MINNEOLA CITY COUNCIL MEETS                                                September 16, 2024

The Minneola City Council met in regular session on September 16, 2024, in the Civic Connection. The meeting was called to order at 7:00 p.m., with the following Council members present: Dustin Laudick, Marvin Jensen, and Debbie Buckley. Mayor Carol Sibley presided. Also present were Tyler Knox, City Manager and Brenda Stewart, City Clerk.

The Revenue Neutral Rate (RNR) Hearing was called to order 7:01 pm. There were no questions or objections. Marvin made a motion to pass Resolution 2024-R02 to levy a property tax rate exceeding the RNR, a roll call vote was taken, Debbie seconded, motion passed 3/0. The Council members and Mayor signed the resolution. The RNR Hearing was closed at 7:06 pm.

The Budget 2025 Hearing was opened for discussion. There were no questions or objections. The Budget Hearing was closed. Dustin made a motion to approve the 2025 Budget as published, Marvin seconded, motion passed 3/0. The Councilmembers signed the 2025 budget.

Frank Udovich was not present but had expressed concerns over the hole at Elm & Oak. Tyler said we will fix it when we get our dump truck back from being worked on.

Debbie made a motion to approve the minutes from August 19 and August 27, 2024, Dustin seconded, motion passed 3/0.

Financial Reports for August 2024 were reviewed. Capital Outley and Equipment Reserve accounts were reviewed. There were no further questions.

Manager Update:

• The CCLIP intersection is done. During the final walk through, we brought up the asphalt repair that needs to take place when approaching the intersection. David Ubell, KDOT, stated they will fix it. The construction company also has to finish cleaning up.
• The Council discussed the barricades at Cherry and Front. The current blocks keep shifting. The Council decided to review again in the spring to see how the current barricades do over winter.
• All of the rock for chipping next year has been delivered. We will plan to do all the east-west streets west of Oak Street and also Main Street.
• Tyler stated he has been working on the lead and copper surveys and hopes to have them done this week so we can start entering the information into the EPA system.
• The lights in the Civic Connection kitchen need to be replaced. There are 8 lights total. The Council agreed to replace all 8 lights but asked Tyler to ask Galen Rankin, President of the senior group, to see if they would help with the cost since the City does not use the kitchen.

Fall clean-up dumpsters will be out at the tree pit and will be available on September 21, 23, and 25, during the regular hours when the tree pit is open.

RHID Sunrise Addition Cedar Street bids could not be looked at because Marvin had to be excused due to conflict of interest, it did not leave a quorum.

Brenda passed out a spreadsheet showing Unifirst’s original quote, revised quote, and the proposed costs if the City provided items on our own. Unifirst did come back and state they would not do rugs and other accessories without one person on uniforms. After discussion, the Council agreed to give a 90-day notice to Unifirst and try it on our own.

The drainage from Poplar Street drains into the ditch at Poplar and Locust and has been blocked by the construction of the new grade school. If we were to have heavy rain, flooding would occur. The Council asked Tyler to talk to the contractor or School Superintendent about this. They also asked about the damage that is occurring to Poplar Street with all of the construction vehicles.

Luke Jaeger, EGE, arrived at 7:40 pm, thinking that was the time for the RNR hearing. The RNR Hearing was already closed, and Resolution passed, but the Council asked him to go ahead and present his information. Luke is concerned about bringing and keeping people in Minneola with the high taxes and how citizens are already being squeezed financially. Current inflation is making it tight for everyone. He is excited about the new development, but we need to lower taxes to bring people in. He would like to see new innovations to help reduce the tax burden. Luke explained a few innovations that he has seen like drones spraying for mosquitoes and solar. The Council thanked him and asked him to come back anytime with thoughts or ideas.

EBH put an estimate together for the infrastructure for Magnolia Street. This gives the Council insight as to what the costs/bids should be at.

EBH put an estimate together along with grant information for the Poplar Street extension. This information is needed to apply for the KDOT Cost Share Program. The grant is 80/20 and if awarded, someone would still have to cover the 20%. Tyler will put the application in prior to the deadline.

Tim’s Yard Care provided a quote to put a sprinkler system in the Veteran’s Park. With the dry drought conditions, we are having a difficult time keeping the grass and trees alive. Dustin made a motion to proceed with the quote, Marvin seconded, motion passed 3/0. The Council asked Tyler to check with Tim’s Yard Care about splitting the costs between this year and next year. They also asked Tyler to contact the Civic Club to see if they would be interested in supporting this.

The City received the EMC dividend check. This will go back into the General Fund to help cover some of the initial costs.

Debbie made a motion to give a check to Mick Johnson for spending numerous hours this summer watering the trees in the Community Park, Dustin seconded, motion passed 3/0.

Rusty Swonger will mow the RHID Sunrise Addition within the next two weeks. Hopefully, that will be the final time this year.

A thank you from USD 219 and students was passed around for our support for “Reality You.”

The Solar Farm contractor contacted Minneola City Hall about purchasing bulk water. The large amount of water they are needing may stress our system and the amount of financial gain for the City wouldn’t be that significant. The Council all agreed to save our water unless the benefits were to increase substantially.

Bills were reviewed. Marvin made a motion to approve the bills as presented, Debbie seconded, motion passed 3/0.

Marvin made a motion to recess the meeting until Monday, September 30, 2024, at 7:00pm, in the Civic Connection, to hold the zoning hearing for 401-405 Maple and to finish any unfinished business, Dustin seconded, motion passed 3/0. The meeting recessed at 9:05 pm.

City Clerk