MONDAY
JUNE 18, 2018
The
Governing Body of the City of Pratt met in Regular Session in the Commission
Room located at City Hall.
RESENT:
Doug Meyer Mayor
Lucus Kumberg Commissioner
Gary Schmidt Commissioner
Don Peters Commissioner
Jason Leslie Commissioner
ALSO PRESENT:
Roy Eckert City Manager
LuAnn Kramer City Clerk
Regina Probst 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 Meyer. They 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:
Mayor
Meyer led the staff and audience in the invocation and the Pledge of
Allegiance.
CONSENT AGENDA:
·
Minutes: June 04, 2018 Regular Commission Meeting
Commissioner
Leslie made a motion to approve the consent agenda. The motion was seconded by Commissioner
Peters and carried unanimously.
BUSINESS:
CONSIDERATION AND
APPROVAL OF BIKE RACK LOCATIONS:
PHF
Executive Director DeWayne Bryan presented the Commission with a check for the
sidewalk project in the amount of $17,074.66.
Public Works Director Rambat commented that the project ran just under
$20,000 and Mr. Bryan was instrumental in getting it done. Mr. Bryan informed the Commission that there
was about $12,000 left in that grant, so he would be looking at other projects
in the next year.
Mr.
Bryan stated that there were three locations that he would like to install bike
racks and that would be two on Second Street and Main Street and one on Fourth
Street and Main Street. Recreation
Director Pinkall stated that this was a continuation of the beautification
project on Main Street. Mr. Pinkall
commented that they would not interfere with parking since they would be
between the last parking stall and the corner.
Commissioner Leslie asked how many bikes they would hold. Mr. Pinkall answered that it would be only
one or two. Mr. Pinkall added that it
could be more, but they would wait and see how people interact with them. Mayor Meyer questioned if the businesses were
good with this. Mr. Bryan stated that
they were. With no more discussion,
Commissioner Peters made a motion to approve the bike rack locations as
presented by Mr. Bryan. The motion was
seconded by Commissioner Schmidt and carried unanimously.
PRESENTATION OF 2017
CITY OF PRATT AUDIT:
Ms.
Teresa Seymour, Senior Manager at BKD, commented that the staff was great to
work with and they had appreciated their help.
Ms. Seymour stated that the management letter talked about management,
managers and auditors’ responsibilities.
Ms. Seymour stated that the management’s responsibility was the preparation
of the financial statement as well as designing and implementing internal
controls. Ms. Seymour added that the
auditor’s responsibility was to form an opinion on those financial statements
through the audit process. Ms. Seymour
continued pointing out the adverse opinion on GAAP, which was put into place a
couple of years ago to make sure that anyone looking at it would not think it
was a GAAP report, but a regulatory report.
Ms. Seymour commented on regulatory basis of accounting and stated that this
was where the City came in. Ms. Seymour
stated that the letter stated that in the auditor’s opinion, the financial
statements present fairly. Ms. Seymour
then addressed the summary statement and commented that this was the overall
big financial report with all the funds of the City including beginning
balances and revenues and expenditures and where they ended up at the end of
the year. Ms. Seymour commented that
there was also a summary at the bottom that tells where the composition of cash
was located, whether in cd’s or in a checking account.
Ms.
Seymour talked about the notes to the financial statement and explained that
they were more of a description of the financial statements. Ms. Seymour stated that it talks about what
type of reporting entity the City was, basis of presentation, the basis of
accounting, the budget process and then goes into more specific notes about the
City. Ms. Seymour commented about the
City participating in KPERS and any other benefits that were out there that
were available to the employees. Ms.
Seymour pointed out the sick time, discretionary time and vacation time along
with deposits being pledged correctly.
Ms. Seymour added that it also talked about transfers between funds and
any capital projects that were on-going throughout the year.
Ms.
Seymour stated that the 2005 Electric Utility System Bond had two covenants
associated with it. Ms. Seymour
explained that one covenant talked about the revenues that the City owes and
that one was fine. Ms. Seymour added that
the second covenant was more about having money in the fund that would pay out
the payments for that bond. Ms. Seymour
stated that there was a little issue with that and they had calculated that a
little different than the previous auditors.
Ms. Seymour commented that the covenant states that there should be a
monthly transfer, which was 1/12 of the principle payment and 1/6 of the
upcoming interest payment. Ms. Seymour
explained that they calculated as such, the last payment was made in December
and there were to be two transfers between now and the end of the year. Ms. Seymour commented that this was
under-funded, but it was about to be paid off.
Ms. Seymour mentioned the long term debt, such as GO bonds and loans and
quickly moved on to the supplementary information. Ms. Seymour stated that this involved all the
funds that had a budget associated with them and the expenditures for those
funds. Ms. Seymour explained that a
negative number meant that the fund was under budget. Ms. Seymour commented that the rest of the report
was detailed information on those funds.
Ms.
Seymour stated that the management letter was required communication that
auditors had to get to the Commission so that they know of any issues that had
been found and needed discussed. Ms.
Seymour commented that the first part talks about the auditor’s responsibility
under auditing standards and the next part talks about significant policies and
then talks about any disclosures, but the City did not have anything like
that. Ms. Seymour stated that it also
talks about audit adjustments and there were not any of those either. Ms. Seymour continued stating that the letter
talks about communications and then it goes into internal controls. Ms. Seymour commented that this was where they
point out different kinds of deficiencies so that the city was aware of
them.
Ms.
Seymour explained that there were three types of deficiencies, material
weakness that could affect the financials, significant deficiencies that needed
to be looked at to correct and then just a deficiency which was more like a
recommendation. Commissioner Kumberg
stated that the cashier’s check mentioned under significant deficiency was done
only because that was the only way the payment would be accepted. Ms. Seymour stated that it was a one-time
deal; however, it had to be pointed out and the City might want to think about
developing a policy concerning those types of transactions. Commissioner Peters questioned the problems
listed under deficiencies. Ms. Seymour
stated that those were things that were a little more risky. Ms. Seymour pointed out that a risk factor
was when someone had complete access over a system and they liked to point
those things out. Ms. Seymour added that
they were not saying that someone was going to do something, but that they had
the ability to do something. Ms. Seymour
commented that that person may not need access to everything and it was just a
consideration. Ms. Seymour also
mentioned keeping a server in a locked room just so people did not have access
to it.
Ms.
Seymour stated that she was impressed with City staff and how quickly they
received anything that they asked for.
Ms. Seymour commented that most first years were not as clean, so she
definitely appreciated them.
UPDATE ON YOUTH CORE
MINISTRIES:
Youth
Core Development Coordinator Sheryl White thanked the Commission for all that
they had done for Youth Core. Ms. White
stated that they were now in the black; however, they still had the $20,000 due
on a note that would be paid off in the next two years. Ms. White commented that they were averaging
about two hundred twenty people to their movies and they also brought in
different groups such as the Miss Kansas contestants and Arrowhead West. Ms. White stated that they were a good
community friend to different groups.
Ms. White added that they did ask for donations when they had a group
come in.
Ms.
White stated that they were excited to work with Travel and Tourism and the Chamber. Ms. White commented that they would be
offering free children’s movies starting July 10th until August 14th
and they would ask that they were accompanied by an adult. Commissioner Leslie stated that he was glad
they were doing good on fund raising and added that fund raising for Toys for
Tots was a lot of work. Ms. White
commented that they were hoping to redo the marque soon and were excited to
sell seats for $200.00.
CONSIDERATION AND
APPROVAL FOR THE USE OF MAY DENNIS PARK ON JUNE 22, 23, AND 24TH FOR
A DISC GOLF TOURNAMENT:
Mr.
Jason Winkel stated that he had gotten here a little late since his event was
this coming weekend. Mr. Winkel
commented that he would need extra trash cans and tables at May Dennis Park for
the scheduled disc golf tournament. Mr.
Winkel also requested that Mound Street be closed between Logan Street and
Garfield Street. Mr. Winkel informed the
Commission that they had ninety-five confirmed competitors for Saturday. Mr. Winkel commented that he had made
arrangements with the Holiday Inn to block off some rooms and Jocko’s BBQ and
BGOE Disc Golf Apparel would also be at the tournament.
Mr.
Winkel stated that he did the impact report using a two day event. Mr. Winkel commented that there were eight
hotel rooms sold. Mayor Meyer asked how
many participants there might be. Mr.
Winkel stated that they max out at ninety-five, but they could double that with
a two day event. Mr. Winkel commented
that local businesses had kicked in and they were being more supportive every
year. With no more discussion, Commissioner
Leslie made a motion to approve the use of May Dennis Park for the Disc Golf
tournament on June 22, 23, and 24th.
The motion was seconded by Commissioner Kumberg and carried unanimously.
CONSIDERATION AND
APPROVAL OF LOW BID FOR THE 2018 MILL AND OVERLAY PROJECT:
Public
Works Director Rambat stated that he had sent out bid proposals for the mill
and overlay project for this year. Mr.
Rambat commented that he had done this project on Rochester Street to Oak
Street on Sixth Street and he would be focusing on Rochester Street east to the
low water crossing to Country Club Road and wrap up by the wastewater treatment
plant. Mr. Rambat explained that the
railroad would be patched to make a bad situation better and the project would
end west of the pool on Third Street going to the fountain. Mr. Rambat added that he would be looking at
Pine Street from the highway to Lemon Park for next year.
Mr.
Rambat stated that he received two bids back and Shears APAC out of Hutchinson had
bid $168,561.17 and Heft and Sons out of Greensburg had turned in a bid of
$177,105.32. Mr. Rambat commented that
Shears APAC had gotten the mill and overlay projects for the last three years
and we had done long running business with them. Mr. Rambat made the recommendation of Shears
APAC for the 2018 mill and overlay project in the amount of $168,561.17.
Commissioner
Leslie asked if the railroad would consider removing the tracks on Country Club
Road. Mr. Rambat stated that they still
had track inspectors that drive it and we had pushed the issue for years. Mr. Rambat explained that we could only go as
high as the rail, so we were limited to what we could do. Mr. Rambat stated that APAC would make it
better if there was a way. With no
further discussion, Commissioner Kumberg made a motion to approve the low bid
from Shears APAC for the 2018 Mill and Overlay Project in the amount of
$168,561.17. The motion was seconded by
Commissioner Schmidt and carried unanimously.
OPEN AGENDA:
·
Hampton Inn:
Mr.
Dean Hoover and his daughter, Denise Halarin, addressed the Commission
concerning the disgraceful hotel operating system at the Hampton Inn. Ms.
Halarin stated that she had gone to the Chamber office and they had found out
by the corporate office that the Hampton Inn was privately owned. Ms. Halarin commented that they had had a
block of rooms booked for two and a half months with relatives coming from out
of state for a memorial for her mother and those rooms had been canceled two
days prior without notification. Ms.
Halarin added that the staff was very accommodating; however, they would be
endorsing the other places in town from now on. Ms. Halarin informed the Commission that
the pool was closed and green and the elevator was broken. Ms. Halarin stated that they did honor those
that had paid in advance. Ms. Halarin
commented that the cleaning staff did not clean the rooms and the Chamber had commented
to them that they had had several complaints concerning the Hampton.
REPORTS:
City Manager:
·
Budget:
City
Manager Eckert stated that the budgets were getting ready for the meetings
Thursday and Friday. Mr. Eckert
commented that everybody pitched in and did a good job.
·
Server issues:
Mr.
Eckert informed the Commission that the City was having issues with their
server that had to be addressed immediately.
Mr. Eckert stated that we hoped to hold on until the new one was online.
·
Website:
Mr.
Eckert stated that he would be in training with City Clerk Kramer and Public
Works Director Rambat this Thursday to train on the new website. Commissioner Kumberg questioned how long
before it went live. Mr. Eckert commented that it would be about
six or seven weeks.
·
Room for Server:
Commissioner
Leslie asked if we had a room to lock a server in. Public Works Director Rambat stated that we might
be able to lock it into a metal cabinet.
Mr. Rambat explained that it would be a pretty drawn out process if we
had to reroute the network lines.
Commissioner Kumberg commented that we should put everything on the
cloud.
City Attorney:
·
Executive Session:
City
Attorney Probst stated that she would need an executive session at the end of
the meeting for attorney/client privilege to last fifteen minutes.
Public Works:
·
Street department to be commended:
Public
Works Director Rambat commended the street guys for doing the detour on the
Miss Kansas parade route. Mr. Rambat
stated that it was a lengthy parade and they set out on the ends making drivers
go around.
·
New Street:
Mr.
Rambat stated that the street department had been putting asphalt down from the
highway to Logan Street and would then jump over to Champa Street to overlay
the whole street. Mr. Rambat informed
the Commission that they would be including that in the next chip seal and put
a sand seal on it to smooth it out.
·
Curb, Sidewalk project:
Mr.
Rambat stated that he had another lengthy list of curbs, sidewalks, etc. going
by the Chapeau and all the way north.
Mr. Rambat added that he was looking to replace the curb on the south
side of Mid-Kansas Auto’s car lot and also looking at alleys later on when we
know about sales tax.
·
KDOT applications:
Mr.
Rambat stated that KDOT was taking applications for off system bridges within
the City limits and we had five bridge boxes that qualify. Mr. Rambat commented that Maple Street bridge
would be a mill down and a new cap put on and our share of the cost would be
10%.
·
Spraying:
Mr.
Rambat commented that it had been too windy and rainy to spray for mosquitos,
so they were waiting for a stiller pattern.
Building Inspections:
·
McDonald’s:
Building
Inspector Blankenship informed the Commission that McDonald’s demo and new construction
was on hold again and would be until they dismiss another matter. Mr. Blankenship stated that the delay had
nothing to do with the City.
·
Pilot Club Express Train:
Mr.
Blankenship commented that he appreciated the train, but it had derailed again
a couple of weekends ago. Mr.
Blankenship stated that they had Southwest Truck lift the locomotive and drilled
some spikes that seemed to help keep in on the tracks. Mr. Blankenship commented that Chance
Engineering had told him that they expand in 95° weather and the spikes loosen up
and the same happens if it was 0°.
Mr. Blankenship added that the corner rails would need to be replaced
soon since they had been used since 2002.
Commissioner Peters commented that the Pilot Club had a policy not to
run if hotter than 95°, so maybe they should change it to
90°. Mr.
Blankenship stated that that would only be the months of June, July and August.
·
211 Austin:
Mr.
Blankenship informed the Commission that the house next to 211 Austin would
have an asbestos treatment tomorrow and would be taken down when we get the all
clear. Mr. Blankenship added that he had
contacted Bryan Simpson for the demo.
Electric Department:
·
Solar Farm:
Director
of Electric Utilities Huber stated that he had been working with Inovateus on
the details for the solar farm. City
Attorney Probst commented that she had received an email from the attorney for
Kenyon and she would reply to them tomorrow.
Ms. Probst stated that the contracts were approved and they would
coordinate the signing. Ms. Probst added
that the tax entity attorneys had also approved the documents, but she thought
that there might be some minor changes.
·
Staging area:
Mr.
Huber stated that the street department had cleaned out the cedar trees at the
staging area for the solar farm and had mowed also. Mr. Huber commented that the wheat had been
cut and next week they would knock down the terraces and build a fence around
it. Mr. Huber added that the line crew
would be replacing the existing poles and then they would determine a ground
breaking date.
Recreation
Department:
·
Merchant Park sign:
Recreation
Director Pinkall stated that he was working with Mr. Gary Skaggs on the sign
for Merchant Park and it should be installed in early fall. Mr. Pinkall commented that the sidewalk would
come together on the east side of the park and the light post would be wired,
which would be done by Mr. Huber’s crew.
·
Sound system:
Mr.
Pinkall stated that they got the sound system fixed before the 75’ers dinner
with the Miss Kansas contestants. Mr.
Pinkall commented that they had adjusted a few things and it seemed to have had
a positive impact.
Finance Department:
·
Valuation:
Finance
Director Garten stated that she had received the valuation and it was down a
little bit.
City Clerk:
·
Fire School:
City
Clerk Kramer informed the Commission that the City fire department would be
hosting a State fire school on July 6, 7 and 8th. Ms. Kramer stated that they would have
classes, on hands training at the fire department’s training facility and other
outside training.
Mayor and Commission:
·
Budget session:
Mayor
Meyer stated that the budget sessions were open to the public and they would
start at 9:00 a.m. Thursday morning.
·
Media:
Commissioner
Peters stated that he had read in the paper that the solar farm could power
10,000 homes and he did not remember hearing that number before. Mr. Eckert commented that that was a banner
headline that was used by Inovateus.
·
Executive Session:
Commissioner
Leslie requested an executive session at the end of the meeting for non-elected
personnel to last fifteen minutes.
·
Miss Kansas week:
Commissioner
Kumberg commented that there was always nice talk about our community during
Miss Kansas week. Commissioner Kumberg
congratulated the staff on a job well done and that it was nice to hear good
things about our community.
Executive Session #1:
Mayor
Meyer made a motion to enter into executive session for fifteen minutes for
attorney/client privilege. The motion
was seconded by Commissioner Peters and carried unanimously.
Mayor
Meyer made a motion to return from executive session with nothing to
report. The motion was seconded by
Commissioner Kumberg and carried unanimously.
Executive Session #2:
Mayor
Meyer made a motion to enter into executive session for fifteen minutes for
non-elected personnel. The motion was
seconded by Commissioner Leslie and carried unanimously.
Mayor
Meyer made a motion to return from executive session with nothing to
report. The motion was seconded by
Commissioner Schmidt and carried unanimously.
RECESS:
Upon
proper motion, the meeting was recessed until 9:00 a.m. Thursday, June 21, 2018
for the budget work session at City Hall.
_____________________________________
DOUG
MEYER, Mayor
ATTEST:
______________________________________
LUANN
KRAMER, City Clerk