Board of Aldermen Meeting

Meeting Agenda

MEETING NOTICE
Closed Session

The Ballwin Board of Aldermen will meet in on Monday, February 25, 2008 at 6:30 p.m. and then adjourn to closed session to discuss personnel.  The regular scheduled Board of Aldermen meeting will resume at 7:00 p.m. in the Board Room at the Donald Red Loehr Police & Court Center, 300 Park Drive. 

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.

Robert A. Kuntz
City Administrator

Meeting Minutes

MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF ALDERMEN MEETING
CITY OF BALLWIN – 300 PARK DRIVE

February 25, 2008

The meeting was called to order by Mayor Young at 6:30 p.m. 

Closed Session:   A motion was made by Alderman Suozzi and seconded by Alderman Buermann to adjourn to Closed Session to discuss personnel.  A roll call vote was taken with the following result:  Ayes:  Aldermen Pogue, Buermann, Suozzi, Robinson, Fleming, Lembke, Kerlagon.  Nay:  Terbrock.  The motion passed to adjourn to Closed Session at 6:32 p.m.

The Board convened in closed session at 6:34 p.m.  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 adjourned at 6:58 p.m.

The Board reconvened in open session at 7:02 p.m. 

PRESENT	ABSENT
MAYOR WALT YOUNG  ALDERMAN TIM POGUE  ALDERMAN JIMMY TERBROCK  ALDERMAN KEN BUERMANN  ALDERMAN JANE SUOZZI  ALDERMAN JAMES ROBINSON  ALDERMAN FRANK FLEMING  ALDERMAN RAY LEMBKE  ALDERMAN RAY KERLAGON  CITY ADMINISTRATOR ROBERT KUNTZ  CITY ATTORNEY ROBERT E. JONES

The Pledge of Allegiance was given.

Minutes:  The  Minutes of the February 11, 2008 Board of Aldermen meeting were submitted for approval.  Alderman Pogue stated the following:  “At the previous meeting, Mayor Young referred to one of the Aldermen in a way that I felt was disrespectful and uncalled for.  His reference to the alderman was in a form to call him a slang term for fecal matter.  This is not the first time that Mayor Young has acted towards an alderman in a way that was derogatory, and has become a reoccurring item over the past three years.  In the past, the Board has overlooked these outbursts and unprofessional actions, and not included them in the Minutes of our meetings.  I personally am tired of protecting the Mayor from his actions.  I was going to ask that those comments be added into the Minutes, but would prefer to ask the alderman that the comments were directed towards to decide if he would prefer that they be added or what action he would like to see take place.” 

Mayor Young said his words were uncalled for and out of line.  He said he felt bad about the situation.  It was not intended to be a detriment or slanderous to Alderman Robinson.  He said he regrets the comment being made. 

Alderman Robinson said he wants the Minutes to accurately reflect what was said.  He said the Board strives to act in a professional manner.  Name calling should not be condoned.  He said that there have been 3 occasions when Mayor Young used name calling in reference to another member of the Board.  He said he would like the Minutes to accurately reflect the name calling, and asked the Board to make the amendment to the Minutes. 

A motion was made by Alderman Pogue and seconded by Alderman Terbrock to amend the Minutes to include the comments made on February 11.  A voice vote was taken with a unanimous affirmative result and the motion passed to amend and approve the Minutes as amended.

PENDING ISSUES

Double Fine Zones:  City Administrator Kuntz said that he has received feedback from 3 aldermen that are in agreement with the proposed policy and street list as written.  Alderman Fleming suggested reviewing the streets where stop sign petitions have been received in the past for possible inclusion.  City Administrator Kuntz said that if there is a stop sign review by the Police Department with the speed control evaluation from a visibility and structural standpoint, they can make a recommendation.  He said he would review the recommendation.  If it is favorable, it will go to the Board for approval.  If not favorable, based on the criteria, the petitioner can appeal this to the Board. 

Acting Police Chief Schicker said that the Police Department uses citizen complaints at a level of 2 complaints per month with a total of 10 per year.  Motor vehicle accidents are considered, enforcement efforts, and other enforcement complaints that were non-speed related.  Alderman Fleming said that the Clayworth residents have submitted a stop sign petition twice and should be on the list.  Their petitions have been denied.  He said that he wants to find an easy way to get streets on this list, and does not want a difficult policy like the one for stop signs.  This has not been successful for a citizen group under the stop sign policy.  He said that this is not regarding incurring the cost to put up a stop sign or if the sign deters speed.  He said this is designating the street as a double fine zone.  This should make the procedure easier to add a street to the double fine zone list than the stop sign policy.  Alderman Terbrock said that a yearly review will allow for the removal of a street. 

City Administrator Kuntz said that the discussion started with a city-wide double fine zone.  The other suggestion was to target streets based on a formula.  Acting Police Chief Schicker said that an analysis was done based on facts.  The traffic counter was used to provide volume of motor vehicles by an hourly count.  It gave the high and low speeds and a medium speed.  With this information, the schedule was created. 

Alderman Robinson said that a street can be added to the list by a super majority vote of the Board of Aldermen.  If an alderman can convince a super majority of the Board that the street needs to be added, police time and studies should not be necessary.  The street could be added to the list.

City Administrator Kuntz said that this will be included in the Policy Manual, as well as an ordinance.  To change the Board Policy Manual takes a super majority. 

Alderman Buermann suggested that Clayworth be evaluated by the police to determine why this street is not on the list.  Acting Police Chief Schicker said this has been done and was based on the number of vehicles from the traffic counter to determine the actual speeds.  He said enforcement action during the time period of the study plus enforcement action over a 12-month period.  City Administrator Kuntz said it is frustrating to the people who live there. 

A motion was made by Alderman Suozzi and seconded by Alderman Robinson to draft legislation for the double fine zones and the Board Policy.

Alderman Terbrock asked for further explanation of the motion.  City Administrator Kuntz said a Policy will be drafted for the Policy Manual that spells out the factors and considerations, and the annual review, and the Board option to review on an annual basis, and the ordinance establishing the schedule that was presented at the last Board meeting which listed the initial areas that would have signage and be subject to double fine zones. 

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

CITIZEN COMMENTS
None.

PUBLIC HEARINGS
None.

NEW BUSINESS

LEGISLATION

AN ORDINANCE GRANTING A SPECIAL USE EXCEPTION TO BROWNSTONE PROPERTIES, LLC, d/b/a GODDARD SCHOOL AT 115 NEW BALLWIN ROAD FOR FRONT YARD PARKING, A NURSERY, A PRE-KINDERGARTEN AND A DAYCARE SCHOOL.

Withdrawn by the petitioner.

BILL # 3520 - AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 18 OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF BALLWIN WITH RESPECT TO CERTAIN FEES.

A motion was made by Alderman Suozzi and seconded by Alderman Buermann for a first reading of Bill No. 3520.   A voice vote was taken with a unanimous affirmative result and the motion passed.  Bill No. 3520 was read for the first time.

A motion was made by Alderman Buermann and seconded by Alderman Kerlagon for a second reading of Bill No. 3520.  A voice vote was taken with a unanimous affirmative result and the motion passed.  Bill No. 3520 was read for the second time.

A roll call was taken for passage and approval of Bill No. 3520 with the following results: 
Ayes – Fleming, Pogue, Lembke, Buermann, Kerlagon, Robinson, Suozzi, Terbrock .   Nays – None.   Bill No. 3520 was approved and became Ordinance No. 08-07.

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. Curb and Gutter
B. Police Car
C. Street Sweeping
D. Hot Mix Asphalt

Alderman Fleming requested that Item C (Street Sweeping) be removed for further discussion.
Alderman Terbrock requested that Items B (Police Car) and D (Hot Mix Asphalt) be removed for further discussion.

A motion was made by Alderman Buermann and seconded by Alderman Robinson to accept Consent Item “A”.  A voice vote was taken with a unanimous affirmative result and the motion passed.

MAYOR’S REPORT

St. Louis County Municipal League:  The Mayors of the St. Louis County municipalities have been invited to discuss building security issues.  City Administrator Kuntz said that Mayor Young will be attending this meeting on Thursday evening. 
Alderman Terbrock asked if there are any meetings planned for Police personnel regarding increased security.  Acting Police Chief Schicker said that there have been meetings and recommendations have been made for municipalities.  City Administrator Kuntz said that each city hall is unique and has different issues.  More information will be presented. 

CITY ADMINISTRATOR’S REPORT

Police Vehicle – Consent Item B:  City Administrator Kuntz said this is regarding a cruiser that was totaled in an accident.  The settlement was $11,428.  Under the State purchasing bid, the Police package is still available at the same price as the original cruiser price.  This is not a budgeted expense.  It is an unplanned law enforcement related expense that is eligible to use the drug seizure forfeiture money and the insurance settlement.

City Administrator Kuntz said that the only item in the police capital budget was 6 patrol cars.  Cuts have been made to put as much as possible into street improvements.  This expense does not deplete the drug seizure fund.  There is a contingency fund in the capital budget that could also be tapped, but he would like to not touch this in case of an unforeseen situation. 

Alderman Buermann asked if the allotment for a new police vehicle next year will be 5 instead of 6.  City Administrator Kuntz said this is possible.  There is a good market for a well-maintained late model police car.  Acting Police Chief Schicker said that the vehicle that was totaled was a 2007 model in the first year of service. 

A motion was made by Alderman Terbrock and seconded by Alderman Buermann to approve the purchase of the new police vehicle from the State contract.  A voice vote was taken with a unanimous affirmative result and the motion passed.

Street Sweeping:  City Administrator Kuntz said the current contractor did not bid.  He said that contract sweeping is not a good substitute for owning our own unit.  This has been tried for several years, some money was saved.  This is not a budgeted item for this year. 

Alderman Fleming asked about the requirements for sweeping.  City Engineer Kramer said that the State Storm Water requires street sweeping quarterly. 

A motion was made by Alderman Fleming to approve the low street sweeping bid, but that staff evaluate and determine if there would be another municipality that would be interested in sharing the cost of purchasing a sweeper.

Alderman Buermann said that at times there is debris on the road due to construction projects causing the need for interim sweeping.  He asked how is this handled.  City Engineer Kramer said that the contractor is required to do this.  If there is a spill and we don’t know where it came from, the interim sweeping bid amount covers this. 

The motion was seconded by Alderman Buermann.  A voice vote was taken with a unanimous affirmative result and the motion passed. 

Hot Mix Asphalt:  Alderman Terbrock asked when is this work performed.  City Engineer Kramer said this will begin in April.  Alderman Terbrock said that the bid can go up at any time.  He asked why is this project being bid now.  Mr. Kramer said that asphalt is mostly oil.  The price changes quickly and frequently.  The contractor is required to provide documentation to show where the increase has been received and how much. 

A motion was made by Alderman Terbrock and seconded by Alderman Robinson to approve the hot mix asphalt bid recommendation.  A voice vote was taken with a unanimous affirmative result and the motion passed.
Ballot Position:  City Administrator Kuntz asked if there is any interest in preparing an information sheet regarding the property tax.  Alderman Robinson said this should be done.  This will inform the residents why the Board voted in favor of putting the issue on the ballot. 

City Administrator Kuntz said that the information can be put on the website, a mail out, or a separate issue of the Resident Newsletter.  Alderman Buermann asked about using the Resident (formerly “Horizon”) Newsletter for this in an out-of-cycle issue two weeks before the April 8 election.  City Administrator Kuntz said this will be an extremely tight time frame.  He said this could be printed in the “Press Journal”.  Alderman Kerlagon said that even though information is on the Ballwin website and published in the Resident Newsletter, many people say that they didn’t see it.  He said that this should be a separate publication with the entire Board support.  Every option should be used.  City Attorney Jones said this can be done as along as the information is factual or a frequently-asked-question format.  If it presents the need as the Board interprets it to be, and what it will yield in an information format, the City can finance the distribution of this information. 

City Administrator Kuntz recommended using direct bulk mail separate from an out-of-cycle Resident Newsletter.  This will get more attention.  Alderman Suozzi said she agrees that this should be separate from the Resident Newsletter. 

The Board agreed to use a separate mailing.  City Administrator Kuntz said this will be prepared for review at the next meeting and with a bulk mailing cost.

March 24 Board Meeting:  City Administrator Kuntz said that this meeting could be cancelled due to it conflicting with spring break and there being no Planning & Zoning meeting in March. 

Alderman Fleming said that the March 24 Board meeting should be held since it is the last meeting before the April 8 election.  Security information could be presented at that time, or to answer questions related to Proposition B on the ballot. 

Alderman Buermann said that this meeting could be advertised that anyone wanting to ask questions regarding the Proposition B could do so at that time. 

Alderman Robinson said that he is not going on spring break, therefore, the Board meeting should be held.

The Board agreed to conduct the March 24 Board of Aldermen meeting as scheduled.

Slab Replacement:  City Administrator Kuntz said that at the last meeting, there were a series of contract awards and two that were to reject the bids.  There was confusion of the terms “in-house slab replacement” and “contractual slab replacement”.  He said the staff memorandum was written correctly, however, the newsletter paragraph which recommended approval of the in-house slab replacement should have recommended approval of the contractual slab replacement.  The Aldermanic motion made the same error.  If this is going to be re-approved, this must be done with contractual slab replacement.  This is the Dura Seal Paving Contractor bid.

City Administrator Kuntz said that it also came to his attention that the low bidder has been the subject of Federal Wage and Hour Act complaints.  He said that Ballwin requires certified payroll pursuant to this law.  The Fair Labor Standards complaints have never been an issue.  If we don’t get certified payroll, we don’t pay invoices.  He said there were 4 separate violations by the low bidder that were upheld.  In every case, the payments, adjustments, and fines were made.  He asked if the Board would like to rescind the award to the low bidder and go with the next low bidder, which is $1,259.20 higher, or stay with the low bidder.  In the latter, just amend the language of the motion which says in-house slab should by contractual slabs.  The contract has been sent but has not be returned signed. 

City Attorney Jones said that as long as the contract states that they are going to do the work, there should not be a problem.  City Administrator Kuntz said that there has been a notice of award.  City Attorney Jones said it can be rescinded anytime before the contract is signed.  It’s considered an offer and can be withdrawn anytime before it is signed and returned.  City Engineer Kramer said that the contract that was sent has not been signed by Ballwin.  He said the procedure is that we sign last.

Alderman Pogue said that he is concerned that we have not accurately accepted the contract as described.  He said the description upon which the motion was based was flawed.

Alderman Pogue said that there were four complaints against this contractor that resulted in violations on three projects.  There were 8 violations found regarding prevailing wage, and another 6 violations where they were found guilty for not paying the prevailing wage.  He said that they are paying the employees to do laborers’ work, while they are actually doing work that comes under another prevailing wage.  That’s how they are falsifying the affidavits.  He said that they might be paying the laborer’s rate of $5 cheaper when they are actually operating heavy equipment.  This is how they are getting around the prevailing wage. 

Alderman Pogue said a letter of testimony was given to the Division of Labor Standards from one of the former employees acknowledging that this has been done, not only in the Kirkwood case, but also one other job for the Fox C-6 school district in which they were doing that exact thing – paying one wage but doing work that fell under a different classification.  He said that this contractor has a reputation of flawed reporting.  He said he is opposed to giving a contract to any contractor that has this type of history.  The prevailing wage sets a level field for the bid package.  If they are changing the affidavits of payroll, they could be flawing the bids.

A motion was made by Alderman Pogue and seconded by Alderman Terbrock to rescind the contract that was issued to Dura Seal Paving at the previous meeting, due to the definition of the contract to be done was not accurate for the work that was supposed to be contracted for.  A voice vote was taken with  the following result:  Ayes:  Pogue, Terbrock, Buermann, Suozzi, Robinson, Lembke, Kerlagon.  Nay:  Fleming.  The motion passed by a vote of 7-1. 

A motion was made by Alderman Pogue and seconded by Alderman Terbrock to award the contract to Midwest Mudjacking and Construction, the second low bidder, for the contractual slab replacement to be done with the bids that they submitted. 

Alderman Buermann asked if this is acceptable from a legal position.  City Attorney Jones said yes as long as the contract has not been signed and returned.  He said that this is a misrepresentation.  If all of this is true, the contract may have been awarded under false pretenses.  He said he is not sure of that but it points in that direction.  Alderman Buermann asked if the Board should make sure before it acts.  City Attorney Jones said that if the Board is comfortable with the motion, legally the contract can be withdrawn because it is an offer that has not been accepted.  This gives a better group of circumstances to rescind the contract if it were to arrive signed in the mail tomorrow. 

Alderman Terbrock said the matter of it somewhat being misrepresented to us when we approved it would be evidence of this.  City Attorney Jones said that alone is not the contractor’s fault, that we approved the contract based upon a write up that was incorrect.  Once we prepare a contract and send it to them, and they sign and return it, is not sufficient. 

An amendment was made by Alderman Buermann to accept the Midwest Mudjacking bid upon determination that the Dura Seal Paving Contract has been cancelled and not awarded or valid. 

Alderman Pogue said that when they return the contract, we still have to sign off on it to make it official.  City Engineer Kramer said that they sign it and return it for the City Administrator’s signature. 

Alderman Terbrock asked if the contract is not awarded for another two weeks, will this affect any time frames?  City Engineer Kramer said probably not. 

Alderman Robinson seconded the motion as amended.  A voice vote was taken with a unanimous affirmative result and the motion passed.

CITY ATTORNEY’S REPORT
None.

ALDERMANIC COMMENTS

Ramsey at Manchester – Alderman Terbrock:  Alderman Terbrock suggested that there be no left turns from Ramsey onto Manchester.  He said the traffic gets backed up at times.  It seems to be people who don’t live on Ramsey.  He said just like Steamboat, people make left turns even though there is a sign prohibiting left turns at certain hours.  This could be a negative move because the next street west, which is Old Ballwin Road, also has a no left turn restriction.  He said that we would be directing traffic to the signaled intersections. 

City Administrator Kuntz said that the Police could review this, but the accident investigation may not support prohibiting left turns, but it could be discussed purely from a political standpoint.  Sometimes things have to be done to support traffic flow that are not based on accident data. 

Alderman Buermann suggested asking MoDOT for suggestions.  He said that there has been positive results from the “pork chop” island installed at Ballwin Plaza, but there’s not enough property at the Ramsey/Manchester intersection to do this. 

Alderman Suozzi said that the intersection is one lane in and one lane out.  She said that Steamboat has a left turn lane.  She believes that a left turn prohibition at the Ramsey/Manchester intersection would, therefore, be more effective than the Steamboat situation. 

Alderman Terbrock said that acquiring extra land for an extra lane would be difficult because of the parking requirement per square foot.  There are few accidents at this intersection.  City Administrator Kuntz said that MoDOT can be contacted for suggestions.  Alderman Terbrock agreed that they should be contacted. 

Goose Control:  Alderman Robinson said he is deferring this discussion to the next meeting because the people who talked to him regarding goose control from the subdivision are not present at this meeting.  Mayor Young asked if this is regarding a subdivision and not the Ballwin parks.  Alderman Robinson said both. 

Security:  Alderman Fleming said that City Administrator Kuntz indicated that he might have a more specific proposal to offer in March.  He said an armed police officer is in the room for Board meetings.  The Kirkwood tragedy was a Planning & Zoning meeting.  Kirkwood is a charter city, therefore, more elected officials attend their Planning & Zoning meeting.  As an interim measure, he asked staff to offer Planning & Zoning, Historical Commission, any citizens’ group who meets in the Board room, the option of having an officer present until a more specific recommendation is offered from City Administrator Kuntz. 

Alderman Lembke asked if this is for official Ballwin business.  Alderman Fleming said this would be for only Ballwin committee and commission meetings, such as Planning & Zoning, Historical Commission, etc., people representing the City in an official capacity.  This would not include subdivision meetings.  The Board agreed.

Adjourn:  A motion was made by Alderman Buermann and seconded by Alderman Suozzi to adjourn.  The motion passed unanimously and the meeting was adjourned at 8:07 p.m.

WALTER S. YOUNG, MAYOR

ATTEST:
ROBERT A. KUNTZ, CITY ADMINISTRATOR

MC