MONDAY
FEBRUARY 06, 2017
The Governing Body of the City of Pratt met in Regular session in the Commission Room located in City Hall.
PRESENT:
Lucus Kumberg Mayor
Doug Meyer Commissioner
Gary Schmidt Commissioner
Don Peters Commissioner
ALSO PRESENT:
Roy Eckert City Manager
LuAnn Kramer City Clerk
Diana Garten Finance Director
Gary Myers Chief of Police
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 Kumberg. The Mayor instructed the City Clerk to note that all Commissioners were present with the exception of Commissioner Hlavachick who was ill.
The Mayor reminded the audience that this meeting may be taped and/or recorded.
INVOCATION AND PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE:
Commissioner Schmidt 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 January 03, 2017 regular Commission meeting and the January 30, 2017 Special Call meeting. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Schmidt and carried unanimously.
BUSINESS:
PROCLAMATION FOR GIRL SCOTT COOKIE MONTH (FEBRUARY 2017):
Mayor Kumberg thanked the Girl Scouts for coming to the meeting and bringing cookies. Mayor Kumberg stated that the Girl Scouts consistently form young women into fantastic adults and he then read the proclamation in their honor.
CONSIDERATION AND APPROVAL OF COLOR RUN ROUTE ON MAY 20, 2017 AT 10:00 A.M.:
Dr. Pam Howell, PAHS representative, informed the Commission that the Humane Society would be having their annual 5K run on May 20th and they would be using the same route as previous years. Dr. Howell stated that they would not be using color due to the FDA findings. After little more discussion, Commissioner Peters made a motion to approve the route for the PAHS 5K run on May 20th in Lemon Park. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Schmidt and carried unanimously.
DISCUSSION ON A LOCAL MEMORIAL AT MERCHANTS PARK:
Ms. Donna Rawlings approached the Commission concerning making Merchants Park into a local hero’s park. Ms. Rawlings commented that they would sell bricks and install them in the new area and she had someone who would do the bricks, but she did not have a cost. Ms. Rawlings stated that she had visited with Ms. Kerry Thieme at the high school about having some of her art students design a mural for the wall. Ms. Rawlings added that she had talked to the owners of the building, but they wanted the Commission’s approval before committing to letting it be done.
Mayor Kumberg asked if she had talked to the Recreation Board. Ms. Rawlings stated that she had not and she had not been sure where to start. Recreation Director Pinkall suggested that she do a presentation for the board. Ms. Rawlings stated that she would do that. Mr. Pinkall commented that she could get on their next agenda the last Monday of the month at noon at the Municipal Building. Ms. Rawlings commented that they would like to set up a scholarship for officers and firefighters who were injured on the job or for their families. Mr. Pinkall stated that she could bring anything she thought they would be interested in for her presentation.
CONSIDERATION AND APPROVAL OF COMMISSIONER HLAVACHICK AS DIRECTOR #1 ON KMEA BOARD OF DIRECTORS:
Mayor Kumberg stated that the Commission does this every year for the KMEA Board and Commissioner Hlavachick had been on that board for some time. With no discussion, Commissioner Peters made a motion to re-appoint Commissioner Hlavachick to an additional term on the KMEA Board of Directors. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Meyer and carried unanimously.
CONSIDERATION AND APPROVAL OF THE FINAL PLAT FOR THE PARK HILLS COUNTRY CLUB ADDITION:
City Inspector Blankenship stated that this was the final plat for the Park Hills Country Club Addition and had come about after seven months of working with EBH and Park Hills. Mr. Blankenship commented that the subdivision was on the west half and all lots center to that side. Mr. Blankenship stated that there had been a hearing through the Planning and Zoning Commission in November and only about twenty people were there. Mr. Blankenship added that, with few changes needing to be made, the Planning and Zoning Commission had no objections and the final plat passed unanimously.
Mr. Blankenship informed the Commission that they were the next step and the plat needed their approval. Commissioner Peters questioned if the concerns had been satisfied. Mr. Blankenship stated that there were some concerns that were beyond what this subdivision regulates and this was done in a way to conform to this subdivision. Mr. Blankenship commented that this may not have made everyone happy; however, no one had contacted him since the meeting. Commissioner Meyer asked if they had a homeowners association. Mr. Blankenship stated that he did not know, but they were not recognized in the City of Pratt. Mr. Blankenship added that the City takes care of that through zoning.
Mayor Kumberg questioned if we were responsible for the roads since the County was not. Mr. Blankenship stated that we were not, but there was a State Statute that gives us the right to do this in case the City grows out that way so that it meets our standards. Mr. Blankenship requested that the Commission approve the final plat as presented for the Park Hill County Club Addition. Commissioner Meyer commented that he had a lot of experience with the Planning & Zoning Commissioner; therefore, he made a motion to approve the final plat as presented for the Park Hills Country Club addition. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Peters and carried unanimously.
OPEN AGENDA:
• Sewer Rates:
Pratt resident Gerald Brooks, owner of Contemporary Home Improvement, commented that he owned the truck wash at the airport. Mr. Brooks stated that the former City Manager and others had been a great help getting it going; however, the bill he got had him miffed. Mr. Brooks informed the Commission that there had been two hundred oilfield trucks out at the airport when he started building the car wash and it was not struggling. Mr. Brooks stated that the problem he was having was with the bill he got and having the water cost $82 and the sewer bill was $140.91. Mr. Brooks stated that something needs to be addressed on the sewer being that much higher than the water bill. Mr. Brooks commented that the commercial fees and the taxes were why people were not coming here and going to Medicine Lodge. Mr. Brooks asked that the City take a look at this and get the fees down and help commercial endeavors. Mayor Kumberg thanked Mr. Brooks and stated that he would have the City Manager look into this.
REPORTS:
City Manager:
• KMEA issues:
City Manager Eckert stated that we were still dealing with KMEA issues. Mr. Eckert informed the Commission that he had been to Kansas City with Director of Electric Utilities Huber and Energy Agent Kreutzer to meet with Rainbow and KMEA the following day. Mr. Eckert commented that this was consuming a majority of their time lately, but it was very interesting.
• Recommendations from Paula Downs:
Mr. Eckert stated that the staff had gone through the recommendations from Paula Downs from WSU and they had been advised of what they would be working on. Mr. Eckert added that this should be done by the end of the month. Mr. Eckert commented that we would also be working on the vision and mission statements to see where Pratt was going.
Mayor Kumberg informed the audience that the Commission and staff had met on a Saturday with Ms. Downs from Wichita State University and she was getting us ready for vision and strategic planning. Mr. Eckert stated that one of the first outcomes was expanding the utility payment hours from 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., which should help serve the people of Pratt better. Mr. Eckert explained that the counter would be open ten hours a day Monday through Friday and the staff had worked out their schedule to accommodate the change. Mayor Kumberg stated that he had heard a lot of positive things about this change.
City Attorney:
• Comments:
Ms. Regina Goff, interim City Attorney, stated that she had been doing the duties of the City Attorney since January 17th and had had discussions with department heads about their needs as well as listening to the concerns about crime from law enforcement. Ms. Goff commented that she would bring a new prosecuting style to the City and she was forming a relationship with the district attorney. Ms. Goff added that she was enjoying it and the feedback had been good and she encouraged the staff to continue to ask questions or come to her with their concerns.
Building Inspections:
• Public Works update:
Building Inspector Blankenship stated that he was going to update the Commission on a few things that Public Works Director Rambat usually does, but still out after having back surgery. Mr. Blankenship commented that the street department continues to clean-up limbs, but they were just about done. Mr. Blankenship stated that the water department had helped them out with man power and their 30’ trailer and the backhoe with the clam claw.
• Casey’s:
Mr. Blankenship stated that they were doing concrete at the Casey’s location and Smiley Concrete had told him that they had never had the volume of concrete that this location has. Mr. Blankenship added that they were pouring 5,000 yards of concrete and they only had 5,500 all of last year. Mr. Blankenship explained that there was a lot of psi and fiber mesh which strengthens the concrete. Mr. Blankenship stated that we should be doing the sewer in the next couple of days. Mayor Kumberg commented that they should make their target date. Mr. Blankenship commented that they have the inside refrigeration units running and the rest would be the portable shelves and stocking shelves. Commissioner Peters questioned the depth of the concrete. Mr. Blankenship stated that it was 8” and normal residential was 8 ½”.
• Limb pick-up:
Commissioner Peters stated that the City had done a great job picking up the limbs and it was good of them to do that. Commissioner Peters commented that it was a blessing for some people to have that service once they got them to the curb. Mr. Blankenship stated that we had a good crew. Mr. Blankenship commented that the street department had come to the Commission about getting the load-all with an extended arm and that helped the guys when the limbs were farther back. Commissioner Peters asked if there was much overtime. Mr. Blankenship stated that he did not think so; however, the water department had had a few water leaks where the bricks had not been put back but it all balanced out. Commissioner Meyer asked if we were going to recoup any of our expenses. Finance Director Garten stated that we could get about 85% back since Dodge City was hit really hard.
• Casey’s concrete question:
Commissioner Schmidt questioned what they were using for expansion joints at Casey’s. Mr. Blankenship stated that they were using cold joints in between the rebar. Mr. Blankenship added that it was like a highway. Mr. Blankenship explained that Terracon had a density meter so they know if there are any soft spots that need to be dug out and redone. Mr. Blankenship stated that you have settling and cracking in any situation. Commissioner Schmidt stated that he was thinking about the heat and no room to expand. Mr. Blankenship stated that they would cut them in.
Electric Department:
• Off the grid:
Director of Electric Utilities Huber stated that we would be untied from the grid for a while on the 15th. Mr. Huber explained that Sunflower was going to be repairing some equipment and we hoped that it goes quick and do not have any issues.
Police Department:
• 2016 Activity:
Police Chief Myers stated that his department had had a very busy year logging 112,342 miles. Chief Myers commented that they had 944 traffic citations and twelve DUI arrests. Chief Myers pointed out that they had 1,075 cases filed in Municipal Court in 2016, which was an increase of 399 from 2015. Chief Myers stated that they had received 10,736 calls for service and had investigated 1,715 criminal cases and accidents. Chief Myers explained that 470 of those cases were felonies in 2016 and there was an increase in property crimes with 225 burglaries in 2016 and 110 in 2015. Chief Myers commented that there were 258 larcenies in 2016 and 237 in 2015. Chief Myers informed the Commission that there were 95 drug cases in 2016 compared to 90 cases in 2015. Chief Myers stated that the police department maintains an aggressive enforcement of the drug activity and will continue to be pro-active.
Chief Myers stated that animal control impounded 127 dogs, five cats, two armadillos, six possums, twelve raccoons and two skunks. Chief Myers commented that the animal control officer does attempt to return an animal if they have identification tags.
Chief Myers reported that the Municipal Court case load was at 997 in 2014, 718 in 2015 and 1,075 in 2016 with revenue in 2015 being $109,409.50 and $137,011.41 this year.
Commissioner Peters questioned the 20% increase in calls for service in 2016. Chief Myers stated that there was an increase in crime in the City and he had put out a press release asking people to call in any suspicious activity contributing to that increase. Commissioner Peters asked what constitutes a felony. Chief Myers explained that they were filed in district court and were $1,000 or more and aggravated felonies were drug related, burglaries or damage to property in excess of $1,000. Commissioner Peters questioned how many convictions there were. Chief Myers stated that he would like to discuss that in an executive session. Commissioner Peters questioned if the 95 drug cases were meth related. Chief Myers stated that they were not necessarily, but could be opiates.
Executive Session:
Mayor Kumberg made a motion to go into executive session for non-elected personnel to last thirty minutes. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Myers 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.
Mayor Kumberg made a motion to enter into executive session to discuss confidential data relating to financial affairs or trade secrets of second parties to last thirty minutes. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Meyer and carried unanimously.
Mayor Kumberg stated that the executive session was at the end of the thirty minutes and made a motion to return to executive session to continue discussing confidential data relating to financial affairs or trade secrets of second parties to last an additional thirty minutes. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Peters and carried unanimously.
ADJOURN:
Upon proper motion, the meeting was adjourned.
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LUCUS KUMBERG, Mayor
ATTEST:
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LUANN KRAMER, City Clerk