Approved meeting minutes from the Board of Aldermen.   

 

Wednesday, January 11, 2012

 

 

CALL TO ORDER  

 

A public meeting of the Board of Aldermen of the City of Pasadena Hills was held at Pasadena Hills City Hall on Wednesday, January 11, 2012. Mayor Livingston called the regular meeting to order at 7:07 p.m. with Alderpersons Bahan, Clifton, Lindhorst, and Press present. Also in attendance were Treasurer/Environmental Commissioner Blume, Building Commissioner Kelly, Street Commissioner Lucas, Officers Jundt and Whalen, Attorney McAvoy and Clerk Runge. There were numerous residents in attendance (those wishing to speak are listed on the sign in sheet included in the meeting record).   Lt. Varner from St. Louis County was also in attendance.   

 

APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES – December 14, 2012

 

The Board reviewed the minutes from the regular meeting of December 14, 2011. Alderman Lindhorst made a motion to accept the minutes as submitted. Alderman Bahan seconded the motion. MOTION APPROVED ON A VOICE VOTE.

 

CORRESPONDENCE

 

There was no correspondence to review.

 

MARSHAL’S REPORT

Call Report

 

Officer Jundt reported that the month of December had 40 calls for service and one crime where some copper was stolen. 

 

Further discussion regarding calls for service.        

 

Event Committee

 

Ms. Penkake listed the events she had planned for the year which included the Easter Egg Hunt on March 31^st, Neighborhood Garage Sale sometime in late May, and the Block Party.  

 

Alderman Clifton stated that an area around Washington University coordinated their garage sale around the students going back to school in late summer. She stated that maybe this could be done in Pasadena Hills as UMSL was so close.   

 

Further discussion. 

 

STREET COMMISSIONER

 

Commissioner Lucas stated he had driven the City with the new snow contractor. He added that the City should be saving on salt this year as prices were cheaper than last year. He added that he was looking at street and sidewalk repairs for the upcoming budget.    

 

BUILDING COMMISSIONER

Other Property Issues

 

Commissioner Kelly updated the Board regarding the current permits within the City. He stated that he had visited a resident on Canterbury that had left quite a bit of limbs/debris on the easement to get everything cleaned up within the week.   He stated that a Winchester resident had been in court since last October over open storage issues and that he and Clerk Runge were going to turn things over to the County’s Problem Property Unit very shortly.   

 

Mayor Livingston stated that there had been quite a few complaints on a certain street regarding derelict vehicles that had been addressed.    

 

TREASURER’S REPORT

Bills List

 

Treasurer Blume reviewed the items on the bills lists with the Board.  

 

Alderman Bahan made a motion to approve the bills list. Alderman Lindhorst seconded the motion. MOTION APPROVED ON A VOICE VOTE.

 

Mayor Livingston stated that since the City anticipated increased volunteer activity, the City had increased the City’s insurance coverage.

 

Further discussion. 

 

Financials Ending November 30, 2011

 

Treasurer Blume reviewed the Financials with the Board.   He stated that the City was better off than anticipated with the sales taxes running ahead. He stated that expenses were below $59,000 with the revenues being up by about $18,000. He anticipated doing even better by the end of the year.  

 

Mayor Livingston stated that the budget for next year would see decreased intergovernmental taxes due to the 2010 census where the City lost 19% of their population. 

 

Further discussion.

 

The Board approved the financial reports as submitted.

 

Budget Work Session

 

The Board decided to meet on February 1, 2012, for the Budget Work Session.

 

ENVIRONMENTAL COMMISSIONER

 

There was nothing to report.

 

LAWYER

Auto Sticker Ordinance

 

Mayor Livingston stated that the Board had agreed to going to a two-year sticker. He stated that the plan was to be more aggressive about enforcement.

 

BILL 917

AN ORDINANCE AMENDING SECTION 380.170 OF THE MUNICIPAL CODE OF THE CITY OF PASADENA HILLS PERTAINING TO THE LICENSING OF MOTOR VEHICLES – APPLICATION – FEES – PREREQUISITE TO ISSUANCE WITH A NEW SECTION 380.170 OF THE MUNICIPAL CODE OF THE CITY OF PASADENA HILLS IN ORDER TO CODIFY THE SAME.

 

Alderman Bahan made a motion for the first reading of Bill No. 915. Alderman Lindhorst seconded the motion. All members voted in the affirmative and the motion passed. Attorney McAvoy read the bill in its entirety.

 

Alderman Bahan made a motion for a second reading of the bill by title only. Alderman Lindhorst seconded the motion.   All members voted in the affirmative and the motion passed. Attorney McAvoy gave a second reading of the bill by title only.

 

Alderman Bahan made a motion to adopt Bill No. 917 as Ordinance 909. Alderman Lindhorst seconded the motion.

 

Clerk Runge asked for a roll-call vote:

Alderman Bahan YES   Alderman Clifton YES   Alderman Lindhorst, YES   Alderman Press, YES

MOTION PASSED ON A ROLL CALL VOTE.

 

Since a majority of members voted in favor of adopting Bill 917 as an Ordinance of the City, the bill will become Ordinance 909 when signed by the Mayor.

 

60 Day Tarp Ordinance

 

Attorney McAvoy stated he was still working on this item.  

 

OLD BUSINESS

Trash Contract

 

Mayor Livingston stated that the new trash contract would go into effect on June 1^st. He stated that the goal was to reduce cost without big changes and he felt this was accomplished. He stated that the billing would also be moving to Waste Management which would save time in collections as well as reduce administrative time and costs. 

 

Entrance Project

 

Allen Penkake, Ad-Hoc Committee Chairman, updated the Board with his assessment of the front properties. He stated that he thought they could make the area look good for a little bit of money.   He stated that they wanted to get bids for the Board to review.

 

Mayor Livingston stated that he wasn’t sure the Ad-hoc Committee was on the same page as the Board. He stated that there needed to be a big overview before sending out for bids or commissioning any work to be done. He stated that he also wanted a community discussion as to what might be best to do with the properties.

 

Alderman Bahan stated that before the City spent any money, it needed to determine if the building was even worth keeping.

 

Mayor Livingston added that the building needed a “clean bill of health” before any volunteer was allowed to work in or around the property.

 

Further discussion.

 

Alderman Bahan requested the Ad-hoc Committee pull their information together and give it to the Board to review – possibly at the March Town Hall meeting. 

 

Repair Fence along Overbrook  

 

Mayor Livingston stated that the fences that lined the back of Overbrook had been in bad repair for many years. He stated that the City was not allowed to build a fence on private property. He stated that there was an area of City common ground between Marlboro and Nadine that did not have a fence – this City could look at.   

 

Further discussion. 

 

NEW BUSINESS

Park Planning Grant  

 

Alderman Bahan updated the residents regarding the Park Planning Grant. He stated that it was step one of two that enabled the City to hire a consulting group to design the “eventual” park.   He stated that the grant application was due by February 24^th. 

 

OTHER

 

Mayor Livingston stated that there had been a string of people in the office inquiring about their Trustee Assessment bills. He added that it really wasn’t the City Clerk’s job to address these issues. 

 

Alderman Bahan stated that it might be beneficial for the Trustees to have a town hall meeting of their own to let residents know what they really did and review their financial statements.

 

Alderman Press stated that Erich gave a record of their expenditures at each Trustee meeting.

 

Further discussion.

 

Mayor Livingston suggested putting something on the City website that explained the difference between the City and the Trustees.

 

COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS FROM RESIDENTS

 

Ms. Simmons asked if the City had a “pooper scooper” ordinance. She stated that not only was it messy but it created a health hazard. 

 

Ms. Livingston stated that she had priced out baggie dispensers to place on existing poles in the neighborhood. She stated that it would be mentioned in the newsletter.

 

Ms. LeCoz stated that a light had been out on her street for at least 6 months.

 

Mayor Livingston stated that Mr. Lucas was looking at the maintenance program the City currently had with Habco. He stated he would ask him to place high priority on fixing the light.

 

Mr. Penkake stated that the wreaths that had been on the streetlights had been placed in the radiator shop. He stated that the radiator shop was not clean and needed volunteers to help clean it up.

 

Mayor Livingston reiterated the need to keep volunteers out of the radiator shop until it was cleared of any biohazards.

 

Ms. Joan Parham stated that she would like to put together a calendar for the community. 

 

Mayor Livingston stated he was pleased that the City was now getting the Ferguson newspaper. He thought it was good to collaborate with nearby cities.

 

Mr. Odell stated that 1000 shoes were collected over the holidays.

 

Ms. Simmons stated she would like to see UMSL collaborate more with the City.  

 

Alderman Clifton stated that UMSL had contacted the City regarding using students as interns to help in the office. She stated she would be in contact with them.

 

Resident Bill Knowles wanted to thank Mr. Penkake for replacing the gate by the sprinkler system control area.

 

Ms. Simmons wanted to thank the Board that her comments were wanted and validated.

 

ADJOURNMENT   

 

Alderman Clifton moved to adjourn the meeting into closed session at 8:40 p.m. according to Section 610.021 (1 and 2). Alderman Lindhorst seconded the motion and all members of the Board voted in favor. 

 

Alderman Clifton moved to adjourn closed session at 10:05 p.m. After having no business to conduct in open session, Alderman Clifton moved to adjourn. Alderman Lindhorst seconded the motion and all members of the Board voted in favor. 

 

Respectfully Submitted,

 

 

Kathy A. Runge

City Clerk