The meeting was called to order by Mayor Jones at 7:02 p.m.

The Pledge of Allegiance was given.

The Minutes of the January 12, 2004 Board of Aldermen meeting were submitted for approval.  A motion was made by Alderman McDowell and seconded by Alderman Anderson to approve the Minutes.  A voice vote was taken with a unanimous affirmative result and the motion was declared passed.

CITIZEN COMMENTS
None.

PUBLIC HEARINGS
None.

BILL # 3273 - AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 25, THE SUBDIVISION ORDINANCE, AND ORDINANCE 557, THE ZONING ORDINANCE, OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF BALLWIN BY AMENDING THE CODE WITH RESPECT TO CERTAIN FEES.

A motion was made by Alderman Buermann and seconded by Alderman Anderson for a first reading of Bill No. 3273.   A voice vote was taken with a unanimous affirmative result and the motion was declared passed.  Bill No. 3273 was read for the first time.

A motion was made by Alderman Robinson and seconded by Alderman Buermann for a second reading of Bill No. 3273.  A voice vote was taken with a unanimous affirmative result and the motion was declared passed.  Bill No. 3273 was read for the second time.

Mayor Jones said this matter was considered at the January meeting of the Ballwin Planning & Zoning Commission wherein unanimous approval of the petitioning fees was recommended.

A roll call was taken for passage and approval of Bill No. 3273 with the following results:  Ayes – Buermann, Robinson, Lembke, McDowell, Suozzi, Anderson.    Nays – None.  Whereupon Mayor Jones declared Bill No. 3273 approved and it became Ordinance No. 04-03.

Alderman Lembke said this ordinance is an attempt to establish and set the fees at a level which represents what it is costing the City to provide the services.  Even with these fee increases, the City will still not break even, but the attempt is being made.

BILL # 3279 - AN ORDINANCE GRANTING A SPECIAL USE EXCEPTION TO THREE C CATERING D/B/A TONY MARINO’S STEAKS & CHOPS, FOR ENTERTAINMENT.

A motion was made by Alderman Anderson and seconded by Alderman Lembke for a first reading of Bill No. 3279.   A voice vote was taken with a unanimous affirmative result and the motion was declared passed.  Bill No. 3279 was read for the first time.

Mayor Jones said this item was considered at the Planning & Zoning Commission meeting on     January 5.  The commission members that were present voted unanimously to recommend approval.

A motion was made by Alderman Lembke and seconded by Alderman Buermann for a second reading of Bill No. 3279.  A voice vote was taken with a unanimous affirmative result and the motion was declared passed.  Bill No. 3279 was read for the second time.

Mayor Jones said in order to grant this Special Use Exception, this Board must determine that the petition will not substantially increase traffic hazards or congestion, will not adversely affect the character of the neighborhood, will not adversely affect the general welfare of the community, will not over-tax public utilities, will not adversely affect public safety and health, and that the petition is consistent with good planning practice, the site can be operated in a manner that is not detrimental to the permitted developments and uses of the district, and can be developed and operated in a manner that is visually compatible with permitted uses in the surrounding area.

A roll call was taken for passage and approval of Bill No. 3279 with the following results:  Ayes – Lembke, Robinson, Buermann, Suozzi, McDowell, Anderson.    Nays – None.  Whereupon Mayor Jones declared Bill No. 3279 approved and it became Ordinance No. 04-04.

BILL # 3280 - AN ORDINANCE PROVIDING FOR THE APPROVAL OF A SUBDIVISION PLAT FOR THE ADVENTURE LEARNING CENTER SUBDIVISION AS PROVIDED IN CHAPTER 25 OF THE CODE OF ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF BALLWIN, MISSOURI.

A motion was made by Alderman Lembke and seconded by Alderman Suozzi for a first reading of Bill No. 3280.   A voice vote was taken with a unanimous affirmative result and the motion was declared passed.  Bill No. 3280 was read for the first time.

Mayor Jones said this item was on the Planning & Zoning Commission agenda on January 5, 2004.  It was unanimously recommended for approval by those members present. 

A motion was made by Alderman Robinson and seconded by Alderman Lembke for a second reading of Bill No. 3280.  A voice vote was taken with a unanimous affirmative result and the motion was declared passed.  Bill No. 3280 was read for the second time.

A roll call was taken for passage and approval of Bill No. 3280 with the following results:  Ayes –Robinson, McDowell, Suozzi, Anderson, Lembke, Buermann.    Nays – None.  Whereupon Mayor Jones declared Bill No. 3280 approved and it became Ordinance No. 04-05.

BILL # 3281 - AN ORDINANCE AMENDING ORDINANCE NO. 557, KNOWN AS "THE ZONING ORDINANCE" OF THE CITY OF BALLWIN, AND AMENDING "THE DISTRICT MAP" BY CHANGING THE ZONING CLASSIFICATION OF CERTAIN LAND IN THE CITY OF BALLWIN FROM C-1 COMMERCIAL TO R-1 SINGLE FAMILY DWELLING DISTRICT.

Mayor Jones said this Zoning Change was unanimously recommended for passage by the Planning & Zoning Commission at its meeting on January 5.

A motion was made by Alderman Lembke and seconded by Alderman Buermann for a first reading of Bill No. 3281.   A voice vote was taken with a unanimous affirmative result and the motion was declared passed.  Bill No. 3281 was read for the first time.

A motion was made by Alderman Buermann and seconded by Alderman Lembke for a second reading of Bill No. 3281.  A voice vote was taken with a unanimous affirmative result and the motion was declared passed.  Bill No. 3281 was read for the second time.

A roll call was taken for passage and approval of Bill No. 3281 with the following results:  Ayes –Buermann, Robinson, McDowell, Lembke, Anderson, Suozzi.    Nays – None.  Whereupon Mayor Jones declared Bill No. 3281 approved and it became Ordinance No. 04-06.

BILL # 3282 - AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE CODE OF ORDINANCES OF THE CITY OF BALLWIN WITH RESPECT TO GRADING PERMITS BY AMENDING CHAPTER 1, SECTION 1-2 ENTITLED DEFINITIONS WITH RESPECT TO THE DEFINITIONS OF FILLING AND GRADING, DELETING THE PRESENT CHAPTER 11 DEALING WITH GRADING PERMITS AND SUBSTITUTING A NEW CHAPTER 11 THEREFOR DEALING WITH SIMILAR SUBJECT MATTER.

A motion was made by Alderman Lembke and seconded by Alderman Buermann for a first reading of Bill No. 3282.   A voice vote was taken with a unanimous affirmative result and the motion was declared passed.  Bill No. 3282 was read for the first time.

A motion was made by Alderman McDowell and seconded by Alderman Buermann for a second reading of Bill No. 3282.  A voice vote was taken with a unanimous affirmative result and the motion was declared passed.  Bill No. 3282 was read for the second time.

A roll call was taken for passage and approval of Bill No. 3282 with the following results:  Ayes – McDowell, Robinson, Anderson, Suozzi, Buermann, Lembke.    Nays – None.  Whereupon Mayor Jones declared Bill No. 3282 approved and it became Ordinance No. 04-07.

A motion was made by Alderman Lembke and seconded by Alderman Buermann to adopt the consent items.  A voice vote was taken with a unanimous affirmative result and the motion was declared passed.

Alderman McDowell complimented Director of Parks and Recreation Linda Bruer for a good job in obtaining the grant award for the tennis court project.  Mayor Jones said rebuilding the tennis courts in Vlasis Park will complete the third phase of the renovation of the park. 

TIF Appointments – Mayor Jones said three new resident appointments must be made to reconvene the commission.  He submitted the name of Rob Thompkins, who lives on Quinnmoor in Ward 3.  He is a former City of Crestwood police detective, has municipal experience and is a long-time resident of the City of Ballwin.  He asked if there were other names for consideration.  There were none at this time.

A motion was made by Alderman Buermann and seconded by Alderman Suozzi to endorse Rob Tomkins as one of the members of the TIF Commission.  A voice vote was taken with a unanimous affirmative result and the motion was declared passed.

 Retreat – Mayor Jones said the Board has agreed on May 1, from 8:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon as the date for the annual Board of Aldermen Planning Retreat to be held in the Board Room.  He suggested cancellation of the May 10 Board meeting. 

A motion was made by Alderman Suozzi and seconded by Alderman Anderson to cancel the May 10 Board of Aldermen meeting.  A voice vote was taken with a unanimous affirmative result and the motion was declared passed.

Citizen’s Academy – Mayor Jones said that the next Citizen’s Academy will begin on April 6 at 7:00 p.m.  Alderman Lembke has volunteered to be the Aldermanic Representative to the Citizen’s Academy.  Mayor Jones said he will also participate as a representative.  City Administrator Kuntz said that since April 6 is Election Day and the Board room is a polling place, the first session of the Citizen’s Academy will be held at the Government Center in either the conference room upstairs or downstairs. 

City Administrator Kuntz complimented the Public Works employees on the excellent job of ice and snow removal. 

City Administrator Kuntz said he is looking for suggestions for topics for the Retreat.  He requested input from the Board for the agenda.  Alderman Buermann suggested that revision of the Strategic Plan should be on the agenda.  It has been 5-6 years since the long-term plan has been discussed. 

Seven Trails Sign – City Administrator Kuntz said this is regarding a sign in the Seven Trails Drive right-of-way.  The court case has been decided and the defendant has a small fine to pay.  No issue was resolved regarding the illegal placement of the sign within the public right-of-way.  Further clarification is necessary.  Alderman Suozzi asked how serious the infraction was.  City Administrator Kuntz said this is a sign that was relocated because monument entry fences were permitted to be constructed.  When the monuments were constructed, the sign could not be seen at its location.  Rather than placing the sign further up the hill to facilitate visibility, it was moved into the right-of-way, without a permit.  The owner claims that they had a sign before and should be able to move it.  Assistant City Administrator Aiken said the sign was never taken down.  The sign was in place, and when the fence was erected, the sign was no longer visible.  At that point, the sign was not in the public right-of-way.  They relocated it to 4-feet off the edge of the pavement.  The right-of-way extends back 12 feet back from the pavement edge.  Mayor Jones said the defendant pleaded guilty and was fined $50, but the sign is still there.  The question is can the municipal court order the owner to take down the sign.  Alderman Anderson said the City should pursue this matter. 

Alderman Suozzi said she recalls the Board making an entity move their ATM back 6 feet when it was measured incorrectly and they constructed it in the right-of-way.  She believes that this sign violation should be dealt with in the same manner.  City Administrator Kuntz suggested that City Attorney Lucchesi communicate with the land owner and Prosecuting Attorney Dick Fox.

Commercial Vehicle Definition – City Administrator Kuntz said this issue came up because of a commercial use in a residential neighborhood.  He suggested holding it over for a future agenda so that further clarification can be obtained from the municipal court.

None.

Finance & Administration Committee Meeting Report – 1/26/04 – Alderman Buermann reported that the Finance and Administration Committee met at 6:25 p.m.  In attendance were Chairman Buermann, Aldermen Lembke, Anderson, and Mayor Jones.  Also in attendance was City Administrator Kuntz.  Chairman Buermann said the potential formation of a Finance Advisory Committee was discussed.  The City of Clayton has a similar committee.  Mayor Jones will contact the chairman of the Clayton committee requesting input on their charge.  The Finance Advisory Committee would be restricted in length of term and consist of Ballwin citizens. 

The next Finance & Administration Committee meeting is scheduled for February 9, 2004 at 6:30 p.m. prior to the Board of Aldermen meeting. 

A motion was made by Alderman McDowell and seconded by Alderman Buermann to adjourn.  The motion passed unanimously and the meeting was adjourned at 7:32 p.m.

MC