Pittsburg City Commission Meeting Recap – Dec. 10, 2019

PITTSBURG, KS – The following actions were taken at the Pittsburg City Commission meeting held on December 10, 2019:

Reorganization of the Board of Commissioners:

• Newly-elected commissioners Cheryl Brooks and Larry Fields, and re-elected commissioner Chuck Munsell were sworn in and seated by the city clerk.
• Dawn McNay was elected by the governing body to serve as mayor in 2020 and sworn in by the city clerk.
• A ceremonial gavel was presented by Mayor McNay to outgoing Mayor Patrick O’Bryan.
• Chuck Munsell was elected to President of the Board of Commissioners by the governing body, and was sworn in and seated by the city clerk.

Public input:

• Vonnie Corsini thanked the City for supporting heritage tourism and encouraged the commissioners to continue doing so.
• Sarah Chenoweth voiced concern about city commissioners appointing spouses to serve on citizen advisory boards.
• Caleb Farabi with Pepsi Cola Bottling Co. brought up issues regarding the City’s vendor contract with Pepsi.
• James Bean addressed the commissioners regarding the bidding process for the City’s towing contract.

Commissioners approved the following items under the Consent Agenda:

• The November 26, 2019 City Commission Meeting minutes.
• Ordinance No. G-1307, annexing land into the limits and boundaries of the City of Pittsburg, Kansas, pursuant to K.S.A. 12-520c, as amended.
• Staff recommendation to designate BMO Harris Bank, Community National Bank, Commerce Bank, Equity Bank, GNBank, Labette Bank, and Landmark Bank as official City depositories.
• Staff recommendation to designate The Morning Sun as the official City newspaper.
• Applications submitted by Dillon’s, Snak Atak, Main Street Axe, the Knights of Columbus, the Pitt Stop, Horton’s Pizza Plus, and Aldi to sell Cereal Malt Beverages for the year 2020.
• The Economic Development Advisory Committee’s recommendation to forgive $3,000 of the Southeast Kansas Recycling Center’s 2019 loan payment, as they have fully complied with the City’s requirement for loan forgiveness.
• Staff request to declare certain vehicles as surplus and to donate them to the USD #250 Auto Tech Program.
• Staff recommendation to award the bid for Sanitary / Storm Sewer Line Deep Repairs for a period of January 1 – December 31, 2020 to Jim Radell Construction Co.
• Staff request to appoint Matthew DeMoss to fill an unexpired term as the Farmers’ Market vendor representative on the Farmers’ Market Advisory Board.
• Staff request to appoint Debra L. Anthony to fill an unexpired term as a member of the Active Transportation Advisory Board.
• Staff request to appoint Master Electrician Brent Linder to the Building Code Board of Appeals/Building Trade Review Board.
• Approval of staff request to appoint Mike Wilber and Derek Heikes to the Planning Commission/Board of Zoning Appeals.
• Appropriation Ordinance for the period ending December 10, 2019.

Consent Agenda (items i., j., k., l.):

• Commissioner Cheryl Brooks requested four items be pulled from the consent agenda for further discussion. Brooks asked Public Utilities Director Matt Bacon to discuss the bid process for (i.) the Unleaded Gasoline and Diesel Fuel purchase, (j.) the chemicals for use at the Water Treatment Plant, and (k.) the chemicals for use at the Wastewater Treatment Plant. After further discussion, the commissioners approved staff recommendation for these bids.
• Parks & Recreation Director Kim Vogel addressed the commissioners regarding the Parks & Recreation Department bulk t-shirt bid (l.), explaining that the city uses a local preference rule and local bids must fall within three percent. After some discussion, the commissioners voted to approve staff recommendation to award the t-shirt bid to Express Press, of Springfield, MO.

Special presentation:

• Cox Internship Report – James Cox provided a report on his experience as an intern with the City of Pittsburg.

The following actions were taken under the Commission Agenda:

• Fleske Cost Sharing Request – The Commission approved the recommendation of the Economic Development Advisory Committee (EDAC) to allocate up to (and not exceeding) $9,360 to Mr. John Fleske, the owner of the property located at 710 North Broadway, to reinforce the northern wall of his property that will be exposed following the demolition of the Land Bank property located at 716 North Broadway.
• Board Appointments – The following applicants were appointed by the City Commission serve on the city’s advisory boards:
  • Building Code Board of Appeals/Building Trades Review Board: Bill Warlop and Jeff Brooks
  • Downtown Advisory Board: Chris Goddard, Sydney Anselmi, Denise Grasso, Denise Loy
  • Economic Development Advisory Board: Rick Baden, John Clark, Rebecca Light
  • Farmers’ Market Advisory Board: Chuckie Hessong, Alicia Shoemaker, Stephanie Watts, Adaven Scronce
  • Parks & Recreation Advisory Board: Brad Hanson, Elizabeth Hays
• ORDINANCE NO. S-1066 – City of Pittsburg Human Resources Director Michelle Ducre presented Ordinance No. S-1066, amending Ordinance No. S-1058, fixing the salary and compensation of the officers and employees of the City of Pittsburg. The Commission voted to approve the ordinance by a vote of 3 to 2, with Brooks and Munsell opposed.
• Date for second City Commission meeting in December – Commissioners voted to cancel the meeting scheduled for Tuesday, December 24.

The following topics were discussed under Non-Agenda:

• During non-agenda, commissioners discussed holding a future study session on January 25. Commissioners also answered questions and addressed concerns brought up under public input.

EXECUTIVE SESSION:

• An executive session was held for 60 minutes to discuss the 2019 evaluation and 2020 employment terms for the City Manager. No action was taken during executive session.

City Commission Meetings:

The Pittsburg City Commission meets on the second and fourth Tuesday of each month at 5:30 pm, inside the Beard-Shanks Law Enforcement Center courtroom. Members of the public are encouraged to attend.

To learn more about the Pittsburg city government, city commissioners, or to view meeting agendas and minutes visit pittks.org/city-government/city-commission.

City commission meetings are broadcast live every second and fourth Tuesday on the City’s local government access channel (Cox channel 6) and on YouTube. To subscribe to the City’s YouTube channel, go to www.pittks.org/youtube.

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The mission of the City of Pittsburg is to provide exceptional services, facilities and activities with integrity, professionalism, excellent customer service and a commitment to economic vitality.