CITY COUNCIL MINUTES
JUNE 24, 2008
The Council of the City of Fulton, Missouri, met in regular session on Tuesday, June 24, 2008, in the Council Chambers of City Hall located at 18 E. 4th Street. Present and presiding were Charles M. Latham, Mayor; William Johnson, Director of Administration; Carolyn L. Laswell, City Clerk; and Roger Rice, Deputy Chief of Police. The meeting was called to order by Mayor Latham at 6:30 p.m. Roll call was taken by the City Clerk and members of the council present were Benton; Digh; Gohring; Moore; Pautz; and West. Absent were Councilmembers Bill and Harris. Also present were Matt Harline, Assistant to the Director of Administration; Darrell Dunlap, Superintendent of Utilities; Les Hudson, Code Enforcement Officer; Dean Buffington, Fire Chief; Kathy Holschlag, Chief Financial Officer; Greg Hayes, City Engineer; J. C. Miller, Solid Waste Manager; Sharon Cleveland, Purchasing Agent; Sherri Redmon, Human Resources Director; Clay Caswell, Parks & Recreation Director; George & Barb Binger;Irislee Prada; Martha Bell; Dan & Kaye Melgren; Wayne Lowen; Wayne & Gail Legge; George B. Forsythe; Dale Lewis; Bob Hansen; Larry & Linda Smith; Steve & Julia Matthews; Steve Smith; Katherine Cummins, reporter for The Fulton Sun; Jeremy Polston and Justin Dean, Audio/Video.
INVOCATION:
Invocation was given by Mayor Latham.
COMMENTS FROM VISITORS:
Mayor Latham asked if there was anyone present who wished to address the council that was not listed on tonight's agenda to please come to the podium and state their name, address and area of concern. There were none.
Dale Lewis, President of the Historic Preservation Commission, and Mayor Latham presented the owners of properties on Court Street, by being recently identified as a "Fulton Historic Property" with a plaque.
MINUTES:
The council meeting minutes for May 27, 2008 were presented for approval.
Motion was offered by Councilman Pautz and seconded by Councilwoman Gohring that council meeting minutes for May 27, 2008 be approved as presented. Motion carried with six members of the council voting in favor and two members (Bill and Harris) absent.
The council meeting minutes for June 10, 2008 were presented for approval.
Motion was offered by Councilwoman Digh and seconded by Councilman West that council meeting minutes for June 10, 2008 be approved as presented. Motion carried with six members of the council voting in favor and two members (Bill and Harris) absent.
FINANCIALS:
The Financials for the month of May 2008 were presented for approval and Kathy Holschlag, Chief Financial Officer, was present to answer any questions from the council.
After some review and discussion, motion was offered by Councilman West and seconded by Councilwoman Digh to accept the May Financials as presented. Motion carried with six members of the council voting in favor and two members (Bill and Harris) absent.
DIRECTOR OF ADMINISTRATION REPORT FOR MAY:
The Director of Administration Report for May was presented to the council for review. Bill Johnson said he or any of the department heads at this meeting would answer any questions from the council.
Upon review, motion was offered by Councilman Pautz and seconded by Councilman Benton to accept the Director of Administration Report for May. Motion carried with six members of the council voting in favor and two members (Bill and Harris) absent.
OLD BUSINESS:
The council discussed the stone pillars at Veteran's Park on whether they should be repaired or torn down. According to the Historical Society, there is a history with the construction of these pillars.
Councilman West suggested having the repair of these stone pillars undertaken by the Boy Scouts as an Eagle Scout project.
NEW BUSINESS:
a) Dr. Hansen will give an update of Kibungom, Fulton's Sister City.
Dr. Hansen distributed some pictures and a letter from the mayor of Kibungom to the council. They are very excited over the City of Fulton being their Sister City.
b) Barbara Hammond, representing the Downtown merchants will be requesting permission to close Court Street between 5th and 6th Streets for the Annual Downtown Beach Party on Friday, July 18th.
Barbara Hammond made a presentation to the council requesting permission to hold the Annual Beach Party.
Motion was offered by Councilman Pautz and seconded by Councilman West to grant permission as requested for the Annual Downtown Beach Party. Motion carried with six members of the council voting in favor and two members (Bill and Harris) absent.
c) Acceptance of the 2007 Audit.
Steve Smith, of Williams-Keepers, LLC., briefly reviewed the audit with the council and answered any questions.
Upon review, motion was offered by Councilman West and seconded by Councilman Pautz to accept the audit for the fiscal year 2007. Motion carried with six members of the council voting in favor and two members (Bill and Harris) absent.
d) Presentation of the proposed 2009 Capital Budget.
Bill Johnson said there is no action required by the council at this time. It is required by charter that a capital budget be presented to the council at least six months prior to the adoption of the annual operating budget. He reminded the council this is nothing more than a city wish-list.
e) Discussion on Noise Permits.
Bill Johnson said perhaps there should be different rules for residential versus commercial noise permits. Also discussed were fee assessments and the council was asked to bring suggestions on fees for the different permits being issued by the city. Further discussion by the council will be held at a later date.
f) Update on the Train Depot.
Mayor Latham said that Boyd and Boyd cannot find a clean title to this property. There seems to be multiple leases from 1949 to the present and Boyd & Boyd are working on cleaning this up.
g) Update on the Water Project in the Downtown Area.
Greg Hayes, City Engineer, said city employees are working on Phase III, 5th Street to 4th Street.
h) Update from Les Hudson, on the Historic Preservation Commission meeting held on Tuesday, June 17th.
Gayla Dunn, Community Development Officer was present and discussed the Community Betterment Foundation. This foundation would allow the city to get access to money it would not ordinarily receive. The city's scope of use is large. This foundation would form a pool of money funded by the private sector that will draw interest and be put back into the community as mini grants. A board would be formed to determine who would receive a grant. The city attorney would review the guidelines. However, the state and federal filings have not been done at this time.
Also discussed was the finalization of the reception to be held on Tuesday, June 24th for the identified historic property owners. This reception will be held at 5:00 p.m. before the council meeting, in the Attrium of the Upper Level of City Hall, and the owners will receive their plaques during the council meeting.
i) Update from Greg Hayes, on the Traffic Commission meetings of May 20th and June 17th.
The commission is making a recommendation to the city council to extend the No Parking zone 90 feet from the Jefferson Street intersection at West Seventh Street.
The commission is also making a recommendation to the city council to lessen the no parking zone on the north side of Northwest Street from Westminster 75 feet to the west to 30 feet from the corner.
j) Update from LeRoy Benton, council liaison, on the Utility Board meeting held on Monday, June 23rd.
Councilman Benton said the board discussed the service offered by Automated Energy, Inc., of Oklahoma City to allow commercial customers to view Electric or Gas loads for their facility via the internet with the City of Fulton's rates used to calculate the actual time of use cost of the electricity or gas. The customer would not be required to purchase any software but a meter upgrade and a phone line would have to be installed to the meter for the internet connection. The cost of $125 set up fee and $25 per month would be charged. Ovid Bell Press will be participating and will keep this board informed.
ORDINANCES:
Bill No. 1241 was presented and read for first reading by Councilman Benton.
Bill No. 1241 - An Ordinance Authorizing Amendments to the C.O.F. Budget for the fiscal year 2007 as outlined by Article VIII, Financial Procedure, Section 8.8, Amendments after adoption, paragraph (C), Transfer of Appropriations, Fulton City Charter, & establishing an effective date.
Motion was offered by Councilman Benton and seconded by Councilman Moore to place Bill No. 1241 for second reading at the next regularly scheduled council meeting. Motion carried with six members of the council voting in favor and two members (Bill and Harris) absent.
Bill No. 1242 was presented and read for the first reading by Councilwoman Digh.
Bill No. 1242 - An Ordinance authorizing the Mayor, on behalf of the C.O.F., to sign all necessary documents to enter into a Franchise Agreement with Unite Private Networks, LLC., for fiber optic connection between all Fulton Public Schools.
Motion was offered by Councilwoman Digh and seconded by Councilman Moore to place Bill No. 1242 for second reading at the next regularly scheduled council meeting. Motion carried with six members of the council voting in favor and two members (Bill and Harris) absent.
Bill No. 1239 AS AMENDED was read for third reading by Councilwoman Gohring.
Bill No.1239 AS AMENDED- An Ordinance Repealing Chapter 108 Telecommunication Towers of the Fulton City Code and enacting a New Chapter 108 Telecommunication Towers, Regulating the Siting of Wireless Telecommunication Facilities, and establishing an effective date (Copy is included in the official Ordinance Book).
Motion was offered by Councilwoman Gohring and seconded by Councilman West to place Bill No. 1239 AS AMENDED for final passage at tonight's council meeting. Motion carried with six members of the council voting in favor and two members (Bill and Harris) absent.
Roll call vote of members of the council was as follows: Digh, yes; Gohring, yes; Moore, yes; Pautz, yes; West, yes; and Benton, yes. Bill No. 1239 AS AMENDED having received the affirmative vote of six members of the council and two members (Bill and Harris) absent, was declared passed by the President of the council.
APPOINTMENTS:
There were no appointments to be made at this council meeting.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
The city clerk said due to the resignation, a vacancy exists on the Historic Preservation Commission. If anyone in the community is interested in serving on the Historic Preservation Commission or any one of the other City of Fulton board or commissions, please contact Mayor Latham or the city clerk at City Hall.
EXECUTIVE SESSION:
Mayor Latham said there was no need for an executive session at this council meeting.
ADJOURNMENT:
There being no further business to come before the council, motion was offered by Councilman West and seconded by Councilwoman Gohring to adjourn this meeting. Motion carried with six members of the council voting in favor, two members (Bill and Harris) absent, and the meeting adjourned at 8:15 p.m.
Charles M. Latham, Mayor
Carolyn L. Laswell, CMC/MRCC
City Clerk