Pittsburg City Commission meeting recap – Dec. 15, 2020

PITTSBURG, KS – The following actions were taken during the Pittsburg City Commission meeting held on Dec. 15, 2020:

Proclamations:

• Nancy Evans Day – Mayor Dawn McNay proclaimed Tuesday, December 15 Nancy Evans Day in Pittsburg in recognition of her retirement from the Community Health Center of Southeast Kansas after 17 years. Evans was CHCSEK’s very first employee.

Reorganization of the Board of Commissioners:

• Commissioner Chuck Munsell was elected to serve as Mayor and was sworn in by the City Clerk.
• A ceremonial gavel was presented to outgoing Mayor Dawn McNay.
• Commissioner Cheryl Brooks was elected to serve as President of the Board and was sworn in by the City Clerk.

Commissioners approved the following items under the consent agenda:

• The November 24, 2020 City Commission Meeting minutes.
• Designating BMO Harris Bank, Community National Bank, Commerce Bank, Equity Bank, GNBank, Labette Bank, and Landmark Bank as official City depositories.
• Designating The Morning Sun as the official City newspaper.
• The 2021 dues to the League of Kansas Municipalities in the amount of $9,045.07.
• Staff request to waive the City purchasing policy requirement for formal sealed bids to purchase one (1) new 2021 Ford EcoSport S 4WD for use by the Public Utilities Facilities Maintenance Division through Mike Carpino Ford in the amount of $22,550.
• Change Order No. 1, reflecting an increase of $13,022.77, making a new contract construction amount of $192,331.14, and final payment in the amount of $44,560.80 to Heckert Construction Co., Inc., of Pittsburg, for the 2020 Surface Preservation Project.
• Final payment to ProSeal, Inc., of El Dorado, Kansas, in the amount of $75,727.54 for the 2020 Asphalt Rejuvenation Project.
• The Consent and Acknowledgement of Assignments for rights to payments related to the Creekside East housing development, as representatives of Turnkey Developers, LLC have assigned their rights to payments received from the Rural Housing Incentive District (RHID) as well as infrastructure development costs associated with the agreement from the Economic Development Advisory Committee (EDAC) to be paid directly to the Bank of Commerce until their loan is satisfied.
• Reappointment of Tom Spurgeon and the appointment of Elizabeth “May” Smith to the Land Bank Board of Trustees.
• Reappointment of Denise Fitzpatrick and James Triplett, and the appointment of Andrew Ouellette, Nancy Scott, and George Weeks to the Sustainability Advisory Committee.
• Reappointment of Pam Henderson, Mike Lewark and Andra Stafanoni as members of the Memorial Auditorium Advisory Board.
• Appointment of Debra Anthony, Erin Fletcher, and Leah Gagnon to the Active Transportation Advisory Board.
• Appointment of Matthew Kassawara to fill an unexpired term as a member of the Airport Advisory Committee.
• Reappointment of Paul Chappell (Building Contractor), Brian Coomes (Engineer) and Shannon Nicklaus (Mechanical) as members of the Building Code Board of Appeals/Building Trades Review Board.
• Reappointment of Kyle Michael to the Planning Commission/Board of Zoning Appeals.
• The Appropriation Ordinance for the period ending December 15, 2020, subject to the release of HUD expenditures when funds are received.

Items removed from the consent agenda for further discussion:

• Commissioner Brooks asked if the Police Department knew of any reports of the businesses selling alcohol to minors. Maj. Ben Henderson said the PD had not received any reports to that effect. Following the discussion, commissioners approved the applications submitted by Dollar General Store (820 West 4th Street), Dollar General Store (2004 South Rouse), Dollar General Store (2810 North Broadway), Commodore Barry Corporation – Knights of Columbus (407 East 11th Street), Aldi (3109 North Broadway), Walgreens (1911 North Broadway), Horton’s Pizza Plus (1601 East 4th Street), Main Street Axe Company (two licenses – one for consumption on the premises and one not for consumption on the premises at 216 South Broadway), Pitt Stop (902 South Joplin), Dillons (2600 North Broadway), and Snak Atak (1101 East 4th Street) to sell Cereal Malt Beverages for the year 2021.
• Staff request to use up to $40,000 in funds from the Pittsburg Public Library building annuity to replace the dry sprinkler system at the library. Library Director Bev Clarkson shared that the library has an annuity, which was established for maintenance of the library.

Commissioners approved the following items on the agenda:

• MEMORIAL AUDITORIUM ADVISORY BOARD – Commissioners voted to appoint Cooper Neil and Ginger Cawley to the Memorial Auditorium Advisory Board.
• PLANNING COMMISSION/BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS – Commissioners appointed Martin Dickinson to the Planning Commission/Board of Zoning Appeals.
• REQUEST TO CHANGE ZONING – Commissioners voted to approve the recommendation of the Planning Commission/Board of Zoning Appeals, to approve the request submitted by Shari Mendez to change the existing zoning of the property located at 102 East 16th Street from R-1C Single Family Residential to CP-2 Planned General Commercial to allow a parking lot to be constructed.
• MODIFICATION TO FIRE DEPARTMENT RESCUE 7 PURCHASE SPECIFICATIONS – Commissioners voted 3-2, with Munsell and Brooks opposed, to remove the pump, tank, hose, and all other associated items from the specifications of the new rescue unit and use the funds saved by making this modification to purchase other equipment that will directly support the Fire Department’s rescue capabilities.
• ALLOCATION OF FUNDS – COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT BLOCK GRANT CORONAVIRUS RESPONSE SUPPLEMENT (CDBG-CV) – Commissioners approved the allocation of funds from the CDBG-CV grant program from the Kansas Department of Commerce with The Lord’s Diner, FLAG Church and Wesley House each receiving $11,666 in funding to support programs that provide access to nutritious foods during the COVID-19 crisis.
• RESOLUTION NO. 1240 – Commissioners voted to approve Resolution No. 1240, amending Resolution No. 1238, dated October 13, 2020, determining that the City of Pittsburg is considering establishing a Rural Housing Incentive District within the City to include property annexed into the City following the adoption of Resolution No. 1238.
• ORDINANCE NO. G-1317 – Commissioners tabled a vote of Ordinance No. G-1317, amending Sections 2-102, 2-103, 2-104 and 2-105 of the Pittsburg City Code to update and streamline the uniform procedures and platting requirements for subdivisions including the pre-platting conference, preliminary plat, final plat and short form plat.
• ORDINANCE NO. S-1076 – Commissioners voted 4-1, with Munsell opposed, to approve Ordinance No. S-1076, fixing the salary and compensation of the officers and employees of the City of Pittsburg, Kansas.

EXECUTIVE SESSION: 

• Commissioners took an executive session to discuss personnel matters of nonelected personnel pursuant to K.S.A. 75-4319(b)(1), to discuss the 2020 evaluation and 2021 employment terms and conditions for the City Manager. After a 45-minute session, commissioners voted to extend the executive session for an additional 15 minutes. No votes were cast and no decisions were made during the executive sessions.

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. City commission meetings are broadcast live on the City’s local government access channels (Cox channel 6 and Craw-Kan channel 406) and on YouTube. To subscribe to the City’s YouTube channel, go to www.pittks.org/youtube. To learn more about the Pittsburg city government, city commissioners, or to view meeting agendas and minutes, visit pittks.org/city-government/city-commission.

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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.