MONDAY
NOVEMBER 20, 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
Bill Hlavachick Commissioner
Gary Schmidt Commissioner
Don Peters Commissioner
ALSO PRESENT:
Roy Eckert City Manager
LuAnn Kramer City Clerk
Regina Goff City Attorney
Diana Garten Finance Director
Gary Myers Chief of Police
Russell Rambat Public Works Director
Brad Blankenship Building Inspector
Jamie Huber Director 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.
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.
CONSENT AGENDA:
Commissioner
Hlavachick requested that the minutes of November 06, 2017 be removed from the
consent agenda and put on the business agenda.
Commissioner Peters also requested that the 2018 Pratt Area Humane
Society Agreement be moved to the business agenda for discussion. City Attorney Goff requested that the 2018
City Attorney Agreement be removed from the consent agenda and put on a later
meeting agenda due to some changes that needed to be made.
Having
removed those items from the consent agenda, Mayor Kumberg made a motion to approve
the remaining items on the consent agenda, which included the November 15, 2017
recessed rate study work session and the 2018 Senior Citizens Organization
Lease Agreement. The motion was seconded
by Commissioner Hlavachick and carried unanimously.
BUSINESS:
RECOGNITION OF 2017
EMPLOYEE SERVICE AWARDS:
Mayor
Kumberg and Commission recognized the 2017 employees what were to receive
service awards. Those receiving the
awards were Eric Welch and Chad VanSlyke – 10 years of service; Lola Shumway –
15 years of service; Tony Conn and Lance Flemming – 20 years of service; and Russell
Rambat – 30 years of service.
CONSIDERATION AND
APPROVAL OF BID FOR PISTON ASSEMBLY AND PISTON LINER:
Director
of Electric Utilities Huber informed the Commission that they had found pistons
for Unit 7 at the power plant and Fairbanks was the only place that could get
the parts. Mr. Huber explained that the
piston liner was $8,181.64 and the piston assembly was $16,210.16 for a total
of $24,391.80, which did not include freight or sales tax. Mr. Huber stated that they had sent a liner
to McPherson to get it machined so that they would have a piston and liner on
hand. Commissioner Peters asked if we
would be able to install this ourselves.
Mr. Huber commented that they would and they would be checking for any
other damages. Mayor Kumberg questioned
if they knew why this happened. Mr.
Huber stated that it looked like a casting issue and that Power Plant
Superintendent Evans had talked to Michigan and they had the same problem. Commissioner Meyer asked if we would get any
help from insurance. Mr. Huber stated
that they were working on that.
Commissioner Meyer questioned how long it would be to get these in. Mr. Huber commented that it should be a week
or two, but that was way better than August.
Mayor
Kumberg asked if there would be any damage if we lose power from the grid. Mr. Huber stated that we may need to bring up
the steam units. Mr. Huber added that
they could do that in twenty-four hours, but they did not want to have to do
that. With no more discussion, Mr. Huber
recommended the bid from Fairbanks for $24,391.80, which did not include
freight and sales tax. Commissioner
Meyer made a motion to approve the purchase for Unit 7 from Fairbanks for
$24,391.80 not including freight and sales tax.
The motion was seconded by Commissioner Schmidt and carried unanimously.
11/06/2017-REGULAR
COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES:
Commissioner
Peters made a motion to approve the November 06, 2017 regular Commission
meeting minutes. The motion was seconded
by Commissioner Meyer and passed with four approved votes and one abstained
vote from Commissioner Hlavachick.
2018 PRATT AREA
HUMANE SOCIETY AGREEMENT:
Commissioner
Peters explained that he did not have a problem with the PAHS agreement itself,
but he questioned how self-sufficient they were now and if our donation helped
supplement their budget. Commissioner
Hlavachick stated that he had seen it both ways and it was better this
way. Commissioner Hlavachick added that
the profit and loss shows that they always need money. Commissioner Peters stated that we donate
$42,000 and they were doing a tremendous job and the animals were well taken
care of. Commissioner Peters commented
that we needed to watch our dollars and, if they need it, he did not care that
we continue to make our donation.
Commissioner Meyer questioned if they ever maxed out their $6,000
utility allowance. City Clerk Kramer
stated that they had not and that any remaining credit was cleared at the end
of the year and they started over at $6,000 on January 1st.
Mayor
Kumberg commented that they had had past discussions concerning individuals
giving a presentation on how our money was being used. Commissioner Peters agreed that that
information would be helpful. Mayor
Kumberg stated that they would table this item until the next meeting and he
would like to see someone at the Humane Society give an overview of their
finances. Commissioner Peters commented
that they provided a wonderful service.
2018 PRATT CITY
ATTORNEY AGREEMENT:
City
Attorney Goff requested that the City Attorney Agreement be put on the December
4th agenda due to some editing that needed to be done and language
that was conflicting.
OPEN AGENDA:
No
one in the audience wished to address the Commission.
REPORTS:
City Manager:
·
Economic Development:
City
Manager Eckert stated that he had been communicating with Ms. Morgan on
economic development and that they would be talking again this Wednesday to get
things going. Mr. Eckert commented that
this was a very opportunistic time for the City and County and he was very
pleased with the swiftness that Ms. Morgan moves.
·
KMEA:
Mr.
Eckert stated that there were still issues with KMEA and he requested an
executive session at the end of the meeting to discuss those issues.
·
Land Issue:
Mr.
Eckert stated that there was an article on the solar farm and he requested an
executive session at the end of the meeting for discussion prior to the
acquisition of real estate.
·
State water meeting:
Mr.
Eckert commented that he was preparing for the State water meeting. Mr. Eckert stated that it was an eye opener
to discuss water and the issues across the State.
City Attorney:
·
Police Department:
City
Attorney Goff stated that she had been working with Chief Myers and the police
department on training on interactions with the public. Mayor Kumberg questioned what type of
training involved the public. Ms. Goff
explained that it was about 1st amendment rights and whether a
citizen should be allowed to use cell phones to video law enforcement
interaction. Ms. Goff stated that, as
long as they were doing it from a public space and not interfering with the
duties of the law enforcement officer, it was appropriate.
·
Municipal Court:
Ms.
Goff stated that Municipal Court was going well and the cases were moving
quickly. Ms. Goff commented that there
were some issues with violence and minor drinking at the college but it was
worked out quickly.
Public Works:
·
Curb project:
Public
Works Director Rambat stated that Arensdorf Construction should be starting on
the curb and sidewalks on Ninnescah Street and move to the east to Oak Street
in the next week or so.
·
Slab on Highway 54:
Mr.
Rambat stated that the street department had replaced a slab across from
Dillon’s on the east bound outside land on Highway 54.
·
Curb on Country Club Road:
Mr.
Rambat commented that they had replaced the curb on the east side of Country
Club Road and 54 Highway there by Doug Reh Chevrolet. Mr. Rambat explained that there was always a
puddle of water there and it had no place to go so they had cut a hole and
reworked it.
·
Catching up:
Mr.
Rambat stated that the street guys would be catching up on sealing cracks and
working on drainage ditches.
·
Permit renewals:
Mr.
Rambat commented that he was renewing pesticide and fogging permits so that
they could get back out this spring without any delays.
·
Compost carts:
Commissioner
Schmidt questioned when they would be done picking up compost carts. Mr. Rambat stated that it was this week. City Clerk Kramer added that they would be
doing a leaf pick-up the first week of December and they had offered to dump
any compost carts that were out that week.
Mr. Rambat stated that the sanitation guys usually work through the
holiday so that they would not be behind.
Commissioner Peters asked if they get other days off. Mr. Rambat stated that they do, but that was
worked out internally.
Inspection
Department:
·
McDonald’s:
City
Inspector Blankenship stated that there was a sign in front of McDonald’s about
the new one and he commented that he had always been under the impression that
they could not build on the empty lot to the west because it would block Long
John Silver’s and the ice cream store.
Mr. Blankenship commented that he had looked at the deeds and there was
nothing in there about that.
·
Breakroom construction:
Mr.
Blankenship informed the Commission that we were taking sealed bids for the
work in the breakroom for the ED Director.
Mr. Blankenship explained that the folding/storage room would be moved
into the breakroom and they would be getting rid of the garage door. Mr. Blankenship added that they would also be
fixing the exit door so that it was ground level. Mr. Blankenship stated that they would also
be co-compliant with the door swinging out and not in.
·
Dentist office:
Mr.
Blankenship stated that he had done a footing inspection at the new dentist
office and they were hoping to be done in May.
Mr. Blankenship commented that the new dentist that was going in with
Dr. Hopkins was to be here in June.
·
Pilot Club train:
Mr.
Blankenship stated that the train ran well on Sunday after the Spook Express
had derailed. Mr. Blankenship explained
that the big wheel in the middle of the locomotive was the problem. Mr. Blankenship commented that this ‘dummy
wheel’ keeps the train on the tracks and they had welded a new one to get it to
a 1/4” and then a 1/8”. Mr. Blankenship
stated that he had contacted Chance Manufacturing to replace the wheels. Mr. Blankenship commented that he would be
getting with the street department to put a positive in going around those
curves. Mayor Kumberg questioned how
much the estimated cost would be. Mr.
Blankenship stated that it would be under $10,000.
Electric Departments:
·
Power Plant:
Director
of Electric Utilities Huber stated that the power plant guys had been busy
working on Unit 6 and that that test went well.
·
Christmas lights:
Mr.
Huber commented that the lighting of the Christmas lights in the park went well
this weekend. Mr. Huber stated that they
had a transformer that went bad, but they had replaced it this morning. Mr. Huber stated that Mr. Ron Miller did a
great job keeping up with all this stuff and it was all volunteer. Mr. Rambat stated that he was a perfect
candidate and should receive the Joe Wynn Volunteer Award.
Recreation
Department:
·
Advisory Board meeting:
Recreation
Director Pinkall stated that there was an advisory board meeting next Monday
and they would be working on the phases of the dog park. Mr. Pinkall commented that Ms. Barb Prater
had talked to the Humane Society and they were hoping for five to seven members
on the committee for this project.
·
Christmas lunch:
Mr.
Pinkall stated that the employee Christmas lunch was December 13th
and that they would be sending out invitations tomorrow.
Police Department:
·
Mental Health Screenings:
Detective
Jeff Ward stated that they had been having a small issue with their mental
health screenings through Horizons and he would be getting with the City
Attorney to see if they could get that rectified. Detective Ward explained that the screenings
were excessively long and they had not received a call back one night. Detective Ward explained that everybody was
under budget restraints this time of year and they had been hit particularly
hard; however, the process that they were using was not working for the
department. Mayor Kumberg questioned if
the contract with Horizons was a State contract. Detective Ward stated that it was.
Detective
Ward stated that it was a real bad day when you did not receive a call back and
you have to put someone in jail for a crime that was probably not necessary but
a way to protect them. Commissioner
Peters questioned if this was something that just happened. Detective Ward stated that they had a hard
time with screening processes and they have so many employees that they try to
centralize out of Hutchinson. Detective
Ward added that it was going to take some figuring out.
Mayor and Commission:
·
Ms. Morgan:
Mayor
Kumberg stated that he felt that they all had their eyes opened during the
meeting with Ms. Heather Morgan. Mayor
Kumberg commented that she was going to be an asset as we rebuild our economic
development program and he was excited to see where it leads us.
·
Christmas in the Park:
Mayor
Kumberg stated that it was an amazing thing to see the Lemon Park Lights
happen. Mayor Kumberg added that Mr. Ron
Miller did not ask for anything in return for his volunteer hours. Mayor Kumberg stated that it was a job well
done by everybody.
Commissioner
Meyer stated that Christmas in the Park was fantastic and well done. Commissioner Meyer added that it was a fun
event and well attended.
Executive Sessions:
·
#1:
Mayor
Kumberg made a motion to enter into executive session for discussion prior to
the acquisition of real estate to last fifteen minutes. The motion was seconded by Commissioner
Hlavachick and carried unanimously.
Mayor
Kumberg made a motion to return from executive session with nothing to
report. The motion was seconded by
Commissioner Peters and carried unanimously.
·
Contract approval:
Mayor
Kumberg made a motion to accept the agreement for the purchase of land
described in the contract from Peoples Bank Trustee Department in the amount of
$296,000 plus closing costs. The motion
was seconded by Commissioner Schmidt and carried unanimously.
·
#2:
Mayor
Kumberg made a motion to enter into executive session for a consultation with
an attorney on matters that would be deemed privileged in an attorney/client
relationship to last thirty minutes. The
motion was seconded by Commissioner Meyer and carried unanimously.
Mayor
Kumberg made a motion to return from executive session with nothing to
report. The motion was seconded by Commissioner
Peters and carried unanimously.
·
#3:
Mayor
Kumberg made a motion to enter into executive session for non-elected personnel
to last fifteen minutes. The motion was
seconded by Commissioner Hlavachick and carried unanimously.
Mayor
Kumberg made a motion to return from executive session with nothing to
report. The motion was seconded by
Commissioner Schmidt and carried unanimously.
ADJOURN:
Commissioner
Hlavachick made a motion to adjourn. The
motion was seconded by Commissioner Meyer and carried unanimously.
________________________________
LUCUS
KUMBERG, Mayor
ATTEST:
________________________________
LUANN
KRAMER, City Clerk