Crystal Lake Park

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MINUTES

of the City of Crystal Lake Park, Missouri

Regular Meeting of the Board of Alderman

Monday, September 11, 2006

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

ROLL CALL:

Mayor and Alderpersons:  Present:  Mayor Matt Balcer, and Alderpersons Bonnie Taylor, Jim Gehringer, Jim Leonard and Sandy Spitzer.

City Officials:  Present:  City Clerk Lois LaDriere, City Treasurer Ann Bradley, City Attorney Dan Human, Building Commissioner  (BC) Robb Lappe, Street/Park Commissioner Greg Heck, and Planning & Zoning (P&Z) Commission member Rita Brinkmann, as well as Board of Adjustment members Martin Long, Barry Larson, Mary Jane Cusumano and Sue Glarner.  Absent:  Marianne Stuart.

Mayor Balcer asked for a vote to approve the Meeting Agenda for September 11, 2006.  City Attorney Dan Human asked that the Closed Meeting item concerning the Southard litigation be moved to the end of the meeting, following the vote to close the public meeting.  A Motion was made by Alderperson Jim Leonard to approve the Agenda, and seconded by Alderperson Taylor, following which the amended Agenda was approved.

Alderperson Jim Leonard then made a Motion to approve the August 2006 minutes, which was seconded by Alderperson Taylor and subsequently approved.

CITY OFFICIALS:

Financial Report:  Next on the agenda was the presentation of the financial report by City Treasurer Ann Bradley.  She stated that the City’s current investments were

 $197,894.70.  She then asked the Board to approve the August 2006 check detail, which she had previously distributed to Board members.  Alderperson Leonard inquired about the amount of compensation paid to former City Clerk Karen Coon in the month of August.  Treasurer Bradley noted that she had received three invoices from Coon in August and that the amounts had been approved and the checks signed by Mayor Balcer.  Alderperson Gehringer noted that Coon’s compensation in August was related to time spent transitioning her position to the new City Clerk, and that the amount was justified.  Alderperson Leonard then asked how much Coon was being paid hourly and Bradley stated that Coon’s fee as a consultant to the City during that period was $20 per hour.  Alderperson Leonard then asked why the AmerenUE invoice was much larger than in prior months.  A discussion ensued and Mayor Balcer asked Treasurer Bradley to contact AmerenUE to ascertain the reason for the increase.  There being no further questions, Alderperson Spitzer made a Motion to approve the check detail for August 2006, which was seconded by Alderperson Gehringer, and subsequently approved.

Treasurer Bradley then announced that the State of Missouri continued to deposit money into the City’s checking account at Bank of America, despite her repeated requests to deposit those payments into another City account.  She suggested that the City close the Bank of America account, which would force the State to contact the City about where to deposit those funds.  A Motion was made by Alderperson Leonard and seconded by Alderperson Spitzer to close the City’s checking account at Bank of America, which Motion was then approved.

Treasurer Bradley then reported that she had obtained and reviewed copies of Fraud Reporting procedures from other municipalities.  She noted that although the recent annual financial audit of the City had recommended that it develop a Fraud Reporting policy, other municipalities’ policies dealt with how City employees could report fraud, and that the City of Crystal Lake Park did not have any employees per se.  Mayor Balcer indicated that the City Clerk was a City employee and Bradley noted that technically she was not an employee of the City, but rather an “independent contractor.”  Bradley suggested that instead of a Fraud Reporting policy, the City should add a statement to its website informing residents how they should report any suspected fraud.  Bradley then agreed to write the statement.

Planning and Zoning Commission Report:  BC Lappe reported that the District D ordinances had been revisited at the September meeting of the Commission and that following discussion of Commission members, it was agreed that the ordinances would remain in effect as currently written until a new “vision” for the City is developed by a subcommittee.  Discussion of those ordinances would then be re-visited and any subsequent revisions would take into consideration the findings of the subcommittee.

Lappe then reminded members of the Board that there remained open seats on the Planning and Zoning Commission.  He noted that residents Chris Kerckoff and Lee Crockett had indicated a desire to serve on the Commission.  Although not present at the meeting, resident Crockett had previously forwarded his qualifications earlier by mail. Resident Kerckhoff stood and outlined his qualifications for the position.  He stated that he is currently a wealth manager for a private company in Chesterfield.  He added that he had significant experience as a planner and problem solver which is important to serving on the Commission.  Mayor Balcer asked Lappe if he recommended both Kerckhoff and Crockett for the positions and Lappe indicated that he did.  There being no further discussion, Mayor Balcer proposed that both residents be appointed to serve on the Commission.  Alderperson Spitzer made a Motion to approve the Mayor’s appointments, Alderperson Leonard seconded the motion, and it was therefore approved. 

Lappe also stated that he and Street/Park Commissioner Heck had cleaned out the grates of mud and weeds at the intersection of Country Club Drive and Putter.  He also noted that asphalt patches would be added to the area near the old bulletin board and that he and Heck would do that as well.

 OLD BUSINESS:                

A.  Bulletin Board:  City Clerk Lois LaDriere announced that the City’s new bulletin board had been installed at a new location on Country Club Drive to allow more residents an opportunity to read information placed on the board.  Alderperson Spitzer noted that Dale Signs, which had removed the old bulletin board and installed the new one, had damaged a sprinkler head owned by the Willows.  He stated that the Willows had asked their landscaping company, Baxter Gardens, to repair the sprinkler head and to invoice the City of Crystal Lake Park for the cost of repair.  A number of Alderpersons and residents noted that the new board was a significant improvement over the prior one.  Alderperson Gehringer stated that the new board was getting wet as a result of its new placement, as it was inadvertently placed near another sprinkler head.  Alderperson Spitzer said that could easily be corrected by turning the head on the sprinkler, which Mayor Balcer agreed to do. 

B.  Street Maintenance:  Mayor Balcer reported that he would be meeting with two engineering companies at the end of September to discuss future maintenance of the City’s streets.

C.  No Parking Signs on Bus Route:  Board of Adjustment member Martin Long stated that the additional “No Parking” signs had been received and were ready for installation by Dale Signs.  Alderperson Gehringer said that he had written a letter to affected residents informing them that the signs would soon be placed on their property.  He indicated that the letter was being revised and that he and Long would be distributing the letter within a few days.

NEW BUSINESS:

 NIMS Disaster Response Update:  Alderperson Gehringer said that he had recently attended a disaster response seminar and that it was important for others in the City to learn about disaster response, particularly since government funds could be at risk for those Cities which chose not to participate.  He recommended that other CLP City Officials and, possibly, residents could benefit from such training as well.

 Website Update:  City Clerk LaDriere provided an update on the redesign and updating of the City’s website.  She stated that a new design had been created and was being reviewed by the website committee, as well as possible new categories to be added to the site and other enhancements.  In addition, all of the minutes of Board and Commission meetings had been brought up to date, along with the listing of City Officials and related information.  An historical page about the City would also be written by her and added to the website, she noted.  A discussion ensued about the new enhancements to the site, and it was noted that there was a need for caution regarding information put on the site since it would be available for viewing by non-residents as well.  LaDriere noted that the Committee was aware of the issue and that ensuring that such cautions were taken was of high priority to the Committee. 

LaDriere also stated that she had received a proposal from Sullivan Printing, which had recently provided the City with its new Code.  The proposal outlined the costs and benefits to the City in purchasing their Quickcode,” which would allow the City Code to be placed on its website, provide for easy searches for information, and more.  LaDriere noted that the cost for the Quickcode to be placed and serviced on the City’s website would be $1100, plus $30 per month for maintenance.  In addition, she said that updates to Quickcode would be $200 per update.  After discussion, the Board agreed that the expense was worthwhile for the enhancements offered by the proposal.  LaDriere agreed to contact Sullivan Printing to obtain further details, following which she will make a formal proposal to the Board.

Relevancy of Indentures:  Alderperson Gehringer stated that it was imperative that the relevancy of indentures be reviewed and discussed, with input from City Attorney Dan Human.  Gehringer noted that at the September meeting of the Planning and Zoning Commission the issue of the indentures had arisen with respect to the Fairway Manor district of the City, as it related to the proposed addition and remake of the residence at 2225 Divot belonging to City residents Bonnie Taylor and Lydia Ruffin.  Human explained that the indenture was essentially a private contract between the owners of homes in Fairway Manor.  He said that the indenture assisted the Trustees of that district in defining building requirements.  However, he noted that if the district did not have Trustees, the indentures were unenforceable and would have no public impact.  BC Lappe stated that in 1996, a group of five Fairway Manor residents were appointed as Trustees and, at that time, they re-enacted the indentures.  Alderperson Gehringer asked Human about the order of precedence involving the City’s ordinances and the Fairway Manor indentures.  Human replied that whichever is stricter, ordinance or indenture, would take precedence.  After further discussion, Human agreed to review the indentures to ascertain if they are enforceable and, if so, then they should be adopted into the ordinances of the City.  Gehringer then inquired if the indentures could be dissolved and Human stated that the indentures would terminate at a specified date or when residents of that section agreed to terminate them.  Human then said that a title company would have to “run” the indenture document to ensure that no new amendments had been added.  Mayor Balcer agreed to contact a title company and P&Z member Rita Brinkman agreed to provide the book and page number of the indentures to the City Clerk, who would then forward that information to Human.

Estate and Yard Sales:  Mayor Balcer asked Board members and residents alike how to handle future estate and yard sales within the City.  He reiterated the problems experienced during the last estate sale and noted that the City was not prepared to handle the amount of traffic and parking required for such sales.  A discussion ensued and Board of Adjustment member Sue Glarner informed the Board that the Neighborhood Planning Committee was planning a City-wide resident yard sale on October 7^th from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m.  She added that a permit fee of $5.00 would be charged to any residents who participated in the yard sale.  Further discussion ensued and it was agreed that participating residents should be responsible for directing traffic and parking for the event.  Resident Kelly Larson indicated that prior yard sales had not produced any traffic or parking problems.  Alderperson Spitzer offered a Motion to increase the fee for estate and yard sales to $50 per event, and to require those participating to hire a full time off-duty policeman to enforce parking and the laws of the City.   That Motion was not seconded, nor approved, by the Board.  It was agreed that estate and yard sales should be treated differently since they drew different numbers of people to the events, and since estate sales involved selling all or a majority of contents of a home.  Alderperson Leonard suggested that a permit fee of $400 to $500 should be assessed by the City for estate sales and that the City would then be responsible for hiring someone to police the event.  In addition the permit should state the specific date and hours of the sale.  City Clerk LaDriere agreed to contact the Frontenac Police Department to find out if any policemen would want to moonlight at such events.  She also agreed to ascertain if they were allowed to moonlight and, if so, what the cost would be.  It was agreed that an ordinance should be created to indicate that the person obtaining the permit is the homeowner or its agent, and that the information aforementioned be included on the permit.  A vote on the matter was tabled until further information on policing was obtained and an appropriate permit cost was considered.   

There being no further business, a Motion was made to adjourn the meeting at 8:25 p.m.  Motion passed unanimously.

MINUTES RECORDED BY:_____________________________________________

                                                            City Clerk, Lois A. LaDriere

ATTEST:_____________________________________                                          

         Matt Balcer, Mayor