The regular meeting of the Board of Aldermen was held on Tuesday, November 7, 2023 at 6:30 PM in the Meeting Room at the Clarkson Executive Center in Ballwin, Missouri. The meeting was also accessible virtually via a Zoom link as well as streamed live on YouTube.
A roll call for the meeting was taken with the following result:
PRESENT Ward ABSENT
Mayor Sue McNamara
Alderman Andrew Low Ward 1
Alderman Jeff Schweig Ward 1
Alderman Brock MacDonald Ward 2 Alderman Honora Schiller
Alderman Lin Midyett Ward 3
Alderman Gregg Bogosian Ward 3
Also in Attendance: City Attorney: Patrick Butler and City Administrator/Clerk: Michele McMahon
Alderman Schweig made the Motion to amend the Agenda under New Business to remove the discussions regarding the purchase of an iPad for the Building Commissioner and remove the discussion of Code Enforcement, both to be discussed at a future Working Session, date yet to be determined. Alderman Midyett seconded the Motion. A voice vote was taken to accept the amended Agenda with an affirmative result and the motion was declared passed.
Alderman Bogosian made a motion to accept the Minutes of the September 5 meeting, as amended, seconded by Alderman Low. A voice vote was taken to accept the Minutes with an affirmative result and the motion was declared passed.
REMARKS, PETITIONS AND COMPLAINTS
Mayor McNamara called everyone’s attention to Police Officer Cuong, “Ken”, Quach, who was attending this evening’s meeting and said he has been a Clarkson Valley officer since the beginning of our contract. She stated he is going on to greener pastures but would like to recognize all he has done for the City over all these years. Lt. Connelly stated that P.O. Quach has been on permanent midnight watch along with Officer Friemel for the past seven years, faithfully serving the City of Clarkson Valley. Mayor McNamara thanked P.O. Quach and wished him the very best in his future endeavors. He received a round of applause from the Board and the members of the audience.
Resident Mary Swearingen of Clarkson Farm Subdivision introduced herself and spoke about the noise emanating from Spirit of St. Louis Airport. Mayor McNamara said she spoke with John Bales who is the Director of Operations. Mayor McNamara said she was sorry they were so discomforted, but she reminded them that there is a portal online where they can register their complaints, or they can call Mr. Bales directly.
The second issue Mrs. Swearingen discussed regarded traffic on Clarkson Road, stating that sometimes it takes up to 20 minutes to egress their subdivision. Mayor McNamara said we would call MoDOT to see if they could adjust the lights at Clayton Road.
REPORTS
Chesterfield Police Report
Lt. Connelly gave the October Police Report. He reported the Chief of Police, Ray Johnson, will be retiring in a few months and they have named his replacement as being Cheryl Funkhouser.
Mayor’s Report
Recodification in Final Edit Mode: Mayor McNamara reported she, Michele and hopefully Alderman Schiller will meet with Marge Perry of General Code saying she is hoping this was the last edit and the code books and the online eCode will be available soon.
Attending Other Municipality Meetings: Mayor McNamara said that she has been to several meetings and has learned that other cities hold working sessions before they hold their Regular Board/Council meetings. She would like to discuss holding one working session per month going forward.
LAMO Meeting: She stated that Clarkson Valley will be the host of the next LAMO Meeting which will be held at Forest Hills Country Club this Friday. We have reservations for a dozen attendees, and we always learn a lot from these meetings.
Trustee Meeting: Mayor McNamara said there were 10 Subdivisions represented with 25 trustees in attendance. Snow removal and the ARPA program were discussed.
Meeting with Prosecuting Attorney: Mayor McNamara reported that she, the Building Commissioner/Code Enforcement Officer, Alderman Schweig, and the City Administrator all met with the Prosecuting Attorney, Tim Engelmeyer, and his assistant, Suzanne Miller, and the Chesterfield Court Administrator, Tonia Powell to discuss code enforcement. Alderman Midyett also tried to make this meeting but was unable to make it.
New Building Commissioner/Code Enforcement Officer: Mayor McNamara reported that Brad Holmes began his new position with the City and we will be discussing procedures at one of our working sessions in the future, but he has already begun making inspections and doing plan reviews.
Attending Municipal Board Meetings: Mayor McNamara reported that she and the City Administrator attended Fenton’s meeting this month. These meetings are extremely beneficial.
Forest Hills Ridge – High School Pickups: She reported that she spent time at Forest Hills Ridge at school dismissal and watched the students crossing Kehrs Mill Road which is very dangerous. She said one of the residents on that street allows three cars to be parked in their driveway. She is also exploring the idea of lengthening the turn lane on Kehrs Mills Road going north onto Clarkson Road.
Dental Insurance: She reported that our full-time employee currently receives dental insurance and the increase this year appears to be tied to the CPI and is increasing by 2.4%. This is on tonight’s agenda.
Aldermanic Reports
Forest Hills Country Club: Alderman Bogosian reported the Army Corps of Engineers is involved in major construction currently near the 17th green of Forest Hills. This involves the dam, spillway, storm basin, etc. and the project is to bring back the natural stream bed and eliminate the man-made dam.
Cyber Insurance: Alderman Midyett said he is currently working on obtaining quotes for cyber insurance. They have a few typical questions that need answers that he has given to Alderman Low and hopefully there will be more to report next month.
ARPA Update: Alderman Midyett said he and Alderman Bogosian discussed the necessity to release some of the CD’s to fund the ARPA projects that are completing. He reached out to HOA President Valerie Denton since that would be the subdivision which could require significant funds. She said their biggest project regards the creek and they are not poised for construction until at the soonest, February. The next largest project is the street repairs at the south entrance and work on that will not begin until March or April.
Sewer Odor in Kehrs Mill Estates: Alderman Low said he is working along with Alderman Schweig and the residents of Kehrs Mill Estates with the sewer odors. Mayor McNamara mentioned that County Council Member, Mark Harder, would be a good person to reach out to.
Tech Committee Report for City’s IT: Alderman Low reported he is finishing with his short list of requirements to interview potential IT firms. Mayor McNamara thanked him and said the two on the tech committee, Aldermen MacDonald and Low, along with David Grable, have put in a lot of time for which we very grateful. Alderman Low concluded, saying he has received those questions regarding cyber insurance and will get those back to Alderman Midyett soon.
City Attorney Report:
The City Attorney, Patrick Butler, reported all was good in the City and he had no report.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
Building Commissioner: Mayor McNamara said that the Building Commissioner is not present tonight to introduce but she said they have shared a lot of ideas that she would like to discuss with the Board during one of these proposed working sessions.
NEW BUSINESS
Code Enforcement Policy: Mayor McNamara mentioned the flow chart used by the City of Wildwood and said she would like to develop something like this for our City, bringing into play some of the items suggested at the discussion held with the Prosecuting Attorney, Tim Engelmeyer.
BILL NO. 0536 – AN ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING AND DIRECTING THE MAYOR AND THE CITY ADMINISTRATOR OF THE CITY OF CLARKSON VALLEY TO EXECUTE A MUNICIPAL COURT SERVICES AGREEMENT BETWEEN THE CITY OF CLARKSON VALLEY, ST. LOUIS COUNTY, MISSOURI AND THE CITY OF CHESTERFIELD, ST. LOUIS COUNTY, MISSOURI.
A motion was made by Alderman Midyett and seconded by Alderman Schweig to discuss Bill No. 0536. The City Administrator read Bill No. 0536 for the first time. The increase in court services cost is in accordance with the CPI and increased from $4,072.50 to $4,172.25 per month. The City Administrator read Bill No. 0536 the second time. Alderman Low made a motion to pass Bill No. 0536, seconded by Alderman Schweig. A roll call vote was taken, with the following results. Ayes: Bogosian, Low, MacDonald, Midyett, and Schweig. There were no nays. Whereby, Mayor McNamara declared Bill No. 0536 as having passed and is now Ordinance No. 23-16.
Dental Insurance: Alderman Schweig made a motion to approve the increase in dental insurance, seconded by Alderman Midyett. A voice vote was taken with a unanimous affirmative result and the motion was declared passed.
Security Locking System on City Hall Door: Mayor McNamara mentioned that the meetings she’s been attending at the various City Halls have security locking systems. She would like to look at getting an electronic locking system for the door, bullet-proof glass, a panic button and possibly a gate between the vestibule and the desks. We are going to ask the building manager to toggle into their system but would like to have someone volunteer. Alderman Low volunteered, saying he feels that is probably part of the tech committee. She thanked Alderman Low.
Holiday Lighting Ordinance Discussion: Mayor McNamara said the ordinance is antiquated, adopted many years ago, and would like to see it rescinded. She explained that currently, a citizen of Clarkson Valley cannot put up their Christmas lighting until the day after Thanksgiving and requires that it be removed the first week in January. One of the main points for rescinding is the weather during that time of year. We now have Halloween lights and inflatables; we have summer lighting with Portofino lights around people’s decks. Alderman Low said he is not in favor of a repeal, but he was in favor of amending stating the reason is that a complete repeal could open the door for abuse. It was agreed that this should be discussed later in a future working session.
Audit: Alderman Bogosian made a motion to approve the payment of invoices for $87,569.49 seconded by Alderman Low. Alderman MacDonald made a motion to amend the prior motion and eliminate the payment to the auditor, Fick, Eggemeyer, and Williamson CPAs in the amount of $6,400 until we receive the audit report, seconded by Alderman Low. A voice vote was taken to approve the audit as amended in the amount of $81,169.49 with a unanimous affirmative result and the motion was declared passed.
Special Note: Mayor McNamara recognized one of the Aldermen who happens to be an avid bicyclist and has ridden 10,000 miles, which is quite an achievement.
Adjourn: 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 7:40 p.m.
Sue McNamara, Mayor
ATTEST: Michele McMahon, City Administrator/City Clerk