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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.

Board of Aldermen Meeting

Meeting Agenda

Meeting Minutes

RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS

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

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

 

PRESENT

ABSENT

Mayor Robert E. Jones

  

Alderman Kay Easter

Alderman Press McDowell

Alderman Kenneth W. Buermann

  

Alderman Jane Suozzi

  

Alderman James Robinson

  

Alderman Tom McCarthy

  

Alderman Mike Boland

  

Alderman Charles Gatton

  

City Attorney Lionel Lucchesi

  

City Administrator Robert Kuntz

  

The Pledge of Allegiance was given.

Mayor Jones stated that Bill # 3161, amending the Occupancy Inspection Code, is being withdrawn from the Agenda due to an overwhelming negative response from the community, and will not be considered as legislation at this time or at any other time in the future. Mayor Jones said it is important for residents to become involved in the government of the City and to communicate with the Aldermen and Mayor. Despite the fact that there are arguments on both sides of this issue, the communications from the Ballwin citizens was overwhelmingly negative. Mayor Jones complimented the residents who took time to come to the meeting to address the Board. It is a testament to the City of Ballwin and how much the citizens care about the government.

MINUTES

The Minutes of the March 2, 2002 Board of Aldermen Work Session were submitted for approval. A motion was made by Alderman Easter and seconded by Alderman Buermann to approve the Minutes. A voice vote was taken with a unanimous affirmative result and the motion was declared passed.

The Minutes of the March 11, 2002 Board of Aldermen meeting were submitted for approval. A motion was made by Alderman Suozzi and seconded by Alderman Buermann to approve the Minutes. A voice vote was taken with a unanimous affirmative result and the motion was declared passed.

National Guard Presentation

: Russ Dam, Public Works employee and member of the National Guard Reserve, presented a certificate of appreciation to the Board of Aldermen for its generous military leave policy. He thanked the Board for their understanding of the obligation military personnel have to their country and community.

New Police Officers

: Police Chief Jim Biederman introduced the new Ballwin police officers: Jeffrey Prosser, Stephen Benko, Philip Woolsey, and Grant Meenach.

Audit Report

: The Audit report was presented by Darril Songer of Larson, Allen. He pointed out the general fund showed an increase of $580,000. The City of Ballwin continued to be classified as a low risk audit client. Mr. Songer explained the extensive work involved to comply with GASBY34, and said the City is going in the right direction to achieve this goal. Alderman Boland asked in Mr. Songer’s opinion, what is the benefit of GASBY34 for the City of Ballwin. Mr. Songer said there is no benefit other than it forces Ballwin to track the tangible property.

CITIZENS’ ACADEMY

Mayor Jones said that immediately prior to the Board of Aldermen meeting, the first meeting of the third Citizens’ Academy was being conducted in the Board room. He explained that for this reason, anyone not signed up for this session was asked to leave the Board room so that the first session could be properly conducted.

CITIZEN COMMENTS

Robert M. Quinn, 220 Ramsey Lane

Bill Bales, Spring Oaks Drive

Simon Nichols, 209 Crestland Drive

Dale Schmid, 517 Connie Lane, Manchester

: Mr. Schmid expressed much displeasure regarding the proposal for Search Warrants in Bill # 3161. He said this shows disrespect for the rights, liberty and freedom of the average citizen. He said the Board did the right thing by withdrawing the bill from the agenda, but reiterated that it was a mistake to consider this proposal in the first place.: Mr. Nichols thanked the Board for respecting the desires of the residents and withdrawing the Occupancy Inspection/Search Warrant ordinance. He pointed out that Crestland is a very narrow and dangerous roadway. Mayor Jones said that the pavement survey that has just been completed will give the information needed to determine which streets should receive immediate funding and which ones can be deferred. Alderman Suozzi said that Crestland is on the tentative list for roadwork in 2003.: Mr. Bales referred to the Bill # 3161 Occupancy Inspections and asked how can residents know and understand what the items are about on the agenda. Mayor Jones said that in order to see the proposed legislation in its entirety, a resident will have to come to the Government Center or view the document in the glass case in the lobby of the Police Department outside of the Board room where it is posted at least 72 hours before the meeting. City Administrator Kuntz explained that there is a section on the web called "Board Briefs", which is a summary of the items on the agenda. Copies are also provided at the Board meeting. The information is on the web by the Thursday evening before the Monday Board meeting.: Mr. Quinn asked about the status of the completion of Ramsey Lane. City Administrator Kuntz said the plans have been submitted to MSD for approval, the project has been budgeted, and as soon as the approval is obtained from MSD, it will go out for bid and hopefully will start construction in June or early July. He said the scope of the project is from the bridge up to Manchester Road.

PUBLIC HEARINGS

None.

LEGISLATION

BILL # 3160

- AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER THREE OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF BALLWIN BY ESTABLISHING FACTORS TO BE CONSIDERED FOR ISSUANCE, RENEWAL OR CONTINUATION OF LICENSES FOR THE SALE OF ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES.

A motion was made by Alderman Boland and seconded by Alderman Buermann for a first reading of Bill No. 3160. A voice vote was taken with a unanimous affirmative result and the motion was declared passed. Bill No. 3160 was read for the first time.

City Administrator Kuntz said the effective date of this regulation would be with the next, not the current, renewal period, July, 2003.

A motion was made by Alderman Easter and seconded by Alderman Buermann for a second reading of Bill No. 3160. A voice vote was taken with a unanimous affirmative result and the motion was declared passed. Bill No. 3160 was read for the second time.

A roll call was taken for passage and approval of Bill No. 3160 with the following results: Ayes – Easter, McCarthy, Gatton, Suozzi, Buermann, Robinson, Boland. Nays – None. Whereupon Mayor Jones declared Bill No. 3160 approved and it became Ordinance No. 02-20.

BILL # 3161

(This bill was withdrawn at the start of this meeting.) - AN ORDINANCE ACCEPTING ALL STREETS IN CASTLE PINES PLATS 1C, 5, 9 AND 11 FOR PUBLIC MAINTENANCE AS PROVIDED FOR IN THE CODE OF ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF BALLWIN.

A motion was made by Alderman Gatton and seconded by Alderman Boland for a first reading of Bill No. 3162. A voice vote was taken with a unanimous affirmative result and the motion was declared passed. Bill No. 3162 was read for the first time.

A motion was made by Alderman Robinson and seconded by Alderman Buermann for a second reading of Bill No. 3162. A voice vote was taken with a unanimous affirmative result and the motion was declared passed. Bill No. 3162 was read for the second time.

A roll call was taken for passage and approval of Bill No. 3162 with the following results: Ayes – Robinson, Buermann, Gatton, Boland, Easter, Suozzi, McCarthy. Nays – None. Whereupon Mayor Jones declared Bill No. 3162 approved and it became Ordinance No. 02-21.

A RESOLUTION

declaring the intent of the City of Ballwin, Missouri, to issue its tax increment refunding and improvement revenue bonds, Series 2002 (Ballwin Town Center Redevelopment Project) in an amount not to exceed $20,100,000, but to be finally determined by an ordinance of the City, to provide funds for the purposes of refunding certain TIF Notes of the City, paying certain other costs of the redevelopment project, funding capitalized interest on said bonds, funding a debt service reserve fund for said bonds, and paying the costs of issuance of said bonds.

Mayor Jones said questions were posed to the Bond Issuing Agent, Financial Advisor, TIF Counsel, and there is additional information regarding comparison of options for the issuance of those bonds.

Laura Radcliff, A.G. Edwards, reported on the analysis that she conducted. Development Strategies consulted with Mr. Fox on the revenue projections and higher revenues are projected than were originally projected. She said if the City continued to make its pledge up to $250,000, and maximize the bond issue, $1.3 million could be available on top of the existing TIF and TDD expenses. Option 2 is the same result but splits the proceeds between project cost and what might be capitalized interest. In Options 3, the developer is paid $653,000 more, there will be a comfortable debt service coverage of $151,000. In Option 4, if capitalized interest is paid on October 1, there will be another $484,000 on top of the $650,000. From the Armstrong Teasdale’s January 23rd memo, $650,000 is the maximum amount of additional proceeds that they were comfortable approving without having to reconvene the TIF Commission. Options 5 and 6 are the do-nothing options, no additional proceeds and eliminate the additional pledge. Mayor Jones asked if an option was considered that would allow Ballwin to eliminate coverage and still create additional proceeds for the developer. Ms. Radcliff said that doesn’t exist; there isn’t any way to do that. The higher the coverage, the shorter the TIF.

Ms. Radcliff said interest rates are still fluctuating and the $1.294 million could be higher or lower on the day they go to market. It would be easier for her to work with a percentage, rather than defining an absolute number.

A motion was made

Ms. Radcliff explained that $15,165,000 is the legal maximum amount of TIF proceeds. The $1.3 million was the dollar amount that resulted from the revenue projections. To determine the maximum dollar amount on top of $13,665,000; that was in the $15,165,000. How good a number is $1, 294,000 is a question of where interest rates are on the day the bonds are sold. Higher interest rate means a lower dollar amount, and a lower interest rate means a higher dollar amount. The smaller the bond issue is, the safer the bond issue is.

A motion was made

A roll call vote was taken for passage and approval of the Resolution with the following results: Ayes – Boland, Suozzi, McCarthy, Gatton. Nays – Robinson, Buermann, Easter. Whereupon Mayor Jones declared the Resolution passed by a 4-3 vote.

by Alderman Boland and seconded by Alderman Gatton that any additional proceeds be a 50/50 split of the additional proceeds, as identified in Option 1, which reflects additional proceeds of $1,294,395 to a limit of $650,000 for the developer, and that the TIF issue be increased to reflect the higher amount to make the cost savings possible. by Alderman Gatton and seconded by Alderman Buermann for a reading the Resolution. A voice vote was taken with a unanimous affirmative result and the Resolution was read one time.

CONSENT ITEMS
A.

Golf Course Cart Path
B.

One-Ton Truck – Parks Dept.
C.

Golf Course Mower
D.

Fitness Equipment
E. Skidster Attachments
F. Truck Beds
G. Fire Lanes
H. Appreciation Events
I. Olde Towne Enhancement Engineering
J.

Police Motorcycle

Alderman Boland asked that Item G, Fire Lanes, be removed from the Consent vote for further information, and Alderman McCarthy is abstaining from voting on Item D.

A motion was made

by Alderman Gatton and seconded by Alderman Suozzi to accept Items A, B, C, E, F, H, I, and J of the Consent Items. A voice vote was taken with a unanimous affirmative result and the motion was declared passed.

D. Fitness Equipment

A motion was made

by Alderman Buermann and seconded by Alderman Suozzi to accept the lease/purchase agreement. A voice vote was taken with a unanimous affirmative result and the motion was declared passed. Alderman McCarthy abstained from voting on this item. – Director of Parks and Recreation Bruer said that because some of the equipment is high use, high maintenance, the City doesn’t want to own those because there’s little residual value. The equipment that has standard features that have demonstrated low maintenance and long life could be purchased. The budget is divided into lease and purchase. Some are in the capital and some in the operating budget to give the City the most flexibility. Because of the nature of the facility, trading out fitness equipment on a regular basis is important to the users to keep the equipment fresh and running.

G. Fire Lanes

A motion was made

by Alderman Suozzi and seconded by Alderman Buermann to accept the fire lane proposal at Olde Towne and Dickens Plazas, and authorize the City Attorney to draft legislation for consideration. A voice vote was taken with a unanimous affirmative result and the motion was declared passed. – Alderman Buermann asked where the fire lane would be located in Dickens Plaza. City Administrator Kuntz said it would be at the curb across the entire front of the plaza and around the back and sides.

REPORT OF THE MAYOR

Vacancies

Mayor Jones said a letter of resignation has been received from Georgeanne Gass, of the Fine Arts Commission. He requested suggestions from the Board for a replacement. Jon Bopp, of the Board of Adjustment, has also resigned, and Mayor Jones submitted the name of Pat Baehler, at 614 Claymont Drive, to fill Mr. Bopp’s position on the Board of Adjustment.

A motion was made by Alderman Robinson and seconded by Alderman Boland to accept the appointment of Pat Baehler to the Board of Adjustment, replacing Mr. Bopp. A voice vote was taken with a unanimous affirmative result and the motion was declared passed.

– Mayor Jones said he would like the Board to consider Mike Boland to fill the vacancy on the Planning and Zoning Commission, taking the place of Ray Lembke, who will be sworn in as Alderman on April 22.

REPORT OF THE CITY ADMINISTRATOR

Special Events

– City Administrator Kuntz explained that this is a proposal to waive the permit and fee requirement for a Special Event Application if held in conjunction with the Ballwin Days festival and their event be promoted as such to give further publicity to the rescheduled Ballwin Days. This is a trial and not a permanent ordinance. If the change is approved, the Business Newsletter will inform the business community. This will also get the businesses more involved with the Ballwin Days festival. This is a one-time fee waiver.

A motion was made

by Alderman Boland and seconded by Alderman Suozzi to grant a temporary waiver for temporary signs and Special Event Permits for the purpose of promoting Ballwin Days. A voice vote was taken with a unanimous affirmative result and the motion was declared passed.

Health Insurance

City Administrator Kuntz recommended approval of the health insurance renewal and that the City bear the renewal cost for 2002 as opposed to a cost sharing, which has been the normal procedure when budget is exceeded. This is a one-year renewal proposal at 15.5%. Next year, the premium will raise by at least 30% and the employees will have to participate in cost-sharing. A reduced HMO type of plan could be offered, but that would be to the detriment of the care the employees will receive and the employees have said they want the benefits where they are and are willing to pay more if they have to. Alderman McCarthy asked if plans have been made to offset this cost to the employees with raises next year. City Administrator Kuntz wants the employees to be aware of this if the Board approves the renewal.

A motion was made

by Alderman Buermann and seconded by Alderman Robinson to budget the extra $16,000 for health insurance coverage and accept the bid by United Health Care. A voice vote was taken with a unanimous affirmative result and the motion was declared passed. – City Administrator Kuntz commended Human Resource Coordinator Haley Morrison for her efforts in evaluating, meeting, and providing data for health insurance carriers. He also commended Finance Officer Glenda Loehr for her efforts and preparation for the audit.

Manchester Road Sidewalk Engineering

A motion was made

by Alderman Easter and seconded by Alderman Suozzi to accept the recommendation of City Engineer Kramer to appoint the engineer to proceed with the work. A voice vote was taken with a unanimous affirmative result and the motion was declared passed. – City Administrator Kuntz said the City has a financial responsibility to move forward with the reduced scope of sidewalk construction along Manchester Road for which a grant was received. This was not budgeted because the developer was expected to be paying the 30%. City Engineer Kramer recommended the Farnsworth Group to prepare the engineering plans and specifications. There will be extra TIF proceeds to use to cover some of the expense.

Paulding Drive

A motion was made

by Alderman Robinson and seconded by Alderman Gatton to proceed with the transaction, based on the State proposal. A voice vote was taken with a unanimous affirmative result and the motion was declared passed. – City Administrator Kuntz said Paulding Drive has been maintained by the City by default. It connects the Government Center and J.B. Automotive. The road should be maintained but the State has accepted the proposal to transfer the right-of-way to Ballwin. Should the City proceed up to a cost of $1,200?

Commercial Real Estate

– City Administrator Kuntz said that several parcels to the west of Olde Towne Plaza are on the market. If sold individually for development, the area will not be eligible for development in any unified way, per the TIF District Plan. Ballwin could encourage a unified development by releasing an RFP for development proposals. Further discussion and direction is requested.

Closed Session

Mayor Jones said that since there are no questions, the settlement agreement will be made available, in accordance with the Sunshine Law, as soon as it is executed.

– City Administrator Kuntz said a closed session at this time may not be necessary. The Board received a copy of a settlement. Unless there are specific questions, this is what was approved at the last Closed Session. If there are no questions, a closed session will not be necessary.

ALDERMANIC COMMENTS

Mayor Jones thanked Alderman Mike Boland and Alderman Tom McCarthy for their dedicated service to the Board of Aldermen and the City of Ballwin.

ADJOURN

A motion was made by Alderman Easter and seconded by Alderman Buermann to adjourn. The motion passed unanimously and the meeting was adjourned at 8:55 p.m.
MC

 

BILL # 3162

- AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 1 AND CHAPTER 13 OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF BALLWIN BY THE ENACTMENT OF A NEW DEFINITION AND NEW SECTIONS 13-88 AND 13-89 DEALING WITH ENFORCEMENT AND INSPECTION AUTHORITY IN THE CITY OF BALLWIN.