MONDAY
MARCH 04, 2019
The
Governing Body of the City of Pratt met in Regular Session in the Commission
Room located at City Hall.
PRESENT:
Doug Meyer Mayor
Gary Schmidt Commissioner
Don Peters Commissioner
Jason Leslie Commissioner
Zach Deeds Commissioner
ALSO PRESENT:
Roy Eckert City Manager
LuAnn Kramer City Clerk
Regina Probst City Attorney
Diana Garten Finance Director
Russell Rambat Public Works Director
Brad Blankenship Building Inspector
Jamie Huber Dir. of Electric :Utilities
CALL TO ORDER:
The
regular meeting was called to order by Mayor Meyer. The Mayor instructed the City Clerk to note
that all Commissioners were present.
Mayor
Meyer reminded the audience that this meeting may be taped and/or recorded.
INVOCATION AND PLEDGE
OF ALLEGIANCE:
Commissioner
Deeds led the staff and audience in the invocation and Mayor Meyer led the Pledge
of Allegiance.
CONSENT AGENDA:
·
February
19, 2019 Regular Commission Meeting
·
February
26, 2019 Special Call Commission Meeting
Commissioner
Schmidt made a motion to approve the consent agenda. The motion was seconded by Commissioner
Peters and carried unanimously.
BUSINESS:
DISCUSSION ON
PROPERTY PURCHASE:
Robert
Smiley, owner of Smiley Concrete, addressed the Commission about purchasing
some property owned by the City. Mr.
Smiley commented that the Commission had voted to sell property across from the
Sports Complex at the last meeting and he was ready to make an offer. Mr. Smiley stated that he was hoping to
develop a new business park and he already had a couple of businesses that were
interested. Mr. Smiley explained that
his plan was to create a development with family business styles that would become
a permanent fixture. Mr. Smiley
commented that he was looking to create an incubator style with food and drinks
in the area, which would add to what the City had already done. Mr. Smiley stated that he believed in that
area and felt it was growing due to the youth programs and adults helping
youth. Mr. Smiley stated that we had a
town that served our own needs; however, we needed to add to what we had so
that we could serve others outside the City.
Mr. Smiley commented that, with the growth on the east side of town, it
was the place to be and it would also add more parking to the Green Sports
Complex.
Mayor
Meyer asked what his timeline was. Mr.
Smiley answered that the initial investment would be three hundred sixty five
days and that would include the dirt work and a full scale of the development
area. Mr. Smiley commented that he would
allow businesses in once the preliminary plan was accepted. Mr. Smiley explained that he had two
businesses that were risky, but they were his and he had two or three others
that were interested. Commissioner
Leslie questioned how many he could get in that area. Mr. Smiley stated that he thought he could
get eight to ten, depending on their size.
Mr. Smiley added that he was hoping for something large scale for
entertainment. Mr. Smiley commented that
people could benefit with the right types of businesses.
Mayor
Meyer questioned if he was going to submit his proposal confidentially or
publicly. City Attorney Probst reminded
the Commission that the sale of City property had to be done in open session;
however, Mr. Smiley could get with City Manager Eckert and then it would come
to the Commission. Mayor Meyer clarified
that he did not want to publicly give his proposal. Mr. Smiley stated that that was correct. Commissioner Leslie asked if we knew the fair
market value of that property. Mr.
Eckert stated that we did not, but he had talked to the League and there was
nothing out there that determines how we sell City owned property. Mr. Eckert clarified that we did not have to
advertise the property and all we had to do was negotiate with the interested
person.
Commissioner
Peters questioned if the property was zoned commercial. Building Inspector Blankenship stated that it
was not and would need to be rezoned.
Commissioner Leslie asked if the property would be appraised. Mr. Eckert stated that we could do that. Commissioner Leslie stated that we needed to
be fair; however, we did not want to give it away. Mayor Meyer commended Mr. Smiley for seeing
the big picture and bringing new businesses in town, which increases the tax
base. Mr. Eckert stated that he would be
glad to sit down with Mr. Smiley and two other Commissioners and discuss his
proposal. Commissioner Peters asked how
many acres were actually there. Public
Works Director Rambat stated that there was probably around fifteen acres. Commissioner Schmidt commented that it was an
odd shape. Mr. Rambat agreed and
commented that the City would need to have some right-of-ways and
easements. Mr. Rambat added that we would
have to replat it and, even if Mr. Smiley did not purchase the property, the
right-of-ways and easements would be there to service the whole area. Mr. Rambat commented that there were one foot
easements on there, but they did not do the City any good.
Mr.
Blankenship stated that he had visited with Mr. Smiley about the easements and
right-of-ways and he was fine with that.
Mr. Smiley commented that he understood the job they had and that it
might be difficult to get new businesses to come in. Mr. Smiley explained that, if not businesses,
he would consider apartments. Mr. Smiley
stated that he had been in business here for twelve years and lived here for
fifteen and he saw the opportunity of a business park. Mr. Smiley stated that he looked forward to
working with everyone in the City and he did not want to rush into
anything. Mr. Smiley added that he was
willing to negotiate and take the steps to make it happen. Mayor Meyer thanked Mr. Smiley for presenting
his ideas to the Commission.
CONSIDERATION AND
APPROVAL OF 2019 SUMMERFEST STREET CLOSURES ON SATURDAY, JULY 13TH
FROM 6:00 A.M. TO 11:00 P.M.:
Chamber
Director Kim DeClue informed the Commission that the 2019 Summerfest would be
on July 13th and the street closures would be from 6:00 a.m. to
11:00 p.m. Ms. DeClue clarified that she
was asking for the 11:00 p.m. closure for Fourth Street only, because they
would be having a concert in Merchant Park that evening. Ms. DeClue explained the street closures as
West Second Street between Main Street and the alleyway, West Third Street
between Main Street and the alleyway and West Fourth Street between Main Street
and Jackson Street. Ms. DeClue commented
that they would have the Lions Club train and the National Guard Armory along
with the Farmer’s Market, live entertainment and the laser show from 7:00 p.m.
to 10:00 p.m. With no further
discussion, Commissioner Leslie made a motion to approve the street closures
for the 2019 Summerfest on July 13th as presented by Chamber
Director DeClue. The motion was seconded
by Commissioner Peters and carried unanimously.
CONSIDERATION AND
APPROVAL OF ORDINANCE 1903 CONCERNING TRAVEL AND TOURISM:
City
Attorney Probst stated that she had discussions with Ms. DeClue and Finance
Director Garten concerning changes that needed to be made to Ordinance 0503 and
they had been very productive meetings.
Ms. DeClue stated that the first change was in Section 2 where the guest
tax rate had changed from seven to eight percent. Ms. DeClue commented that that had changed
years ago, but the ordinance had not been updated. Ms. DeClue stated that the next change was in
Section 7 and that had been changed to clarify what Travel and Tourism money
was used for. Ms. DeClue explained that
bed tax money was how Travel and Tourism got money back into their fund, so
they encouraged events that require overnight lodging.
Ms.
DeClue stated that the biggest change was the number of people on the
committee. Ms. DeClue commented that
they had nine members now and approve three each year. Ms. DeClue stated that no one had gone off
the committee since she had come on and one member had been on the board for
thirty years. Ms. DeClue commented that
he had great knowledge and was a valuable member, but adding one or two more
members would make the committee function well.
Ms. Garten explained that Section 8 (b) states that a member would be
dismissed if they miss three meetings; however, the committee could say they
were a valuable member and keep them on.
Ms. DeClue commented that one member was the president of another
committee from his work and it interfered with him being able to attend the
Travel and Tourism meetings and they needed him there.
With
no more discussion, the following Ordinance 1903 was then presented to the
Commission for their approval: AN ORDINANCE PROVIDING FOR THE LEVY
OF A TRANSIENT GUEST TAX FOR TOURISM AND CONVENTION AND REPEALING SECTION
3.12.010 THROUGH 3.12.100 OF THE PRATT MUNI CIPAL CODE OF THE CITY OF PRATT, KANSAS. Commissioner
Deeds made a motion to approve Ordinance 1903 concerning Travel and Tourism as
presented. The motion was seconded by
Commissioner Leslie and carried unanimously.
CONSIDERATION AND
APPROVAL OF ORDINANCE 1904 AUTHORIZING THE PURCHASE OF REAL PROPERTY:
City
Attorney Probst explained that what was in this ordinance had already been
approved; however, the ordinance was requested by the Title Insurance
Company. Ms. Probst stated that this
ordinance approves the purchase of property from the Karellen Larrison Trust
for the waterline project to the airport.
With
no more discussion, the following Ordinance 1904 was presented to the
Commission for their approval: AN ORDINANCE AUTHORIZING PURCHASE OF REAL
PROPERTY. Commissioner Peters made a
motion to approve Ordinance 1904 authorizing the purchase of property from the
Karellen Larrison Trust for the waterline project at the airport. The motion was seconded by Commissioner
Schmidt and carried unanimously.
CONSIDERATION AND
APPROVAL OF RE-APPOINTMENT OF CITY MANAGER AS DIRECTOR #1 ON THE KMEA BOARD OF
DIRECTORS:
City
Manager Eckert stated that this Board was a good thing to be a part of and he
was willing to serve an additional term.
Director of Electric Utilities Huber explained that Mr. Eckert was a
voting member and the seats were reappointed every three years. Mr. Huber added that the City would be
getting out of EMP2, but would continue as a member with KMEA. Commissioner Schmidt made a motion to approve
the City Manager as Director #1 on the KMEA Board of Directors. The motion was seconded by Commissioner
Peters and carried unanimously.
OPEN AGENDA:
No
one wished to address the Commission.
REPORTS:
City Manager:
·
Shooting range:
City
Manager Eckert stated that the shooting range was coming along and was very
impressive. Mr. Eckert commented that it
was a tremendous asset to the City and he was impressed how fast they were
getting it done.
·
Fire truck:
Mr.
Eckert stated that the fire truck had gotten here despite the weather. Mr. Eckert commented that the department was
proud of the truck and we had gotten a good deal on it.
·
Budget:
Mr.
Eckert stated that it was time to start getting ready for budget.
·
Opportunities:
Mr.
Eckert commented that things were looking good in Pratt and it was optimistic
for businesses. Mr. Eckert stated that
there were some options to enhance opportunities that might require executive
sessions later on.
·
Police Department:
Mr.
Eckert stated that Police Chief Humble was out of town all week, but he had a
good crew to keep things running. Mr.
Eckert commented that the police department was well established and full
staffed.
City Attorney:
·
Threat through email:
City
Attorney Probst stated that an implied vague threat via email had come to the
Commissioners and she had forwarded that to Chief Humble who gave it to
Detective Ward. Ms. Probst commented
that this individual was from out of State and their jurisdiction had questioned
him. Mr. Probst explained that this
person imposed no threat and there would be no further communication with our
Commissioners or he would be charged with criminal threat.
Public Works:
·
Playground equipment:
Public
Works Director Rambat stated that the zip line playground equipment purchased
by the Pilot Club had been installed in Sixth Street Park. Mr. Rambat commented that there were more
pieces coming and there would be some concrete work to do also. Mr. Rambat stated that it should be about
ready by the beginning of summer.
·
Website:
Mr.
Rambat stated that the new website should be ready to launch on April 8th
as long as things stay on track.
·
Street Department:
Mr.
Rambat commented that the street department did a good job with the storm and
had stayed on top of it pretty well. Mr.
Rambat added that the wind was a problem closing things up soon after they got
it open.
·
Tornado Drill:
Mr.
Rambat stated that the State tornado drill was tomorrow at 10:00 a.m. Mr. Rambat added that they would put it off
if there was any threatening weather at that time.
·
Aerial Photography:
Mr.
Rambat stated that he was working with the County to do an updated aerial
photograph. Mr. Rambat commented that
ours was about eleven years old and was something that we use a lot.
·
Kansas Gas Service:
Mr.
Rambat informed the Commission that Kansas Gas would be tearing up four blocks
of alleys on South Ninnescah Street and South Oak Street between Fourth Street
and Seventh Street. Mr. Rambat stated
that we had delivered memos to the residents so that they would know to put
their polycarts at the front curb for this time frame. Mr. Rambat commented that the cold wet
weather would extend the project.
·
Connecting Link Funds:
Mr.
Rambat stated that the new Governor helped KDOT by giving them some money for
the connecting links which had been stalled for the last couple of years. Mr. Rambat commented that he would be getting
a probable cost for two concrete blocks between Mound Street and New
Street. Mr. Rambat added that he had
submitted that two or three times.
Building Inspections:
·
7 Boutique Hotel:
Commissioner
Leslie asked what the status was of the 7 Boutique Hotel out west. Building Inspector Blankenship stated that
they had been closed back down for safety issues with their sprinklers. Mr. Blankenship explained that Fire Chief
Kramer had been contacted by the Fire Marshall’s office and we were going to
let that play out, but they were going to get it done.
·
Pearl Street:
Commissioner
Peters congratulated Mr. Blankenship on his professionalism and compassion
dealing with the owner of the property on Pearl Street. Mr. Blankenship stated that he would be fair
and take into consideration the weather conditions and build in days with the
twenty days he was given to get things done.
Commissioner Leslie asked if he had made any progress. Mr. Blankenship had no comment.
·
Americare:
Commissioner
Peters asked if Mr. Blankenship had heard anything from Americare. Mr. Blankenship stated that he had not had
any word from them.
Electric Department:
·
New Truck:
Director
of Electric Utilities Huber stated that the line department had gotten their
new bucket truck last week and were putting the stickers on it today. Mr. Huber reminded the Commission that they
had approved the bid for this over a year ago.
Finance Director Garten stated that we would make the first payment on
that loan this time next year. Mr. Huber
added that the old truck had broken down and they were waiting on a part before
passing it down to the cemetery department.
·
Storm report:
Mr.
Huber stated that they had no outages due to the storms and he was pretty proud
of that.
·
Power Plant:
Mr.
Huber stated that Power Plant Superintendent Bryan Evans was now fully staffed
at the power plant and that had taken a long time to accomplish. Mr. Huber explained that they had hired someone
back that had been here before. Mr.
Huber added that the line department was still short, but they would wait and
look more in May when the new kids would be graduating from college. Commissioner Peters questioned if this was a
two year course at the college. Mr.
Huber stated that some do it in one year and the rest on line because they want
to get to work. Mr. Huber commented that
we could teach them on the job.
·
Future projects:
Mr.
Huber stated that they had a couple of projects that had been on hold due to
the weather; however, one was the heavy metal contractor out of Harper that
would do a bore job Thursday. Mr. Huber
commented that the pole and lights were here for Lemon Park, but they were
waiting on the cross arms.
·
Solar Farm:
Commissioner
Schmidt asked if the solar farm was being consistent. Mr. Huber stated that it was sometimes;
however, the clouds played havoc with it this time of year. Commissioner Leslie questioned if they stayed
covered with snow. Mr. Huber explained
that it melts pretty quickly and slides off.
Commissioner Peters asked what we were paying. Mr. Huber stated that it varied from 2 ½ to 4
cents if we bought off the market, but it was not affecting us since we did not
have that going. Mr. Huber explained
that it would affect us this summer and that GRDA was at 4 ½ cents. Mayor Meyer commented that he had noticed that
the energy cost adjustment had gone down.
Mr. Huber stated that it should be levelized the rest of the year. Mr. Huber added that the energy cost
adjustment and the actual cost was 13 cents.
Mr. Huber stated that we were in the same ballpark as everybody else.
Finance Department:
·
Sales tax:
Finance
Director Garten stated that the sales tax report showed that we were up 9 ½
percent over last year.
·
FEMA:
Ms.
Garten stated that she was finalizing FEMA costs from the flood and that most
of the work at the park was done.
·
Budget:
Ms.
Garten stated that she would be getting the departments their budget information
in mid to late April and they would be due in May or June. Commissioner Peters asked if the Commission
would be meeting with the department heads again. Ms. Garten stated that they would be.
Mayor and Commission:
·
Storm Spotters training:
Mayor
Meyer commented that there would be a storm spotters training on the 21st
of March.
·
Solar Energy Conference:
Mayor
Meyer stated that the Solar Energy Conference was this Thursday at BTI and
should be well attended. Mayor Meyer
added that the Commission would open the recessed meeting from tonight at the
conference and recess when it was over until March 18th to meet with
the County.
·
Police Department Server:
Commissioner
Peters questioned if there was progress being made concerning the police
department server and computers. City
Manager Eckert stated that it was in the works.
RECESS:
Mayor
Meyer made a motion to recess until Thursday, March 7th at 9:25 a.m.
at BTI for the Solar Energy Conference.
Commissioner Deeds seconded the motion and it carried unanimously.
_____________________________________
DOUG
MEYER, Mayor
ATTEST:
______________________________________
LUANN
KRAMER, City Clerk