Pittsburg City Commission Meeting Recap – Dec. 13

PITTSBURG, KS – The following actions were taken at the Pittsburg City Commission meeting held on Tuesday, December 13, 2022:

PUBLIC INPUT:

• Pete Mayo from Ascension Via Christi shared a prayer of invocation.
• Bruce Mullen and Kyle Mullen shared that trucks driving through the alley on the east side of 5th Street Bar & Grill have damaged their exhaust fan, resulting in the closure of their kitchen. They asked if the city would consider a barricade to prevent trucks from entering the alley.
• Commissioner Munsell made several comments about a local business owner.

REORGANIZATION OF THE BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS:

• Ron Seglie was elected Mayor for the year 2023 by members of the Governing Body, and sworn in. A ceremonial gavel was presented to outgoing Mayor Cheryl Brooks. Stu Hite was elected President of the Board for 2023 and sworn in.

THE FOLLLOWING ITEMS WERE APPROVED UNDER THE CONSENT AGENDA:

• The November 22, 2022, City Commission Meeting minutes.
• Designating The Morning Sun as the official City newspaper.
• Designating BMO Harris Bank, Community National Bank, Commerce Bank, Equity Bank, GNBank, Labette Bank, and Landmark Bank as official City depositories.
• The appointment of Denise Fitzpatrick and James Triplett to third two-year terms, to appoint Andrew Ouellette and Nancy Scott to second two-year terms, and to appoint Tucker Jessip to a first two-year term as members of the Sustainability Advisory Committee.
• The appointment of Matthew Kassawara to a second three-year term as a member of the Airport Advisory Board.
• The appointment of Yana Feldman, Robert Poole, and Darcie Shultz to first four-year terms as members of the Memorial Auditorium Advisory Board.
• The appointment of Derek Heikes to a second three-year term as member of the Planning Commission/Board of Zoning Appeals.
• The appointment of Rick Baden, John Clark, and Rebecca Light to second three-year terms as members of the Economic Development Advisory Committee.
• Awarding the bid for Sanitary/Storm Sewer Line Deep Repairs for the period of January 1 through December 31, 2023.
• Awarding the bid for Directional Drilling of Water Line Pipe for the period of January 1st through December 31st, 2023.
• Awarding the bid for the purchase of AB3 Limestone Rock and 3/4 Clean Rock for a period of January 1st through December 31st, 2023.
• Awarding the bid for the purchase of Unleaded Gasoline and Diesel Fuel for the period of January 1st through December 31st, 2023.
• Awarding the bid for the City of Pittsburg facilities sanitation service to Short’s Trash Service, of Frontenac, Kansas, based on their low bid in the amount of $1,384.00 per month for the contract period beginning January 1, 2023, and ending December 31, 2023.
• Awarding the bid for as-needed sanitation dumpster service to Mid-American Sanitation, of Frontenac, Kansas, based on their low bid in the amount of $110.00 plus $46 per ton, per pull for a 30 or 40-yard dumpster for the contract period beginning January 1, 2023, and ending December 31, 2023.
• Awarding the bid for the purchase of Ready Mix Cement/Flowable fill for a period of January1st through December 31st 2023.
• Applications submitted by Walgreen Co. dba Walgreens #09049 (1911 North Broadway), The Meat Shed, LLC dba The Meat Shed – for consumption on the premises (2401 South Rouse), The Meat Shed, LLC dba The Meat Shed – for sale in the original unopened container (2401 South Rouse), Main Street Axe Company, LLC (216 South Broadway), Horton’s Pizza Plus, Inc. dba Horton’s Pizza (1601 East 4th Street), Commodore Barry Corporation dba Knights of Columbus (407 East 11th Street), Aldi, Inc. (Kansas) dba Aldi #89 (3109 North Broadway), Dillon Stores, Div. of Dillon Companies, LLC dba Dillons #108 (2600 North Broadway), DG Retail dba Dollar General Store #23865 (1026 East 4th Street), K.S. 4 dba Snak Atak (1101 East 4th Street), Pete’s of Erie, Inc. dba Pete’s #13 (4002 North Broadway), Pete’s of Erie, Inc. dba Pete’s #07 (1307 South Broadway), and Pete’s of Erie, Inc. dba Pete’s #21 (1711 North Broadway) to sell Cereal Malt Beverages for the year 2023.
• The Appropriation Ordinance for the period ending December 13, 2022, subject to the release of HUD expenditures when funds are received.

THE FOLLOWING ITEM WAS REMOVED FROM THE CONSENT AGENDA:

• Commissioners voted to approve staff recommendation to appoint Brent Linder (Licensed Master Electrician) and Bill Warlop (lay member) to third three-year terms and to appoint Jeff Brooks (Licensed Master Plumber) to a second three-year term as members of the Building Code Board of Appeals/Building Trades Review Board effective January 1, 2023, and concluding December 31, 2025. Commissioner Brooks recused herself from the vote.

PUBLIC HEARING:

• 2022 BUDGET AMENDMENT – The City advertised for a Public Hearing to be held on Tuesday, December 13, 2022, at 5:30 p.m. in the City Commission Room, located in the Law Enforcement Center, located at 201 North Pine, to hear and answer objections of taxpayers relating to the proposed amended use of 2022 funds in the 2022 budget. Deputy City Manager Jay Byers explained that the special sales tax fund set aside for parks and recreation received more revenue in 2022 than originally projected, requiring the city to amend the 2023 budget to reflect the increase. The additional funds will be allocated to the Four Oaks Golf Course. No members of the public spoke under the public hearing. Commissioners voted to approve the budget amendment.

THE FOLLOWING ITEMS WERE CONSIDERED UNDER THE MAIN AGENDA:

• APPOINTMENTS – DOWNTOWN ADVISORY BOARD – Commissioners voted to appoint Skip Urich, Ben Fowler, and Ashley Ricks to first two-year terms as members of the Downtown Advisory Board.
• APPOINTMENT – PLANNING COMMISSION/BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS – Commissioners voted to appoint Dr. Steve Scott to a first term as member of the Planning Commission/Board of Zoning Appeals. Cheryl Brooks recused herself from the vote.
• VARIANCE – ALLISON – 1803 NORTH FREE KING HWY – Commissioners approved the recommendation of the Planning Commission/Board of Zoning Appeals to approve a variance request submitted by Janice Allison to allow a garage to be constructed at 1803 North Free King Hwy.
• VARIANCE – BARNES – 1004 VILLAGE DRIVE – Commissioners voted to approve the recommendation of the Planning Commission/Board of Zoning Appeals to approve a variance request submitted by David Barnes to allow a garage to be constructed at 1004 Village Drive.
• VACATION REQUEST – FERGUSON – The Commission approved the recommendation of the Planning Commission/Board of Zoning Appeals to approve the request submitted by Glenn Ferguson for the vacation of the unopened Linden Street right-of-way. The owner plans to build storage units on the property.
• ZONING CHANGE – FERGUSON – Commissioners approved the recommendation of the Planning Commission/Board of Zoning Appeals to approve the request submitted by Glenn Ferguson to change the zoning of 00000 Linden from RP-4: Planned Apartment House, to CP-2: Planned General Commercial.
• DVLP REDEVELOPMENT PROJECTS – Commissioners considered the recommendation of the Economic Development Advisory Committee to provide up to $480,000 (or 10% of the total project value, whichever is less) to DVLP, to be distributed to Smithsonian, LLC, Glick, LLC, and Town Talk, LLC, to assist with the redevelopment projects located at 113 North Broadway, 117 North Broadway, and 902 North Broadway, with up to one half of the City’s funds to be dispersed in 2023 and the second half dispersed in 2024. Commissioners voted 4-1 to approve the request, with Commissioner Munsell opposed.
• FREIGHTLINER BUCKET TRUCK PURCHASE – Consider staff recommendation to purchase a 2015 Freightliner M2106 6×6 Versalift VST-95001 Bucket Truck to be used by the City’s Parks and Recreation Department.

EXECUTIVE SESSION:

• Commissioners went into Executive Session to discuss personnel matters of nonelected personnel pursuant to K.S.A. 75-4319(b)(1), to discuss the City Manager’s 2022 evaluation. Following a 30-minute session, commissioners voted again to go back into executive session for a period of fifteen minutes. No votes were cast and no actions were taken during these executive sessions.

EMPLOYMENT AGREEMENT

• Commissioners voted 4-1 to approve the terms of the City Manager’s employment agreement for calendar year 2023, including a 3.5 percent salary increase to reflect a merit increase and market adjustment. Commissioner Munsell opposed.

THE MAYOR’S MOMENT:

• Mayor Seglie introduced “The Mayor’s Moment” as an addition to the city commission meeting proceedings to discuss important city initiatives. During the mayor’s moment, Seglie asked fellow commissioners and community members to support a city-wide clean-up effort. More details to come in January.

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