By JACKIE TAYLOR | November 8, 2022

The Pleasanton City Council met on Tuesday, Nov. 1 due to the Halloween holiday and swore in Charles Stokes, new Codes, Animal Control Officer.

They next approved the compactor to be closed on Friday, Nov. 11 for Veterans Day, but it will be open Thursday before and Saturday after the holiday.

Following a five-minute executive session for non-elected personnel to discuss employee performance, the council approved a $1.50 per hour raise for Joey Morrisey, Dustin Ridenour, John Harrington, Taylor Robinson, Luke Coyer, and Chief Tristan Snyder. They also approved a .50 increase to Carolyn Fulton, Nancy Hayes and Joe Whitaker.

The increases in hourly wage were due to cost-of-living increases. Raises are effective January 2023.

KOMA/KORA training for the city council is scheduled for Monday, Nov. 14.

City Administrator Teresa Whitaker said bi-yearly cleanups for the city cost $1,000. She discussed making the second cleanup possibly a drop-off style where residents drop stuff to be cleaned up at the roll-off location.

She said the county charged $432 for landfill fees; it cost $700 for two roll-off containers, plus the cost of three city employees for three days picking up trash.

City Councilman Jake Mattingley said, “Tying up Public Works for three days is the bigger cost.”

No decision for cleanup plans was made.

Whitaker said that due to the cost of things that the Angel Tree project will be limited to “citizens within city limits due to the cost-of-living.”

She said they either had to limit the number of kids or stop out-of-town kids. Last year they had 65 kids signed up for Christmas giving project with 12 to 15 of them from outside city limits.

She said with the cost of gifts going up, they had to do something so Pleasanton kids would have a decent Christmas.

Public Works Director Joey Morrisey said that the lake level is down 20-inches but in dealing with Kansas Rural Water, “there is no concern in sending out a watch.”

Morrisey explained that the city is using 80,000 gallons per day where other water municipalities are drawing one million or 1.5 million gallons per day.

Whitaker told the council that the Pleasanton Planning and Zoning Commission would meet Wednesday, Nov. 2 to discuss Main Street residential living.

The P&Z met and approved a residence inside the former MeMaws Restaurant located at 6^th & Main Street. The residence is based on a conditional use permit and must be approved by the council.

Whitaker said the city has a 1997 Chevy S-10 that was seized in 2020 and questioned City Attorney Burton Harding the best way to get rid of it.

Harding said, “The best way to sell it is by sealed bid; that’s the best way to manage the city’s funds.”

The council discussed a request by Ali Hamilton to borrow the city’s cemetery flags to fly at Trading Post. The council decided that the flags are for the cemetery and not to allow them to be borrowed.

The council approved allowing part-time police officer Kevin Woodrum to take a patrol car home for a few days until his personal vehicle could be repaired from a transmission issue.

Mattingley asked Whitaker to check into if there is an IRS issue with an officer taking a patrol car home.

Snyder said the new Dodge patrol cars are being built and he hopes to have delivery in 30 to 45 days.

Whitaker said Stokes is doing codes inspections and the council discussed the NAPA building at 700 Main Street, owned by Commissioner Danny McCullough, and how the building has broken windows, etc.

A hearing to address the building, Resolution 436, Abatement of Nuisance, is set for Dec. 27 at 6 p.m. Whitaker said the building may be sold by then.

Morrisey said the city will need to send out a notice to the public on water quality due to a missed sample violation in August. He said since then, all city employees are connected to a calendar that alerts them that the sample needs to be sent. He said it should avoid a similar occurrence in the future.

He said his crew has addressed two water leaks in the last two weeks, one behind Food Fair and the other at 10^th & Walnut. He said they’ve had seven water leaks in the past few weeks due to the dryness.