Crystal Lake Park - June 12, 2006 Minutes

Crystal Lake Park

Minutes

of the City of Crystal Lake Park, Missouri

Regular Meeting of the Board of Alderman

Monday, June 12, 2006

Mayor Balcer welcomed the residents to the meeting and asked that the roll call be taken.

ROLL CALL:

Mayor and Aldermen: Mayor Matt Balcer, Aldermen Stefan Cooke, Jim Gehringer, Jim Leonard, and Sandy Spitzer were present.

City Officials: Present: City Clerk Karen Coon, City Treasurer Ann Bradley, City Park & Street Commissioner Greg Heck, Building Commissioner Rob Lappe and member Rita Brinkman, and Board of Adjustment members Sue Glarner and Barry Larson, and City Attorney Dan Human. Absent: Chief of Police Steve Sood.

INTRODUCTION OF NEW OFFICIALS:

Mayor Balcer introduced two newly elected City Officials, the reelected Alderman Jim Leonard and the newly elected Alderwoman Bonnie Taylor. Both officials were officially sworn in by City Clerk Karen Coon, together with Mayor Balcer, who had been reelected for another term as Mayor of the City.

Retiring Alderman Stefan Cooke was applauded for his distinguished service to the City and was given a gift by the City for his work.

Mayor Balcer asked for a vote to approve the March and April minutes of the Board of Aldermen. Alderman Leonard noted that he had been present, albeit tardy, to the March meeting, and that his name had been inadvertently omitted from those present at the meeting. A Motion was made to amend the March minutes to reflect same, and subsequently the Board approved the minutes for both March and April.

A Motion was made and approved to adjourn the meeting.

Following a Motion made and approved to reopen the meeting, the Board of Alderman continued with the Agenda.

A new Roll Call was taken and the addition of new alderwoman Bonnie Taylor was duly noted.

ORDINANCES: 404 and 405

404: PROMULGATING A NEW TAX RATE OF 2.3% AS REQUIRED BY SECTION 92.086, RSMO, AS AMENDED 2005, BASED ON RATE INFORMATION RECEIVED FROM THE MISSOURI DIRECTOR OF REVENUE AND AS REVIEWED BY THE STATE AUDITOR FOR TAXPAYERS SUBJECT TO THE CRYSTAL LAKE PARK CITY CODE, AND DECLARING AN EMERGENCY.

Passed and approved by the Board of Aldermen of the City of Crystal Lake Park this 12^th day of June, 2006.

405: AN ORDINANCE AMENDING TITLE VI, SECTION 615.020: ANNUAL LICENSE TAX OF THE CITY OF CRYSTAL LAKE PARK, MISSOURI BY AMENDING THE BUSINESSES AFFECTED BY SUCH SECTION, PROVIDING FOR THE CURRENT MAINTENANCE OF THIS CODE; PROVIDING FOR THE EFFECTIVE DATE OF THIS ORDINANCE; AND PROVIDING FOR THE REPEAL OF ALL CONFLICTING ORDINANCES.

Passed and approved by the Board of Aldermen of the City of Crystal Lake Park this 12^th day of June, 2006.

Treasurer Ann Bradley asked City Attorney Human if his office would forward the newly approved bills/ordinances to the Department of Revenue, as required, to which he replied yes.

Alderwoman Bonnie Taylor then asked a procedural question concerning receiving information and ordinances in advance of meetings. A discussion ensued whereupon it was noted that the financial information, in particular, was being provided as early as possible, due to the timing with which the Treasurer receives the information necessary to produce the monthly financial reports. It was also noted that the same applied to most other information provided to Board members prior to monthly Aldermen meetings.

REPORTS:

A. City Officials

1. Mayor’s Report – Mayor Balcer informed the Board that with the pending resignation of current City Clerk Karen Coon, it was time to appoint a new City Clerk. He noted that the City had received only one application for the position, from resident Lois La Driere. After discussion it was decided to recommend La Driere for the position. Mayor Balcer so motioned and the appointment of La Driere as new City Clerk of Crystal Lake Park, effective immediately following the meeting, was approved. Mayor Balcer also noted that a job description for the position had been created and would be posted on the City’s bulletin board.

2. Treasurer’s Report – City Treasurer Bradley provided an updated report on the City’s finances and distributed the financial reports for March and April, 2006, together with the Check Detail for May 2006. Alderman Leonard asked a few questions concerning the financials which were answered by both Treasurer Bradley and Alderman Spitzer. Treasurer Bradley then reported that the City’s accounting firm, Holchild, Bloom, had agreed to prepare a new city budget for 2007 at a cost of $1,000 to $1200. Alderman Spitzer asked the Board if there were any specific new items to be incurred in 2007 which should be included in the 2007 budget. It was noted that additional street maintenance would be needed in 2007.

Alderwoman Taylor inquired whether the City should charge a fee to contractors to generate additional revenue to the City. Alderman Geringer noted that the City of Florissant charges such a fee based upon the square footage of the construction. BC Commissioner Lappe was asked if he had any recommendations and further discussion ensued. Alderman Spitzer stated that if the City of Frontenac charges our City ½% of new construction for inspections, that our City should charge an additional ½% to developers as well. Alderman Gehringer inquired as to whether it was possible for the City to establish a separate designated fund for such revenue to cover costs of inspections, and to be applied specifically to any special future legal fees. Mayor Balcer indicated that a vote on the accounting firm providing the City a 2007 budget should be taken and that setting up a special account for fees retained from developers could be addressed at a later date. A Motion was made and approved for the City’s accounting firm to prepare a new budget for the City in 2007, and to add $15,000revenue to account for any anticipated new fees/revenues to be generated from developers with the expected implementation of a ½% surcharge.

3. City Attorney’s Report – City Attorney Human updated the Board on pending litigation in which the City is involved.

4. Police Chief’s Report – No Report.

B. City Committee Reports

1. Street & Park – Street & Park Commissioner Heck reported that a new spring was needed on one of the animal rides at the City park. He noted that it would provide better mounting for the ride and that a new part had been ordered. BoA member Glarner then asked if the playground equipment had been cleaned yet and Heck replied that it had not. He stated that he needed to check with Ace Hardware to ascertain if an environmentally friendly spray was available yet. Glarner asked if a list of old business items that need to be addressed at each meeting could be developed so that items could be finalized and not overlooked. Lois La Driere agreed to develop and maintain such a list.

2. Planning and Zoning – Building Commissioner Lappe reported that in the past two months, the Planning & Zoning Commission had approved new construction at Grandview and Crystal Drives, that preliminary approval of a carport addition at 2129 East Drive was still pending and to be decided on June 14, and that a new porch addition had been approved at 11908 Country Club Drive.

3. Board of Adjustment – No report

OLD BUSINESS:

A. Bulletin Board. BC Lappe provided a picture from Dale Sign Company of a proposed new outdoor message board. It was noted that the UVMC36A bulletin board is black, plastic, weighs 80 lbs., has acrylic doors and is sized at 48” x 36”. It was noted that the board should be used only for city business, i.e. ordinances, notices, and meeting agenda, not for residents’ personal ads or information. The cost, including installation, would be $3500. Resident Kelly Larson asked if the City would obtain a combination lock for the Board instead of keys and Mayor Balcer suggested that it would be sufficient to obtain a number of keys to allow access by those who provided information for the Board. Larson questioned the cost of the board and asked if the City had obtained additional bids. A discussion ensued, following which Larson agreed to call other sign companies to obtain additional bids.

BC Lappe asked where the new board would be placed and suggested that it be moved west, closer to Bopp Road, so that residents turning on Grandview could view it as well. City Attorney Human noted that the City may need to obtain permission from the Willows, which owns the right of way at that location, to place the sign there. Alderman Spitzer, who resides in the Willows, agreed to obtain their permission. Alderman Leonard suggested that two boards were necessary to allow residents of District D and other areas of the City to view the board, too. A Motion was made and approved to table the proposal for a new bulletin board until these issues could be resolved.

B. Code Book. City Attorney Human noted that it had been suggested that a Conflict of Interest ordinance be added to the City’s Code book. Human distributed a copy of the Conflict of Interest he had drafted for review and discussion by the Board. He stated that the ordinance would provide that any Board or Committee members of the City must disclose any conflict of interest involving any items to be voted on by such Board or Committees, including bills, measures or ordinances pending before the City. In addition, any such Board or Committee member must also recluse him or herself if his vote would directly benefit him or his family interests. A discussion ensued wherein questions arose as to what financial amount of such benefit would trigger a conflict of interest. After discussion it was decided to change item B.2.B in the Conflict of Interest ordinance to provide for publicly traded stocks in excess of 1% in an entity considered a benefit. A Motion was so made and approved to have an ordinance created to add to the City Code to provide for Conflict of Interest, and to change item B.2.B to provide for publicly traded stocks in excess of an amount of 1%.

C. Street Commissioner. Mayor Balcer stated that the with the resignation of developer Stefan Cooke from the Board of Alderman, the City would require a Street Commissioner to handle those tasks formerly handled by Cooke. After discussion, it was decided that the City would only need a street maintenance program, not an official Street Commissioner. Alderwoman Taylor volunteered to investigate getting an engineer to develop a street maintenance program for the City. Former City Clerk Coon added that Cooke would be available on a consultant basis.

Mayor Balcer then stated that the contract with the City of Frontenac to provide Fire/Police/Ambulance services to our City would expire soon. He noted that Frontenac had indicated a desire to renew the contract, but that the fees would probably increase. Mayor Balcer suggested that Lois La Driere contact surrounding cities, i.e. Town and County, and Des Peres, to inquire as to whether they would have an interest in providing such services and to ascertain the cost. Karen Coon agreed to locate the prior contract with the City of Des Peres from the City’s files.

NEW BUSINESS:

4. District D Ordinance. Mayor Balcer introduced and distributed a copy of the new ordinances for the section of the City called District D, as developed and proposed by the Planning & Commission. Balcer noted that the new ordinances were necessary because the old ones had not been revised for years, and that with renewed development in the section, new ordinances would be required. In addition, unlike other areas of the City, District D has a number of different lot sizes, making it difficult to establish guidelines for developer’s inline with the City’s plans for new construction. Alderwoman Taylor noted that she had attended recent meetings of the Planning & Zoning Committee and BoA, and questioned why the City was amending ordinances piecemeal by section of the City, as opposed to amending ordinances for all sections at one time. Mayor Balcer reminded her that all of the other sections’ ordinances had been updated more recently and that District D was unusual as a result of its various lot sizes. He also noted that the P&Z Commission had been developing the new ordinances for District D for more than a year and that it was necessary to get them approved since new construction is pending in that area. Resident Pat Crockett asked whether a moratorium could be placed on new construction until the P&Z Commission could to develop a Master Development Plan for the City. A discussion ensued, wherein Mayor Balcer indicated that the District D Ordinances would be voted on at the July meeting of the Board of Aldermen. He noted that in the interim if anyone had any questions concerning the new ordinances they should contact a member of the BoA or BC Lappe.

Mayor Balcer announced that the next regular meeting would be held on Monday, July 10, 2006. A motion was made to adjourn the meeting. Motion passed unanimously.

MINUTES RECORDED BY:_____________________________________________

Lois A. LaDriere

ATTEST:_____________________________________

Matt Balcer, Mayor

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