condition on sales.  Mr. Simon said that he will commit in writing to complete the project without condition on sales.  If he had to build 12 units, he would be forced into a higher price.  He said the total net profitability on this development is approximately $400,000.  Due to the amount of money and risk in this $7.2 million development, there has to be a reasonable return. 

Alderman Gatton said that the Board is concerned about a 2-year development being actually a 7-year development, with multiple developers, dirt, and incomplete streets over a long period of time.  Mr. Simon said he has been doing business with specific lenders for a long time and has always met the commitments. 

Alderman Pogue said that the City has not yet allowed an area to be zoned for multiple-family when surrounded by single-family homes.  This would allow more developers to do the same thing over and over again.  He said he is not in favor of this.

Mr. Simon said that because this being a development within a development makes it particularly difficult to do high end residences.  The only way you can recapture the amount of money it takes to do a small development like this is with higher priced housing.  People are not going to want to spend over $½ million for these homes, and to be able to put single-family residences in this development, they would have had to be priced extraordinarily high.  He said that single family homes under the current zoning compliance would cost between $900,000 - $1 million.  He said that 98% of those who came to the meetings, responded favorably to this development.  He provided signatures of 103 people, which is 69% of the total subdivision.  He asked if the issue of density is an issue whereby two units is going to make or break this deal.  He said he needs the 14 units to make a quality development. 

Alderman Pogue said that this rezoning is bad planning practice.  He is concerned that its approval may set a precedent and the City should not be compelled to approve if the next development is a similar situation.

Alderman Robinson pointed out several discrepancies on the signature sheets.  He said that when someone says there is 90% approval, and he finds a 10% error, it casts a shadow on 100% of the survey.  Mr. Simon disagreed.  Alderman Robinson asked if he will give the Board time to check the survey results.  Mr. Simon said yes.

Mr. Simon said that the existing community of 1960s era homes, designed and built at today’s prices, would sell between $200,000 - $275,000.  The product that he knows is successful can be put on the market for $450,000 - $500,000. 

Alderman Terbrock said that Mr. Simon has gone to great lengths to contact the neighborhood property owners and has received approval from them.  He said there are only small parcels of land available in Ballwin, nothing big.  It’s difficult to develop small parcels of land.  $750,000 - $900,000 houses on this 3 acres are not going to work.  The baby boomer generation is the greatest portion of Ballwin’s population right now and they don’t want to take care of home maintenance.  This is a step in the right direction to draw more residents to Ballwin.

Alderman Fleming said he is willing to approve this at this time unless the Board has serious reservations about the process or issues.

Alderman Gatton asked if the Board should stipulate a required completion date.  City Attorney Lucchesi said that the Board cannot stipulate a completion date.  They have been trying for 6-8 months to get approval from the Board.  They probably missed the housing boom when they could have sold half of the units if the approval had gone through.  Now, the Board wants to slow him up more.  Interest rates are going up.  If he doesn’t get this on the market soon, he’s not going to sell the units, and the Board’s prophesy will come true.  He said that in every development the City has had the same problem for 30 years that he has been associated with the City.  To put that pressure on a developer is not something that is reasonable.  If the Board does that and it fails, the City might have some liability that it’s not accustomed to, because he might not be able to get financing.  City Attorney Lucchesi said that if the City does its job, it will have the things that will enable it to finish so that there won’t be any liability.  That’s what the Board is supposed to do.  He said the Board has not talked about the things that are important on this project.  There are 14 units.  How are they going to afford to keep the units up?  Nobody has asked that question.  He said the questions the Board should be asking are not being asked.

Alderman Robinson asked if the condominium association will be responsible for the exterior maintenance of the buildings and the land.  Mr. Simon said yes.  The 14 owners will have to approve any increases in the amount of the condominium fee.  If there are problems with the exterior appearance or land maintenance that would require more money to fix the problem, it will require a 2/3 majority of the 14 owners to raise the condo fees.  Alderman Robinson said that 11 of the 14 could vote no to an increase and it would fail.  There has not been an open and frank discussion of all of the problems that the Board has seen. 

Alderman Suozzi asked if Bill # 3376 is only requesting a zoning change and not the site plan approval.  Assistant City Administrator Aiken said that passage of this bill will approve the zoning and the preliminary development plan.  The developer will than have 6 months to come back with a final development plan that cannot be substantially different from the preliminary plan. 

Alderman Robinson asked about the appearance of the exterior of this development.  Mr. Simon said that they typically don’t propose the exterior elevations at the preliminary stage.  The floor plans are completed and the elevations are being prepared. 

A motion was made by Alderman Terbrock and seconded by Alderman Suozzi for a second reading of Bill No. 3376.  A voice vote was taken with a unanimous affirmative result and the motion was declared passed.  Bill No. 3376 was read for the second time.

A roll call was taken for passage and approval of Bill No. 3376 with the following results:  Ayes – Suozzi, Buermann, Terbrock, Fleming, Lembke.   Nays – Pogue, Gatton, Robinson.  Whereupon Mayor Young declared Bill No. 3376 approved by a vote of 5-3. and it became Ordinance No. 05-43.

 BILL # 3377 - AN ORDINANCE AMENDING ORDINANCE NO. 557, KNOWN AS “THE ZONING ORDINANCE” OF THE CITY OF BALLWIN, AND AMENDING “THE DISTRICT MAP” BY CHANGING THE ZONING CLASSIFICATION OF CERTAIN LAND IN THE CITY OF BALLWIN FROM S-1 SERVICE DISTRICT TO R-2 SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENTIAL ZONING DISTRICT.

 A motion was made by Alderman Buermann and seconded by Alderman Lembke for a first reading of Bill No. 3377.   A voice vote was taken with a unanimous affirmative result and the motion was declared passed.  Bill No. 3377 was read for the first time.

A motion was made by Alderman Suozzi and seconded by Alderman Pogue for a second reading of Bill No. 3377.  A voice vote was taken with a unanimous affirmative result and the motion was declared passed.  Bill No. 3377 was read for the second time.

A roll call was taken for passage and approval of Bill No. 3377 with the following results:  Ayes – Suozzi, Lembke, Fleming, Buermann, Pogue, Gatton, Terbrock, Robinson.   Nays – None.  Whereupon Mayor Young declared Bill No. 3377 approved and it became Ordinance No. 05-44.

A motion was made by Alderman Fleming and seconded by Alderman Lembke to accept the Consent Items.  A voice vote was taken with a unanimous affirmative result and the motion passed.

None.

Children At Play:  City Administrator Kuntz pointed out the proposed policy and application form that was provided to the Board.  If this is acceptable, a motion will be necessary for approval and its addition to the Policy Manual. 

A motion was made by Aldrman Lembke and seconded by Alderman Terbrock to approve and include this in the Policy Manual.  A voice vote was taken with a unanimous affirmative result and the motion passed.

Worker’s Comp:  City Administrator Kuntz said that this is a reduction in the supplemental pay plan.  He recommends that Ballwin only pay what Worker’s Comp allows without any supplement.  If this is changed, employees could still use sick and other leave to supplement the worker’s comp payment.  He said he has called other cities to take a survey on this issue.  The number of days of pay supplement offered in this program varies considerably. 

A motion was made by Alderman Buermann that the supplement period be changed from 90 days to 30 days.

Alderman Suozzi agreed with Alderman Buermann and said that the worker that legitimately uses the time should not be penalized. 

City Administrator Kuntz suggested that reassignment and light duty be required.  He said the problem is the few employees who stay out for the full 90 days and then are recovered and return on day 91. 

The motion was seconded by Alderman Lembke.

Alderman Pogue said that we are going to be giving our employees a negative image of what the Board is doing.  He said we keep taking, and taking, and taking from them.  Alderman Buermann said that is not true.  Alderman Pogue said that last year, they received a 2% raise and the year before they didn’t get any raise.  City Administrator Kuntz said that this year they have received 5 extra personal days based on their longevity and the tuition reimbursement has been doubled.  Alderman Pogue said that if an employee is legitimately hurt, they will only have 30 days of supplemental pay.  We just keep taking from them.  City Administrator Kuntz said that they will get 30 days subsidized pay.  By law, the City doesn’t have to give them anything.  Alderman Pogue said that the City has not done enough to train the employees on preventative measures to keep from getting hurt.  Alderman Terbrock said it is a matter of an aging work force.

City Administrator Kuntz said that there are usually 2 employees each year that push the 90 day benefit.  Of the 20 claims so far this year, 10 didn’t miss any work.  He said there is one employee that in 5 years that the employee has been with the City, every year he has filed at least 1 worker’s comp claim.  Every time, he has come back to work on day 91. 

Mayor Young asked if after a certain period of time, there is a review process to determine the employee’s capabilities to return to work.  Many times a doctor will ask the employee how much time off is available and then tell them to take that amount of time.  City Attorney Lucchesi said the employees have to all be treated the same.

Alderman Gatton said that there are one or more employees that are abusing the Board’s generosity.  He asked if a statement should be made to the entire work force that the policy is being changed because of this.  He thinks this is necessary.  He said he is in favor of Alderman Buermann’s motion.

A voice vote was taken with 6 yes votes, and Aldermen Pogue and Fleming voting no.  The motion passed by a vote of 6-2. 

Chamber Proposal:  City Administrator Kuntz recommended a 1-year renewal of the lease without an increase, due to Government Center ramp renovations and the associated inconvenience.

A motion was made by Alderman Gatton and seconded by Alderman Lembke to renew the Chamber of Commerce lease for 1 year with no increase.  A voice vote was taken with a unanimous affirmative result and the motion passed.

Pay Plan:  City Administrator Kuntz said that an inconsistency is being created by this plan concept that is not practiced.  The 10 years to top mitigates against the whole concept of merit and has made the plan unaffordable.

Alderman Buermann said that the year the employees did not get a raise, the Board voted 4-3 to divide $1.3 million to the developer and that Board at that time caused the employees not to get a raise.  The developer was given half and we could have kept 100%.

A motion was made by Alderman Lembke and seconded by Alderman Pogue to draft the legislation for consideration.  A voice vote was taken with a unanimous affirmative result and the motion passed.

Steering Committee:  City Administrator Kuntz said that it is proposed that the 8 individuals suggested be appointed:  (Ward 1:  Jason Riegelsberger and Steve Martinez; Ward 2: Cheryl Chambers and Anna Wojewodzki; Ward 3: Bob Komer, Steve Dye and Bruce Anderson; Ward 4: Olivia Pieknik; and the alternates:  Ward 1: Celia Kadane; Ward 3: Louis Vandeloecht.)

A motion was made by Alderman Buermann and seconded by Alderman Robinson to appoint the 8 recommended individuals and alternates, and as representatives from the Board, Alderman Fleming and Alderman Suozzi, the two Planning & Zoning Commissioners recommended by the Planning & Zoning Commission.  A voice vote was taken with a unanimous affirmative result and the motion passed.

Ramp Design:  A motion was made by Alderman Lembke and seconded by Alderman Suozzi to proceed with the engineer study and design of the Government Center ramp with the least expensive option. 

Alderman Lembke asked if a lift has been considered instead of ramp or stairs.  City Administrator Kuntz said this has been considered, but it is unknown how this will work on the exterior of the building. 

A voice vote was taken with a unanimous affirmative result and the motion passed.

Real Estate – Closed Session:  City Administrator Kuntz said that there is no need for a closed session regarding real estate, due to there being no additional information since the offer has not been officially countered.

None.

A motion was made by Alderman Robinson and seconded by Alderman Gatton to adjourn to closed session to discuss personnel issues and potential litigation.  A roll call vote was taken with a unanimous affirmative result and the motion passed to adjourn to closed session at 10:10 p.m.

The Board convened in closed session at 10:15 p.m.

A motion was made by Alderman Lembke and seconded by Alderman Robinson to adjourn the closed session.  A roll call vote was taken with a unanimous result, and the closed session was adjourned at 10:40 p.m.

The Board reconvened in open session at 10:41 p.m.

Mayor Young announced that the Board met in closed session to discuss personnel issues related to the appointment of the Municipal Judge.  No formal action was taken

A motion was made by Alderman Buermann and seconded by Alderman Pogue to adjourn the open session.  The motion passed unanimously and the meeting was adjourned at 10:42 p.m.

Walter S. Young, Mayor

ATTEST:
Robert A. Kuntz, City Administrator

MC