Kiowa Council passes Ordinance 19-019 to keep term limits

Charter Ordinance 19-019 regarding term limits was again on the agenda at the Kiowa City Council May meeting.

At the beginning of the meeting under public agenda, Kiowa man B.J. Duvall (who has filed to run for city council) calmly asked the council for an explanation on term limits. He asked “why there is any discussion” on this subject since last summer Kiowa paid for a special election (that cost an estimated $3000) and the people voted to have term limits.

Duvall asked council why they wrote a charter ordinance last month that ultimately did away with term limits, even temporarily. He said “I'm confused why the city sent a letter to the county clerk saying there are no term limits.” That April 10 letter from the city to the county states it is a correction to a letter they sent March 7. The April letter said there are “no term limits” for incumbents Hill, Molz or Shaffer (who is filling the remainder of Watson's term since he became mayor). Molz would not have been able to again file because he's served two consecutive four-year terms which is the limit. (unless the councilperson sits out four years before again filling)

With the filing period now open for the municipal November 5 election, the following people have filed for the three seats open on the Kiowa City Council as of last week: B.J. Duvall, Brian Hill, Russell Molz, Perry A. Sciara, Sr and Kevin L. Wise.

In a conversation about the term limit situation with the Newsgram prior to the meeting he discussed details and Leone said, “Our ordinances and charter ordinances are a mess.” He stressed several times that the original ordinances were written long before he came to Kiowa.

Leone said Ordinance 18 was supposed to clean it all up. But it didn't pass, he said. So it went back to Charter Ordinance 16. “The ordinance numbers are all over the place,” he said. “Ordinance 425 says the city has term limits. But, your Charter Ordinance, the backbone of the city, says you do not.”

Leone recommended the council approve Charter Ordinance 19-019 which states that if a councilperson has two consecutive four-year terms they must sit out one full term if running for the same position. The ordinance passed by a vote of 6-1 with Molz voting no.

Public Comment Period Protocol

All members attended the meeting called to order by Mayor Bill Watson. Opening with the Flag Salute, then councilman R.L. Simpson gave a prayer. Members present were: Shaffer, Simpson, Molz, Hill and Tom Wells. Others at the table were Leone, city attorney Brandon Ritcha and City Clerk Trish Brewer.

Leone put the following public comments protocol on the agenda for council consideration. He said, “Over the course of the past year, the public comment part of the agenda has drifted away from the functions of the City.”

Public Comment Policy:

• Speaker must fill out and submit a Public Comment Form to the City Clerk no later than the Wednesday prior to a Regular Governing Body Meeting.

• Public comment is encouraged and will continue to be listed as an agenda item at every regular Governing Body meeting. Public Comment will be held near the end of the meeting, following general announcements by the Governing Body.

• Each individual wishing to be heard during the public comment period will be given up to 3 minutes to speak.

• Speaker’s comments should be directed to the Governing Body as a whole and not to individual members.

• Speaker may not debate with audience members during comments.

• No person, except City officers, employees or their representatives shall be permitted beyond the podium in front of the City Council Chambers without the express permission of the Mayor or City Council.

• The Governing Body may elect to defer public comment on a specific agenda item until that specific item is addressed during any regular or special meeting.

• Public comment will not be used as a time for problem solving or reacting to comments made; but, rather, for providing citizens with an opportunity to be heard for informational purposes only. If information is requested by a speaker during the public comment period, the Governing Body may choose to direct the City Administrator to assign a member of his or her staff to provide such information, as allowed within the guidelines of the Kansas Open Records Act (KORA).

• Public comment will not be used to air personality grievances, make political endorsements or political campaign purposes. No personal, slanderous, profane, obscene, or threatening remarks are permitted.

• Any member of the public who is not in compliance with the policies will be warned. If non-compliance continues, speaking privileges will be revoked.

• Governing Body members should not enter into a dialogue, or debate, with citizens. Questions or comments from the Governing Body will be for clarification purposes only.

Discussing this issue, the mayor said he “doesn't want to stifle free speech.” The council expressed a variety of opinions – leaving it as is, making sure a patron can ask about an issue before council votes, etc.

The council finally agreed to move the public comment portion to later in the meeting. Mayor Watson said they'll try it and see how it works.

City Hall Building Project, Personnel Changes, Third Officer

Following executives sessions at the end of the meeting, Leone said the council voted to make John Duvall the city superintendent and move Gary Johnson over to streets department which he favors.

Another action after executive session was the council authorizing the city administrator to enter into negotiations with the candidate for the third officer position. During the public comment period, Kiowa resident Leysa Diel had asked, “Why do we need three police officers” in a town with declined population?” Police Chief Nate Houston said he has the stats to substantiate the need. He said the KPD is enforcing city code and doing animal control in addition to their other duties.

“The two of us are overworked,” the chief said of himself and the other officer. He said with the third officer they can provide seven-day coverage.

Also on public agenda, Kiowa resident Carolyn McGinley requested the city post their meeting agenda several days in advance of the meeting on the city website so people are aware.

The city hall building project was again on the agenda. Leone said the new floor plan (which is greatly reduced to save money) was discussed at length. The administrator said that council agreed that the project is a $300,000 max.

Simpson was not pleased with the front view for the staff. Leone reminded that they need to utilize the existing walls “to hold costs down.” More discussion ensued. Molz finally said, “We need to get this decided.”

The council set a special meeting for Tuesday, May 21 at 6 p.m., to discuss this further. The term limits ordinance is also on that agenda with an SRF agreement. Leone said they have the new floor plan set to go out for bids by May 22.

Council approved annual appointments: Rich Befort as municipal judge; and The Gyp Hill Premiere as the city's legal publication. This replaces the now defunct Kiowa News.

Stan Busby gave the 2018 audit report. He gave Kiowa a good audit. He listed a few “minor infractions” but said they've been corrected.

Council approved an amendment to the engineer agreement for the Waterline Replacement Project. Leone said the project is to be finished in 2021. The city's first payment is due in 2022.

The city needs summer help for people to mow, etc.

Shannon Stewart, who has the Paradise Ice trailer that sells cold treats, said she will also do the South Barber Rec concession stand at the ballpark. She requested and received council permission to have Paradise Ice at the park, although her request was not approved at the meeting last month. She will plug into a city electrical outlet and pay for the electricity she uses. Her trailer will remain at the ballpark for the summer.

The mayor signed proclamations for Police Week and Public Works Week.