MONDAY
AUGUST 17, 2015
The
Governing Body of the City of Pratt met in Regular session in the Commission
Room located in City Hall.
PRESENT:
Lucus Kumberg Mayor
Bll
Hlavachick CommissionerJeff Taylor Commissioner
Gary Skaggs Commissioner
Doug Meyer Commissioner
ALSO PRESENT:
Dave Howard City Manager
LuAnn
Kramer City ClerkKen Van Blaricum City Attorney
Diana Garten Finance Director
Russell Rambat Public Works Director
Jamie Huber Dir. of Electric Utilities
Bruce Pinkall Recreation Director
CALL TO ORDER:
The
regular meeting was called to order by Mayor Kumberg. The Mayor instructed the Clerk to note that
all Commissioners were present.
The
Mayor reminded the audience that this meeting may be taped and/or recorded.
INVOCATION AND PLEDGE
OF ALLEGIANCE:
Commissioner
Taylor led the staff and audience in the invocation and Mayor Kumberg led the
Pledge of Allegiance.
MINUTES:
Commissioner
Hlavachick made a motion to approve the minutes of the August 03, 2015 regular
Commission meeting. The motion was
seconded by Commissioner Taylor and carried unanimously.
BUSINESS:
PUBLIC
HEARING ON THE 2016 PROPOSED CITY OF PRATT BUDGET:
·
Open Public Hearing:
Mayor Kumberg made a motion to open the public
hearing on the 2016 proposed City of Pratt budget. The motion was seconded by Commissioner
Hlavachick and carried unanimously.
·
Discussion on Proposed 2016 City Budget:
Commissioner Hlavachick commented that he would
like to see an additional $500 go to the Circles program. Finance Director Garten stated that we give
$500 to the Hope Center. Commissioner
Hlavachick stated that this would be separate.
Commissioner Hlavachick made a motion to dedicate $500 to the Circles
program. Commissioner Skaggs seconded
the motion. City Manager Howard
suggested increasing the Hope Center to $750.
Commissioner Skaggs questioned that if it would go to the Hope Center
then to the Circles program.
Commissioner Hlavachick commented that he did not want the Hope Center
short, so he would like Circles to get $500 per month. Commissioner Taylor commented that they
should go ahead and approve the budget and then take this up later. Commissioner Hlavachick agreed and withdrew
his motion and Commission Skaggs withdrew his second.
·
Close Public Hearing:
Mayor Kumberg made a motion to close the public
hearing. The motion was seconded by
Commissioner Meyer and carried unanimously.
CONSIDERATION
AND APPROVAL OF 2016 CITY OF PRATT BUDGET:
Commissioner Meyer made a motion to approve the
2016 City of Pratt budget. The motion
was seconded by Commissioner Skaggs.
Commissioner Taylor questioned if there was a decrease in the mill
levy. Ms. Garten stated that it was down
.037. The motion and second passed
unanimously.
CONSIDERATION
AND APPROVAL OF TEMPORARY EXTENSION OF PREMISE FOR THE AMERICAN LEGION ON AUGUST
29TH:
No one from the American Legion attended the
meeting. However, after little
discussion, Commissioner Hlavachick made a motion to approve the request from
the American Legion’s extension of premises on August 29th from 9:00
a.m. to 2:00 a.m. August 30th.
The motion was seconded by Commissioner Skaggs and carried unanimously.
CONSIDERATION
AND APPROVAL OF BID FOR AVENUE OF FLAGS PROJECT:
Park Superintendent Mark Eckhoff stated that we
had gotten one bid for a little over $60,000 for the Avenue of Flags project
and the lighting would be around $12,000.
Mr. Eckhoff commented that the donor was willing to pay the total of
$72,000. Mr. Eckhoff reminded the
Commission of the new design.
Commissioner Meyer questioned if the Statue of Liberty was going to
stay. Mr. Eckhoff stated that he would
like to see that back at the Scout Cabin.
Commissioner Meyer questioned that there was only
one bid. Mr. Eckhoff explained that Mr.
Arensdorf was the only one that showed up for the mandatory pre-construction
meeting. Commissioner Skaggs made a
motion to approve the bid from Arensdorf Construction in the amount of $60,639
which does not include the landscaping and lighting. The motion was seconded by Commissioner
Taylor and carried unanimously.
PRESENTATION
TO ACQUAINT COMMISSION WITH FINANCES AND OPERATION OF FILLEY ART MUSEUM AND
REQUEST FOR FUNDS:
Commissioner Taylor questioned if the City had
the legacy membership with the Art Museum for $2,500 and Tourism had already given
them $5,000. Ms. Garten stated that that
was correct and the Commission had approved $3,000 plus the membership in the
2016 budget work session. Museum
Director Stan Reimer commented that he was here to ask that the last funding
request from Tourism be funded.
Commissioner Taylor stated that this would be in addition to the $6,000
or $7,000 we had already funded and he added that he had heard that they had
sold $100,000 worth of art. Mr. Reimer
stated that they had sold $31,000 with $13,000 of that being the Museum’s
cut. Commissioner Taylor stated that
that added up to almost $20,000.
Commissioner Taylor explained that Tourism was
bed tax funded by people who stay in the motels and the funding requests were
getting too far away from those types of events. Commissioner Taylor stated that the Filley
Art Museum did not have overnight stays and, although the sales tax was good,
the funds were generated by the bed tax.
Commissioner Taylor commented that a lot of the funds were being spent
on the Main Street project, which attracts people to the community. Commissioner Taylor added that Tourism was
getting short on funds and that was why the City was pulling back a little
bit. Mr. Reimer commented that most of
their visitors were outside of the County and they were not large crowds, but
they were growing. Mr. Reimer stated
that they had good meetings, receptions and dinners at the Museum also.
City Manager Howard explained that this request
was below his spending authority and he could have approved it, but they had
already received $7,000. Mr. Howard
added that Tourism had had multiple requests and the expenditures were getting
to where the Commission needed to make the decision. Mayor Kumberg stated that there were two
entities that took up a substantial portion of those funds and we needed to
find a solution for that. Mayor Kumberg added
that we may need to put a limit on it since the funds were dwindling. Mr. Howard added that there were several
events that brought in people who stay overnight.
Commissioner Meyer questioned if there was
anything in place to keep Mr. Reimer from requesting funds. Mr. Howard stated that there was not, but excess
fund requests would come before the Commission.
Mr. Reimer stated that they would not need any further funding this
year. Commissioner Meyer asked if this
was in the 2015 budget and not the 2016.
Ms. Garten stated that that was correct.
Mr. Howard explained that Tourism had approved this, but he had not
taken any action. Commissioner Meyer
questioned if the request would have come to the Commission if it had been
$4,000. Mr. Howard stated that it may
have come before them anyway.
Commissioner Skaggs commented that Blythe and Filley were two of the
entities with requests and asked who else was on the list. Mr. Howard stated that the college rodeo and
Miss Kansas were two others. Ms. Garten
added that four entities were about forty percent of their total budget.
After little more discussion, Commissioner
Hlavachick made a motion to approve the request for funding for the Art Museum
for $6,469. The motion was seconded by
Commissioner Skaggs and carried unanimously.
DISCUSSION
ON SIDEWALK PROJECT:
Pratt Health Foundation Executive Director
DeWayne Bryan commented that he had come before the Commission to ask
permission to build a sidewalk from Third Street to Haskell Street. Mr. Bryan stated that they had a matching
Rotary grant that would be given to the City for the project. Commissioner Skaggs questioned why he had
chosen this stretch of sidewalk. Mr.
Bryan stated that that was how much money they had. Commissioner Meyer asked about the parking on
the northeast corner. Mr. Howard
commented that that would be part of it if the funds were available. Public Works Director Rambat commented that
everyone had been respectable to the parks mowing schedule. Commissioner Skaggs commented that this had
been used as parking and there was always a shortage in parking areas. Commissioner Taylor stated that it would also
be good for tennis events.
Commissioner Taylor stated that you see more
people walking all the time. Commissioner
Meyer asked about a sidewalk on Maple Street.
Mr. Bryan stated that it was in the process and they had gotten a
confirmation letter. Commissioner Taylor
thanked Mr. Bryan for looking out for the community and added that we needed
these types of things.
Mr. Howard stated that we would do the bid and
manage the project. Mr. Howard added
that Mr. Bryan would donate those funds and we would set up a fund for that
project, which was our way of helping out.
Commissioner Taylor made a motion to approve the continuing sidewalk
project along Third Street between Rochester Street and Haskell Street. Commissioner Hlavachick seconded the motion
and it carried unanimously.
CONSIDERATION
AND APPROVAL OF BID FOR THE FINCHAM STREET PROJECT:
EBH Engineer Don Hellar informed the Commission
that bids for the Fincham Street project had been opened last Thursday and the
low base bid went to Smokey Hill, LLC for $437,710.18 and the second part at
$133,228.09 for a total of $570,938.27.
Mr. Hellar stated that KDOT would pay up to $565,000 if we do both parts
and that would leave $6,000 for the City to fund. Mr. Hellar added that the Commission needed
to decide if they wanted to do one part or two parts. Mr. Howard stated that we had not known what
the two parts would cost but, if we do both, we would be responsible for the
electrical at a cost of $25,000 and the cost of the preliminary
engineering. Mr. Howard’s recommendation
was that we do both sides of the project.
Mr. Hellar stated that Smokey Hill wanted this as their winter project
and they would do the north side first and the second part after the first of
the year. Mr. Howard added that this was
contingent on KDOT approving the contractor.
Commissioner Meyer made a motion to approve the Fincham Street bid to
Smokey Hill, LLC for both projects for $570,938.20 pending KDOT approval. The motion was seconded by Commissioner
Skaggs and carried unanimously.
CONSIDERATION
AND APPROVAL FOR KDHE’S THIRD AMENDMENT TO THE LOAN AGREEMENT CONCERNING THE
WASTEWATER TREATMENT PLANT PROJECT:
Mr. Howard stated that the original KDHE loan
for the wastewater treatment plant was $1.6 million, but as the scope got
larger, that was raised to $3.2 million.
Mr. Howard commented that the State gave a 40% forgiveness on the original
loan amount; however, they were now giving it on the $3.2 million amount. After little more discussion, Commissioner
Skaggs made a motion to approve KDHE’s Third Amendment to the Loan Agreement. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Meyer
and carried unanimously.
CONSIDERATION
AND APPROVAL OF AUTHORITY TO AWARD CONTRACT TO COMMITMENT OF CITY FUNDS FOR US
281 PROJECT:
Public Works Director Rambat stated that Bryant
and Bryant had the low bid for the Highway 281 project and KDOT had accepted
the bid showing the amount of the City’s matching funds. Mr. Rambat commented that they had a
resolution stating that we were okay with the bid and it required the
Commission’s signature. Commissioner
Taylor made a motion to approve the Authority to Award Contract and Commitment
of City Funds in the amount of $104,000 for the Highway 281 project. Commissioner Hlavachick seconded the
motion. Commissioner Taylor questioned
when they would be starting. Mr. Rambat
stated that they had an early start date of August 31st, but it
would probably be around the 1st of October. Mr. Rambat added that Bryant and Bryant would
get down towards the end of the Main Street project and then start moving on
this project. Mr. Rambat commented that
it was scheduled as a fifty day project, weather permitting, but he thought
they would be done in thirty-five to forty days. Commissioner Skaggs asked if there would be
any detours. Mr. Rambat stated that it
would be a full detour. The motion and
second passed unanimously.
CONSIDERATION
AND APPROVAL OF BID FOR THE 2015 CHIP SEAL PROJECT:
Public Works Director Rambat stated that he had
gone out for bids on the 2015 chip seal project and it would involve the
southwest corner of town. Mr. Rambat
explained that the low bid and only bid was from Hi-Plains Sand in the amount
of $221,059.20. Mr. Rambat commented
that the street guys go out and seal cracks in the winter and that was followed
up by the chip seal. Mr. Rambat added
that he had thrown in a few extra streets, such as Santa Fe and some at the
airport.
Mr. Rambat stated that they would start before
the end of the month if the bid was approved and should not last more than a
couple of weeks. Commissioner Hlavachick
made a motion to approve the bid from Hi-Plains Sand for the 2015 Chip Seal
project in the amount of $221,059.20.
The motion was seconded by Commissioner Taylor and carried
unanimously. Commissioner Meyer
questioned the difference in option A and option B. Mr. Rambat stated that it was the aggregate.
OPEN
AGENDA:
No one in the audience wished to address the
Commission.
REPORTS:
City
Manager:
·
Commission on lots at Sandy Creek:
City Manager Howard stated that he had been
approached by a realtor wanting to know if the City would pay commission if
they were to sell a lot in the Sandy Creek Addition. Mr. Howard stated that that had not happened
yet, but we would not do a contract with anyone, but would honor what that
company typically does. Commissioner
Skaggs questioned what that percentage was.
Mr. Howard stated that it was around four percent. Commissioner Taylor stated that commission
was not a bad idea. Mr. Howard stated
that he was still getting a lot of calls inquiring about it. Mr. Howard added that there was no reason for
someone to go to a realtor, but they might chose to. Commissioner Hlavachick stated that we should
do what it takes to get things moving.
Commissioner Hlavachick made a motion to pay four percent commission for
lots sold by a realtor at Sandy Creek Addition.
The motion was seconded by Commissioner Taylor and carried unanimously.
Electric
Department:
·
Steam Unit:
Director of Electric Utilities Huber stated
that the production crew ran the steam unit for the annual operations test and
it had started out pretty rocky, but they got the issues resolved. Mr. Huber commented that they ran for three
days. Power Plant Superintendent Bryan
Evans stated that they were looking into the vibration problems. Commissioner Meyer questioned if it was still
under warranty. Mr. Huber stated that
that was where they were at. Mr. Huber
added that it had passed the test, but they were looking in to the noise to
make sure that nothing was going on. Mr.
Huber added that the dual fuels did great on their test.
·
Saratoga Court:
Mr. Huber commented that they had had an
underground blowout on Saratoga Court and it had taken about two hours to
refeed it in another direction. Mr.
Huber stated that they would be replacing that in late fall and it was not fun
or easy and would tear up a few yards.
Commissioner Taylor asked if he knew the cause. Mr. Huber stated that it was probably age
since the cable was late 60’s to early 80’s, which was not uncommon.
·
Fincham Street:
Mr. Huber stated that Southern Pioneer had
brought in their poles and Fincham Street would be blocked off on the north
side of the project starting Thursday.
Mr. Huber added that the new poles could be set far enough on the east
side that they may only barricade that side, so they would not have to shut completely
down until November.
Recreation:
·
Downtown:
Recreation Director Pinkall stated that the
contractors should be out of the first block of Main Street by the end of the
week. Mr. Pinkall explained that the
light poles were in and they should start installing those on the east side
this week also. Mr. Pinkall stated that
this could affect Bryant and Bryant, so there could be a change of plans. Commissioner Meyer questioned if the traffic
lights would flash yellow. Mr. Huber
stated that the main controller was at Third Street and the communication wire
for Third, Fourth and Fifth Streets had been ripped out, so the lights were all
doing their own thing. Mr. Huber added
that he had ordered wire for that this week.
Mayor Kumberg stated that he had gotten comments
on the side that was done and it had surpassed citizen’s expectations. Mr. Pinkall commented that he would pass that
on to the committee. Mr. Pinkall stated
that he had visited with the Chamber about doing a ribbon cutting with some
specific recognitions.
Finance:
·
Accomplishments:
Finance Director Garten stated that she had put
together information on the accomplishments over the last seven years. Ms. Garten added that she was sure there was
more, but this was what she had for now.
Mayor
and Commission:
·
Congratulations:
Mayor Kumberg congratulated City staff on the very
impressive list of accomplishments.
Mayor Kumberg stated that he realized that he had approved a number of
these things over the last three years.
Mayor Kumberg commented that it was a tremendous list for the size of
staff and to stay within the budget.
·
Home Lumber:
Commissioner Taylor asked about the building
projects out east, such as the lumber yard.
Mr. Howard stated that they should start this fall, but no date had been
set. Mr. Howard added that Knight
Construction was the general contractor.
·
Skaggs alley:
Commissioner Skaggs commented that he wanted to
acknowledge Mr. Huber’s crew and Mr. Rambat for the job they had done behind
Skaggs Ace Hardware. Commissioner Skaggs
stated that it looks good and they had gotten a lot of compliments.
·
Circles program:
Commissioner Hlavachick stated that he would
like to address the Circles program again and commented that he did not think
that $500 was too much. Commissioner
Hlavachick commented that the program had a very good chance to bring
generational poverty manageable.
Commissioner Meyer questioned what they would use the money for. Commissioner Hlavachick stated that it would
be used for training and their Monday night meetings and meals and
speakers. Commissioner Hlavachick added
that Ms. Jeanette Siemens and Ms. Mary McCune go to workshops that were well
worth it, so they also had travel expenses.
Commissioner Hlavachick explained that all the meals had been donated so
far, but they were looking at this as being never ending. Mayor Kumberg also added that they had to pay
a $5,000 licensing fee. Ms. Garten
stated that there was a line item for donations and there was extra room for
things that come up throughout the year.
Ms. Garten commented that she was not sure they had $6,000, but she
could make it work if that was what they chose to do.
Commissioner Hlavachick stated that there were
five people committed to a year and a half and the program would be successful
if two of those got to where they could pay their own way. Mayor Kumberg commented that there were forty
applications for the first round. Mayor
Kumberg explained that it was catching on and the participants were not given
money. After little more discussion,
Commissioner Hlavachick made a motion to approve $500 a month to the Circles
program via the Hope Center to be reevaluated yearly. The motion was seconded by Commissioner
Meyer. Mr. Howard questioned if they
wanted this to start in January 2016 or September 2015. Commissioner Hlavachick stated that he wanted
it to start as soon as possible. The
motion and second passed with four approved votes and one abstained vote from
Mayor Kumberg.
·
Gators Baseball:
Commissioner Meyer wanted to make note of the
letter from Coach Schragg and commend the boys on a great season. Commissioner Meyer stated that those baseball
players and families were good ambassadors for the City when they travel. Commissioner Meyer added that he was proud of
the team.
RECESS:
Commissioner Hlavachick made a motion to recess
until September 08, 2015 at 11:00 a.m. for the City/County joint meeting. The motion was seconded by Commissioner
Taylor and carried unanimously.
_______________________________
LUCUS KUMBERG, Mayor
ATTEST:
________________________________
LUANN KRAMER, City Clerk