The Pledge of Allegiance was given.

The Minutes of the January 22, 2001 Board of Aldermen meeting were submitted for approval. A motion was made by Alderman Suozzi and seconded by Alderman Byatt to approve the Minutes. A voice vote was taken with a unanimous affirmative result and the motion was declared passed.

CITIZEN COMMENTS

Ed Snyder, 148 Log Trail: Mr. Snyder is the Pastor of a new church West County Worship Center. They are currently using the cafeteria at Selvidge Middle School on New Ballwin Road. He said if he can be of service to the Board or the community to call him.

Darryl Mezzo, 406 Pine Hollow: Mr. Mezzo asked if the Spring Cove Subdivision had been removed from the agenda. Mayor Jones said the developer made this request. Mr. Mezzo asked if the developer could move the structures closer to Big Bend to keep them away from their back yards. The developer is going to have to cut off pine tree limbs to build as proposed. He suggested minimizing the grading in order to minimize the disruption of the existing site and vegetation. He said he intends to call the City every half hour about this because this is a preservation area. The Ballwin officials are elected by the people and should represent the residents. He said they are not being represented. Mayor Jones assured Mr. Mezzo that the citizens will be represented.

Jim Rembolo, 418 Pine Hollow Ct.: Mr. Rembolo said the builder had another proposal to build single family homes. The trees in the common ground and the buffer of trees behind their homes should be left. If the builder goes forward with the new proposal, these things are null and void. The land will be developed, but the residents want to protect the landscape. Mayor Jones said if the new proposal is considerably different from the first proposal, the project will go back to Planning and Zoning Commission where another public hearing would be held. City Administrator Kuntz said when the petitioner resubmits the proposal, questions can be addressed to him. Alderman Robinson asked Mr. Rembolo if he would rather have the 4 duplexes on the site or the 7 single family homes? Mr. Rembolo said from his standpoint, it doesn’t make much difference. The common ground is a big issue. Alderman Byatt said the petitioner should be asked to bring in both the old and new sets of plans.

Susan Savinsky, 422 Pine Hollow: Ms. Savinsky said she would prefer condos at $200,000 rather than 7 single family less expensive homes. She wants to know the value of the homes before they make a decision.

Lynn Goetz, 14706 Clayton Road: Mr. Goetz said the phrase "trees will remain in place if possible", should be clarified, because at present, the developer has a lot of options. He said if he lived on Pine Hollow, he wouldn’t like it either.

PUBLIC HEARINGS

None.

LEGISLATION

BILL # 3066 - AN ORDINANCE AMENDING PERSONNEL RULES AND REGULATIONS FOR THE CITY OF BALLWIN, ST. LOUIS COUNTY, MISSOURI.

This legislation expands the current holiday schedule for City employees by adding Martin Luther King Day in 2002.

A motion was made by Alderman Byatt and seconded by Alderman Suozzi for a first reading of Bill No. 3066. A voice vote was taken with an affirmative result and the motion was declared passed. Bill No. 3066 was read for the first time.

A motion was made by Alderman Easter and seconded by Alderman Byatt for a second reading of Bill No. 3066. A voice vote was taken with a unanimous affirmative result and the motion was declared passed. Bill No. 3066 was read for the second time.

A roll call was taken for passage and approval of Bill No. 3066 with the following results: Ayes – Easter, Byatt, Suozzi, Robinson, Huddleston . Nays – None. Whereupon Mayor Jones declared Bill No. 3066 approved and it became Ordinance No. 01-11.

CONSENT ITEMS

Check Signatures

Easement Transfer

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

REPORT OF THE MAYOR

APPOINTMENTS

Planning and Zoning: Mayor Jones reported that Ron Kadane has agreed to serve on the Planning and Zoning Commission as a replacement for Press McDowell, who is running unopposed for Alderman.

A motion was made by Alderman Easter and seconded by Alderman Byatt to appoint Ron Kadane as replacement for Press McDowell and to fill out his unexpired term on the Planning and Zoning Commission. A voice vote was taken with a unanimous affirmative result and the motion was declared passed.

Historical Society: Mayor Jones reported that Dot Andrews has agreed to serve as Chairman, Fern Whitmire as Vice-Chairman, and Helen Pisarkiewicz as Secretary. Mayor Jones also said that any group that is formed by ordinance in the City and appointed by the Mayor and Board should be a Commission. Therefore, he suggested that the Historical Society be known as the Historical Commission.

A motion was made by Alderman Suozzi and seconded by Alderman Byatt to appoint Dot Andrews as Chairman (3-year term), Fern Whitmire as Vice-Chairman (1-year term), and Helen Pisarkiewicz as Secretary (2-year term) of the Historical Commission.. A voice vote was taken with a unanimous affirmative result and the motion was declared passed.

A motion was made by Alderman Robinson and seconded by Alderman Byatt to draft legislation to change the name of the Historical Society to Historical Commission. A voice vote was taken with a unanimous affirmative result and the motion was declared passed.

REPORT OF THE CITY ADMINISTRATOR

Ries Road North Construction Project: City Administrator Kuntz said this agebda item is the second phase of the federally funded Ries Road upgrade project from Madrina northward to the intersection with Manchester Road. The third lowest bidder was the lowest responsive bid. The first two bidders did not provide forms which are required in order to get the federal funding. The recommendation is to award the contract to Gershenson, which met all the requirements and that Gershenson be recommend to the State of Missouri for MoDOT’s acceptance of the contract. The Gershenson proposal is within the City Engineer’s estimate for this project. It is the lowest and best bid under the circumstances. City Administrator Kuntz said Gershenson has previously done 3 or 4 different projects for the City of Ballwin.

A motion was made by Alderman Huddleston and seconded by Alderman Byatt to accept the bid by Gershenson. A voice vote was taken with a unanimous affirmative result and the motion was declared passed.

Liquor License Rebate – Charlotte’s Rib: City Administrator Kuntz said the owners of Charlotte’s Rib have requested a rebate on prior liquor licenses. They completed the application, paid the fee, but did not serve full-service liquor, which is what they had applied for. They didn’t get a lesser license. Mr. Kuntz said he cannot recommend a rebate and wouldn’t know how far back to do so anyway. Every year the same form is used. City Attorney Lucchesi said the Board has no authority to grant a rebate.

"Horizon" Message: City Administrator Kuntz said he would like the Board to consider the draft article for the ½ cent Park tax. This will require signatures of the Mayor and Board. Alderman Easter said she would like the letter to sound more "resident friendly". She said the residents should be assured that they are going to be part of spending the money. The Parks Committee will make recommendations as to how the money is spent, and this should be explained to the citizens. Alderman Byatt suggested that with a separate funding source for Parks, money that’s previously been earmarked for Parks can go into roadway improvement, police, etc. She said, if this passes, it’s important that it’s not all going into parks. If people aren’t interested in parks, they are interested in road repair and good police service. This language looks like more money is being put into parks and does not reflect the other expenditure implications for Ballwin.

Signs: City Administrator Kuntz said he continues to get calls from people interested in obtaining the street signs from Old Towne. Alderman Huddleston suggested giving the signs to the Historical Commission to sell and raise money for the School House restoration. It was agreed that the signs will be given to the Historical Commission for this purpose.

Emergency Call-Ins: City Administrator Kuntz said this is primarily about utility companies, and also commercial service providers such as refuse collection haulers. In the past bills have been submitted to recover the cost of Ballwin services such as temporary Public Works services to sweep down something or cover a spill, or to address an issue that has civil liability. The concept would be to suggest a minimum and when the circumstances are appropriate, use it to recover costs.

A motion was made by Alderman Huddleston and seconded by Alderman Robinson to draft legislation to set a minimum fee for emergency call-ins and allow expense recovery. A voice vote was taken with a unanimous affirmative result and the motion was declared passed.

Enhancement Options – Transportation Grant Application Deadline: City Administrator Kuntz said the deadline is in April. Since the Claymont project is so close, and it is a residential sidewalk, it would take minimal effort to resubmit. Because of what the developer will be doing at Olde Towne Plaza, it has been recommended to petition for sidewalks for the remainder of Manchester Road. Alderman Byatt suggested that if the benefiting businesses would buy it, the project would be more attractive. She said if the sidewalk could be installed for 25-30% of what it would cost businesses on their own, Ballwin would have its matching funds.

A motion was made by Alderman Huddleston and seconded by Alderman Robinson to apply for the enhancement on both the Claymont project and the Manchester Road project. A voice vote was taken with a unanimous affirmative result and the motion was declared passed.

407 Kehrs Mill: City Administrator Kuntz said he has received a notice from the tenant of its intent to vacate. Occupancy was on a month-to-month basis. The concept is mutually beneficial to both the tenant and the City. He recommended promotion of the rental of the property with the same terms and conditions as the current tenant, $1,000 per month. The Board agreed on this recommendation.

Equipment Room Rental: City Administrator Kuntz said that this space was vacated by Charter when it moved its equipment out of the Government Center. Charter has been paying the City rent since Ballwin bought the building. Another vendor has inquired about leasing the space and space on the tower. A recommendation is made to extend the current terms and agreements that exists with the other tower users.

A motion was made by Alderman Robinson and seconded by Alderman Byatt to proceed as recommended. A voice vote was taken with a unanimous affirmative result and the motion was declared passed.

Future Revenues: City Administrator Kuntz this memo is an informational summary. Ballwin is not just going out to get another ½ cent in taxes. The park improvement plans need this increase to accomplish the upgrades. City Administrator Kuntz said the New Ballwin Road study is taking longer in order to get the visual information and conceptual approval from Rockwood and Holy Infant. Regarding the NLC Legislative Conference, Mr. Kuntz said he will pursue this if there is an interest from the Board. The draft agenda is ready for the first Citizen’s Committee meeting on April 3. Mr. Sudodi has expressed an interest in participating. The Planning Commission Chairman will make the presentation for Planning and Zoning. Alderman Easter has volunteered to make the presentation for the Board of Aldermen. There are 24 applicants for the Extension Service position announced in the "Horizon".

In attendance were representatives from Boy Scout Troop 684: Nathan Hopkins and Zach Hopkins; Troop 802: Dan Elliston, Wayne Thomas, Joey Parks, Ryan Roberts, Dustin Schiffer, Devon Thomas, and Nick Teak.

ALDERMANIC COMMENTS

Extra Leaf Pickup: Alderman Robinson said he has received a lot of complaints about leaf pickup. He asked if one more pickup could be scheduled. City Administrator Kuntz explained that at this time of year, the trucks with salt and plows would have to be switched back to leaf collection equipment. This could have a critical impact on snow removal in the event of another storm. Even though it’s not snowing now, the conversion from salt in a dump truck to the leaf boxes is not smooth and easy. The collection was extended through December 8, a full week past what was published in the "Horizon". Recognizing the situation with leaves falling late and snow, an article on the front page of the "Horizon" encouraged alternate disposal.

City Administrator Kuntz said if the Board directs staff to do this, it will be done; but if another leaf collection is done now, it will have to be done every year and there will then be a spring leaf collection program as well. Alderman Robinson asked what the cost would be to make the transition. City Administrator Kuntz said another leaf collection would last a full week, and there will be someone missed, or they didn’t see it published. Realistically, it will last more than a week. Alderman Easter asked if this could be part of the March brush pickup. City Administrator Kuntz explained that different equipment is used for brush than leaves. The brush pickup is so intensive that all of City Engineer Kramer’s personnel are used to supplement the brush pickup.

Mayor Jones said there are other alternatives to leaf pickup. The leaves can be put in yard waste disposable bags and be picked up by Midwest Waste as part of the contract. City Administrator Kuntz said arrangements would have to be made to get the boxes back to dispose of the leaves once they are back at the Public Works yard. More money is spent on leaf collection than snow plowing. Alderman Easter said $383,000 was spent for leaf pickup. It would cost approximately $100,000 for one week of leaf pickup at this time of year. Alderman Byatt said the cost for Midwest Waste to haul away the mountain leaves was free in the fall. At this time of year, the dumping cost would be huge. City Administrator Kuntz said he guarantees it will not be just one week. It will be 2 or 3 weeks. It takes 4-6 hours in turnover time to convert the equipment back to snow removal. Leaves were picked up until we got the first snow, then the trucks had to be ready for salt and snow removal. We picked up leaves as long as we could.

City Administrator Kuntz said violation notices will be sent to residents who left piles of leaves at the curb. These are trash and debris violations and they will get summonses for failure to clean it up.

Business Trailers: Alderman Easter said an ordinance was recently passed which classified a 20 or 30 foot trailer as a commercial vehicle. There is a resident who has two trailers in his back yard behind a fence. Before the ordinance was passed, he was within code. Now because of a neighbor complaint, he has to do something with the trailers. He said he would build a garage to house the trailers. The problem is if these were personal trailers, this would be okay. He said he uses the trailers for his business a small percentage of the time. He asked if the City would write a letter assuring that he would not be violating the code if he stored the trailers in the garage. Mayor Jones and Mr. Kuntz agreed that this letter could not be written.

City Attorney Lucchesi said that the business is being run out of his home. The ordinance states that there cannot be a separate structure for the home business. He could attach the structure to his house, or he could move the trailers and store them at another location. Alderman Byatt said he has an attached garage now and he could put the trailers in the attached garage and not be in violation; or he could build another garage attached to his house.

Mr. Kuntz suggested that City Attorney Lucchesi call and say that Alderman Easter brought this up at the Board of Aldermen meeting, and the Board is not inclined to change the ordinance. Here are the options.

Missouri Department of Transportation: Alderman Byatt said that MoDOT has money for pedestrian signal and curb ramps. Because of our working with them on access management, traffic calming, pedestrian improvements, and the application for enhancement funds, they are going to spend that money in Ballwin. Every signal is going to get a pedestrian push-button and curb ramps by the end of the summer.

A motion was made by Alderman Easter and seconded by Alderman Byatt to adjourn. The motion passed unanimously and the meeting was adjourned at 8:05 p.m.

______________________________

Robert E. Jones, Mayor

ATTEST:

________________________________

Robert A. Kuntz, City Administrator

MC