RECORD OF PROCEEDING
Meeting of the Board of Aldermen of the City of Clarkson Valley, January 9, 2024
Mayor McNamara led everyone with the Pledge of Allegiance.
A roll call for the meeting was taken with the following result:
PRESENT
Mayor Sue McNamara
Alderman Andrew Low Ward 1
Alderman Jeff Schweig Ward 1
Alderman Honora Schiller Ward 2
Alderman Brock MacDonald Ward 2
Alderman Lin Midyett Ward 3
ABSENT – Alderman Gregg Bogosian
Also in Attendance:
City Attorney: Patrick Butler (via Zoom)
City Clerk: Michele McMahon
Alderman Midyett made the Motion to amend and accept the amended Agenda changing the order under New Business.
From:
(a) Discuss Updating Building Permit Fee Schedule
(b) Discuss Updating Liquor License Fee Schedule
(c) Resolution 24-01 – ARPA – Approval of Disbursement to Forest Hills Ridge
(d) Resolution 24-02 – ARPA – Approval of Disbursement to Clarkson Mill Circle
To:
(a) Resolution 24-01 – ARPA – Approval of Disbursement to Forest Hills Ridge
(b) Resolution 24-02 – ARPA – Approval of Disbursement to Clarkson Mill Circle
(c) Discuss Updating Building Permit Fee Schedule
(d) Discuss Updating Liquor License Fee Schedule
The motion was seconded by Alderman Schweig. A voice vote was taken to amend and accept the amended Agenda with an affirmative result and the motion was declared passed.
Mayor McNamara stated there will be no Closed Hearing tonight, but we will hold a Public Hearing at 7:00 to hear the Planning and Zoning Commission’s Report and to hear from any citizens who wish to speak regarding the recodification of Title IV.
Alderman Schiller made a motion to waive the reading of the December 2023 and accept the Minutes as posted, seconded by Alderman Midyett. A voice vote was taken to waive the reading and accept the Minutes of the December 2023 Meeting with an affirmative result and the motion was declared passed.
REMARKS, PETITIONS AND COMPLAINTS
There were no remarks, petitions, or complaints.
REPORTS
Chesterfield Police Report
Lt. Connelly gave the December Police Report.
Mayor’s Report
Court Report: The amount collected from fines for the month of December was $1,680.94.
iPad for Building Commissioner: With Andrew’s assistance, we worked on getting an iPad for the Building Commissioner, which came in under the budgeted amount and has proven to be invaluable.
Building Permit Fee Structure: We worked on the fee structure and will get to this in a few minutes under New Business.
Liquor License Fee Structure: This past month we worked on the Liquor License Fee Structure; consulting with other cities with country clubs to see what fees they charge so we can arrive at a comparable fee. We currently charge $75 and the nine other cities with country club’s charge between $450 and $1,000.
Safety Enhancements for City Hall: We continue to work on safety enhancements including security locking devices and alarms. We also looked at the basement area of city hall to see what storage opportunities might be offered.
Hiring a Full Time Deputy City Clerk: We are working on Hiring a full-time person for City Hall to prepare for when the current City Administrator steps down, time yet to be determined. We recognize that it will take some time to become cognizant and proficient with all the things she does. Aldermen Midyett and Bogosian have agreed to serve on a committee to come up with some of the criteria that we’ll need to attract a good, viable candidate for this position in a full-time capacity. That includes considering salaries and benefits, which includes insurance, vacation, retirement package and whatever else we will need. We’ve never done this before, so this is going to be new territory.
MSD Clear Valley Drive Sanitary Relief Project: Mayor McNamara Attended the MSD webinar regarding a project upgrading the sanitary sewer lines in the Westhampton Subdivision. There were a few residents that attended and there were many questions asked of those engineers from MSD. Hopefully this project will go smoothly.
December LAMO Meeting: Mayor McNamara attended the Lafayette Area Mayors’ Organization meeting in Pacific at the Red Cedar Inn and Children’s Museum which is located along old Hwy. 66. They have done an amazing job displaying all the artifacts of everything to do with old Route 66 in the City of Pacific. She mentioned a world map they have posted with colored pins showing the location of the museum’s visitors and speaks very highly of how people are still attracted by the history, which also includes history on the railroad passing through Pacific along with the mining that took place there.
Deer Bow Hunting: Mayor McNamara reported that deer bow hunting season ends January 15 and our harvest is down a bit. This year we harvested 14 deer: 11 does, and 3 bucks.
Coffee with the Mayor / Wine with the Mayor: She reported that we are still planning to host a Coffee with the Mayor and Wine with the Mayor in late February. She asked the Aldermen if they had any preference, timewise, because she would like them to be in attendance, if possible. She was considering a Thursday night or a Sunday afternoon and asked the Aldermen to please let her know their thoughts.
Copier – Lease or Purchase? We investigated whether it’s better to lease a copier or buy it outright (which also comes with an annual service maintenance charge) and they both pretty much equaled the same. Right now, we are in a five-year lease agreement with four years remaining so as of right now, we’ll just leave that as is.
Building Permit and Code Enforcement Tracking Software: Investigated what applications of software other cities use to track building permit/code enforcement detail. We thought it was a great idea and it is, but the charge is prohibitive given the size of our city and the number of permits that we issue per year. We feel that we’re still in a good position using the spreadsheet we’ve been utilizing these past decades and we are going to leave things the way they are.
Title IV Planning and Zoning Hearing (for Recodification Purposes): Mayor McNamara attended the P&Z Meeting that was held on Thursday, January 4. She said she would be asking Alderman Schiller, who serves on that Commission, to speak on this subject later in the meeting.
2024-2025 Budget Discussion: Mayor McNamara reported that she has once again, asked Aldermen Midyett and Bogosian to serve on the Budget Committee and is gearing up to review and construct the Budget for next year which will take effect July 1, 2024. This last year we were nearly delinquent in having that in place due to the changeover from Mayor Douglass to her, not only that, but the changeover from everybody else. She concluded by saying she would like to get an earlier start so that by the middle of June, we’re ready.
Clarkson Valley’s Logo: Mayor McNamara continues to work on the logo for the City and just met with Marquette’s Art Teacher, Emily Bowdern, yesterday and Alderman Schweig has agreed to help her with seeking vendors and bids for doing these applications as necessary. Mayor McNamara said that because of the holiday, there are no new logos nor modifications from what she showed in December – school was out, and we were out so this will come about next time, but she has the three logo designs that we identified at the December meeting as seeming to be the most popular. In February she will have more designs and/or modifications and they will show the logo as it would appear on business cards, stationary, signage (which includes our four Welcome signs, as well as the decals on our street signs, and lastly, a layout as it’s applied to a polo shirt. I would like to do these polo shirts for all of us, as I think it’s a nice touch to walk into meetings and demonstrate this degree of pride and visibility that I’ve seen at other meetings with other townships.
Guardrail, Fence and Retaining Wall South of Marquette’s Entrance: Mayor McNamara reported that we monitored a situation on Marquette property in front of the retention pond along Clarkson Road which experienced a damaged guard rail, missing fence pieces and retaining wall damage – and has now been resolved.
IT Quotes for the City’s Two Computers: Alderman Low is still investigating IT quotes for the City’s two computers and hopefully we’ll be able to make some announcements shortly.
Aldermanic and Mayoral Pay Increases: We also looked at Mayoral and elected official pay increases which we’ve been juggling for the last week or two.
Aldermanic Reports
P&Z Meeting: Alderman Schiller reported that she attended the P&Z Meeting this past Thursday.
Cyber Insurance: Alderman Midyett reported that he is still working on the cyber insurance quotes and should have the third bid any day now. He said we should have a package for everybody to review by next week.
IT Management Company: Alderman Low reported that he has received one firm quote, and they are waiting to address the Board in a future meeting and he’s expecting one more quote. He said those two will be the ones that we’ll have to evaluate as a technology committee, further stating he is not expecting any additional bids. He concluded by saying he would have liked to have more, but we have smaller needs than other small businesses and municipalities.
Web Hosting: Alderman Low reported that he was able to receive an extension from The Miller Group on the management of the website for the time being. They know we are looking and trying to decide on a new service provider, and he is still expecting a quote from them.
City Attorney Report:
The City Attorney, Patrick Butler, reported (virtually) that all is good in the City and he had no report.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Recodification: Mayor McNamara reported that since we have made substantive changes to our code based on Missouri statute changes and other corrective changes in the zoning regulations as set out in Chapter 405 of the Clarkson Valley code, we are asking for Bill No. 0537 to be adopted. We held our Planning and Zoning Meeting as was necessary. She then asked if Alderman Schiller cared to add anything. Alderman Schiller asked who wrote the Bill? To which the answer was that General Code presented this to us and this is how other cities adopt their recodified codes.
PUBLIC HEARING
Discuss the Proposed Amendments to the Zoning Regulations Pursuant to Section 89.050 RSMo: City Administrator, Michele McMahon, read the Notice of Public Hearing: A Public Hearing will be held at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, January 9, 2024, at the Clarkson Executive Center, 15933 Clayton Road, and virtually at which time citizens may be heard regarding the consideration of amendments to the zoning regulations, made in conformance with State Statute and to update various zoning regulations, pursuant to Section 89.050, RSMo. All interested members of the public are invited to attend. Signed: Sue McNamara, Mayor, City of Clarkson Valley, Missouri.
Mayor McNamara, seeing no one in attendance wishing to discuss and no one attending the virtual Zoom screen, asked if anyone on the Board wished to discuss this. Upon hearing none, she closed the Public Hearing at 7:01 and reconvened the Regular Meeting.
NEW BUSINESS
BILL NO. 0537 – AN ORDINANCE ADOPTING AND ENACTING A NEW CODE OF ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF CLARKSON VALLEY, COUNTY OF ST. LOUIS, STATE OF MISSOURI; ESTABLISHING THE SAME; PROVIDING FOR THE REPEAL OF CERTAIN ORDINANCES NOT INCLUDED THEREIN, EXCEPT AS HEREIN EXPRESSLY PROVIDED; PROVIDING FOR THE MANNER OF AMENDING SUCH CODE OF ORDINANCES; PROVIDING PENALTY FOR THE VIOLATION THEREOF; AND PROVIDING WHEN THIS ORDINANCE SHALL BECOME EFFECTIVE.
A motion was made by Alderman Schiller and seconded by Alderman Low to discuss and pass Bill No. 0537. The City Administrator read Bill No. 0537 for the first time. There was no discussion. The City Administrator read Bill No. 0537 the second time. A roll call vote was taken, with the following results. Ayes: Low, MacDonald, Midyett, Schiller and Schweig. There were no nays. Whereby, Mayor McNamara declared Bill No. 0537 as having passed and is now Ordinance No. 24-01.
RESOLUTION NO. 24-01 – RESOLUTION OF THE BOARD OF ALDERMEN OF THE CITY OF CLARKSON VALLEY APPROVING THE PAYMENT OF AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN ACT (“ARPA”) FUNDS TO THE HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION OF FOREST HILLS RIDGE (“FOREST HILLS RIDGE”).
A motion to discuss and pass Resolution No. 24-01 was made by Alderman Schiller and seconded by Alderman Schweig. The City Administrator read the Resolution. There were no questions and there was no discussion and Mayor McNamara called for the vote. A roll call vote was taken to approve ARPA payment to Forest Hills Ridge with the following result: Ayes: MacDonald, Midyett, Schiller and Schweig. There were no nays. Abstention: Low. The motion to approve Resolution No. 24-01 was declared passed.
RESOLUTION NO. 24-02 – RESOLUTION OF THE BOARD OF ALDERMEN OF THE CITY OF CLARKSON VALLEY APPROVING THE PAYMENT OF AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN ACT (“ARPA”) FUNDS TO THE HOMEOWNERS ASSOCIATION OF CLARKSON MILL CIRCLE (“CLARKSON MILL CIRCLE”).
A motion to discuss and pass Resolution No. 24-02 was made by Alderman Midyett and seconded by Alderman Schweig. The City Administrator read the Resolution. There were no questions and there was no discussion and Mayor McNamara called for the vote. A roll call vote was taken to approve ARPA payment to Clarkson Mill Circle with the following result: MacDonald, Midyett, Schiller and Schweig. There were no nays. Abstention: Low. The motion to approve Resolution No. 24-02 was declared passed.
Updating our Building Permit Fee Schedule: Mayor McNamara led a discussion on the City’s building permit fees. The team, consisting of her, the Building Commissioner, Brad Holmes; and the City Administrator, examined the issue and found the City’s fees currently being charged are significantly lower than all other municipalities in the area. Additionally, it appears that the current method of permit fee determination is outdated, difficult to use and is somewhat arbitrary, further stating that the fees are scattered throughout the code. Mr. Holmes was present and reported that a fee schedule that is based upon a percentage of the total project cost of construction is very common and is well accepted by contractors and homeowners alike. Mayor McNamara and Mr. Holmes referred the Board Members to various graphs in their packets and both stated the “dollars-per-thousand” factor would result in an amount that covers all permit-related expenses and could be placed easily into a fee schedule which will be in only one place within the code, easily found.
Alderman MacDonald asked the Board if anyone opposed raising permit fees, to which there was no negative response. At this point, however, Alderman Schiller stated that we will have to change our ordinance because our code says you can’t make fee changes except in January quoting something from Section 500.310 to which City Attorney, Patrick Butler, said the section that Alderman Schiller mentions, 500.310, only applies to automatic adjustments under the CPI, where many cities have the similar language. This does not limit the City to take independent actions for factors unrelated to CPI and does not prohibit the City for reasons other than the CPI from changing the building fees. Secondly, he stated, the City has not taken any action on that in over 20 years and as a legislative matter, it has been demonstrated tonight that the City should recoup the Building Commissioners fees and the fees incurred by City Hall, concluding by saying we should not be losing money on doing inspections which we have been for years and that is a good cause why you can pass this tonight, independent of Section 500.310.
Alderman MacDonald reiterated his question to the Board, to ask if there is any reason to leave these permit fees the same and asked if there was any opposition to asking Mr. Holmes to develop a formula to present to us later? Mayor McNamara said this is one of those items she wanted to discuss in a working session, however that did not happen and that’s one reason we are here tonight to discuss the formula. Mayor McNamara asked the City Attorney if we need to appeal Section 500.310, to which he responded you can if you’d like, but it is not necessary as that Section states you “may” increase your fees according to the CPI. Mayor McNamara said, in other words, we can agree to vote tonight to choose whatever manner of employing fees we choose. She then mentioned Mr. Holmes’ formula for determining building permit fees for “X” number of dollars per thousand (of project cost), running the gamut from $6.50 per $1,000 project cost, to $8.00 per $1,000. Mr. Holmes said our current rate garners us between $1.71 and $2.38 versus these figures used by other cities. Mayor McNamara said she would like to see us charge what she believes we’re worth, and she thinks Mr. Holmes identified us at $7.00 per $1,000 which puts us in a pretty good place.
Alderman MacDonald said by using that computation, would we be charging a base, to which Mayor McNamara said she would like this to be as simple as possible and that her opinion is we should not charge a base. Alderman Low mentioned the fee for one little bathroom remodel, which is significantly different than an entire commercial remodel and said he could get on board with those fees varying, but with that in mind, what would be the appropriate fee increase that we should decide on. At this point, Mr. Holmes brought up a permit application we took yesterday for a whole-house interior gut and remodel where the project costs come in at $1.44 million and if you applied $7.00 per $1,000, that is a $10,000 permit fee. Then he asked if we were going to provide $10,000 worth of inspections, and answered his question with, probably not. Mayor McNamara stated that we are not trying to do this to gouge our residents.
Discussion then turned to upgrades to the project, i.e. high-tech, complex, large scope projects adding to the project cost which will not cause more efforts for inspections. Another example used a $50 per flooring cost versus $25 per flooring cost, stating the value delta does not cost any more to inspect. Alderman Low asked Mr. Holmes what dollar value is needed and justifiable going forward and said he does not see that mentioned in the packet material but needs it to help nail this down. In the end, it came down to the larger projects taking more of the Building Commissioner’s time along with that of the City Administrator. Mr. Holmes said these larger projects are carrying the smaller projects because we are not recouping enough money when using $7.00 per thousand on a $10,000 bathroom remodel. Alderman Schiller said part of the project cost goes to items such as flooring and cabinets, for which you are not inspecting but Alderman Low interjected that charging a fee based on the project’s cost is a standard way to assess permit fees. Further asking the question that collecting these fees will never be exact but does the complexity and attention of the Building Commissioner go up as the cost of the project increases, to which Mr. Holmes answered, yes.
Alderman MacDonald said since we’re not going to decide tonight, he would like to get a copy of the spreadsheet so he can tinker with it. He said on this Excel spreadsheet, he sees projects ranging from $5,000 to $500,000 and asked Mr. Holmes if he had ever considered a graduated dollar per thousand, giving the example that if the project is less than $25,000 it is set at $8.00 per thousand, up to over $100,000, it would only be $5.00 per thousand. Mr. Holmes said it’s important to have a minimum permit fee for a very small project, and a maximum amount for larger projects. He stated an example of Marquette applying for a $15 million addition, saying you’re not going to charge them $300,000 in permit fees. Wherein Mayor McNamara said we tend to think of ourselves as strictly residential, but included in our City is Mercy, Rockwood has three schools and to Alderman MacDonald’s idea, a maximum and a minimum would be a good idea because you don’t want to gouge Mercy or Rockwood just because they are applying for a huge high tech upgrade.
Discussion concluded with Mayor McNamara reiterating Alderman Low’s statement, saying we must decide where we want to be. She said perhaps we can come up with the appropriate amount to indicate on our fee schedule and hold a Special Meeting, say on Wednesday, to vote on it and get it done. Alderman Schiller said she would like to look at those figures herself and she really does not have any more to discuss about it until she does look at the figures. Mayor McNamara said she would like to act on this right away. Alderman Low said he was fond of option B – $6.50 per $1,000, which is right in the middle of the other municipality charges. Aldermen Schiller and Midyett said they would like additional time to visit the information. Aldermen Schweig and MacDonald agreed with Alderman Low’s mention of $6.50 however, Alderman MacDonald added that he would like a cap and a floor added to the fee schedule but needs to review the spreadsheet. It was asked if Mr. Holmes should be in attendance, to which Alderman Low said he believes the Building Commissioner has done his part and everyone thanked him.
Liquor License Fee Schedule: Alderman Low made a motion to discuss the potentiality of increasing the fee of the liquor license fee, issued annually to Forest Hills Country Club, seconded by Alderman Midyett. A voice vote was taken to discuss liquor licenses and it was decided by all that we would discuss this. Mayor McNamara mentioned the list of fees contained in their packet that are charged by other cities in various townships with country clubs. She went over the list naming the cities and the clubs, stating the license fee, which averaged $651.67. Mayor McNamara reported that we currently charge $75 annually. She also reported that she notified Forest Hills Country Club’s General Manager, Emma Gore, who could neither attend nor send someone to our meeting. After further discussion, Alderman Midyett made a motion to approve a fee of $600 for an ordinance to be created for passage on a later date, seconded by Alderman MacDonald. A roll call vote was taken with the following result.: Ayes: Low, MacDonald, Midyett, and Schweig. Nays: Schiller. The motion was declared passed and an ordinance setting a fee schedule will be presented to the Aldermen for a vote at a future meeting.
Audit: Alderman Low made a motion to approve the payment of invoices for $93,259.88 seconded by Alderman Midyett. A voice vote was taken to approve the audit with a unanimous affirmative result and the motion was declared passed.
Alderman Low made a motion to adjourn the meeting, seconded by Alderman Midyett. A voice vote was taken with a unanimous affirmative result and the motion was declared passed. The Regular Meeting of the Board of Aldermen adjourned at 8:00 p.m.
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Sue McNamara, Mayor
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ATTEST: Michele McMahon, City Administrator/City Clerk