City Council - Regular Meeting

I can read crap, I love you. I didn't know how to do it again. Now what? I don't know. I don't know.

the special meeting of the council for saturday august 8 2026 to session and remind everybody that the topics for discussion that's the reason this is called has a company potential for city clerk city water system needs and solutions and public works potential hires and all of our topics have to remain to those three as this is a special meeting i think we should start off

Yes. At this point in time, with the city of Waterton and with the lakes and the pumps at the lakes, I think we should be considering it to be part of an emergency, an emergency test. We should be addressing it now and not waiting. I've been in discussion with Hydrex and Mapping Network. Numbers are in front of you.

Yes, for the pump replacements. Removal of the three pumps and putting them in. That's not with the grates and that. And right now we're looking about a 10 to 12 week lead time for the pumps to be built.

It'd be a 10 to 12 week time

for the pumps to be built and him to roll out here. And then it'd be another three days when he gets here to replace all the pumps.

Also for informational purposes, I spoke with the people that are securing the loan for us for the roof at the water plant. And they said if we wanted to add any amounts to what they're already doing there, that would end up saving the city in the long run as opposed to a whole other secondary loan.

That's one of the requirements for KDHE for approaching loaners. They're going to want engineering backup for it. I'm very willing to give this to anybody that wants a copy of this to read. This is all the research that I've found on doing the Thomas and everything. And this is also a copy of all the findings that I have for pricing of everything. The highest cost we're going to have is going to be dredging, because they're $34 to $38 per cubic yard. So they recommend we save our size with where our budget is, is to be on a three-year plan. You know, they would come in once every three, once per three years, and dredge out an area, and it would actually clear out a lot of sediment around our intakes. It helps from, you know, any buildup inside the cans and anything like that. I would request that all the pumps to make sure we can reverse flow. So that way, if there's any sediment in the tank, we can blow it back out of the lake. That'll help keep the residue away from the intakes also.

I agree, please.

But the cost, there's two options. First option is full dredging. Pump repairs are higher than eight. Hydrographic survey, which is going to show the definite level of sediment and how far ahead it is around the lake and the intakes. that's ten thousand five hundred dollars and the full dreading of 20 acres is 4.9 million dollars from total cost of five million eighteen five hundred to me i i can't see doing it for that amount and i think that we did three year plan is one million three hundred thirty thousand dollars to do that part of it to get a handle on it like because right now I know full well that this lake has never been dredged, and the sediment is just building up around those intakes. And it's causing more water sediment to be harsh. And it's maybe your job, Barbara, because you're having to add more chemicals to counteract all the sediments instead of water.

Yes, I also saved money because of chemical costs.

Right, right. But ask him what added cost it would be to have it reverse flow.

I will, I will.

Because I think that is a necessary thing. I think at this point in time, Mr. Mayor and Deputy City Clerk, we should see state and federal funding for this. And I'd also like to see all the maintenance records of anything that has to do with the phones out there.

If you want, there is none. I'd look. There haven't been any maintenance records.

The state's going to ask.

Yeah. Just so you're aware. There is none whatsoever about any of the pumps back there. Okay. We should have had a spare one whenever they took one out and replaced it, but they never... Did they have a record of when it was done? Well, they have records of when... They improved it, but that's from 1993. But other than just the plans and diagrams, there's nothing else.

No, they're basically looking for maintenance records and replacement repairs. That's the main thing that KDHE is going to be looking for.

I look for them. There is none.

If you've got records of when it was replaced before, that'd be my starting point.

There is none.

That makes a little bit more difficult.

Yes.

So they don't have those. What if you gave the records an extra copy to like City Hall here? I don't think, or do you guys just keep it in here?

I would have, but this is years ago. We're probably, we're looking at 1993. I wasn't even born then.

I know, but I'm just saying. What if they just gave it a copy to City Hall? Whoever did it? That's my question.

Typically, but I haven't seen anything around here to hear.

I can answer that for you. At the time those things were done, it was done by the gentleman that just passed away. And he was not a good record keeper, but they didn't have any problems, so he was never questioned.

i'd like to ask the council to also ask the mayor of the city for the city engineer to visit officials to execute documents necessary to get funding for the project at this time we should declare this the state of the mercy

Yes, I've talked to him about that. He said that he would get to me later on next week about it because he has to get a diver and all that. I think him speaking to me when he showed up, they're going to have to build up a berm around it. Yeah, so I don't know how long that would extend the time or how much money. I can't give you that. Yes.

Well, I also recommend that you find the one that's working and work on the other two. Yes. Leave it running so the citizens are not without water.

Well, if you would, to take out the pumps and work on them, to just take out one, you have to take out all three. They're all interconnected at one point.

We don't have a secondary source. Does District 2 have a hookup over 14th and Cedar that we could use in emergency services?

No.

There's a line there. Doesn't matter. Hadn't been used in so long. They're plastic. Not going to happen. There's no pump. We need a pump station.

Not going to happen.

Is there access to Steady Lake as a secondary source?

That was taken out.

Pardon?

That was taken out. in like 2014 I think maybe when they did the plant improvements is so even then we're still gonna have problems and then if we would connect then pipes are so old and they sat there so long they're probably rusted out and we're just gonna be causing more problems

I would say see another avenue to get water to make sure we're not leaving our citizens without water. They're entitled. Thank you, Ken. That's all I got.

All right.

If you can get us those numbers.

Yes, I know. I'm trying to.

Yes, I'm trying to.

And then now if we're doing this, you say it's going to take three days for it, which means three days without the plant running. That means that we're going to be out of water within probably two days. So we would have to go into boil order and if we run completely out of water, I'll take the leak up on Depot Street. There's a bunch of patches like that. As soon as all of them lose pressure, we're going to have leaks all over town. So we have to be prepared for it. I would like to get hooked up to wholesale 13 so we can at least have pressure in there preventing

yeah for the emergency all right yeah yeah maybe get in touch with national guard or somebody like that to make sure that they're tracking the water process and not leaving it up yeah With the valves, I mean, the valves and the hydrographic mapping could be put basically on one branch. The dredging would have to be a total separate branch. They can't move the three of them together for more research. But unfortunately.

And those don't happen overnight.

Excuse me?

They don't happen overnight, you know that.

No, no, they don't happen overnight. that would be the first place and then they've got the they've got the uh drinking water result revolving fund and then there's another one that's the uh community water assistance grant is the other one That would cover both of them. Those two means all, I got all paperwork here and everything that I already searched with the branch. So do we need to make a motion to pass these remarks to your order? Really, just to the mayor and the city board just needs to do it. All we have to do, we have to make a motion to approve them to do the work, from my understanding. right this is the information for discussion and then this is the information of what i found out in research

Can you speak up?

None of us can hear you. Sandy, please.

On this report, can you please the staff and reference me here? All right, what is the staff that's referencing here on this report that you have? Like staff recommendations?

Anybody in the administration department. Okay. So anybody, you know, we're good to go with the city person also. That person also being involved in this.

So seeking clarity for the motion being presented by Sandy. Are you motioning based on what's stated here at the top? Yes. Okay. So that's to declare an emergency concern in the city's drinking water infrastructure, authorize submission of applications for all available emergency grants and loans, authorize the mayor and just a deputy city clerk to engage city engineers and other designated officials to execute documents necessary for finding applications, loans, grants, et cetera. and direct staff to coordinate with USDA, Rural Development, the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, and the Kansas Water Office. Is that it? Yes, that is my motion. Is there a second? I'll second.

All those in favor?

So moved. With that declaration of state of emergency drinking water, that also goes back to the issue to the citizens of Pleasanton to try to conserve as much water as possible urgently. And that gets us moving on getting this resolved as quickly as possible.

they will take the sediment out and put it in geotubes, and they'll set the geotubes on a tubular area for this to drain. And they put a reverse ionic charge, and then they add a powder to it so it solidifies.

And that sediment can actually be used in farm grounds. Can be just in farm grounds.

So that'd be something that we could later on think about. If we decide to do the dredging part of it, then they can have that farmland.

Can I get someone's motion for a 10-minute executive session to discuss potential corrective sleeper appointments?

May I get a motion for a 10-minute executive session to discuss corrective sleeper appointments?

I'll second.

All in favor? Can we start at 10.30?

Spoke up. Make a motion. Usually it takes 20 minutes. He's here. That's why he was laughing.

Yeah, you think? That's because I asked her to speak up.

Well, they all need to speak up if you ask me. I can't hear anything. I did hear that. it's very difficult to understand them which is a major problem with our city council they don't want to talk I'm supposed to do so.

So you're not the only one that doesn't understand exactly what's happening.

I believe certain members of the council have been negligent and not wanting to spend a lot of money. They want bidding, bidding done.

They don't understand that this is a small town. And all these companies are going near us. So it's going to cost even to get this. That being said, they get all upset. And if you saw this one right here.

Why are there no breakfasts? This is a small town. Now, I'm finishing.

I'm pleased that Kenny Hayden, Kenny? No, I don't want to start with you. Go ahead. Do diligence, which I believe is a number on the board. That's number one. Okay. I just received knowledge of all events. That's what I was asking. And I said, I'm not going to cut you off.

They all have been under the impression that we're going to cut.

Not a momentary change. I'm not letting this happen anymore. They should hate me. That's saying it's totally annoying. But it's not going to happen.

Yes. So there's more to that. Oh, yeah. Because I'm like, I hate you. No, they've heard it. They've heard it. So that's a lot of people right here. It's different to a personal thing. It is sometimes that they're timid. Maybe they don't want to be. I've actually done that. And pay and tell the people to do it. See, I was upset because they didn't do it at the meeting. That's what I was angry about. The one on the other side of 69. The pretty one. The one on the other side of 69. Yes.

But it's never been dredged. It's never been maintained. And unfortunately, no. This is a small town. And what I was trying to explain and tell you what I'm talking about and who I'm talking about. Not that he did a bad job.

hi bud how are you i'm good how are you good every saturday yes yes Exactly.

And then in the meantime, yeah, I didn't want to mention the name of everybody else.

They just passed away. The only problem that we've had is the city administration.

This is the first mayor that has used this problem. The administrations were just there and named them. It just spread. Remember, the city administration did everything.

And I'm not gonna mention any names. You know. To. We had. Not large but. Oh, yeah. Yeah. Okay, apparently that's what we're

Just a procedural thing, executive sessions are only supposed to include the elected officials. Anybody not elected has to be invited in and included in the motion. So your deputy clerk should have been there without being specifically included.

So everybody has in email the proposal from Inner Solutions. I'll just read here. Dear Mayor, in responding to you and the City Council's request to assist you in the City Council by conducting an indicative search for the position of the City Administrator's clerk, which includes all of the activities described below to conduct a search from identifying key challenges and goals to creating the search brochure, identifying a candidate pool, to preparing a short list of candidates for City Council consideration and interviews, travel background checks, advertising, and other expenses associated with finalist interviews, and negotiation will be billed separately and in addition to the fixed fee. As a national search firm, we anticipate a process that will include advertising that will reach prospective applicants in Missouri, Iowa, Oklahoma, Kansas, Illinois, Nebraska, and Oklahoma. Nationally billed international city County Management Association as featured advertisements. Blended social media posts and the American Association of Blended School Executives.

Pause for discussion.

We've got to get the ball rolling. We've got to get some help in here.

I have a question. Have you all exhausted entities such as Linked, which is free? Linked is all professionals of all professions, which I am a member of. Linked puts out at no charge what you're looking for, and it's not just in individual states, it's national. And professionals use Linked to find work, to find employees, to find positions, I'm just throwing it out there before you approve a $22,000 plus for a company that's only 15 months old. That's all I'm throwing out there.

How can we train when we don't know exactly what else is involved in it as well?

Can I speak?

Well, the training would be us directing. Yeah, if you want to speak, you can stand up. When I call, you can step to the podium and be heard better.

um just as a member of the community not city employee but instead of spending that kind of cost why are we not looking at the one that's done everything she's already established here she knows how it runs here why are we not talking about supplying the education to continue to help her grow in the position that she's already been in as opposed to everything everybody keeps hearing is not in the budget it's not in the budget it's not in the budget so even the thought should not even be there to spend 22 000 plus to bring an outsider in when we have somebody that's been pulling more than her weight for how long now that it would cost far less to continue to help educate her in her growth for the community

Thank you, Julie.

When I say train the right person, I don't mean us trying to do the training here. I mean asking professional city clerks from the other side and that they would come in and train them on what all a city clerk needs to do and how to run that and operate it. Because even the proposals from this is way up in the scene was less than what InterSolutions

The only thing I'd say from her was about a budget. What'd you say?

Well, and also, she also said that she would just do the, um, workshop.

Just pass it.

In speaking with her, I know that she also said that she knows of several cities for our city together periodically and kind of go through stuff. I just said pass notes and learn more regarding all of that. for the city clerk. In willingness to do that, I imagine there's certainly clerks that have been city clerks for years, possibly even herself, that would potentially entertain putting in the pitch to train a city clerk. Plus we have league pass training coming up. That would be useful also.

Thank you.

A self-motivated go-getter I will be able to learn and do very quickly.

I just want to have permission.

To something that was already offered. From our previous city administrator. She is very knowledgeable. She has over 20 years experience and she did offer her help and was turned away and that's okay. But several of us still have a relationship with her. And I think that she would be possibly interested. I don't know. I'm just offering this to assist and give instruction. on what she could. Just food for thought, that's all I wanted to say.

Any comments on that? What she just said? From the council? She was born and had to pray.

She's dealt with y'all before. Well, and the good thing about that is if there was a fee, her salary was built in clear up until the new fiscal year in October. So it wouldn't be like you're putting in an added expense because anything you would pay her, It's already built into the budget from last year up through to October 1st. So even if you were to bring somebody out, and this is hypothetical, say you hired somebody Monday, you brought Becky in, and even if you paid her what she was making then, it's not any additional money out of the budget because it's already built in to the budget. Thank you.

What I want to do is make sure that we're all working together as best we can with everything. I'm a city clerk in an appointed position. I have to come here every meeting and say, I'm appointed so and so, and go through the whole nonsense of everything. But I really want to be able to appoint somebody that everyone says, I'm the person who's doing the job, and the training will actually work and hold me here long term. Because we need somebody that's willing to be here long term and not somebody who's just professional anything because the city, I believe the city deserves someone that's going to sit through, sit with it and do a good job.

Morality, that matters. I said, morality, that matters.

Yeah. Well, can you check the connections of these lights?

Does that work?

Yep, I think that works. Thank you. Any other thoughts about city clerk at the moment or what direction we would like to go?

I don't think we should spend the money to find some solutions, especially in the world. We have everything else going on that we should go ahead and, you know, Morgan's shown the loyalty to the city. She's been here for years. We should go ahead and just have her change. She's already doing the job anyway.

Would you all like us to contact and see if there are some city clerks or even possibly Mrs. Hegwaltz willing to train them?

And bring that to the next council meeting.

She was willing to try and she could have stayed until. How I feel about that.

And how much would she be if.

Yeah, well, the idea is would be to contact some city clerks that could potentially do the training and have them put a bit of what they would charge in to do. So. whoever we appoint you to city clerk.

I don't know. I think at this time we need to find somebody that's already experienced, that can come in and step up and do the job right away.

I will add that to linked also to see if we can get some more applications coming in from linked. Is there any other place that you all?

I don't think that he should be contacted because she should have stayed until all

It would have been nice to have a consentment of appointment for that also. All right, we'll do that. Public Works potential hires, we'll move on to that topic. If I could get a 10-minute executive session for non-elected personnel to discuss potential hires.

13-minute executive session for Public Works potential buyers.

Is there a second?

So moved and seconded. All in favor? We're back at 1057.

That's good.

I'm going to see if you can browse for it.

No. No. Especially when you're saying...

Thank you.

I know. You missed all the fun.

Huh?

You missed all the fun. Go ahead.

I know. Thank you.

I was watching a little bit of it on YouTube.

Thank you.

And he has to go meet those people. And Sarah's supposed to be telling him.

It's not that bad.

I moved it.

I need your support. I need your support. So,

Yes, ma'am. Because they're there. And there was that.

because I gotta do this, I've gotta do it online.

No, that's okay. Thank you. online. Somebody's meeting me from Nebraska. You can meet me there. Be patient. Okay? I promise.

Okay. Right. Is that perfect here? You know what I mean? That's cool. You know what state we're in?

I can't. I'm like, yeah, I'll be able to do it.

You know what I mean?

But I'll be able to do it. You know what I mean? I'll be able to do it. But I'll be able to do it.

Oh, hey, we missed it all.

I need more copies. You want me to get it?

So you want about 40? Yeah.

The second session ended. This was a normal meeting. I'm actually taking... Okay, was there anything else on those three topics that the council wanted to look at or discuss or say on anything?

So we all in agreement that we're looking at option two.

So we have a job to do.

Okay, we'll get all the details together to do that. Officially declaring emergency and all of that together and going within everything, leaning more towards the option two side of everything.

but I also believe that we succeed in our solutions

So that's a motion to use in our solutions on getting a city clerk in here at $22,500 plus all the other expenses. Discussion?

Did you read what other expenses there was?

I did. Travel, background checks, advertising, and other expenses associated with finalists, interviews, and negotiation will be billed separately and in addition to the fixed fee.

Okay.

Which would equate to a no cap contract. Did you have something to say please?

I have something to say as a city treasurer. My best interest is the city and where the finances are in the shape of everything that's going on. I do not think it is in the best interest of the city to spend 22,500 plus. There is no cap. And what I'm seeing with a no cap attorney, I can imagine what that fee is going to be. And we're not, I see what the finances are. We are not in a place to spend that kind of money.

Any other discussion?

So on top of the fact that you want to spend $22,500 with no cap, you're talking about lowering people's wages, cutting our benefits, and you're also talking about how we have no money. So how are we going to spend $22,500 and then you make it sound good for the employees? I posed the question because we apparently have no money, we have to fix all this stuff, and you're wanting to cut all this stuff for the employees, yet you want to hire somebody else at way more than what we could just send her to training and put her behind the desk where she does what she's doing.

But at this point in time, we would have to train her to still be in the same situation we are right now.

But how else does somebody learn?

That should have been taken care of the whole time with everybody doing cross-training the whole time. There's been zero cross-training in this whole city. That is an untrue statement. No, it's not. It's not an understatement. If it was an understatement, she would already know every position in there if it was allowed.

Including one office to the entire city is not a true statement.

That's not the point. The point is there's no cross-training. Becky got in a car wreck and can't do the job. She'd be stepping in. She would know all aspects of the job. Right now, she's struggling to do the job.

But I'm still doing it. Am I wrong? I'm not saying that. I'm not saying that.

What I'm saying is that the cross-training should have been done beforehand.

Okay, then that's fine. I don't disagree with any of what you're saying, but it's your jobs as the council to take care of your employees and your citizens as well, not to hire somebody else when you're talking about lowering their pay and their benefits.

Well, we're trying to find somebody that's experienced in this position.

Okay, and I understand that, but you're taking away from your employees that you already currently have. It doesn't make sense.

We see the numbers, so... How do you get experience if you don't ever do the damn job? Spoken from true personal experience.

I do have to say something. I've only been here for two weeks as a city employee and my jobs are court clerk, animal control. And I'm going to tell you from day one, she has done an amazing job trying to cross train me because I've done more of the water stuff than I've done on the positions that I was hired for. So her and Missy can take care of the financial side because it's a mess. So there is cross training and I really feel like we are not making a good choice for this community.

Morgan, do you have the attorney's cell phone number? I was pretty sure I had it, but I don't seem to.

Missy, how many hours a week are you in office? Around 40 right now.

explanation for everybody. I was trying to contact the attorney to ask a question because I believe it's the city's policy of anything over a certain amount to have to go out to bid specifically and I was trying to confirm that or not but he is not answering. So the motion on the table is to use interim solutions for $22,500 plus to help find a city clerk with experience. Any other discussion from the council? All in favor? Opposed? Passes three to two. And when that bill comes through, what would the council like to see that money come out of?

Would it come out to General?

Just out of administration? Once they get here, they can help us figure out where that's going to come out of. We believe it would be General.

I thought it was General too. That's where I figured it would come out of, because I did the numbers. When I did the numbers, we still had money left in the General.

So I'm just making notes for the minutes of those that disagree with me. Anything else on those three topics? You want to say something?

Is it about one of these three topics?

No, if it's about something else, we can't entertain it at the moment.

Okay, I'll entertain a motion for adjournment.