Board of Aldermen Meeting

Meeting Agenda

CITY OF BALLWIN
BOARD OF ALDERMEN MEETING
September 14, 2015 7:00PM
300 Park Drive, Donald “Red” Loehr Police & Court Center

1. Call to Order

2. Roll Call

3. Pledge of Allegiance

4. Approval of Minutes: August 24th, 2015 Board of Alderman Meeting and Closed Session Minutes

5. Presentation: Pavement Rating, Presented by Scott Smith from Lochmueller Group

6. Citizen Comments:

7. Public Hearing: None

8. Pending Issues: None

New Business:

9. Legislation Next Ordinance # 15-32
     a. none

10. Consent Items
     a. Kabuki SUE transfer (15015 Manchester Rd)
     b. Credit Card Processing Service

11. Mayor’s Report

12. City Administrators Report
     a. 2016 Budget Process & Timeline
     b. Closed Session – Real Estate Matters

13. Staff Reports
     a. Annexation of Property located at 2750 Clarkson Rd

14. City Attorney’s Report

15. Aldermanic Comments

16. Closed Session

17. Information Only

18. Adjourn

NOTE: Due to ongoing City business, all meeting agendas should be considered tentative. Additional issues may be introduced during the course of the meeting.
CLOSED SESSION: Pursuant to Section 610.022 RSMo., The Board of Aldermen could, at any time during the meeting, vote to close the public meeting and move to closed session to discuss matters relating to litigation, legal actions, and/or communications from the City Attorney, as provided under Section 610.021(1) RSMo., and/or personnel matters under Section 610.021(13) RSMo., and/or employee matters under Section 610.021(3) RSMo., and/or real estate matters under Section 610.021(2) or other matters as permitted by Chapter 610.

Meeting Minutes

MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF ALDERMEN MEETING
CITY OF BALLWIN – 300 Park Drive
September 14, 2015

THE MINUTES ARE PREPARED IN SUMMARY TO REFLECT THE OVERALL DISCUSSIONS, NOT VERBATIM QUOTES.

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

Roll Call
PRESENT ABSENT

Mayor Tim Pogue
Alderman Jimmy Terbrock
Alderman Michael Finley
Alderman Kevin Roach
Alderman Mark Stallmann
Alderman Frank Fleming
Alderman Jim Leahy
Alderman Ross Bullington
Alderman Kathy Kerlagon
City Administrator Eric Hanson
City Attorney Robert E. Jones

The Pledge of Allegiance was given.

MINUTES

The Minutes of the August 24, 2015 Board of Aldermen meeting and closed sessions were submitted for approval.

A motion was made by Alderman Fleming and seconded by Alderman Finley to approve the August 24, 2015 Board minutes. A voice vote was taken with a unanimous affirmative result and the motion passed.

A motion was made by Alderman Fleming and seconded by Alderman Stallmann to approve the closed session minutes. A voice vote was taken with a unanimous affirmative result and the motion passed.

PRESENTATION

Pavement Rating Report was presented by Scott Smith, manager of transportation design, for Lochmueller Group. Mr. Smith explained the pavement assessment report for the City of Ballwin the company performed. Mr. Smith stated that Lochmueller Group inventoried and surveyed approximately 123 center line streets within the City. The company found that the overall average weighted rating of the streets was 6.8 on a system of one through ten with ten being the best and one being the worst. This rate is an improvement of about .6 points from 2010. Mr. Smith said that is a significant increase to the rating. The company agreed with the City’s use of the stress absorbing membrane interlayers, which is a good method to help prevent reflective cracking for mill and overlay projects to give the streets a longer life.

Broken down by wards the average ratings show significant improvements. Ward four had a small decrease in its rating but had the best rating overall. Mr. Smith stated these numbers are very positive and are trending upward. With tighter budgets, this seems to be elusive these days. Data collected during the assessment included: pavement type and width, curb type, pavement strategy assessment, and other features identified during the assessment.

Mr. Smith displayed a diagram illustrating the average degradation of a roadway over the span of 20 years if nothing were done to it. He said the City should continue with what Gary Kramer, Director of Public Works, has been doing through his maintenance procedures which is to capture the higher end of the depleting roadway and bumping it back up for an extended life via mill and overlay, crack sealing and any other type of pavement management strategies. Mr. Smith said that by doing this the City ends up saving money in the long-run and maintains an overall high quality roadway system.

Alderman Fleming asked Mr. Smith about the criteria differentiating a minor collector from a major collector under the functional classification. Mr. Smith stated it had to with the average daily traffic.

Mayor Pogue asked Mr. Smith if he would suggest any changes to the formula Mr. Kramer has been using as far as what percentage of the budget is going to the reconditioning of streets and the blended approach. Mr. Smith stated that the blended approach works and that more money would allow the ratings to be improved faster.

CITIZEN COMMENTS

None

NEW BUSINESS

LEGISLATION

None

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. Kabuki Transfer of SUE for alcohol sales at 15015 Manchester Road
b. Credit Card Processing Service

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

MAYOR’S REPORT

Mayor Pogue stated there is an opening on Board of Adjustment for an alternate position. He said he would like to see someone from Ward 2 or Ward 3, since there are multiple commissioners from Wards 1 & 4. He asked, if the aldermen from Wards 2 or 3 had any suggestions for a replacement, to let him know.

Mayor Pogue stated there is an opening on the Historical Commission and would like to recommend Frank Masotto to finish out the unexpired term of Mary Ellen Heldmann whose term expires on 12/31/2016.

A motion was made by Alderman Kerlagon and seconded by Alderman Fleming to accept the recommendation of appointing Frank Masotto for filling the open positon for the Historical Commission. A voice vote was taken with a unanimous affirmative result and the motion passed.

Ballwin has recently received two national recognitions:
1. Ballwin was recognized as the one of the best 11 suburbs of St. Louis by Movato. The City ranked number five.
2. Ballwin received recognition for the safest large city with a population over 20,000 in the state of Missouri by Value Penguin.

Mayor Pogue Congratulated Chief Schicker for keeping Ballwin safe and asked that he pass on his gratitude to the department.

Mayor Pogue announced he was once again selected to serve on the St. Louis Municipal League’s Legislative Committee and that he would be accepting the position. He stated this will be his fourth time serving on the Committee.

CITY ADMINISTRATOR’S REPORT

2016 Budget Schedule: City Administrator Hanson stated he wanted to begin the discussion of the budget for next year. He thanked Haley Morrison, Human Resource Coordinator, and Denise Keller, Finance Officer, for their help and time to get him up to speed. He stated that in the past the Board has executed the budget discussion in different ways in terms of the breakdown of the budget and schedule. He said he wanted to make sure that everyone was comfortable with the process in order to get the budget schedule completed prior to December. Mr. Hanson said he was aware that in the past the various components of the budget were provided at different times by different departments and he said he found that process confusing.

Mr. Hanson stated he wanted to solidify the schedule in order to provide the Board with the entire budget at one time to present a clearer picture early on in the process. He said tentatively, looking at the schedule, the next meeting will include the beginning discussions on the employee compensation study.

Mr. Hanson said that over time, he would like to work with the Board about the City’s need for a Capital Improvement Plan that not only identifies need but also shows funds associated with carrying out these plans. He stated that he has asked staff to come up with a comprehensive fleet inventory, including all the money spent on maintenance, age, turnover and facilities for budgeting purposes in order to get the Board up to speed. Mr. Hanson stated that he has asked the departments to prepare to deliver their overview draft budgets for presentation in early October.

By the second meeting in October, Mr. Hanson stated that a comprehensive review of the budget would be provided to the Board, expected revenues and expenditures, for its review. Mr. Hanson stated that by providing this to the Board early on, there will be a clearer picture early in the process, provide feedback to staff and potentially recognize priorities early in the process. By doing this, it is anticipated that by the November 23rd Board meeting there would have been 3 sessions to provide feedback and direction and get to a place where the Board is comfortable with the budget prior to taking it to planning and zoning and the ultimate adoption of the budget in early December.

Mr. Hanson stated that he is more comfortable working on the budget this way and that in the prior cities he had worked for in the past, they went through a more comprehensive review process which allowed the Board to review the overall income and expenses for the city. Mr. Hanson said that by providing the overall picture of the budget and seeing the capital expenses included for review, this should allow a better allocation of resources to make sure certain items get funded and not deferred.

Mr. Hanson concluded his discussion by saying that he is open to other ideas but thought that this would provide a comprehensive picture of the budget and assist the Board in the next fiscal year when approving expense items. Mr. Hanson also stated the Board should expect the first items to be presented in a spreadsheet format, but as the process continues it would include graphs and charts that will illustrate the budget items and he would work with the Board to make sure funds are earmarked for capital items.

Mr. Hanson said that at the September 28th meeting he plans to work with the Board and start the Budget process. It was agreed that the Board would meet at 5:30 pm to begin the work session.

STAFF REPORTS

Tom Aiken, City Planner, stated that the homeowners at 2750 Clarkson Rd approached the City of Ballwin about wanting to be annexed into the city. This property is located on Clarkson Road in the northwestern corner of Ballwin and is in unincorporated St. Louis County. Mr. Aiken said that Ballwin and Clarkson Valley have each approached the homeowner about being annexed into their city in the past, but the homeowners were not interested. Mr. Aiken stated this annexation could be done via the “simplified annexation procedure” under state law, since he doesn’t anticipate St. Louis County to have an issue with Ballwin taking over this piece of land. Mr. Aiken said all the County and the City would need to do is pass legislation to annex this piece of property. There would be no boundary commission, no vote or expenses to incur but the legislation since this is not a large annexation. Mr. Aiken asked if the Board of Aldermen would be interested in annexing this property to begin this process. Mr. Aiken stated that when he last approached the County, several years ago, about this issue, he said they were agreeable to allowing the annexation of this property.

Mayor Pogue stated that as far as maintenance goes, he would like to see the city take care of this area and that he had spoken to County Councilman Harder about this issue. Mr. Harder had discussions with the property owner when he was an alderman in Ballwin and he said that he would aid Ballwin when St. Louis County is officially approached on this issue.

Alderman Stallmann was in agreement and couldn’t think why Ballwin would not be interested in pursuing this issue.

Mr. Aiken stated that he expects the cost to maintain this property area would be very minimal since the police already patrol in that area but it clears up the jurisdiction issue on that part of Clarkson Road.

Mayor Pogue asked that a motion be made to authorize the City Attorney to draft legislation pending the conversation Mr. Aiken has with St. Louis County Representatives.

A motion was made by Alderman Stallmann and seconded by Alderman Leahy to authorize the City Attorney to draft legislation pending the conversation Mr. Aiken has with St. Louis County Representatives. A voice vote was taken with a unanimous affirmative result and the motion passed.

Alderman Fleming asked Chief Schicker if this would make sense for Ballwin to pursue. Chief Schicker stated that this would definitely make sense for Ballwin to police the area.

CITY ATTORNEY’S REPORTS

None

Mayor Pogue announced that Pursuant to Section 610.021 [2] RSMo, the board will meet in closed session to discuss real estate matters.

Adjourn to Closed Session: A motion was made by Alderman Fleming and seconded by Alderman Kerlagon to adjourn to closed session to discuss real estate matters. A roll call vote was taken with the following results: Ayes: Aldermen Terbrock, Finley, Roach, Stallmann, Fleming, Leahy, Bullington, Kerlagon Nays: None

The motion passed to adjourn to closed session at 7:25 p.m.

The Board reconvened in open session at 8:10 p.m.

Mayor Pogue reconvened the open session and stated the Board met in closed session to discuss real estate matters and that no formal action was made at that time.

ALDERMANIC COMMENTS

Alderman Terbrock asked the Chief or Mayor if they received any further information from Ellisville in regards to the deer hunting proposed within that city’s jurisdiction. Chief Schicker stated that he talked to Chief Felgate who said that they looked at what Ellisville’s options were and they felt that with their trained officers and their equipment that this was the best option they had. It is his understanding that Ellisville has already begun baiting and the program has been vetted by the Missouri Department of Conservation. The hunt would be done in very select areas. The shooting of the deer will be at a downward angle and will be done in areas without a lot of residential housing.

Alderman Terbrock stated that this bothered him since Klamberg Woods is an unpopulated area that is located next to the city limits of Ballwin and adjacent to areas in Ballwin where bow hunters will be hunting.

Chief Schicker stated he will have to look at the approved plots for the allowed bow hunting, but that Chief Felgate indicated that Ellisville has yet to identify the locations of their hunt.

Alderman Terbrock said that he hoped Ellisville would catch wind of his concern over hunting with rifles in areas that adjoin Ballwin. He is hoping that there be some discussion with Ballwin if Ellisville’s hunt boarders areas where Ballwin’s bow hunters will be in camouflage.

Mr. Hanson stated that he has a meeting with Ellisville’s city manager on Wednesday and he will have this conversation with him and report his findings back to the Board.

Mayor Pogue stated he had spoken to Ellisville’s Mayor on Friday. He indicated that Ellisville will be meeting with the Department of Conservation to work out details and were not planning to start the hunt until after the first of the year. Mayor Pogue stated that it was a little scary to hear that Ellisville’s Board approved a plan that hasn’t been fully developed or detailed yet.

Alderman Terbrock agreed with Mayor Pogue’s statement and stated that it seems foolish to make a decision to be shooting high powered rifles right next door to Ballwin and not even notify the city about it.

Mayor Pogue stated that if he hears anything more from their Mayor or Chief, he would let the Board know.

Alderman Stallmann wanted to congratulate the Parks Department on a couple of great events they have put on. The “Screen on the Green” event, where they played the Star Wars movie, there was a great crowd and a great community event. Alderman Stallmann said the Craft Beer Festival had a fabulous crowd. It was a great day to be out there at the park. He concluded his comments by complimenting the renovations done at the Pointe: the locker rooms look awesome, the new lockers, paint and furnishings look great and the slide looks good, though it is just hanging there since there is a back order on a part they are waiting for; but, that overall everything looks great and the events were great.

Alderman Stallmann also wanted to congratulate Chief Schicker for sending around the video and stated that you don’t see enough of the good deeds our police officers and first responders do and how well they work in the community. The media doesn’t seem to publish that. He stated he shared the video on social media sites and he also wanted to congratulate the officer who was in the video.

Mayor Pogue stated that if no one has had the opportunity to see the Ferguson Commissioner Report that was just released, those who are interested in seeing it should let him know and he will send them the link to view it.

A motion was made by Alderman Fleming and seconded by Alderman Terbrock to adjourn the Board of Aldermen Meeting. A roll call vote was taken with a unanimous result, and the meeting was adjourned at 8:16 p.m.

TIM POGUE, MAYOR

ATTEST:
ERIC HANSON, CITY ADMINISTRATOR

E Hanson
T Aiken
A Johnson
Approved: September 28, 2015