MONDAY
June 06, 2016
The
Governing Body of the City of Pratt met in Regular session in the Commission
Room located in City Hall.
PRESENT:
Lucus
Kumberg Mayor
Gary
Skaggs Commissioner
Doug
Meyer Commissioner
ALSO
PRESENT:
LuAnn
Kramer City Clerk
Ken
Van Blaricum City Attorney
Diana
Garten Finance Director
Russell
Rambat Public Works Dir.
Jamie
Huber Dir. of Electric
Utilities
Bruce
Pinkall Recreation Director
The
regular meeting was called to order by Mayor Kumberg. The Mayor instructed the Clerk to note that
all Commissioners were present with the exception of Commissioner Hlavachick
and Commissioner Taylor.
The
Mayor reminded the audience that this meeting may be taped and/or recorded.
INVOCATION AND PLEDGE
OF ALLEGIANCE:
Commissioner
Meyer led the staff and audience in the invocation and Mayor Kumberg led the
Pledge of Allegiance.
MINUTES:
Commissioner
Meyer made a motion to approve the minutes of the May 16, 2016 recessed
City/County Joint meeting, the May 16, 2016 regular Commission meeting and the May
23, 2016 Special Call meeting. The
motion was seconded by Commissioner Skaggs and carried unanimously.
BUSINESS:
CONSIDERATION AND
APPROVAL OF THE PURCHASE OF A NEW SERVICE TRUCK FOR THE WATER DEPARTMENT:
Water
Superintendent Kelvin Clay informed the Commission that bids had been sent out
for a new service truck that would replace an eighteen year old truck that had
become unreliable. Mr. Clay stated that
he usually tries to make a vehicle last twelve to fourteen years, but they had
made this one last a little longer; however, the street department had asked if
they could have the 1998 truck and use their 1986 GMC as a trade-in. Mr. Clay commented that it makes sense to get
a few more years out of it as a spare vehicle.
Mr.
Clay stated that two bids had been sent out and two were returned. Mr. Clay explained that the low bid was from
Lanterman Motors for $48,188.90 with sales tax and trade-in included and Doug
Reh Chevrolet had bid $48,637.98 with sales tax and trade-in included. Mr. Clay stated that both bids met his
specifications and he would recommend the low bid from Lanterman Motors in the
amount of $48,188.90 for a 2017 Ford F-250 Super Duty regular cab truck. Commissioner Meyer questioned whether we
install the equipment. Mr. Clay stated
that we do the caution lights, but Lanterman Motors had a company install the
utility bed. Commissioner Skaggs asked
if the departments do their own maintenance on their vehicles. Mr. Clay stated that they do and that was
usually around 3,000 miles or every four months. Public Works Director Rambat added that most
departments do their own, but the City does not have their own mechanic.
With
no further discussion, Commissioner Skaggs made a motion to approve the bid
from Lanterman Motors in the amount of $48,188.90 that includes sales tax and
trade-in. Commissioner Meyer seconded
the motion. Mayor Kumberg stated that
this truck had over 200,000 miles on it.
Mr. Rambat explained that it was going to be used sparingly by the
street department and not their everyday vehicle. The motion and second passed unanimously.
UPDATE ON PRMC
PROJECT:
PRMC
President and CEO Susan Page stated that they were seeing the light at the end
of the tunnel after years of planning and over three years of
construction. Ms. Page explained that
the emergency room was now open and the court yard should be completed in the
next three weeks. Ms. Page added that June
was going to be to get the punch list items completed. Ms. Page commented that they would have their
last meeting on Wednesday and that would be their one hundredth meeting. Ms. Page stated that the community passed a ¾
cent sales tax in July 2013 that was to be used to retire the debt and nothing
else. Ms. Page added that they had taken
$1 ½ million in excess sales tax dollars in November 2015 and refinanced $8.4
million of the bond at 2.48% interest.
Ms. Page commented that that resulted in $1.7 million in present value
savings and would allow them to pay off the bond two to three years earlier. Ms. Page thanked the City for their support
on this project. Commissioner Skaggs
asked about the landscaping. Ms. Page
stated that it was not included, but it would be something they talk about at
the meeting. Commissioner Skaggs
questioned what they would be using the dirt for. Ms. Page commented that the County would use
what was left once some was used to level out sections. Commissioner Meyer stated that we had an
incredible medical complex.
UPDATE ON BLYTHE
FAMILY FITNESS:
Blythe
Family Fitness Executive Director Kristina Kaufman thanked the Commission for
their support. Ms. Kaufman stated that there
were several upcoming events she wanted to share with them. Ms. Kaufman informed the Commission that
there would be a KU basketball camp on July 1st and 2nd
and Josh Jackson, John Graham and/or one other person would be there also. Ms. Kaufman stated that there was a freshman
that was 7’, 280 pounds and only sixteen years old from Nigeria that they may
get to come. Ms. Kaufman explained that
two of those four players would be attending the camp.
Ms.
Kaufman commented that the Skyline basketball league was having forty-seven
teams in for a tournament. Ms. Kaufman
added that they had the high school teams playing on Tuesday’s and junior high
played on Thursday’s, which would last five weeks with a tournament at the
end. Ms. Kaufman stated that there was
also the high school volleyball league that involved thirteen teams and four of
those teams were from Pratt. Ms. Kaufman
added that those games start at 6:00 p.m. and end around 10:00 p.m. to 10:30
p.m. Ms. Kaufman commented that some of
the teams play twice or just rest until their next game, so they were stuck
here and this would last seven weeks.
Ms. Kaufman stated that gymnastics would be here in January and she was
hoping to host an event that could bring four to six hundred competitors to
Pratt at the end of February. Ms.
Kaufman commented that she had contacted the hotels to let them know what
Blythe Family Fitness had coming. Ms.
Kaufman commented that she had also been contacted by Cunningham concerning
league volleyball as had Skyline.
Ms.
Kaufman stated that there would be a kid’s camp in the afternoon this summer
and in the fall they would again do Jack’s After School Program for third to
eighth grade. Ms. Kaufman stated that
seventeen had attended the last session that went from December to the end of
the school year. Ms. Kaufman explained
that she was working with the PCC womens soccer team to host an indoor soccer
tournament on July 9th. Ms.
Kaufman added that she had coordinated that with Chamber Director Kim DeClue
and the sidewalk sale. Commissioner
Meyer stated that she was doing a good job.
Mayor Kumberg questioned if a majority of these events were overnight
stays. Ms. Kaufman stated that they
were. Ms. Kaufman stated that they were
also looking at indoor archery again starting in March 2017 and that was a fun
and different crowd. Commissioner Skaggs
asked how many employees there were. Ms.
Kaufman stated that there were five full time and two part time.
READING OF
PROCLAMATION FOR MISS KANSAS WEEK:
Mayor
Kumberg read a proclamation prepared by Chamber Director Kim DeClue declaring
the City’s appreciation for their sixty-one years of commitment to Pratt. Mayor Kumberg added that he had written a
welcome letter to the Miss USA and Miss Kansas organization’s and had stated
that we hoped to keep them another sixty-one years. Ms. DeClue stated that the Miss Kansas
organization appreciates all that Pratt does for them and it was a major
economic development event. Commissioner
Skaggs asked how many contestants there were this year. Ms. DeClue stated that there were thirty-six
Miss Kansas contestants, twenty-one Miss Outstanding Teen contestants and
seventy-seven Sunflower Princess contestants.
UPDATED REPORT ON THE
DOWNTOWN PARK:
Ms.
Carol Stull and Ms. Tracey Beverlin, representatives of the 2011 Leadership
2000 class, thanked the Commission for their support. Ms. Stull reviewed their summary of in-kind
donations from the community and businesses.
Ms. Stull commented that they should start work in the next few weeks
and it should be able to be completed in thirty days, weather permitting. Ms. Stull stated that they had not received
the $10,000 from Travel and Tourism yet; however, they would be okay with not
receiving any more dollars from the City.
Ms. Stull explained that the difference in price was the concrete and
the money from Travel and Tourism was to pay for that. Ms. Stull pointed out that the parking area
would have to be built up and the sidewalk was not included in the earlier drawing,
but it would be beautiful. Ms. Stull
commented that the lights, trash cans and benches would match the Streetscape,
as well as the lights. Ms. Stull stated
that she felt that they would receive more donations as the park finishes.
Commissioner
Meyer questioned how they were going to work with the Farmers Market. Ms. Stull stated that the Farmers Market
Association would set-up the rules and they would be there on Saturday mornings
and maybe Wednesday evenings. Ms. Stull
commented that there would be no parking in the park, but they could set-up
tables and you could pull carts on it.
Commissioner Skaggs asked if the concrete would have enforcement. Ms. Stull stated that they were going down 15”. Ms. Stull added that it would be great if it
was too small to hold all the vendors, because then they could go down Main
Street.
CONSIDERATION AND APPROVAL
OF LOW BID FOR THE SOUTH MAIN STREET KLINK PROJECT:
Public
Works Director Rambat stated that he had opened up bids with EBH Engineers for
the KLINK project on South Main Street.
Mr. Rambat explained that they received two bids for the project that
was from the Recycling Center to the north edge of the bridge and then from the
south end of the bridge to the City limits.
Mr. Rambat commented that the engineer’s estimate was $126,340, which
was about two years ago; however the costs of oil had dropped along with the
cost of asphalt being down. Mr. Rambat
stated that the bid from Venture Corporation out of Great Bend was $113,972 and
APAC-Kansas out of Hutchinson bid $86,938.39.
Mr. Rambat explained that he had visited with the representative from APAC-Kansas
and they would like to start in August.
Mr. Rambat commented that that would be a good time since harvest would
be over; however, we may still have some wind farm parts coming through town. Mr. Rambat added that they would do half at a
time, so that should not be a problem.
Mr. Rambat stated that the project should only take about a week to
finish.
Mr.
Rambat recommended that the Commission approve the low bid from APAC-Kansas in
the amount of $86,938.39. Mr. Rambat
stated that this had been contingent on KDOT’s approval, but they had since
given their approval. Commissioner Meyer
questioned what our portion would be.
Mr. Rambat stated that it was a 75/25 split. Commissioner Meyer made a motion to approve
the bid from APAC-Kansas in the amount of $86,938.39 for the KLINK South Main
Street project. The motion was seconded
by Commissioner Skaggs and carried unanimously.
CONSIDERATION AND
APPROVAL OF 4 MILLS FOR THE 2017 AIRPORT AUTHORITY BUDGET:
Finance
Director Diana Garten informed the Commission that there was a letter in the
packet from Airport Manager Reid Bell concerning their four mill for the 2017
Airport Authority budget. Ms. Garten
reminded the Commissioners that they had asked last year to access the
additional mill for a total of four mills and they still had that need. Commissioner Skaggs questioned if the mill
was for improvement projects and if this was all on the up and up. Mayor Kumberg stated that we levied three
mill and then an additional mill for improvement projects. Commissioner Skaggs questioned if we knew
where the money was going, but added that we may need to get with the Airport
Authority for that answer. Ms. Garten
stated that she could get with Mr. Bell about coming in to report where that
money was going.
After
little more discussion, Commissioner Meyer made a motion to approve the four
mill request from the Airport Authority as presented. The motion was seconded by Commissioner
Skaggs and carried unanimously.
OPEN AGENDA:
·
Luca Matei:
Mr.
Luca Matei addressed the Commission about the police doing something dirty
after he had complained about a tenant.
Mr. Matei stated that this was the local government and they serve the
people and the police were law breakers.
Mayor Kumberg interrupted Mr. Matei and stated that this was not the
place to deface the police. Mr. Matei
made a remark that if something happens to him…
The end of that remark was not understandable because Mr. Matei was
walking away from the microphone.
·
Suzan Patton:
USD
382 Superintendent Suzan Patton stated that she realized that she had not come
before the Commission for some time and she commented that we take
relationships for granted. Ms. Patton
commented that she wanted to thank the City at the end of this school year
since both of us had similar interests in serving Pratt. Ms. Patton explained that they get calls for
police and fire, but they were thankful for all that the Pratt Recreation
Department does at the Green Sports Complex.
Ms. Patton added that City Recreation and the school work cooperatively
during the summer on the daily activities and lunches. Ms. Patton stated that she did not want to
take this relationship for granted. Ms.
Patton commented that forty businesses had shadowed USD students and that
included the police, fire, EMT’s and a variety of others.
·
Supreme Court Issue:
Commissioner
Meyer asked if Ms. Patton would like to comment on the Supreme Court issue with
schools shutting down. Ms. Patton stated
that she had attended a meeting earlier and there were also several legislators
there. Ms. Patton commented that there
was a feeling that a special session was in the works and there was a strong
desire to reconcile this. Ms. Patton
stated that they were not going to play the blame game, but the schools were
the pawns in this situation. Ms. Patton
explained that the school was the third largest employer in Pratt and many
would be effected by a shutdown; however, teachers would have the option to be
paid for July and August with contracts ending the 30th of
June. Ms. Patton added that they had to
remain optimistic since they were in the middle of the plan.
Mayor
Kumberg questioned if the teachers would actually get paid if there was no one
to write the check. Ms. Patton stated
that they would shut down the school and, with the budget beginning on July 1st,
any spending or distributing of that money would be unconstitutional. Ms. Patton added that it would mean that they
would be there every day, but we could not pay a bill or receive any
money. Ms. Patton stated that their
assumption was that they would not shut down on June 30th. Ms. Patton commented that there would be no incentive
to come to work, so there was a lot of unknowns.
Commissioner
Skaggs questioned if they were working on a back-up plan. Ms. Patton stated that the back-up plan was
to wait and see. Mayor Kumberg commented
that utilities could be shut off if there was no solution for a month. Ms. Patton stated that the most challenging
thing would be health care and then they would look at utilities getting paid,
which would probably require a visit with the City. Ms. Patton explained that they could also use
their contingency fund, so that lead her to believe that there were some
outs. Ms. Patton stated that she was
more optimistic after the meeting today.
Commissioner Meyer commented that the public should notice how important
the school is and that he thought that it would get resolved. Ms. Patton stated that you did not recognize
the impact if you were not from a small town.
Commissioner Meyer stated that we do take for granted our health care
system. Ms. Patton stated that she felt
fortunate that they have the support for our school system.
REPORTS:
City Attorney:
·
Executive Session:
City
Attorney Ken Van Blaricum requested an executive session to last forty-five
minutes to discuss attorney/client privilege.
Mr. Van Blaricum added that this could be done after staff reports.
Public Works:
·
Miss Kansas parade:
Public
Works Director Rambat stated that he had met with the department heads and they
were ready for the Miss Kansas parade on Friday at 6:30 p.m. Mr. Rambat added that they would have the regular
detour route.
·
Old Vehicles:
Mr.
Rambat stated that there were a bunch of old vehicles at the parks department
and he was working hard to get rid of them.
Mr. Rambat commented that there were three that you could not call a
vehicle and they had no windows or tires, so he had called 21st
Century Recycling to come and look at them for scrap metal. Mr. Rambat stated that they offered $.70 a
ton and he asked the Commission’s approval to get rid of those three
vehicles.
Mr.
Rambat stated that he would line up the vehicles and take closed bids after the
Miss Kansas parade was over and see what we could get for them. Mayor Kumberg stated that that was a good
idea. Mr. Rambat commented that we were
getting the titles around for these vehicles and he would work on the other
older equipment later this year. Mr.
Rambat explained that he would like to get with Hamm Auction to have the
equipment auctioned off. Mr. Rambat
stated that the cost of metal was at a low rate, but we did not want to wait
around. Commissioner Skaggs commented
that we should keep our stuff up since we expect that of the City patrons. Mr. Rambat added that Park Superintendent
Eckhoff likes to keep his things maintained also. After little more discussion, Commissioner
Skaggs made a motion to approve the sales of three scrap vehicles to 21st
Century Recycling for $.70 per ton. The
motion was seconded by Commissioner Meyer and carried unanimously.
·
Fogging for mosquitoes:
Mr.
Rambat stated that they would be fogging for mosquitoes Wednesday and Thursday
at midnight. Mr. Rambat commented that
there were pellets that go in standing water to minimize reproduction. Mr. Rambat added that this should help with
the parade Friday and Recreation Director Pinkall’s huge tournament this
weekend.
·
Casey’s:
Commissioner
Skaggs asked if there was any new news about Casey’s. Mr. Rambat stated that Building Inspector
Blankenship had finished the review of some plan changes and he had helped him
with the landscaping ordinance. Mr.
Rambat added that a return email had been sent.
Electric Department:
·
Arby’s:
Director
of Electric Utilities Huber informed the Commission that they had temporary
power at Arby’s and they were now waiting on their electricians. Mr. Huber commented that they were getting
ready to start the concrete work.
·
Poles at the Feedlot:
Mr.
Huber stated that they had spent a lot of time at the feedlot after the storm
and had replaced several poles. Mr.
Huber commented that they were up and going again.
·
1st Street Traffic
Light:
Mr.
Huber commented that the traffic light at First Street and Main Street had been
hit over the weekend. Mr. Huber added
that it had been fixed now.
Recreation
Department:
·
Weekend tournament:
Recreation
Director Pinkall stated that they had thirty-nine teams coming to town this
weekend for a tournament and they would be playing all four fields at the
Sports Complex and two at Lemon Park.
·
Main Street lights:
Commissioner
Skaggs informed Mr. Pinkall that some of the lights on the trees were not working
on South Main Street. Mr. Pinkall stated
that there should be two per tree, but he had not checked on them lately. Commissioner Skaggs commented that they
should still be under warranty. Mr.
Pinkall stated that he would get those changed.
Mr. Huber stated that there could be a problem with the GFI breakers
since we have had so much rain.
·
Auditors:
Finance
Director Garten stated that the auditors would be at the next meeting to
present the 2015 audit. Ms. Garten added
that she would get the reports out later this week.
·
Bids for Auditor:
Ms.
Garten commented that we usually go out for bids ever three years for an
auditor; however she asked the Commission to consider keeping Adams, Brown,
Beran and Ball LTD for another year with all the changes that we would be going
through. The Commission did not see a
problem with that.
·
Budget work session:
Ms.
Garten asked about a date to go over the budget for 2017. Ms. Garten stated that Commissioner Skaggs
was generally gone the middle of July, so they could go before he leaves or
after he gets back. Commissioner Skaggs
stated that he would be gone from July 12th to July 23rd. Ms. Garten stated that she would look at the
calendar again and send an email to everyone with some options.
·
Sales Tax:
Commissioner Meyer commented that it
looked like there was an upswing in sales tax.
Ms. Garten stated that it was up a little, but she would look at it in
another month to see how it looks.
Mayor and Commission:
·
Jack Ewing Park:
Mayor
Kumberg thanked the City staff for the success of the celebration in memory of
Jack Ewing. Mayor Kumberg stated that
everybody had stated that it was a fantastic event.
·
Dir. of Electric Utilities
recognized:
Mayor
Kumberg informed the staff and audience that Director of Electric Utilities
Huber had received the 2016 Daryle Nelson Distinguished Service Award for Mutual
Aid at the KMU meeting a few weeks ago.
Mayor Kumberg had constructed a letter in appreciation of the work that
Mr. Huber does to help others out when they need it the most.
Executive Session:
Mayor
Kumberg made a motion to enter into executive session for forty-five minutes to
discuss attorney/client privilege.
Commissioner Skaggs seconded the motion and the motion and second passed
unanimously. Mayor Kumberg asked that
Director of Electric Utilities Huber join the Commission and City Attorney in
the executive session.
Mayor
Kumberg made a motion to return from executive session with nothing to report. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Meyer
and carried unanimously.
Mayor
Kumberg made a motion to go back into executive session for fifteen minutes to
discuss non-elected personnel. The
motion was seconded by Commissioner Skaggs and carried unanimously.
Mayor
Kumberg made a motion to return from executive session with nothing to report. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Meyer
and carried unanimously.
ADJOURN:
Commissioner
Skaggs made a motion to adjourn. The
motion was seconded by Commissioner Meyer and carried unanimously.
LUCUS KUMBERG, Mayor
ATTEST:
______________________________________
LUANN
KRAMER, City Clerk