Board of Aldermen Meeting

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Meeting Minutes

MINUTES
2011 BUDGET WORK SHOP
City of Ballwin
October 25, 2010

The Budget Work Session for 2011 was called to order at 5:30 p.m. by Mayor Pogue.  In attendance were Aldermen Terbrock, Finley, Schmer, Markland, Fleming, Leahy, Boerner and Mellow.  Also in attendance were City Administrator Kuntz, Assistant City Administrator Aiken, Finance Officer Loehr, Chief of Police Schicker, Director of Parks and Recreation Bruer, Director of Public Works Kramer, and City Attorney Jones.

City Administrator Kuntz said that this Budget Work Shop will focus on the Operations of the City, with presentations from the Departments of Administration and Public Works.  He said that preliminary revenue projections have been provided to the Board.  Revenue numbers are included for the first 9 months of 2010.  To make the estimate for 2011, we took the 9 months of actual revenues and then reviewed the last quarter of last year.  He said that revenues for 2011 are projected to be less than 2010.  Part of the 2010 projection reflects the re-appropriations that the Board approved, including adding the cell phone settlements which are expected to be in the Ballwin accounts prior to year end.  That will be approximately $220,000.  This will not be a recurring item in 2011.  He said that no major growth or decline in the sales tax revenue is anticipated. 

The expenditures are reflective of the concept of supplementing the street budget by $1 million.  Of that amount, the bulk of that amount is on the operating side because it falls under street maintenance and slab replacement etc.  $210,677 is based on the capital.  No funds have been budgeted for any additional positions.  Employee turnover has been considered.  He said the budget is being cut close to offset some of the uncertainty that is ahead.  There is a contingency account in every department.  If the $1 million expenditure of reserves is included, based on the 2011 budget proposal, we would still project ending 2011 with an overall unreserved fund balance of $8,788,985.  That would be 55.17% of the 2011 projected operating budget total.

Alderman Finley said that increasing the budget by $1 million, he expected to see more of an increase in Public Works.  City Administrator Kuntz said that there were several categories of expenditures that were cut.  One example is the January-February salt purchase.  There were position openings that have not been filled.  He said that this will be covered in the Public Works presentation.

Alderman Markland said that it sounds as if we are allocating $1 million from reserves for roadwork.  He asked if this would show up in the Public Works budget with $1 million in expenditures?  He said it doesn’t.

Finance Officer Loehr said that $789,323 of this additional $1 million is in the operating budget for streets.  The $210,677 balance is in the capital budget.  Alderman Markland said that this shows expenditures.  With an addition of $1 million, the amount should be $4,700,000.  Finance Officer Loehr said that it is shown under transfers.  The $210,677 is still coming from the fund but it isn’t combined with expenditures in this report on the Operating budget. 

Alderman Markland said that it was his understanding that Ballwin is going to spend $14 million by the end of 2010 and staff was to recreate that budget for next year.  City Engineer Kramer said that this year, a $120,000 loader was purchased.  This will not have to be purchased again next year. 

Alderman Fleming asked does the projected budget contain the $789,323.  Finance Officer Loehr said it does. 

Alderman Boerner said that in prior years a comparison was provided.  A comparison between years is not included in this packet of information.  Finance Officer Loehr said that for each program the projected amount and the actual amount is provided. 

PUBLIC WORKS
Director of Public Works / City Engineer Kramer said that not all personnel vacancies are being filled, including retirees.  One employee has been on military leave for 2 years and is serving in Afghanistan.  His entire salary for 2010 is included in the 2010 budget.  None of his salary amount has been spent so far in 2010. 

City Engineer Kramer said there are two versions of the budget.  One is Ward based and the other is non-ward based.  The budget under consideration is ward based.  On the slab replacement program, it is being limited to a maintenance function for in-house personnel.  The crack sealing program is on an 8-year cycle.  He said that the salt usage is based on an average of previous years and has been reduced to a purchase of 2,000 tons.  Before going out to bid or placing an order with the co-op, which would be in May, we will have gone through the entire winter and know an actual amount that was used to base an amount for the coming winter. 

City Engineer Kramer said that this is the first year that St. Louis County has been used for mosquito control.  $13,000 was budgeted for 2010, but only half that amount was spent.  He said that St. Louis County does not spray on a weekly basis.  The city is divided into 4 zones and sprayed on an as-needed basis.  There are mosquito traps in the 4 zones.  This is how the need for spraying is determined.  St. Louis County also identifies standing water to kill the mosquitoes before they hatch. 

There will be no need for a dump truck to be purchased in 2011.  City Engineer Kramer said that a $120,000 loader was purchased this year with 3-year financing. 

City Engineer Kramer said that the proposed 2011 budget has the extra $1 million included based on ward distribution.  A comparison with non-ward based distribution is also included.  The Bobcat rental rate, which is $2,150 per month, would take three construction season rentals to equal the cost of purchasing a new unit.  A new Bobcat is $42,500.  A 10-year old Bobcat is being replaced.  After 3 years, money would be saved by buying rather than renting as it is needed.  If the Bobcat was rented for 10 years, the cost would be approximately $150,000.

Alderman Schmer said that in the 2010 numbers, we now expect to show a $384,000 projected revenues and transfers over expenditures, which means that we save $350,835 over what the budget was.  He said that a few meetings ago, it was thought that we would be between $200,000 - $400,000 under budget.  He said he recently received an e-mail from Finance Officer Loehr saying that we will be well over $1 million under budget in 2010.  He said that Mr. Kerlagon said at a previous meeting that this doesn’t mean that the budget should be lowered by $1 million.  City Administrator Kuntz said that he believes that the e-mail referred to 2009. 

Alderman Schmer said that this is roughly $650,000 that in about a month that has been lost.  We’ve sort of changed our tune, whether there would be $1 million saved.  He asked if anyone remembers this conversation?  He said he remembers that if we were going to be $1 million under budget, shouldn’t the budget be lowered for next year by $1 million.  He said that this now sounds like we are not $1 million under budget, but actually $384,000. 
Alderman Markland asked about the amount of usage of the Bobcat.  City Engineer Kramer said that even though it may only be used for a few hours per day, it has to be there and available to keep production going forward. 

Alderman Boerner asked if a comparison has been made between hiring a sub-contractor vs. the cost of our in-house crew for milling and patching  City Engineer Kramer said that he has not done this.  The milling and patching of streets is done in-house.  He said he has done a comparison on slab replacement.  Milling and patching has not been bid due to so many variables, such as width, thickness, depth, how much is to be done.  He said he is not aware of any other cities that have bid out this type of work. 

Alderman Markland asked about figuring the cost for slab replacement.  City Engineer Kramer said he included the personnel cost, equipment, and material.   City Administrator Kuntz said that some things can be done cheaper by sub-contractors and some have a lower price if done in-house. 

Alderman Markland asked if we are going to replicate what we did this year on street repair?  He asked if there is a production quantity?  It’s easy to meet the budget if we don’t do all of the work.  City Engineer Kramer said that the slab count is about 35% of what we did in-house this year. 

Alderman Markland said that the number we have as the $1 million worth of extra work we are going to do, the amount we did this year, and getting rid of all of the work orders, is the plan.  City Engineer Kramer said, yes, that is the plan and the intention for next year. 

Alderman Boerner said that in a city operation, the revenues are somewhat fixed.  There will always be an Administrator, Director of Public Works, etc.  If some of the administrative overhead is left out, this would be an appropriate thing to do compared to a private enterprise.  This is not competing with other cities like in a private enterprise. 

Alderman Schmer said that he continues to think about the $1 million that we were supposed to be under budget for this year, and not the $344,000.  He said that the Board knew that the true million that we voted to take out of reserves was supplemented by the million that wasn’t spent this year.  Now we spent $650,000 of the $1 million that we originally said we didn’t spend.  He said that he asked Finance Officer Loehr if we are going to be under budget, and she said yes, $200,000.  He asked if we are always under $200,000.  He said that Finance Officer Loehr said no, sometimes it’s $200,000 - $400,000.  He said he received a memo the next day that we will be $1 million under budget.  Two meetings later a vote was taken to take $1 million out of reserve.  He considered this good because we are $1 million under budget this year.  He said that the numbers seem to be interchangeable from meeting to meeting.  Mr. Kerlagon made the public comment that there are bills that are due from November and December that carry into January.  Alderman Schmer said that after the meeting, he spoke with Mr. Kerlagon and asked if he was talking about $1 million of carry over.  Mr. Kerlagon said no, it could be $100,000 or $200,000.  Alderman Schmer said that now, it’s $344,000.  He does not know where the $650,000 went in the last month that we were under budget.  The Board voted to take $1 million out of reserves.  He said he voted to do this because he thought the City was $1 million under budget.  Mayor Pogue said that he does not recall anytime during a meeting that it was discussed that we would be $1 million under budget for 2010.  Alderman Leahy said that he recalls that comment going back and forth at a 5:30 Budget Work Shop meeting.  Alderman Schmer asked for someone to help him understand this.  Alderman Terbrock said that it wasn’t $1 million.  It was $700,000. 

Alderman Schmer said that he sent City Administrator Kuntz an e-mail stating that we are $1 million under budget.  He said that City Administrator Kuntz sent a return e-mail with thoughts of his own.  Alderman Terbrock asked where did the number come from?  Alderman Schmer said that Finance Officer Loehr sent him an e-mail that we would be $1 million under budget.  Finance Officer Loehr said that the question was about the end of the year of 2009.  Alderman Schmer asked why would he ask about 2009 when we are working on the 2011 budget?  He said that he is not trying to make anyone a bad guy, but he just doesn’t get it.  Alderman Schmer asked why would Mr. Kerlagon comment on 2011’s budget if these numbers were from 2009?  Finance Officer Loehr said she believes he was talking about perceived carry over for 2010, and then the question was asked what was the carry over from 2009.  Alderman Schmer said that Finance Officer Loehr told him that the normal carry over was between $200,000 - $400,000.  Why didn’t she say at that time that last year was $1 million?  Finance Officer Loehr said that she had explained this to the Board before in detail where the million came from and why it was so high the one year.  She said that was this time last year when the 2010 budget was explained. 

Alderman Schmer said that this means that in 2009, we were $1 million under budget.  Finance Officer Loehr said there were some big projects that were not done and there was a grant project involved with the budget.  There were a lot of employee change over that year.  City Administrator Kuntz asked if Alderman Schmer would like history of this later.  Alderman Schmer said no; he would not be interested in it at all.  He said it doesn’t deserve his time to read it, and he’s sorry that he feels that way.  He asked a question and couldn’t get a straight answer.  Two meetings ago, he said that we were showing revenues projected down and Finance Officer Loehr said yes, and City Administrator Kuntz said no.  Then he proceeded with the $200,000 - $400,000, and now it’s not correct.  Alderman Schmer said “I’m beside myself.  I thought an office like this would make you feel good about yourself, not feel like you’re always the bad guy for asking a question.” 

Mayor Pogue said that at the September Work Shop, City Engineer Kramer gave a ward breakdown associated with appendix A.  Ward 4 should have $273,000.  In the new pack, a new table 3 contains all of the ward breakdowns with the $1 million added.  Ward 4 now is only getting $248,000.  He is concerned that the $1 million is saying that they are going to lose an additional $20,000 in their street budget. 

City Engineer Kramer said that in the overview in appendix C, the total is $482,358.  With the non-ward based allocation of the $1 million, Ward 4 would have $248,127.  It is correct that it’s about $32,000 less with a ward based distribution of the $1 million.  It is his understanding that he was to present a proposal that would put the million dollars where he thought it would be most appropriate.  Ward 3 has the most miles of streets with the lower scores, there is an increase in expenditures there.  Ward 3 and Ward 2 would get more with the non-ward based approach, Ward 1 would see a modest decrease, and Ward 4 would have a major decrease.  He said that Ward 4 has newer streets and mostly concrete streets.  Ward 4 would have a large decrease using a non-ward based approach to the extra $1 million. 

City Engineer Kramer said that the non-ward based approach will show that Ward 1 which has 21% of the streets and would receive about 20% of the total; Ward 2 which has about 27% and will receive 27%; Ward 3 which has 31% of the street and will receive 42% of the street money; and Ward 4 which has 21% of the streets and will receive 11% of the money from the total.

Alderman Boerner asked if the results of a recent street study can be provided.  City Engineer Kramer said that this study was done a couple of weeks ago and a new report will be provided.  Alderman Boerner asked if the Board can defer the final decision on the $1 million until the new analysis comes in.  It can be approved but the decision deferred on how it is to be allocated.  Mayor Pogue and City Administrator Kuntz agreed.  Alderman Fleming said that City Attorney Jones previously said that the capital budget portion had to be itemized. 

Alderman Terbrock asked what determines what is capital or operating?  City Engineer Kramer said that years ago when the street accounting process was initiated, it was determined that a capital street is a project where the street is being improved over its original design.  For a concrete street, overlaying, adds thickness and material, makes it 6 inches of concrete, 2 inches of asphalt, so an improvement has been made over the original design.  Mill and re-pave is therefore capital.  

Alderman Terbrock asked about the pressure washer for $5,000.  City Engineer Kramer said it is on wheels and is used for other purposes.  It is a large unit.  Alderman Terbrock said that the equipment is rusting.  He asked why are the skid loaders rusting.  City Engineer Kramer said that part of the problem is that they sit out in the weather.  Bare metal will rust once it gets scratched.  The nature of the work done makes avoiding scratches virtually impossible. 

Alderman Terbrock said that he does not like the non-ward based approach at all.  It would be extremely difficult for him to tell the people he represents that less money will be used for the Ward 1 streets. 

Mayor Pogue asked when the road repair list was developed for the additional $1 million, how were the streets selected that was different from what was in the September memo?  City Engineer Kramer said that the 2008 scores were evaluated.  The streets were counted for what they think will be needed for slab replacement, both the mill and repave sheets and the streets that are just slabs.  This information was combined and totaled to $1 million.  The score is considered, with the slab counts and the cost, and totaled up to $1 million.  The better streets cannot be ignored so that they do not deteriorate and become bad streets.

Mayor Pogue said that it was his understanding that the $1 million would be used to focus on some of the streets that would benefit the entire city, such as Dutch Mill, the arterial type streets.  He said that a street that is an entrance to a subdivision that serves only 4 houses does not benefit the entire city, such as Redstart. 

Mayor Pogue said that for the Ward 4 Aldermen, it would be difficult to tell the constituents that with a typical formula, another $240,000 would have been spent on the Ward 4 streets, but with this formula, it was not.  He said that it is very evident that this formula will not work.

Alderman Terbrock said when the percentage of streets is divided, is this done every year?  City Engineer Kramer said that the percentage of streets in the ward has been a carry over and won’t change much.  Alderman Terbrock said he strongly disagrees.  Most of the new roadway development has been south of Manchester Road for the past 5 years. 

ADMINISTRATION
Assistant City Administrator Aiken gave a review of the Administration budget.  He said that the 2011 budget is essentially identical to 2010.  There are some minor adjustments.  The budget for 2011 at $2,709,000 is roughly $80,000 lower than the budget was, not the projected expenditures, for 2010.  Most of this can be attributed to the fact that there is a 15% projected energy savings due to the improvements that are made to the Government Center for heating and cooling the building.  There is an anticipated decrease in expenditures for litigation and less improvements to the Government Center. 

The Planning & Zoning program has a revenue element.  It is projected to be down about $15,000 from this year.  Petition fee revenue is set by vote.  The inspection program is the largest program in the Administration department.  There are 5 vehicles in this program and vehicle maintenance is expected to increase as the fleet ages.  The inspections have the largest revenue potential which comes from inspection and permit fees.  The inspection fees are set based on the cost of administering the program.  The larger permit fees are based on the cost of construction. 

The sewer lateral program generates about $250,000 per year in revenue to the city.  It was suggested that the maximum payout be decreased from $3,500 to $3,000.  Roughly 50% of the people utilizing the program paid less than $3,000; about 20% of the people paid between $3,000 and $3,500.  If it was lowered to $3,000, they would have paid possibly $500 more; and 30% were over the $3,500 and would have paid the full $500 more. 

Community Services is mostly communications like the quarterly newsletter that is published in the “West News Magazine” and street lights.  AmerenUE has found an opportunity to increase their fee, which may increase our bill by $5,000. 

Support services is another large program.  It includes utilities, office supplies, facility maintenance, construction, etc.  This expense is down $143,000 from last year.  He said that $51,000 is included for the solar panels and energy efficient lighting, which is a carry over from this year in the energy grant.  The 15% reduction in utility expenditures shows up in this program. 

Information services includes computers, telephones, security system.  This program is up about $36,000 and mostly related to the purchase of approximately one hundred 2010 Microsoft licenses to bring the whole system up to the new standard. 

The Administration operating budget is mostly the same and any variation is directly related to one-time expenditures that occur from year to year.  In the next couple of years, new financial software will be necessary.  In the future, hand-held computers for the inspectors can be acquired to allow entering the inspection information into the computer system from the field, thereby eliminating paper forms and redundant data recording. 

Alderman Finley asked about the number of inspectors.  Assistant City Administrator Aiken said that there are 4 full-time inspectors, one supervisor, and 2 full-time clerical personnel assigned to that department.  A couple of years ago, there was a full-time plan reviewer, but there wasn’t enough work to justify keeping him on staff.  Those responsibilities were given to one of the senior inspectors. 

Assistant City Administrator Aiken said that the Fire District inspections are also scheduled and paid for through the Government Center.  The Fire District does their own inspections, but this is a one stop convenience for the residents.  This program is working very well.

Mayor Pogue said that he would like to see an analysis that if the $3,000 limit was in effect 5 years ago, where would we stand with the backlog.  He said the Board should consider dropping the limit down so that more residents can be helped.

Adjourn:  A motion was made by Alderman Fleming and seconded by Alderman Schmer to close the budget work shop session.  The meeting adjourned at 7:10 p.m.

Tim Pogue, Mayor

ATTEST:
Robert Kuntz, City Administrator 

MC

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MINUTES OF THE BOARD OF ALDERMEN MEETING
CITY OF BALLWIN – 300 PARK DRIVE
October 25, 2010

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

PRESENT                                                                   ABSENT
MAYOR TIM POGUE                                      ALDERMAN FRANK SCHMER
ALDERMAN JIMMY TERBROCK 
ALDERMAN MICHAEL FINLEY 
ALDERMAN RON MARKLAND 
ALDERMAN FRANK FLEMING 
ALDERMAN JIM LEAHY 
ALDERMAN RICHARD BOERNER 
ALDERMAN KEN MELLOW 
CITY ADMINISTRATOR ROBERT KUNTZ 
CITY ATTORNEY ROBERT E. JONES 

The Pledge of Allegiance was given.

MINUTES

The Minutes of the October 11, 2010 Board of Aldermen meeting were submitted for approval.  Alderman Leahy amended Page 8, paragraph 2, to state that he voted Aye and Alderman Boerner voted Nay.  A motion was made by Alderman Leahy and seconded by Alderman Finley to approve the Minutes as amended.  A voice vote was taken with a unanimous affirmative result and the motion passed.

PRESENTATION
None.

PENDING ISSUES
None.

CITIZEN COMMENTS
None.

PUBLIC HEARINGS
None.

NEW BUSINESS

LEGISLATION

BILL # 3646 - AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE PROVISIONS GOVERNING THE PLATTING OF CERTAIN LOTS WITHIN THE SUBDIVISION ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF BALLWIN.

A motion was made by Alderman Fleming and seconded by Alderman Terbrock for a first reading of Bill No. 3646.   A voice vote was taken with a unanimous affirmative result and the motion passed.  Bill No. 3646 was read for the first time.

Alderman Terbrock asked about the purpose of Bill 3646.  Assistant City Administrator Aiken said that this was an outgrowth of a situation at a location where there was an existing subdivision that was platted many years ago.  There was a house in that subdivision with the back yard adjacent to a relatively narrow and deep large parcel that had a single house on it.  The rear yard was as small as it could be under the zoning regulations in place.  When the adjoining property was subsequently re-subdivided, the new lot that was platted next to this rear yard became a side yard.  Side yards are typically smaller than rear yards and the house was a two-story building.  The people with the small back yard felt like the house was practically in their yard and very confining.  There were no platting violations, but this situation can be prevented.  This ordinance addresses this situation by requiring a new platted subdivision to provide a minimum of 15 feet for the side yard adjacent to the older platted rear yard, regardless of what dimension may be allowed by the zoning on the property. 

A motion was made by Alderman Terbrock and seconded by Alderman Fleming for a second reading of Bill No. 3646.  A voice vote was taken with a unanimous affirmative result and the motion passed.  Bill No. 3646 was read for the second time.

A roll call was taken for passage and approval of Bill No. 3646 with the following results: 
Ayes – Terbrock, Fleming, Boerner, Markland, Leahy, Mellow, Finley.    Nays – None.  Bill No. 3646 was approved and became Ordinance No. 10-35.

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. Emergency Warning Sirens

Alderman Finley asked how many sirens will be changed.  Police Chief Schicker said that 5 sirens are in Ballwin.  The five sirens will be replaced with two sirens. 

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

MAYOR’S REPORT
Board of Adjustment:  Mayor Pogue said that one alternate position still needs to be filled on the Board of Adjustment.

CITY ADMINISTRATOR’S REPORT

Audit:  City Administrator Kuntz said this is regarding the current contract with the independent auditors, which expires at the end of 2010.  Formal proposals were requested.  He and Finance Officer Loehr interviewed the two firms that have the most relevant experience and references.  Kerber, Eck & Braeckel is the recommended firm for 3 years with a 2-year renewal option, since they have more extensive municipal experience, even though they are not the lowest bidder.  He said our current firm was the highest bidder. 

Alderman Markland asked how the cost was determined.  Finance Officer Loehr said that the single audit is required by the Government when $500,000 of federal money is spent in one year.  She said the Kehrs Mill Road project will receive this audit in 2012.  The hourly additional rate is for anything extra that may be needed.  Alderman Markland said that it appears that Purk & Associates is approximately $2,500 less.  City Administrator Kuntz said that Purk & Associates was the lowest, but they had no municipal experience.  Alderman Markland said that they worked with Northeast Ambulance & Fire Protection District, which is good experience.  City Administrator Kuntz said that, unfortunately, Northeast Ambulance did not reply to the request for a reference.  Finance Officer Loehr said that Purk & Associates was formed in June, 2009.  Alderman Markland said that his policy is that if there is a qualified bidder, and in this case is 15% - 20% lower, why not choose this bidder, unless there is something not disclosed in their offer. 

Alderman Boerner said that he has had experience with Kerber, Eck & Braeckel and was impressed with their service.  He said they have municipal experience, a large firm, and are quoting a reasonable price.  He said he agrees with the staff recommendation.  Alderman Fleming agreed.

A motion was made by Alderman Boerner and seconded by Alderman Fleming to accept the bid from Kerber, Eck & Braeckel for a 3-year contract.  A voice vote was taken with a unanimous affirmative result and the motion was approved.

Holloway Road Culvert:  City Administrator Kuntz said that City Engineer Kramer was contacted by a firm that offers a type of technology that if applied, would be an alternative to closing the road and taking out the current drainage structure and replacing it with a new structure.  He said this is a Fibrwrap construction.  Warranties and guarantees would have to be provided.  He said that this has not been recommended for funding in 2011.  More information can be obtained if this is a concept that the Board would like to consider.  A budget re-appropriation would be required. 

Alderman Markland said that since weather and temperature is a factor in this project, when would this work be performed.  City Administrator Kuntz said that the summer is the best time.  Proposals would be solicited to allow for warm weather construction.

Alderman Fleming asked about the cost to replace the culvert.  City Engineer Kramer said that the standard approach, instead of using the fiber reinforced grid, would be to fill the holes with granular material, level it off, and install a 4-inch concrete slab on top of the existing culvert floor.  Alderman Fleming said that as long as more data can be obtained stating that this technology is reliable, he would be interested in considering it.  Mayor Pogue said that it was estimated at a cost of $130,000 for the project.

Alderman Terbrock said that Fibrwrap Construction, LP is the first company in the world to use carbon fiber to do bridge reinforcement.  It is stronger than steel and concrete.  He said that lots of money would be saved and its use could avoid an emergency situation.  This company does carbon fiber repair on major structures and is the world leader in this type of construction project. 

Mayor Pogue asked the Board if staff should continue researching this as an option and include money in the budget.  City Administrator Kuntz said that this could be done from contingency accounts.  If not acceptable, the funds could be applied to street work, or not be spent at all.  Alderman Boerner said that the budget could be adjusted later if this appears to be beneficial.  The Board agreed for staff to pursue this option.

HVAC:  City Administrator Kuntz said that this is regarding the energy grant that Ballwin has received for the replacement of seven HVAC units at the Ballwin Banquet Center, Government Center, and Police Station.  It is estimated that these more energy efficient units would be installed prior to the end of 2010, and will show a significant impact on the utility costs.  He said that this is a Federal grant through the State that has a lot of reporting requirements.  The bid that is awarded must provide equipment that was made and manufactured in the United States and meets all their specifications and bid requirements.  He said that a non-responsive proposal was received from a Kansas City based firm.  Based on the recommendations from the consultant, as well as the staff is that the contract be awarded to Wiegmann Associates with the lowest responsive bid of $99,870. 

Mayor Pogue asked why didn’t we bid out the three locations separately.  It appears that the three buildings were bid as a package.  Mr. Charles Welegala, of Heartland Alternative Energy, the project manager and grant administrator for the grant Ballwin has received from the State of Missouri, said that the money would not have been available from the grant if the buildings were bid separately.

A motion was made by Alderman Markland and seconded by Alderman Fleming to accept the lowest bid from Wiegmann Associates.  A voice vote was taken with a unanimous affirmative result and the motion passed.

Policy Manual:  City Administrator Kuntz said that if Alderman Boerner’s proposal for Section 5 is acceptable, direction is requested. 

Alderman Markland asked what is the State law regarding setting the agenda.  City Attorney Jones said that the State law does not have time restrictions to set an agenda for a meeting.  The current Board policy does not state that 3 aldermen and 6 days in advance are required to place something on a meeting agenda.  Alderman Boerner said that it leaves it totally up to the City Administrator or Mayor to include something on the agenda or not, and that is what is proposed to be changed. 

Mayor Pogue said that it may not be necessary to change the policy because any topic can be brought up under Aldermanic Comments during the meeting. 

Alderman Boerner said that on one occasion, the President of the Board requested something be put on the agenda, but it was not included until 5 aldermen requested the item be included on the agenda.  He said he would like to see this more formal. 

A motion was made by Alderman Boerner to change Section 5 to the paragraphs he submitted.

Alderman Terbrock said that putting something on the agenda should not be restricted to 6 days in advance.  City Attorney Jones said that the 6 days in advance language is in the current policy, but the 3 aldermen language is not.  The State Statute is silent regarding choosing the topics.  City Administrator Kuntz said that if an alderman said they wanted to something on the agenda for discussion, it would be added under Aldermanic Comments.  It would not be acceptable for an alderman to write an ordinance and then distribute it at the meeting. 

Alderman Finley asked about the status of Section 5 in general.  City Administrator Kuntz said that the recommendation was to delete Section 5 in its entirety and to leave it under the Code of Ordinances instead of in the Policy Manual.  The purpose of the Policy Manual is to make sure there aren’t things that the Board is doing that were not accessible to the public. 

Alderman Fleming said that if an item is under Aldermanic Comments, the public doesn’t know the details of the matter, and the Board may not be prepared for discussion.  If an item is on the agenda, more information will be provided for everyone to be prepared for discussion. 

Alderman Fleming suggested amending the last sentence “the Mayor, in his/her capacity as presiding officer over the Board Meeting, may determine if the comments of any alderman are appropriate, timely, or should be postponed until the next meeting as an agenda item.” to:  “The Mayor can determine if the comment should be postponed and put on the next meeting as an agenda item.”  Alderman Boerner said that this would be a good statement to include and he accepted Alderman Fleming’s amendment.

Alderman Boerner said that if something needs to be voted on, it should be an agenda item so that everyone can properly evaluate the details. 

Alderman Fleming said that the purpose is also so that the Sunshine Law is not violated.  He does not see anything wrong with this being in the Policy Manual. 

Mayor Pogue said that when something is discussed under Aldermanic Comments and the Board wants to discuss the matter more extensively, it progresses by a majority vote to the agenda at the next meeting.  He said that nothing has been discussed under Aldermanic Comments where a drastic decision was made at that meeting. 

Alderman Markland said that if two aldermen think something should be on the agenda, then it should be put on the agenda so that the public can read and participate.  Mayor Pogue said that if something is brought up under Aldermanic Comments, it will progress naturally to the agenda at the next meeting.  Alderman Markland disagrees with denying a request for an agenda item and then must discuss it under Aldermanic Comments.  He said that this is not transparent. 

Alderman Terbrock said that at this time, if an Alderman wants an item added to the agenda, it will be added.  Alderman Markland said that his request for an agenda item was denied one time. 

Alderman Finley said that he agrees with Alderman Fleming that a good policy should be in place for now and future use. 

Alderman Leahy said that he is ambivalent to this, however, he doesn’t understand why a policy should be put in place for the future.  Let the Board at that time put their own policies in place.  If everything is working fine as it is, why change it? 

A motion was made by Alderman Fleming and seconded by Alderman Mellow to approve as amended, which is to delete all existing Section 5 and replace with a new Section 5. 
Aye:  Finley, Markland, Fleming, Boerner, Mellow   Nay:  Aldermen Leahy and Terbrock  The motion failed by a vote of 5-2., since a super majority vote of the Board did not occur. 

Budget Workshop:  City Administrator Kuntz said that the next Budget Workshop will include presentations for the Parks & Recreation Department and Police Department.  That will allow for a follow up session to look again at the capital plan and the operating plan because that would take the Board through November 8 meeting.  On November 22, there would be a motion to draft legislation for the 2011 budgets and also to submit the capital improvement plan to the Planning & Zoning Commission.  On November 22, a decision could be made regarding the allocation from the street assessment. 

CITY ATTORNEY’S REPORT

Sewer Lateral Case, Adams vs. Vergonza:  City Attorney Jones said that the plaintiffs dismissed the actions which were still pending in the trial court, that made their appeal timely and final.  He expects a brief within the next 60 days.  Curtis, Heinz, Garrett & O’Keefe represents Bellefontaine Neighbors, Brentwood, Clayton, Creve Coeur, Ferguson, Normandy, St. Ann, Des Peres, and Hazelwood.  Ballwin would be the 10th city to be represented by this firm, and the fees would be shared in accordance with the potential liability and a pro rata amount that it bears to the whole amount of damages that the plaintiffs received.  Ballwin is the 5th largest potential defendant in terms of liability in that case.  Clayton mostly has more potential liability than Ballwin.  He said that if a combined brief is prepared for ten cities, it will save attorney’s fees for the City of Ballwin.  He will still take part in the drafting and review of the brief, would not be the only attorney doing this.  His time, as well as the others involved in the project will be split between the ten cities, if this Board is comfortable with that.  The Board agreed.

STAFF REPORTS
None.

ALDERMANIC COMMENTS

Concert:  Alderman Terbrock said the final Concert in the Park is scheduled for October 27 at 6:00 p.m. in New Ballwin Park.

Budgeting:  Alderman Markland recommended that zero based budgeting be considered for the 2012 budget plan. 

Finances:  Alderman Boerner said that Ballwin is almost $400,000 better this year from a cash flow standpoint than last year at this time. 

Crack Sealing:  Alderman Terbrock said that the crack sealing on Bush Drive looks very good. 

Flashing Billboards:  Alderman Finley asked when can legislation be expected.  Assistant City Administrator Aiken said that there has been a lot done on this issue in Minnesota and other states.  He has obtained some model ordinances for review at the next meeting.

Planning & Zoning Commission Meeting:  Mayor Pogue said that the November 1 meeting will include the Ferris Park Cell Tower and the redevelopment of Rothman’s property with U-Gas. 

Adjourn:  A motion was made by Alderman Fleming and seconded by Alderman Terbrock to adjourn.  The motion passed unanimously and the meeting was adjourned at 8:21 p.m.

TIM POGUE, MAYOR

ATTEST:
ROBERT A. KUNTZ, CITY ADMINISTRATOR

MC