MONDAY
April
06, 2015
The
Governing Body of the City of Pratt met in Regular session in the Commission
Room located in City Hall.
PRESENT:
Jeff Taylor Mayor
Bill
Hlavachick Commissioner
Gary
Skaggs Commissioner
Lucus
Kumberg Commissioner
Doug
Meyer Commissioner
ALSO PRESENT:
Dave Howard City Manager
LuAnn
Kramer City Clerk
Ken
Van Blaricum City Attorney
Diana
Garten Finance Director
Gary
Myers Police Chief
Russell
Rambat Public Works Director
Brad
Blankenship Building Inspector
Jamie
Huber Dir. of Electric
Utilities
Bruce
Pinkall Recreation Director
CALL TO ORDER:
The
regular meeting was called to order by Mayor Taylor. The Mayor instructed the Clerk to note that
all Commissioners were present.
Mayor
Taylor reminded the audience and staff that this meeting was being recorded
and/or taped.
INVOCATION AND PLEDGE
OF ALLEGIANCE:
Mayor
Taylor led the staff and audience in the invocation and Pledge of Allegiance.
MINUTES:
Commissioner
Skaggs made a motion to approve the minutes of the March 16, 2015 regular
Commission meeting. The motion was
seconded by Commissioner Hlavachick and passed unanimously.
BUSINESS:
PROCLAMATION DECLARING APRIL
7, 2015 AS MAYORS DAY OF RECOGNITION FOR NATIONAL SERVICE:
Mayor
Taylor commented that this proclamation was in recognition of anyone who does a
national service. Mayor Taylor
introduced Ms. Tiffany Ailstock, Pratt County RSVP. Ms. Ailstock stated that there were one
hundred one volunteers 55 years of age and over that had turned in 18,131
volunteer hours in 2014. Ms. Ailstock commented that these were hours for just
the volunteers and did not involve any civic clubs. Ms. Ailstock continued stating that there
were nineteen volunteers that had served one hundred eighty hours distributing
stable foods, and fifty-eight volunteers had served 3,466 hours providing
public transportation as well as twenty-seven volunteers who had served 3,013
hours at Friendship Meals. Mayor Taylor
stated that there were a lot of volunteer services in our community. Mayor Taylor read the Proclamation declaring
April 7, 2015 as ‘Mayors Day of Recognition for National Service’ followed by
Ms. Ailstock, Mayor Taylor and the Commission being photographed for the Pratt
Tribune.
CONSIDERATION AND APPROVAL OF
THE SOUTH KANSAS MULTI-HAZARD, MULTI-JURISDICTIONAL MITIGATION PLAN:
Pratt
Emergency Management Manager Tim Branscom stated that this emergency plan had
to be approved at the State level and something that had to be done every five
years. Mr. Branscom commented that he
would touch on points of interest in the emergency plan so that everyone would
know what is in them and what they were about.
Mr. Branscom explained that hazard mitigation could not eliminate all
the hazards, but was required to get certain types of mitigation grants.
Mr.
Branscom stated that the perks of having a mitigation plan were that it helps
identify hazards and builds the foundation for long-term strategies in reducing
disaster losses. Mr. Branscom continued
stating that local governments would benefit from mitigation planning by
identifying cost effective actions for risk reduction, focusing resources on
the greatest risks, increasing education and awareness of hazards and in
aligning risk reduction.
Mr.
Branscom explained that the Kansas Division of Emergency Management broke the
State up into twelve regions with six to ten counties per region. Mr. Branscom stated that the State funded the
planning through grant funds at no cost to the jurisdictions except for their
time spent gathering information and attending meetings. Mr. Branscom commented that Region E included
the counties of Barber, Barton, Comanche, Edwards, Kiowa, Pawnee, Pratt and
Stafford. Mr. Branscom explained that
there were three meetings within each region and the initial meeting was with
State representatives and County Emergency Managers, the second meeting was
with State Representatives, County Emergency Managers and County stakeholders
and the third meeting was with State representatives and County Emergency
Managers who verified plan information.
Mr.
Branscom stated that the plan was reviewed at the State level and forwarded to
FEMA for their approval. Mr. Branscom
added that the plan was then returned for minor corrections and returned to
FEMA, who officially approved the plan on January 06, 2015. Mr. Branscom explained that the plan
contained the planning process, regional profile, risk assessment, capability
assessment and mitigation actions. Mr.
Branscom pointed out that Pratt County hazards included hail storms, wind
storms, winter storms, wildfires, tornados and utility/infrastructure
failure. Mr. Branscom stated that the
City had come up with their action items, but they could be readjusted during
the next review if necessary. Mr.
Branscom informed the Commission that the plan would be reviewed annually with
the Kansas Division of Emergency Management facilitating and changes would be
made as required. Mr. Branscom added
that the plan would be good for five years.
City
Manager Howard stated that they had been working on the action plans dealing
with the floodplain and the electrical lines so that they did not get knocked
out. Mr. Branscom commented that we
could be looking at underground electric lines down the road. Mr. Howard explained that we would start
saving for a tornado shelter at the Sports Complex since there were not a lot
of basements in that area. Commissioner
Kumberg questioned if we would qualify for grants. Mr. Howard stated that we had eleven projects
that had been funded by FEMA, but we would not qualify for grant money without
this plan. Commissioner Kumberg
commented that there was not much time if the target date was 2020. Mr. Howard stated that the tornado shelter
would be on this year’s budget even though it was just a thought and he did not
have any details. Commissioner Skaggs
questioned if it would hold as many as a hundred people. Commissioner Skaggs added that that was a
pretty good size storm shelter and could cost around $40,000. Mayor Taylor asked if we were responsible for
a shelter for the public venue or the entire community. Mr. Howard commented that he did not think we
were responsible legally, but responsible to the community to look at it.
Commissioner
Kumberg questioned what would happen if we did not hit the completion dates in
the mitigation plan. Mr. Branscom stated
that we could take them out. Public
Works Director Rambat added that we could also extend the time frame. Mr. Howard commented that we had already implemented
a better storm warning than we had had in the past. Commissioner Kumberg questioned if the plan
was available online. Mr. Branscom
stated that it was.
After
little more discussion, Commissioner Skaggs made a motion to approve the South
Kansas Multi-Hazard Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard Mitigation Plan. The motion was seconded by Commissioner
Kumberg and carried unanimously.
CONSIDERATION AND APPROVAL OF
RES. 040615 ADOPTING THE SOUTH KANSAS (REGION E) MULTI-HAZARD,
MULTI-JURISDICTIONAL HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN:
The
following Resolution 040615 was then presented to the Commission for their
approval: ADOPTING THE SOUTH
KANSAS (REGION E) MULTI-HAZARD, MULTI-JURISDICTIONAL HAZARD MITIGATION PLAN.
Commissioner Hlavachick made a motion to approve Resolution 040615
adopting the South Kansas (Region E) Multi-Hazard Multi-Jurisdictional Hazard
Mitigation Plan. A second was made by
Commissioner Meyer and carried unanimously.
PRATT COUNTY
EMERGENCY OPERATIONS PLAN:
Mr.
Branscom stated that the Emergency Operations Plan was to be done every five
years and this one was approved in July 2014.
Mr. Branscom explained that it was basically the responsibility of
elected and appointed officials to have the Emergency Operations Plan in
place. Mr. Branscom commented that the
purpose of the plan was to be used as a tool in the preservation of lives and
property in the event there was a disaster.
Mr.
Branscom pointed out that the plan includes mitigation, which we just went
over, preparation on how to prepare for it, how we were going to respond and
how we were going to recover. Mr.
Branscom stated that the plan was developed to establish policies, practices
and guidelines in the event of a disaster.
Mr. Branscom added that this plan provides administrative personnel,
Government departments and other entities the information to function as a
team. Mr. Branscom stated that an ‘All
Hazard’ plan was adaptable for all types of events.
Mr.
Branscom reviewed what was in the plan such as County/City profiles and capability
assessments, roles and responsibilities of Federal, State, County and local
Governments as well as other entities and the private sector. Mr. Branscom commented that there were
methods of operations, administrative, financial and logistics information and
references and authorities. Mr. Branscom
explained the fifteen emergency support functions that included things such as
transportation, communications, public works, firefighting and emergency
management.
Mr.
Branscom stated that each jurisdiction or agency would be responsible for their
initial response, but they could request additional resources through the
management office if theirs had been depleted.
Mr. Branscom commented that any requests for assistance outside the
County had to go through the County Emergency Manager and informed the
Commission that the County Commission were the only ones that could declare a
local disaster to the State.
REVIEW OF THE UPDATED LEMON
PARK/SIXTH STREET PARK IMPROVEMENT PROJECT:
Mr.
Blake Himmelwright shared a new composite drawing of the proposed Lemon
Park/Sixth Street Park improvement project.
Mr. Himmelwright pointed out the entrance redesign and the new parking
area. Mr. Himmelwright stated that the
park would remain one way throughout, but the road by the playground would be
moved. Mr. Himmelwright added that there
would be a splash pad and the ball park area would be beautified. Mr. Himmelwright commented that the dead trees
needed to be removed and replaced in both parks. Mr. Himmelwright stated that the current road
would be shifted to the north so that the park would be as much in the middle
as possible.
Mr.
Himmelwright introduced the drawing of the big glass event center that would
fit about two hundred people and would face towards Sixth Street. Mr.
Himmelwright stated that the event center would serve various things, such as
meetings and weddings. Mr. Himmelwright
added that this event center would be more expensive since there was so much
glass. Mr. Himmelwright estimated the
cost to be around $2 million for the event center and $500,000 for the
improvements. Mr. Himmelwright stated
that this event center would have economic potential and he thought that that would
be about the same cost as the Sports Complex.
Mr. Himmelwright added that the Municipal Building was terribly dated.
Commissioner
Hlavachick stated that he liked this concept better than the other one. Mr. Himmelwright agreed and added that this
would eliminate the floodplain hazard they had in Lemon Park. Commissioner Kumberg questioned if there
would be issues with the two-way traffic through Sixth Street Park. Mr. Himmelwright explained that Sixth Street
and Lemon Park would be joined if the track were removed. Commissioner Meyer commented that, after Mr.
Branscom’s talk, he was concerned that there was no storm shelter. Mr. Himmelwright suggested putting a basement
under the structure, but that would be at an extra cost. Mr. Himmelwright stated that this building
would have great appeal to the citizens of Pratt and it would be a way to make
money.
Commissioner
Hlavachick stated that he would like to see the priority being an attack on
Lemon Park first and let people see that we were going to do fun things like
the splash park. Commissioner Skaggs commented
that we needed to make a priority list because we could not sell the whole
thing at once without it being a bond issue or a tax increase. Commissioner Skaggs questioned if the event
center would be the crowning glory. Mr.
Himmelwright suggested forming some type of steering committee with two
Commissioners being on it and they would need to be actively for it. Mr. Himmelwright stated that we needed to get
this going and see what money there was that could be committed to the
project. Mr. Himmelwright added that the
City’s indebtedness needed to be looked at and also see where they were with
the bed tax. Commissioner Skaggs stated
that the bed tax already had some heavy obligations, so he was not sure we
should rely on that.
Commissioner
Skaggs commented that a committee would help the Commission on ideas of where
to begin and if the event center was within our grasp. Mr. Himmelwright questioned how the
Commission decided to spend $1.2 million on the Sports Complex. Mayor Taylor stated that it was raised sales
tax and voted on by the people.
Recreation Director Pinkall explained that it was put to a vote that
passed and it was also financed by grants.
Mayor Taylor recalled that it only passed by fifty or sixty votes. Commissioner Meyer asked how Derby was
funding their event centers. Mr. Howard
stated that he was not sure, but he would find out. Mayor Taylor suggested that this be talked
about during budget. Commissioner
Hlavachick agreed and added that they needed to form the committee and see
where to put the money first.
Commissioner
Meyer questioned if there were better estimates on what this would cost. Mr. Himmelwright stated there were costs on
every part of the previous plan.
Commissioner Skaggs stated that he would like to see that because the
movement of the road and the parking area would be costly. Mr. Himmelwright commented that he had costs
on a lot of those things. Commissioner
Kumberg commented that it was hard to action on something that still had a lot
of preliminary work to be done.
Commissioner Meyer added that we needed to decide how it would be
done. Mr. Himmelwright commented that it
also needed to be discussed how it was going to be paid for. Commissioner Skaggs stated that the committee
should have council representation and someone from within the community that
wanted to serve. Mayor Taylor added that
City staff should be involved also. Mr.
Howard questioned if the ones on the committee should be people who use the
park and Commissioners and how small or large the group should be. Mr. Howard asked if this should be a decision
made by the community. Mayor Taylor
stated that we were spending City funds, so someone from the community should
be on it as well as City staff so that we have the information on
utilities.
Commissioner
Skaggs made a motion to have the City Manager develop a committee to develop a
working plan for the Lemon Park renovation.
Commissioner Hlavachick seconded the motion. Commissioner Meyer asked if there was a
timeline. Commissioner Kumberg commented
that this takes a lot of work, but he would like to have information to
consider at budget time. Mr. Howard
stated that he would get as much information as possible and he would like to
see it presented to Rotary, Kiwanis and the public. Mr. Howard commented that that would help get
volunteers on the committee.
Commissioner Kumberg volunteered to be on the committee.
After
little more discussion, Commissioner Skaggs amended to his original motion to
include ‘and the development project as presented’. Commissioner Hlavachick seconded the
amendment to the original motion. The
motion and second passed unanimously.
CONSIDERATION AND APPROVAL OF
IMPROVEMENTS TO THE AVENUE OF FLAGS AREA:
Public
Works Director Rambat stated that an anonymous donor was wanting to see some
improvements to the Avenue of Flags area and Park Superintendent Eckhoff had a
drawing of what he had in mind. Mr.
Eckhoff commented that the planter was drawn by an architect in the 1970’s and
it included a ramp to get from one level to the street level. Mr. Eckhoff pointed out that there would have
to be curb cutout, but it would be replaced with concrete. Commissioner Meyer questioned if they would
be taking out the red bud trees. Mr.
Eckhoff stated that they would be and that would improve the view.
Mr.
Eckhoff commented that the wall would be at seat height. Commissioner Meyer asked where people would
park that come to see the Avenue of Flags.
Mr. Eckhoff stated that the City owns half of the parking lot at the
Dragon’s Den and that was where a lot of people come after they eat there, but
there was also a fair share that had someone in the hospital. Mr. Eckhoff commented that there was really
no place to park unless they park around the fountain. Mr. Eckhoff stated that the Statute of
Liberty came from the Scout Cabin years ago and he would take it back
there. Mr. Eckhoff informed the
Commission that he had designed a sign that lists most of the parks and should
be an eye catcher. Commissioner Meyer
stated that this was more respectful of the flags.
Commissioner
Meyer questioned if the City would fund any of the design. Mr. Eckhoff stated that there would be work
that City staff would do, but the rest would be contracted out. Commissioner Kumberg asked if the flag
planters would stay. Mr. Eckhoff stated
that they would. Commissioner Meyer
asked about a timeline. Mr. Eckhoff
commented that he would get the sign up as soon as possible and the rest should
be in the next few months.
Commissioner
Kumberg stated that he liked the design.
Mr. Eckhoff informed the Commission that he had taken the drawing to the
Recreation Board over lunch today and they liked it. Mr. Howard explained that they would go out
for bids on some of the project and that would come back to the Commission for
their approval. Commissioner Skaggs
asked if we would have to involve KDOT.
Mr. Howard stated that we should be okay because it was not on their
right-of-way. Mayor Taylor questioned if
they would be moving the sidewalk. Mr.
Eckhoff stated that he was not. Mayor
Taylor commented that it was close to the highway and could be dangerous. Mr. Eckhoff commented that he could look at
widening the sidewalk. Mayor Taylor
stated that that would work.
Commissioner
Kumberg made a motion to approve the improvements to the flag area presented by
Park Superintendent Eckhoff. The motion
was seconded by Commissioner Meyer and carried unanimously.
OPEN AGENDA:
No one
in the audience wished to address the Commission.
REPORTS:
City Manager:
·
Joint meeting:
City
Manager Howard stated that the joint meeting with the County was still on for
April 20th, but the college would not be able to attend.
·
Downtown Project:
Mr.
Howard stated that there had been a meeting with KDOT and the contractor over
the downtown project. Mr. Howard
commented that KDOT had new specs for concrete, but Concrete Enterprises was a
very qualified company so there should not be any issues. Mr. Howard added that there could be a
twenty-eight day delay if it failed. Mr.
Howard explained that there was one major change and that was that they would
be working from the opposite end and not starting from Sanders Agency and
working down.
·
Sludge tonnage:
Mr.
Howard stated that there had been a first meeting concerning the sludge being
taken to the landfill. Mr. Howard
commented that Public Works Director Rambat, Sanitation Superintendent Wright
and he would be staying on top of the tonnage at the landfill. Commissioner Skaggs questioned how much
tonnage we were sending out there. Mr.
Rambat stated that there were a couple of bins a week and each contained about
twenty tons. Mr. Howard suggested this
be a topic when they meet with the County.
City Attorney:
·
Cemetery plots:
Commissioner
Skaggs commented that he had been approached about cemetery plots and not being
able to identify or contact owners.
Commissioner Skaggs added that some of these were seventy-five to one
hundred years old. Commissioner Skaggs
questioned if there was a resolution to this.
City Attorney Van Blaricum stated that there could be and that would be
to do a legal proceeding called Quiet Title Action. Mr. Van Blaricum stated that these were in
the older part of the cemetery and remained unused and others would like to
purchase them.
Commissioner
Skaggs questioned if the interested party would have to hire an attorney. Mr. Van Blaricum stated that it would be at their
expense. Commissioner Skaggs questioned
if the cemetery would resell them or the new owner take title. Mr. Van Blaricum stated that the City would
become the new owner. Mr. Van Blaricum
added that it would be a worthy project, but needed to be down the line. Mr. Howard stated that we usually deal with
an owner and they produce a bill of sale and then we know they are the
owner. Commissioner Skaggs suggested
that the sexton get a list of unoccupied lots and see if the owner could be
located.
Public Works:
·
Pool filters:
Public
Works Director Rambat stated that the new pool filters were in place and
plumbed in. Mr. Rambat commented that
that had been his focus lately and they hoped to get water in the pool the
first or second week of May.
Electric Dept.:
·
Power Plant:
Director
of Electric Utilities Huber stated that the power plant was busy doing
maintenance and working on the backflow preventer. Mr. Huber added that they would be testing
Unit 6 on Wednesday.
·
Line Distribution:
Mr.
Huber stated that the line crew had been finishing up the new line for when the
intersection gets moved out by Maurice’s.
Mr.
Huber commented that they made the new hotel hot today and also the new church
on South Main Street.
Mayor and Commission:
·
Executive Session:
Mayor
Taylor stated that he would be wanting an executive session to last fifteen
minutes for non-elected personnel after reports.
·
Vote:
Commissioner
Kumberg reminded everyone to get out and vote tomorrow.
·
Tree committee:
Commissioner
Meyer asked if there was still a tree committee. Public Works Director Rambat stated that he
did not know if there was or not.
Commissioner Meyer stated that he had looked at the whole folder and it
was quite extensive. Mr. Howard stated
that you had to have a committee to submit a Tree City application. Recreation Director Pinkall explained that
Mr. Carlos Polk was highly involved in that and Mr. George Brown had done it
for a while but he went off after the last application.
Executive Session:
Mayor
Taylor made a motion to enter into executive session for fifteen minutes to
discuss non-elected personnel. The
motion was seconded by Commissioner Hlavachick and carried unanimously.
Mayor
Taylor made a motion to return from executive session with nothing to
report. The motion was seconded by
Commissioner Hlavachick and carried unanimously.
RECESS:
A
proper motion and second to recess until Monday, April 20th at 11:00
a.m. was made and carried unanimously.
________________________________
JEFF A. TAYLOR, Mayor
ATTEST:
_________________________________
LUANN KRAMER, City Clerk