RECORD OF PROCEEDING
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Meeting of the Board of Aldermen of the City of Clarkson Valley, October 5, 2021
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The virtually-held meeting was called to order at 6:30 p.m. It was duly noted that in an attempt to be as open and transparent as possible, the October 2021 Regular Meeting of the Board of Aldermen was made available to all citizens.
The meeting opened with the Pledge of Allegiance.
A roll call for the meeting was taken with the following result:
PRESENT Ward
Mayor Scott Douglass
Alderperson Jim Meyer Ward 1
Alderperson Sue McNamara Ward 1
Alderperson Honora Schiller Ward 2
Alderperson Julie Blanner Ward 2
Alderperson Scott Schultz Ward 3
Alderperson Lin Midyett Ward 3
Also in Attendance:
City Clerk: Michele McMahon
City Attorney: Patrick Butler
Alderperson Schiller made a motion to accept the Minutes from the September 7th meeting. Alderperson Blanner seconded the motion. A voice vote was taken to accept the Minutes with an affirmative result and the motion was declared passed.
Alderperson Schultz made a motion to accept the Minutes from the September 23rd meeting. Alderperson Schiller 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
Lt. Connelly gave the September Police Report. He gave an in-depth report on the recent car break-ins, thefts and garage burglaries occurring in the City within the past week or two and the outcome of several arrests. He mentioned the cameras at the Forest Hills entrances were invaluable.
Mayor’s Report
Court Report: Mayor Douglass said the amount received in September 2021 for court receipts was $4,300.36.
Azavar Tax Audit: Mayor Douglass reminded everyone of the company we contracted with to look at all tax receipts to ensure we received the correct tax amounts from the utility companies. They are finished with the audit and found only one home with Ameren was not on the tax rolls. Over the course of the next three years, the City will receive an additional $68. But Mayor Douglass stated this will make us feel good that we haven’t been missing anything all this time. Azavar will charge us a one-time fee of $25.
Memorandum of Understanding: Mayor Douglass stated he spoke with the Alderpersons about the discussion he had with Lt. Connelly and Dr. Stephen Hankins, Principal of Marquette High School and said we will proceed with the following wording: The Kehrs Mill gate may be open before and after school, evening events and as needed for school activities as determined by the school administration and in consultation with the school’s SRO. Outside of these agreed upon times and events, the gate shall remain closed. There was further discussion about the gate; cars being parked along Kehrs Mill Road; what the signage indicates along Kehrs Mill Road; along with what the ordinance states. Police presence along this stretch of the road was discussed along with at what times were these incidences occurring; and is it a safety hazard? Alderperson Schiller asked Lt. Connelly to investigate that area of Kehrs Mill Road to determine if in his opinion it is a safety hazard. He will report back.
Solar Panel Ordinance: Mayor Douglass said we have talked about changing our solar panel ordinance and at the same time we were poised to do this, we received an application for placement of panels on a residential home. We are going to ask Planning & Zoning Commission Members to look at this new ordinance along with the new application. We will be sending the ordinance to you.
Trash Containers: We sent numerous letters to residents whose trash containers are visible from the street. When we receive the second complaint, it will be our policy to send the Building Commissioner to confirm. Mayor Douglass reminded everyone there is no exception in the code for lots bordering two streets. We received several calls from residents saying it is hard for them because of this and they think there should be an exception. He concluded by saying we cannot do that.
Alderpersons’ Reports
Trash Containers Visible from Street: Alderperson Meyer said the letters sent have been highly effective and has noticed that the number of cans visible has been drastically reduced on Kehrs Mill Estates Drive. There was further discussion with comments from all Alderpersons and conversation turned to the possibility of a part-time code enforcement person. A voice vote was taken on whether we should investigate the possibility of hiring a code enforcement person to which all said they would be in favor of investigating the issue and receiving a report. Alderperson Meyer further stated he was alright with looking into the matter, but he was not interested in making this City an unpleasant place to live.
Above-Ground Pools: Alderperson McNamara spoke about a resident in her subdivision that installed an above-ground pool but identified it as a kiddie pool. She said she would like to see the current code changed with the height of the pool identified instead of the depth of water. She mentioned 24” stating that is what the St. Louis County Ordinance states but, she said she believes that is deeper than what she considers acceptable. Mayor Douglass asked the Board Members if they would want to investigate changing the ordinance to less than 23” to which Alderperson McNamara reiterated that 23” and 24” was too deep and preferred keeping it less than 12”. She said she would like to see the code state something similar to: No above-ground pools other than kiddie pools which do not exceed a depth of 12”. Mayor Douglass said we will work on this and put something together, but asked the Alderpersons to continue thinking about what they would like the code to state.
Westhampton MSD Project: Alderperson Midyett mentioned a letter was mailed to resident in his subdivision to preview the MSD sewer update project in Westhampton. He said this will be a virtual meeting taking place October 12th from 6-7 p.m. He said they are still in the engineering phase and it is not slated to begin until next year. It is a big earth-moving project to improve the waste water and storm water sewers. The upgrade to these lines will go from Westhampton, north to Clarkson Road close to the south entrance to Forest Hills.
Clarkson Valley Living Magazine on the City’s Website: Alderperson Blanner stated the website is behind by six months with the Clarkson Valley Living Magazine and made a suggestion we discontinue publishing it on the website. The City Clerk said she just received all six of those issues in pdf files, which is something the city does not have the software to do. Bill Tuttle promised he would send them monthly from now on.
City’s Website Indicates Not Secure: Alderperson Blanner said whoever is hosting our website needs to be made aware that it is showing it is not a secure website. She further stated because it is not secure she cannot access it on her server.
City Attorney’s Report
The City Attorney had nothing to report and said all is good in the City.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
There was no unfinished business.
NEW BUSINESS
BILL NO. 0507 – AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE MUNICIPAL CODE OF THE CITY OF CLARKSON VALLEY, MISSOURI, IN TITLE I: GOVERNMENT CODE, CHAPTER 110, BY DELETING SECTION 110.035 DECLARATION OF CANDIDACY – DATES FOR FILING – NOTICE TO PUBLIC AND ADDING A NEW SECTION 110.035 DECLARATION OF CANDIDACY – DATES FOR FILING – NOTICE TO PUBLIC.
A motion was made by Alderperson Meyer to discuss and pass Bill No. 0507. Alderperson Schiller seconded the motion. City Clerk McMahon read Bill No. 0507 for the first time. There was no discussion. City Clerk McMahon read Bill No. 0507 the second time. A roll call vote was taken, with the following results. Ayes: Blanner, McNamara, Meyer, Midyett, Schiller, and Schultz. There were no Nays. Whereby, Mayor Douglass declared Bill No. 0507 as having passed and is now Ordinance No. 21-10.
Leaf Fence: Mayor Douglass said we had one or two incidents of people installing these fences in the past, but with just these few it might be over-reacting if we do something now. He said he would suggest we wait. Leaf time is coming up on us rapidly and we will get a good idea if this is going to be an issue. If we find it is, we can investigate further into it at that time.
Drug Take-Back: Mayor Douglass gave us all a reminder that drug take-back is October 23rd from 10-2 and will be manned by Chesterfield Police at city hall.
ARPA Webinar: Mayor Douglass mentioned the Municipal League put together a presentation and he and the city clerk will attend a webinar on October 12th at 11:00 to find how cities can and cannot spend ARPA funds.
Question on How Residents are Notified of Ordinance Changes: Alderperson McNamara said she is frequently asked how people are notified of changes to the ordinance and Mayor Douglass stated there is no real good way but suggested we send notification via the email list and notify them ahead of time before the changes are proposed. The Agenda sent virtually to everyone on the email list lists the proposed changes and the agenda is also posted on the website.
Update on Kingspointe Sidewalk Situation: Alderperson McNamara asked for an update reminding everyone there was a resident of Kehrs Mill Estates that attended last month’s meeting who asked that question. Mayor Douglass said he talked to the County and the trustees and they have no plans to do anything but he could volunteer St. Louis County email addresses of street division personnel.
Part-Time Help at the City: Alderperson Schiller asked if we were able to interview people for part-time help at city hall. Mayor Douglass said nothing panned out very well and we plan to put an ad in the West Newsmagazine this month.
Audit: Alderperson Schiller made a motion to approve payment of invoices in the amount of $75,335.32, 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 Meyer made a motion to adjourn, seconded by Alderperson McNamara. A voice vote was taken with a unanimous affirmative result and the motion was declared passed. The meeting adjourned at 7:45 p.m.
Scott Douglass, Mayor
ATTEST: Michele McMahon, City Clerk