Board of Aldermen Meeting

Meeting Agenda

Meeting Minutes

RECORD OF PROCEEDINGS

MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF ALDERMEN MEETING
CITY OF BALLWIN - 300 PARK DRIVE
DECEMBER 11, 2000

The meeting was called to order by Mayor Jones at 7:02 p.m.

The Pledge of Allegiance was given.

The Minutes of the November 27, 2000 Board of Aldermen meeting were submitted for approval. A motion was made by Alderman Nichols 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.

Presentation to Bill Buermann, Ballwin Historical Society: Mayor Jones presented a plaque to Bill Buermann, retiring Chairman of the Historical Society, commemorating his service from February II, 1991 to November 15, 2000. Mr. Buermann expressed his appreciation. Alderman Buerrnann said his father has lived in Ballwin for 76 years and was born in a room over what is now the Coach House Restaurant. He praised his father for the stability to stay in one community for so long.

CITIZEN COMMENTS

None.

PUBLIC HEARINGS

None.

LEGISLATION

Copies of all bills were available at the Government Center and Board Room lobby for public inspection prior to enactment.

BILL NO. 3051 - AN ORDINANCE GRANTING A SPECIAL USE EXCEPTION TO LOWE'S HOME CENTERS, INC., FOR RENTAL AND ASSOCIATED OUTDOOR STORAGE OF MOTOR VEHICLES AS PROVIDED IN ARTICLE 14 OF THE ZONING ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF BALLWIN

A motion was made by Alderman Boland and seconded by Alderman Buermann for a first reading of Bill No. 305 1. A voice vote was taken with an affirmative result and the motion was declared passed. Bill No. 3051 was read for the first time.

Alderman Buermann asked that the hours of operation be added to Section 16, or after hours that the trucks would be parked in the rear. City Attorney Lucchesi noted that this provision was included in Item # 1 6 of Exhibit I of the ordinance.

Alderman Robinson asked that paragraph 13 be deleted from Exhibit 1. As read, it would allow parking of noncommercial and delivery vehicles. This may be inconsistent with the limiting language of paragraph 16. Also d/b/a should be deleted from the first Whereas.
A motion was made by Alderman Robinson and seconded by Alderman Nichols to delete paragraph 13 in Exhibit 1. A voice vote was taken with an affirrnative result and the motion was declared passed.

A motion was made by Alderman Nichols and seconded by Alderman Boland for a second reading of Bill No. 3051 as amended. A voice vote was taken with a unanimous affirinative result and the motion was declared passed. Bill No. 3051 was read for the second time.
A roll call was taken for passage and approval of Bill No. 3051 with the following results: Ayes - Byatt, Suozzi, Robinson, Buennann, Huddleston, Nichols, Boland. Nays - None. Whereupon Mayor Jones declared Bill No.3051 approved and it became Ordinance No. 00-64.

CONSENT ITEMS

Temporary Construction Easement

Fiber Installation

Record Destruction

A motion was made by Alderman Nichols and seconded by Alderman Buermann to approve the Consent Items. A voice vote was taken with a unanimous affirmative result and the motion was declared passed.

REPORT OF THE MAYOR

Park Advisory Committee: Mayor Jones would like this committee to oversee the establishment of additional funding sources for parks and recreation. This would not be a formal committee of the City. Alderman Huddleston said he believes that the recommendation of the special committee was for a permanent committee to be established as a sounding board and recommending group not just a temporary fund-raising and promotion committee.

City Administrator Kuntz said permanent additional funding needs to be obtained before any advisory Board needs to be set up. Alderman Nichols said this committee can work with the Parks and Rec. Committee of the Board of Aldermen, but must be autonomous from the City if it is going to promote a sales tax or bond issue proposition because the Board cannot actively get involved in promoting that kind of issue. It would have to be a stand-alone committee that promotes such issues, totally separate and apart from the city government. This will be a citizens group that chooses to form for the purpose of promoting recreation revenues based upon the recommendation of the Special Recreation Advisory committee as to the needs that exist in the City Park and Rec. area.

Alderman Buermann suggested holding an informational town hall type meeting at the Golf Club to get this issue started. Anyone in the City could come and participate. City Administrator Kuntz suggested a date be set for the meeting, each Alderman invite as many people as they can, post it and advertise it. The first Wednesday or Thursday after the first of the year would give time to come back to the Board if there's any interest. There are two Board meetings after that before the deadline for certifying an Issue for the April, 2000 ballot. January 23 is the deadline.

Alderman Buermann also suggested that this be put on the web site.

The meeting was set for Thursday, January 4, 2001, 7:00 p.m. at the Golf Clubhouse.

Future Meetings: Mayor Jones reminded the Board that the December 25 Board meeting has been cancelled. The next meeting will be January 8. He also announced that the January I meeting of the Planning and Zoning Commission has been rescheduled for January 2, and the closing celebration for Ballwin's 50'h anniversary will be on December 29 at The Pointe at 7:00 p.m.

Historical Society: Mayor Jones said there are 4 open seats. Melvin Walka and Cal Potthast indicated that they are interested in being reappointed, and Helen Pisarkiewicz and Verna Arnold have expressed an interest in serving.

A motion was made by Alderman Buermann and seconded by Alderman Byatt to reappoint Melvin Walka and Calvin Potthast to the Historical Society. A voice vote was taken with a unanimous affirmative result and the motion was declared passed.

A motion was made by Alderman Buermann and seconded by Alderman Byatt to appoint Helen Pisarkiewicz and Verna Arnold to the Historical Society. A voice vote was taken with a unanimous affirmative result and the motion was declared passed.

REPORT OF THE CITY ADMINISTRATOR

Scott Vogelgesang from Boy Scout Troop 597, Ascension Church is in attendance.

Park Improvements: City Administrator Kuntz said 2 pavilions and the play area will be replaced to make room for the new roadway. There are sufficient funds in the 2000 budget since the re-appropriation to replace the pavilions exists at this time. Griffith Construction's low bid is recommended.

A motion was made by Alderman Nichols and seconded by Alderman Buermann to approve the bid. A voice vote was taken with a unanimous affirmative result and the motion was declared passed.

Recreation Fee Adjustments: City Administrator Kuntz noted that in accordance with Board philosophy, Ballwin has attempted to keep these costs reflective of the expenditures. These proposed adjustments will maintain this relationship. Some of the fees have not been adjusted for some time.

Alderman Suozzi asked if a family discount had been offered in the past. Director of Parks and Recreation Bruer said no it was not offered before.

A motion was made by Alderman Buermann and seconded by Alderman Huddleston to authorize the preparation of a bill setting the fees as outlined in the memo by Director of Parks and Recreation Linda Bruer. A voice vote was taken with a unanimous affirmative result and the motion was declared passed.

Street Lights: City Administrator Kuntz said it's the City's intent to honor all petitions for street lights that have been received. He suggested that the street light issue be referred to the Public Health & Safety Committee. Alderman Boland asked if there is any chance of getting the St. Louis County Highway Department to share the cost of installing new street lights along arterial roadways. City Administrator Kuntz said that this possibility will be explored.

It was agreed that the Public Health & Safety Committee would meet at 6:30 p.m. before the next Board meeting on January 8.

Pointe Memberships: City Administrator Kuntz said that the City of Ellisville had approached Ballwin about the possibility of allowing Ellisville residents to obtain Pointe memberships at a discount rate. Mr. Kuntz said there are presently only 32 Ellisville residents with annual passes. Alderman Nichols asked if there would be substantially more Ellisville non-resident members if they were available at the Ballwin resident rate. He said he has had calls from constituents fearing that the resources won't be readily available to the Ballwin residents if non-resident memberships increase significantly. He asked what benefit Ballwin would realize for doing this? Alderman Huddleston said more revenue. Mr. Kuntz said he would only recommend a one-year trial. Ellisville would pay Ballwin directly and there would be limited liability. He does not recommend any discount. This would be memberships, not walk-ins. If it didn't work after one year, it would be discontinued. Alderman Nichols said there should be a cap on the membership so the Ballwin residents don't feel that they are going to be displaced.

Alderman Nichols suggested processing the Ellisville memberships as a group rather than individually. Alderman Buermann recommended sending a message back to Ellisville that there will be no discounts for Ellisville residents and see if the come back with a counter proposal.
The Board agreed with this approach.

Voicestream Utility Easement: City Administrator Kuntz said Omnipoint is putting up the tower at The Pointe. Authorization to execute the necessary utility easement is requested.

A motion was made by Alderman Byatt and seconded by Alderman Nichols to execute the necessary easement for the tower at The Pointe. A voice vote was taken with a unanimous affirmative result (Alderman Robinson abstained) and the motion was declared passed.

ALDERMANIC COMMENTS

Alderman Nichols stated the candidate filing dates are December 19 to January 16. City Administrator Kuntz said the notice is posted on all city buildings.

A motion was made by Alderman Nichols and seconded by Alderman Buertnann to adjourn into closed session to discuss real estate matters and litigation. A roll call was taken with the following results: Ayes - Huddleston, Byatt, Boland, Buerrnann, Suozzi, Robinson, Nichols. Nays - None. Whereupon Mayor Jones declared the motion approved. The motion passed unanimously and the meeting was adjourned to closed session at 8:05 p.m.

The Board of Aldermen convened into closed session at 8:07 p.m. to discuss issues of pending and potential litigation and real estate acquisition. No official action was taken.

The Board of Aldermen reconvened into open session at 8:35 p.m. Mayor Jones announced that the Board unanimously voted by roll call to reconvene in open session. No further action was taken.

A motion was made by Alderman Nichols and seconded by Alderman Robinson to adjourn. The motion passed unanimously and the open session adjourned at 8:37 p.m.
MC