RECORD OF PROCEEDING

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Meeting of the Board of Aldermen of the City of Clarkson Valley at City Hall (Clarkson Executive Center), December 5, 2017.
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The meeting was called to order at 7:30 p.m. A roll call was taken with the following results:

Also in Attendance:

City Attorney:  Patrick S. Butler
City Clerk: Michele McMahon   

Alderperson King made a motion to accept the Minutes from the November 7th meeting.  Alderperson Midyett seconded the motion.  A voice vote was taken to accept the Minutes 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   

Captain Thompson gave the November Police Report.  He stated the police sub-station office has been decked out with new carpeting.  He further stated the carpeting along with a coat of paint all donated by the building management has the office looking very fresh.  

Mayor’s Report 

Court Report:  The total amount collected for traffic fines and court costs for the month of November 2017 was $5,962.00. 

Demolition of Garage – Completed:  Mayor Douglass said the silo and barn have been gone for a while but the garage was removed at the old farm at 2215 Kehrs Mill Road before the change of ownership occurred, as required by the City.  The new home owners have contracted the services of an architect and awarded the construction job.  Plans will probably be submitted in March.   

Health, Dental and Liability Insurance:  Mayor Douglass mentioned the liability insurance increased by 16.5% and handed out a spreadsheet he prepared.  The employees’ health and dental insurance would be off-budget by $343 but went on to say we did not anticipate the increase for liability insurance.  Between the two line items, we will have a difference from the budget for a total of $1,495.81 for the year.  Alderperson Midyett asked if MoPERM’s increase was based on incidents.  Patrick Butler explained that we are part of a pool.  He mentioned there was an article in the paper just this week referring to MoPERM’s costs for covering Ferguson, which ended up being millions of dollars.  This affected everyone’s premiums.   

Alderpersons’ Reports 

Westhampton Subdivision Annual Meeting:  Alderperson Midyett reported they held their annual subdivision meeting.  He said one resident of the subdivision mentioned the police are not as visible as they have in the past.  On a different note, he reminded Mayor Douglass and the Board Members that in July 2016 a resident of his subdivision, Terry Knox, attended our meeting and spoke regarding the middle turn lane and how two subdivisions have to share that middle lane to turn into and out of Westhampton and Forest Hills.  He brought that up again at their meeting. 

Mayor Douglass mentioned that he would like to attend the various subdivision meetings this year to introduce the police and to explain the recent Resolution we just passed opposing a statewide vote for a change in government structure between St. Louis City and County.  He further explained there is a gentleman that will speak to about 500 people at a forum to be held tomorrow and is extremely interesting.  He mentioned, however, he hopes the people really hear what he’s saying opposed to walking away with that one thought. 

Forest Hills Club Estates Annual Meeting:  Alderperson Schiller explained that Scott Schultz is the Trustee President and he would be giving this report, but in his absence she reported that there was a resident at the meeting who also mentioned the police not being visible.  She went on to say, however, there was another resident living on the same street that felt the police presence was too intense.  On a different note, she reported there were a lot of people against the speed indicator signage.   

Time Change on Setting Out Waste Containers:  Alderperson Schiller directed everyone’s attention to the back of their packet and stated she remembers in 2003, we discussed setting yard waste out at 8:30 p.m. on Sunday opposed to the day of trash pickup.  At that time Frank Hodgdon, who served as Zoning Chairman for the City, felt that was too late.  The time was set at 5:00.  Alderperson Schiller went on to say that she now feels 5:00 might be too late and would prefer to see it changed to 4:00.  Mayor Douglass asked the remaining Alderpersons how they feel about it.  Alderperson Meyer said he is okay with that but also mentioned he continues to see containers out during the week. 

Solar-Powered Speed Indicator Signs:  Alderperson Setnicka spoke about the life of the signs and said the LED signs would work forever.  City Clerk, Michele McMahon, reported MoPERM would insure liability if anyone ran into the sign on private streets but would not cover damage that would occur to the signs themselves.  Alderperson Setnicka reported she checked with St. Louis County Highway Department about placing the signs on Kehrs Mill Road along with MoDOT for Clarkson Road.  Alderperson Midyett said he spoke about it at his subdivision meeting and the residents were in favor of the signs.  Alderperson Setnicka said we can take time to think about this and maybe revisit in January.  By that time, she said, the Prop P funds will be coming in and also reminded us the installer said the best time to install these would be in the spring. 

David Rusk, Urban Policy Expert:  Alderperson King explained the gentleman Mayor Douglass mentioned earlier is David Rusk.  He is the ex-Mayor of Albuquerque and is in town this week to not only speak at a forum event tomorrow as mentioned by Mayor Douglass, but was featured on KMOX today.  He said it was a very interesting discussion and recommended going to KMOX.com to hear the podcast interview.  He said he is unable to attend tomorrow’s meeting and reported that stated in the interview, Mr. Rusk believes St. Louis is the 4th most fragmented city in the U.S. and blames the 91 municipal governments in the County.  He suggested greater authority should be given to the East West Government Council.  Alderperson King concluded by saying the recommendation will probably come from the Better Together group in mid-summer. 

Deer Harvest:  Alderperson Meyer mentioned the deer count so far this year is 25.  He compared that to the first year we held a hunt, which took almost 100 deer, although we do have a month and 10 days to go with the hunt.  He also mentioned speaking with Erin Shank, the Missouri Department of Conservation’s Urban Wildlife Biologist.  She agreed that it’s been a long time since a count was conducted by the West St. Louis County Deer Task Force which occurred in 2004/2005.  Alderperson Meyer mentioned the way they conducted the survey back then was by renting an airplane and flying during times of heavy snow cover, making it easier to count deer but very expensive.  He suggested drones could be used to update the survey.  Back then it was estimated parts of Chesterfield and Clarkson Valley had 86 deer on average per square mile.  He would be curious to see if these hunts are helping cull the population.  

City Attorney’s Report 

There was no report. 

UNFINISHED BUSINESS 

There was no unfinished business. 

NEW BUSINESS 

Insurance:  Alderperson Schiller made a motion that we approve the employees’ health and dental insurance and the City’s liability insurance, seconded by Alderperson Meyer.  A voice vote was taken to approve the motion with a unanimous affirmative result and the motion was declared passed. 

Michelle Brzyski and her son, Jacob attended the meeting and introduced themselves.  Jacob is currently a Life Member of the Boy Scouts with Troop 809 from St. Monica’s Catholic Church in Creve Coeur and is embarking upon his Eagle Scout project.  We all welcomed them and wished Jacob luck in his endeavor. 

Audit:  Alderperson Schiller made a motion to approve payment of invoices in the amount of $79,099.81, seconded by Alderperson Meyer.  A voice vote was taken to approve the audit with a unanimous affirmative result and the motion was declared passed. 

Alderperson King made a motion to adjourn, seconded by Alderperson Schiller.  A voice vote was taken with a unanimous affirmative result and the motion was declared passed.  The meeting adjourned at 8:30 p.m. 

Scott Douglass, Mayor

ATTEST:  Michele McMahon, City Clerk