Regular Meeting
BOARD OF ALDERMEN
CITY OF PARKVILLE, MISSOURI
July 6, 2004
Mayor Kathryn A.
Dusenbery called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. in the boardroom.
ROLL
CALL
Ward
1 Alderman Jack Friedman -Present
Ward
1 Alderman Charlie Poole -Present
Ward
2 Alderman David McCoy -Present
Ward
2 Alderman David Rittman -Present
Ward
3 Alderman Marvin Ferguson -Present
Ward
3 Alderman Linda Arnold -Present
Ward
4 Alderman Marc Sportsman -Present
Ward 4 Alderman Brian Atkinson -Present
ALSO
PRESENT: City Administrator Joe Turner
City
Attorney Jack Campbell
Police
Lt. John Moyer
Public
Works Director Jeff Rupp
Community
Development Director Sean Ackerson
Charlie
Zitnik, Kirkpatrick Pettis
Tony
Hermelink, Art of Illumination
Residents: Gary Worden, Steve Huey, Harry Sievers, John
Smith, Monte Irwin, Steve Rapp, Debbie Herbert, Jim Brooks, Harold Green, John
Coleman, Sally Berkley, Mark Kratzberg
Assistant
City Clerk Claudia Willhite
City
Clerk Barbara Lance
MEDIA
PRESENT: Anna Jaffe, Michael Horine,
Andy Young and Joe Gleason for Channel 2
Marte
Zirschky for Platte Dispatch
Nancy
Jack for Parkville Post
ALDERMAN FRIEDMAN
MOVED TO APPROVE THE MINUTES OF THE JUNE 15, 2004, MEETING AS PUBLISHED;
ALDERMAN FERGUSON SECONDED; ALL AYE; MOTION CARRIED 8–0.
Mayor Dusenbery read the results of a
Citizen Survey that was drafted and distributed by the Community Development
Department at the mayor’s request. A
copy of the summarized responses is attached to these minutes.
Mayor
Dusenbery opened the floor to discussion of rezoning 406 Main Street from R-4
to OTD
(continued from last meeting) and she asked
residents to express support or
objection from the podium.
Gary
Worden, who owns the property at 406 Main, expressed his support for the
proposal and
showed slides to
illustrate his points. He noted that in
April 2004 this issue was presented to the Planning and Zoning Commission and
the vote was 7-0 to approve. Mr. Worden
stressed that there is a difference between commercial versus planned
business. He showed slides of various
before and after pictures of property he has refurbished. Mr. Worden also contested the suggestion
that once zoning changes it doesn’t go back.
He said it is important to note that restructuring offers economic
incentive to repair blighted areas, raising property values, and he noted that
diversity is a positive outcome of the mix of business with residential in
formerly rundown neighborhoods. He
added that small businesses have economic incentive to improve and maintain
these buildings because office costs are a business expense.
Steve Huey, who was
speaking on behalf of the POP Association at the association’s request, said
that if the line isn’t drawn here it will eventually become a contiguous block
of OTD zoning; although at times, use
may revert back, he said, zoning does not.
Among the points stressed by Mr. Huey was the neighborhood association’s
concerns regarding suitability and no demonstrable relative gain from the
intrusion of commercial business into this neighborhood. Mr. Huey further noted that the plan
development does not meet the parking requirement and that 9’ wide is the
Parkville code for parking spaces, not the 7 ½’ wide that this plan
includes. Mr. Huey asked the board not
to let a speculative real estate deal supersede the strong citizen consensus
against it.
Gary Worden stated that
the only way to save some of these homes is to allow planned business usage.
Alderman Rittman asked
about the outer visual difference between the two designs for the house
depending on use.
Mark Kratzberg said
there’s not any outer difference and the hours for his computer networking
business are 8 am to 5 pm., Monday through Friday, with no walk-in traffic
expected and a sticker for signage on the front door.
John Smith asked why it
is necessary to change the zoning of this house, why the huge debate re zoning
when there’s no problem with current businesses in the neighborhood? Mr. Smith said that zone changing doesn’t
help the neighborhood.
The mayor pointed out
that requests regarding OTD always require coming before the board for every
issue in order to protect Parkville’s downtown.
Alderman Friedman said
the buyer would not live in the house and that is the reason for the rezoning
request.
Monte Irwin stated that
he feels with all this change the town will eventually die. Mr. Irwin said he has a business in his home
and he feels the more small businesses we have, the more we all benefit. Mr. Irwin said it’s not like bringing in a
bar, and he agreed with Mr. Worden that businesses tend to take better care of
their properties.
Steve Rapp said he and
his wife oppose rezoning.
Debbie Herbert said that
she lives at the house her father owns at 801 Main. She is concerned about who is in the neighborhood. Ms. Herbert opposes approval of the rezoning
because she doesn’t see this encroachment stopping and wants to see it stay a
family-oriented community.
Jim Brooks, who said he
has done considerable research on Main Street issues and topics for a number of
years, said he sees owner-occupied as different, and to maintain the character
of the neighborhood Parkville should encourage owner-occupied residential at
all costs. He added that when property
is not owner occupied it may look the same, but doesn’t feel the same.
Harold Green said he
challenged Gary Worden’s earlier statement that Piropos Restaurant has adequate
parking because he knows someone who lives close to the restaurant, and when
the restaurant is busy, she often has to walk too far (from a parking space) to
get to her home. Mr. Green said he has
called Parkville home for over 70 years and he is against the rezoning.
John Coleman pointed out
that he and his wife were at the Planning and Zoning meeting on June 8th and
they did oppose this rezoning issue at that meeting. He said the minutes for that meeting inaccurately state there was
no opposition expressed.
Sally Berkley asked that
this rezoning request be denied in order to maintain the family oriented
character of the neighborhood, which was the reason she chose this neighborhood
for her home.
Mayor Dusenbery then
opened the issue to board discussion.
Alderman Friedman pointed
out that fixed-up houses in downtown Parkville sell well so it should not be
necessary to rezone in order to sell the property. He also said that funding resources for keeping yards and houses
pristine are not the same for everyone, and everyone knows that time and energy
constraints will also be a factor but having fewer homeowner -occupied
residences doesn’t make a better neighborhood.
Alderman Poole commended
everyone who spoke on the professionalism demonstrated whether in support or
opposed to the issue. He noted that as
everyone expressed opinions so well he fully understands both sides’ positions
and sees this issue not just as a Ward 1 representative but as what is best for
the city.
Alderman Atkinson asked
for confirmation on the map that this change would be bringing the property
into OTD.
Alderman Rittman
suggested that the City needs to look at a suspension on requests such as this,
until the Master Plan is finalized and approved.
Alderman McCoy asked why
this cutout was made to begin with?
Alderman Friedman
answered that the make-up of the board decides how these issues are decided.
Mayor Dusenbery said if
there were no further comments or questions she would entertain a motion to
rezone 406 Main from R-4 (multi-family) to OTD (Old Town District).
ALDERMAN FERGUSON MOVED
THAT BILL 2156, AN ORDINANCE REZONING 406 MAIN FROM R-4 (MULTI-FAMILY
RESIDENTIAL) TO OTD (OLD TOWN DISTRICT) BE APPROVED FOR FIRST READING.
Discussion ensued
regarding necessary amendment of the wording in Section 1 of the bill, which
refers to landscaping. City Attorney
Jack Campbell advised it would be best to deal with it now.
ALDERMAN RITTMAN MOVED TO
REMOVE THE WORDS “AND WEST” AND CHANGE “SIDES” TO “SIDE”; ALDERMAN MCCOY SECONDED; ALL AYE; THE AMENDMENT PASSED
8-0.
ALDERMAN FERGUSON
MOVED THAT BILL 2156 BE APPROVED AS AMENDED; AND PASSED TO SECOND READING BY
TITLE ONLY; ALDERMAN MCCOY SECONDED; ROLL CALL VOTE WAS TAKEN.
Results
of the roll call vote were as follows:
AYE
– ALDERMAN SPORTSMAN NAY – ALDERMAN POOLE
AYE – ALDERMAN FERGUSON NAY – ALDERMAN ARNOLD
AYE
– ALDERMAN RITTMAN NAY – ALDERMAN ATKINSON
AYE
– ALDERMAN MCCOY
ALDERMAN FRIEDMAN ABSTAINED BECAUSE HIS WIFE IS
EMPLOYED BY GARY WORDEN, THE PROPERTY OWNER OF 406 MAIN.
MOTION FAILED TO CARRY BY VOTE OF 4-3.
Note: The
motion failed due to Missouri State Statute #79.130 that states in part “… no
bill shall become an ordinance unless on its final passage a majority of the
members elected to the board of aldermen shall vote for it,…”
At this point in the meeting, approximately 8:48
pm, the mayor and aldermen agreed to take a break. At approximately 9:00 pm, the meeting resumed without Alderman
Poole, who had to leave at approximately 8:50 pm with previous notice.
Anna Jaffe and Mike Horine provided a report and
status update regarding Channel 2 activity since they, as Curious Eye
Productions, were contracted to provide a comprehensive plan to improve the
operation and broadcast quality of Channel 2.
In addition to extensive assessments, student training, and equipment
inventory, they have begun preliminary research on alternative funding
resources such as federal grant opportunities.
Accomplishments reported by Ms. Jaffe and Mr.Horine included initiation
of a Channel 2 master plan that will expand the effectiveness, capacity and
content of Channel 2 while creating a viable communication tool capable of
becoming an important link in an Emergency Alert System for Parkville. They stressed that this will not happen
overnight, and achieving the master plan goals will take a sustained effort and
commitment from the City of Parkville.
Alderman Rittman suggested that expanding the reach of Channel 2 would
be extremely helpful in bringing the distribution level up. Alderman Sportsman asked if there is any way
to measure viewership at this time? Mr.
Horine said a survey is probably the only way to currently obtain any kind of
viewership data since Time Warner doesn’t measure Channel 2 use. Mayor Dusenbery suggested that the
Newsletter recently initiated by the City of Parkville might be a good way to
solicit citizen input and promote information about Channel 2 resources.
Mr. Zitnik from Kirkpatrick Pettis referred the
board to the second page of the memorandum provided in their packets regarding
the Sewerage System Revenue Bonds, Series 2004. Mr. Zitnik pointed out that with the successful bond election
held in June 2004, the City is now authorized to issue bonds immediately,
foregoing the potential “interim” lease financing. Mr. Zitnik also directed the board to the table on that page
illustrating the financial benefit gained in choosing bond financing over lease
financing. Based on the information
provided, Mr. Zitnik recommended that the City proceed as soon as possible with
the bond financing for the sewer system improvements. He noted that if the Board does not object, Kirkpatrick Pettis
can proceed immediately with the bond issue process. There were no objections or questions from the Board and it was
agreed that KP should proceed with the next step of the bonds issue process as
soon as possible.
Due to the lateness of the hour, Mr. Zitnik asked
to save discussion of the Capital Tax Improvements (CTI) until the next board
meeting on July 20th. The Board
and Mayor agreed and thanked Mr. Zitnik for coming.
Mayor Dusenbery
invited three boy scouts attending the meeting to come up and introduce
themselves. The Scouts were Neil
Anderson; Colton Price; and Damon Arredondo and each is a member of Troop 261
sponsored by St. Therese Church of Parkville, MO. All three scouts are working on their Citizen in the Community
merit badges for the rank of Life Scout, on their way to becoming Eagle Scouts.
The mayor thanked Deborah Butcher, Neil Davidson,
Barbara Lance, Cheryl Thorpe and everyone involved in helping make Parkville’s
Lewis & Clark events such a wonderful experience. It was reported that at the busiest times there were 200 people
per hour going to the park; the recent Fourth of July celebration was wonderful
as well she said. The mayor noted that
Parkville has always been strong in its number of volunteers who help make our
events so special and we are very fortunate to have them.
The mayor also announced that a work session would be
scheduled for next week to finalize contracts for Joseph Turner and Bill
Hudson.
CITY ADMINISTRATOR’S REPORT
City Administrator Joseph Turner reported
that city staff members have helped him develop a task list. Automated Horn Blowing is among primary
issues on the list and a demonstration is scheduled for July 20th at
6:00 pm in downtown Parkville.
Some discussion ensued and Alderman Rittman
asked about consideration of the liability shifting to the city from the
railroad, if the Automated Horn Blowing is installed. Mr. Turner said that he is still doing homework on this issue and
is seeking confirmation on that and other factors. He said he will have more answers on this issue soon.
Mr. Turner also reported that other primary
tasks include an emergency contact policy and tree; City Hall construction
Requests for Qualifications that will include citizen input; addressing issues
with the bridge located by the post office; and the budget calendar which will
require a work session on August 3rd before or after the board
meeting. Mr. Turner said he is also
working on simplifying the budget process while making it more efficient and
hopes to have the final budget proposal for next year by October 19, 2004.
Alderman Sportsman asked about revisiting
the issue of deer overpopulation now because to wait past August we will lose
another season of opportunity to address it.
It was agreed this would be added to next week’s work session agenda.
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
Mayor Dusenbery introduced Parkville’s new
Community Development Director Sean Ackerson.
Mr. Ackerson reported that since this was his first day on the job, he
did not have a formal report to give.
He did, however, want to commend the Community Development staff on the
good job they’d done on keeping the department projects current and running
smoothly in the absence of a director for several weeks.
Temporary sign permit for Commerce Bank at
Parkville Commons (B-4)
Following brief discussion on the temporary sign
permit requested by Commerce Bank, ALDERMAN FERGUSON MOVED TO APPROVE SAID
REQUEST; ALDERMAN RITTMAN SECONDED; ALL AYE, MOTION CARRIED 7-0.
Sign permit for Foxy Nails at 6325 Lewis St., #103
(B-4)
Following brief discussion on the sign permit
requested by Foxy Nails, ALDERMAN FERGUSON MOVED TO APPROVE SAID REQUEST WITH
THE STIPULATION THAT PARKVILLE COMMONS HAS APPROVED THE SIGN AND ILLUMINATION
PERIOD WILL BE A MAXIMUM OF 5 AM TO MIDNIGHT SUCH AS PREVIOUSLY AGREED ON FOR P
& G HARDWARE; ALDERMAN ARNOLD SECONDED; ALL AYE, MOTION CARRIED 7-0.
Sign permit for Cellular Phone at 6325 Lewis St.,
#101 (B-4)
Following brief discussion on the sign permit
requested by Cellular Phone, ALDERMAN FERGUSON MOVED TO APPROVE SAID REQUEST
WITH THE STIPULATION THAT PARKVILLE COMMONS HAS APPROVED THE SIGN AND
ILLUMINATION PERIOD WILL BE A MAXIMUM OF 5 AM TO MIDNIGHT; ALDERMAN ARNOLD
SECONDED; ALL AYE, MOTION CARRIED 7-0.
Four (4)
sign permits for Gomer’s Northland at 6298 NW Hwy. 9 (B-4)
Tony Hermelink for the Art of Illumination was
there to answer any questions regarding the sign permits requested for Gomer’s
Northland. Following discussion of the
signs requested, ALDERMAN FERGUSON MOVED TO APPROVE SAID REQUEST WITH THE
STIPULATION THAT PARKVILLE COMMONS APPROVES THE SIGNS AND THE ILLUMINATION
PERIOD WILL BE A MAXIMUM OF 5 AM TO MIDNIGHT; ALDERMAN ATKINSON SECONDED;
MOTION PASSED 6-1 WITH THE VOTE AS FOLLOWS:
AYE – ALDERMAN RITTMAN AYE
– ALDERMAN ATKINSON
AYE – ALDERMAN MCCOY AYE
– ALDERMAN FERGUSON
AYE – ALDERMAN ARNOLD NAY
– ALDERMAN FRIEDMAN
AYE – ALDERMAN SPORTSMAN
BILLS AND ORDINANCES
ALDERMAN FERGUSON MOVED THAT BILL 2157, EMPLOYING
BRIAN BRADLEY AS POLICE OFFICER, BE APPROVED FOR FIRST READING; ALDERMAN
ATKINSON SECONDED; ALL AYE; MOTION CARRIED 7-0.
ALDERMAN FERGUSON MOVED THAT BILL 2157 BE
APPROVED ON FIRST READING AND PASSED TO SECOND READING BY TITLE ONLY; ALDERMAN
BRIAN ATKINSON SECONDED; ALL AYE; MOTION CARRIED.
ALDERMAN FERGUSON MOVED THAT BILL 2157 BE
APPROVED ON SECOND READING TO BECOME ORDINANCE 2138, ALDERMAN RITTMAN
SECONDED; ALL AYE BY ROLL CALL VOTE; MOTION CARRIED 7-0.
Bill 2157 was posted on 7/02/04.
POLICE CHIEF’S REPORT
Lt. John Moyer reported that one officer has
had to be off work since 07/01 due to a dog bite received in the process of an
investigation. Two traffic stops in the
past two weeks resulted in prepackaged narcotics confiscated and one
handgun.
The Mayor thanked the Parkville Police
Department for a fine job on the July 4th weekend.
ACCOUNTS
PAYABLE
ALDERMAN FERGUSON MOVED THAT BILL A-745, TO
PAY LISTED SALARIES AND ACCOUNTS, BE APPROVED FOR FIRST READING; ALDERMAN
ARNOLD SECONDED; ALL AYE; MOTION CARRIED.
ALDERMAN FERGUSON MOVED THAT BILL A-745 BE
APPROVED ON FIRST READING AND PASSED TO SECOND READING BY TITLE ONLY; ALDERMAN
RITTMAN SECONDED; ALL AYE; MOTION CARRIED.
ALDERMAN FERGUSON MOVED THAT BILL A-745 BE
APPROVED ON SECOND READING TO BECOME ORDINANCE A-745; ALDERMAN RITTMAN
SECONDED; ALL AYE BY ROLL CALL VOTE; MOTION CARRIED 7-0.
Bill A-745 was posted on 7/02/04.
COMMITTEE REPORTS
Ad Hoc Ambulance Committee: No report.
Chamber of Commerce/Events:
Mrs. Arnold said that last week the Chamber board met with Joe Turner and the
mayor to discuss next year’s goals.
Mrs. Arnold extended special thanks to the Parkville Streets/Road crew,
the Police Department and the volunteers who all helped so much to make this
year’s JAZZFEST such a fun and successful event. Mrs. Arnold added that the final report for this event is
expected by July 16th. She
also wanted to commend Jack’s son, Nate Friedman, who comes up to look for work
and is always appreciated by the event sponsors.
Channel 2 and Website: Mr. Atkinson said there was nothing to add
to the report submitted by Anna Jaffe and Mike Horine earlier in this meeting.
Community Center: A tour of the Platte City Community Center
for any elected officials interested is scheduled later in the week. Contact City Hall to confirm date and time.
Farmers Market: Mr. Friedman reported that the street crew
recently solved a problem with bird nesting at the market and four flower
barrels have now been purchased and will soon be planted.
Financial Report - none this meeting
Main Street Parkville Association:
Mr. Rittman reported that key topics in this update have already been discussed
and the rest can wait until the next meeting.
Mayor Dusenbery said she wanted to mention that Tom Hutsler has said
that he will work with the City to take care of the ruts in the ball field that
resulted from the carnival and heavy rains.
The mayor also added that she would like to see staff come up with a
method of tracking and reporting a detailed cost breakdown of each major event
so in the future we know exactly what these events are costing our taxpayers.
Nature Sanctuary: Mr. McCoy thanked Jim Reed and the scouts
involved for the bench with his family’s name on it recently installed on the
12th St. Bridge in the Nature Sanctuary. Mayor Dusenbery also thanked Director Jim Reed for the great job
he did with the Lewis & Clark day camps held in June. Many children were able to enjoy learning
about the history of the Lewis & Clark expedition while having fun through
this day camp experience.
Parks: Since Mr. Poole had to leave the meeting
earlier, Mayor Dusenbery reported that the recent Park Committee meeting went
well and its future goal is to devote more time to managing the park and less
on event approval.
Planning: Mr. Ferguson reminded everyone that the next
planning meeting will be held July 13th at 5:30 pm and agenda items
will include meeting new Community Development Director Sean Ackerson and an
update on the Master Plan. Mr. Rittman
asked about adding to that agenda addressing how areas above 5th
Street will be looked at in the future.
The mayor agreed that should be added.
Alderman Friedman said he felt it was important to
point out that Parks Superintendent John Conrad logs many hours above and
beyond normal because he doesn’t like to say no to anyone needing help. He said John is working at every event and
also doing city hall maintenance duties, which are not in his job description. Mr. Friedman pointed out that Mr. Conrad is
a tremendous asset to Parkville and an employee who demonstrates a work ethic
we may want to consider rewarding.
Mayor Dusenbery agreed that will need to be looked
at at some point. The mayor then asked
if there were any other questions, comments or other business for this
meeting.
ALDERMAN SPORTSMAN MOVED THAT THE MEETING ADJOURN;
ALDERMAN ARNOLD SECONDED.
The meeting adjourned at approximately 10 p.m.
Submitted by:
_______________________________________________
Assistant City Clerk Claudia Willhite - 07/16/04