February 5
CITY OF HIAWATHA
CITY COMMISSION MINUTES
MONDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2007
5:35 P.M.
HIAWATHA CITY HALL
723 OREGON ST.
1. Pledge of Allegiance/ Call to Order
The Hiawatha City Commission met Monday, February 05, 2007, at 5:35 p.m. at City Hall with Mayor Gernon, Commissioner Shamburg, Commissioner Collins, Commissioner Schmitt, and Commissioner Gamble present.
2. CONSENT AGENDA
a. Approval of minutes of the January 29, 2007, City Commission meeting
b. Payroll appropriation #1076 in the amount of $38,054.99.
c. Approval of Distribution of the Brown County Guest Tax to the Hiawatha Convention & Visitors Bureau in the Amount of $2844.48.
d. Approval of the Distribution of the Library Portion of the Brown County Tax Distribution to the Morrill Public Library in the Amount of $54,019.83.
e. Approval of Semi-Annual Payment to Kansas Department of Health and Environment for the KWPCRLF Project No. C20 1309 01 in the Amount of $14,506.58.
f. Approval of Payment to BG Consultants for December 2006 for the Post Lantern Project in the Amount of $1288.00.
g. Approval of License Renewal for Arborist for William R. Mick dba Mick Tree Service.
Commissioner Schmitt made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Shamburg, to approve the Consent Agenda as presented. Motion carried. 5 ayes.
3. Presentation of petitions, public comments, memorials.
Old Business
4. Review Committee Recommendation for Downtown Streetscape Planters.
Ted Starr said that the original grant application was submitted in 2004. He said that the committee had held public hearings at the Fisher Center on October 18, 2005, and on March 7, 2006. This was after they had learned that the grant had been approved. All members of the community and especially downtown business owners were asked to attend. On March 24, 2006, the Kansas Forestry Service sent their State Forester here to inspect the City and to make recommendations. She did so on April 24, 2006. The committee then collected over $25,000 to cover the cost of the trees and the planters and the plaques, so the trees are already paid for.
Steve Smith said that he visited members of the business community concerning the planters on Friday, February 2. He noted that the planters had been placed in specific locations so as not to block the main windows, signs, etc. on the businesses. He said that he had visited with the business owners on three blocks who were unhappy with the previous trees that the City had planted, which were allowed to get too large and had been placed in bad locations-under awnings, signs and blocking windows. He said he had explained to them about the locations that the committee had selected for the planters and told them what trees were to be planted in their areas. Comments were that the City must have a strong maintenance plan to keep the trees from overgrowing their boundaries, such as a tree pruning program and that they didn’t want trees over fifteen feet tall. Eventually the business owners agreed that so long as the trees were maintained they were okay with it. The committee also feels that they need a strong pruning plan in place.
Doug Grimm, Grimm’s Gardens, passed out reports to the Commission. He said that he did not have anything to do with the selection of the trees, although he felt they were good selections. He said that there was a value to putting trees downtown because landscaping gives people a good feeling. He gave some statistics that shoppers spend more time and income in areas where there are trees and encouraged the Commission to consider allowing the trees to be planted.
Commissioner Gamble said that more thought should have been put in to the selection of the trees. He noted that initially the State Forester and recommended the Oklahoma redbud, which is not even acclimated to Northeast Kansas. She then had changed to the Eastern redbud which is acclimated for this area. He said that the trees selected were too large and should not be planted in planters. He said that it was important to have a rigid maintenance plan for the trees. In Horton, trees were planted in planters and they broke the planters apart as they grew. He said that there were many dwarf tree varieties that could have been selected, trees that were only eight to twelve feet tall. He thought that the Alberta spruce would have been a good selection as it is a slow growing tree. There are also a lot of different shrubs and ground covers that could have been selected.
Helen Sourk said that there was a great deal of thought that went in to the selection of the trees. She said a lot of the decision was not based purely on height. They were also looking at trees which would have visual interest in the spring and in the fall and bring color to the downtown area. She said that yews and smoke trees were not considered because they were bushes and would be wide and would block the fronts of the stores. They wanted something with open height and then the foliage. She said that they had decided on the size of the planters based on the trees they had selected. They tried to look at a more encompassing design for the trees. She said that the capital pear was selected for the middle of the block because of the height, so that they would not cause the visual problems on the corners.
Steve Smith said that Commissioner Gamble had some valid points. He also said that the pear trees can be maintained, as well as the Amur Maple, and that with an annual maintenance program they would be good trees to have in the planters.
Commissioner Schmitt mentioned the trees that were planted downtown before were not dwarf trees. She said that last week was the first time that the Commission had been made aware of what trees had been selected. She said that she agreed with both Commissioner Gamble and Mr. Grimm. She also noted that some of the planters were very close to the corners and would definitely need to be maintained. She asked if it was possible to take the trees out without damaging the planters.
Mr. Grimm answered that the trees could probably be removed from the planters without damaging the planter, but the tree would probably not be salvageable. He said the size of the trees would be restricted because of the planter.
Commissioner Gamble explained that the trees in Horton had roots that went on down and eventually damaged the planters.
Mayor Gernon said that he felt that a lot of thought had gone into the project and commended the committee for the work they had done on the planters and for all the planning they had done in getting to this point. They had had meetings and had consulted the State Forestry Service and Mr. Grimm and had raised the money. He said that this was the type of citizen action committees that the City needs, and thanked them for their work. He said that the plan had been laid out, had gone through two hearings, and the committee even revisited the business owners. He acknowledged that the one main concern was if the City was going to take care of the trees and maintain them. He compared that to taking care of the parks and other places that the City has, and said that it was incumbent upon the City to do that.
Administrator Ladner said that she had been approached by at least one other nursery wanting to know whether the City was going to bid out the tree purchase.
Ted Starr explained that because they had raised the money privately, the committee did not have to bid out the tree purchase.
Mayor Gernon said that he was not inclined to change the plan.
Dean Tollefson noted that the four corner planters were in violation of City zoning regulations for the site triangle, and putting too large of a tree in those planters would block the vision, which is why the site triangle is in the City ordinance. He also noted that the tree in front of his business has now grown roots into his basement and branches into his awning. He said that he had not been asked if they could put that tree in there when they planted it, and nobody takes care of it. It is up to him to trim it back continually. He would like to see it gone. This tree also found it’s way into his sewer line and cost him $2800 to repair a few years ago. He said that the site triangle should be adhered to, because every home owner and business owner in this town is required to adhere to those zoning regulations which have been in effect for 22 years in Hiawatha.
Commissioner Gamble still argued that they needed to have selected trees with shallower root systems, because eventually the trees will have to come out and the roots will do some damage.
Mayor Gernon reminded the Commission that the question before them tonight was whether or not they were going to change the tree plan.
Commissioner Collins asked Mr. Grimm if he had any idea of what it would cost to maintain the trees.
He replied that he did not know.
The question was asked if the city crew had the expertise to trim the trees.
Dennis Hartter, Street Superintendent, replied that he could trim the trees but would not guarantee that they would be trimmed right.
Commissioner Schmitt suggested that the City should hire someone for the first five to seven years or so to do the maintenance on the trees to make sure that they are trimmed properly and maintained at the proper height.
Commissioner Gamble mentioned that the trees may need to be sprayed as well. He said that the tree trunks will continue to get bigger in circumference no matter how much they trim off the top. He said that this was why he was concerned about the planters, and leaving the trees in there too long. He asked why plant them and then have to remove them in five or six years when they get too big, and then have to do it all over again. He said that they need to specify a time frame for removal to keep them from getting too big.
Commissioner Schmitt expressed her appreciation for the committee coming this evening and bringing to the Commission more information on the study that was done and on the selection of the trees. As long as there is good maintenance and management in place for the trees, she said she would be in favor of their recommendation.
Commissioner Schmitt made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Shamburg, to approve the recommendation by the Streetscape Committee for the downtown streetscape planters and trees. Motion carried. 4 ayes. 1 nay. Commissioner Gamble voted nay.
Commissioner Collins asked the committee if they had any money in their funding to maintain the program.
Ted Starr replied that they had already given the City $76,000 in private funds for this project. He suggested that perhaps some other groups could come forward to trim and maintain the trees. He said that since they had brought that much money in private donations, that the City might be able to find the money to maintain the trees.
Helen Sourk commented that she had thought that the trees would be able to be pulled and transplanted into a park, much in the same way she would be able to pull a plant out of a pot and transplant it. She agreed with Ted in that other groups could step forward to maintain the trees.
New Business
5. Consider Authorization to Bid on L9000 Heavy Dump Truck.
Administrator Lynne Ladner explained that the Street Department truck that is normally used to haul rock and remove snow is currently out of service due to significant mechanical failures including but not limited to the clutch going out and problems with the transmission.
She said that they have been able to locate a heavy dump truck that would meet the City’s needs that is being sold through the surplus auction from the City of Shawnee. The details on the truck that we are interested in are as follows: 1987 L10 Cummins diesel engine, 27,008 actual miles, new clutch, new front tires last year, new tires on the drivers last year, 16 foot bed, and engine and transmission are in good shape.
She said that a new truck set up like this one would cost in the range of $40,000 to $60,000. To fix the old truck is going to cost a minimum of $1000. It is a thirty-year-old truck that we have had to source parts for just to fix it from other areas of the country. It is becoming increasingly more difficult to find parts for as time goes along.
Commissioner Collins asked what year the old truck was. Dennis Hartter, Street Superintendent, replied that it was a 1976 Chevy.
Administrator Ladner asked the Commission for permission to bid on the truck not to exceed $10,000, unless the Commission has a better recommendation for how to meet the needs for the City. The auction closes February 14 at 10:00 a.m.
Commissioner Collins asked to verify that this truck was used for both the sewer and street departments. He asked if the truck had had problems before, and how many miles it had on it.
Dave Grimm, Waste Water Superintendent, said that he’d had to replace the carburetor and that it uses a considerable amount of oil. Dennis Hartter, Street Superintendent, estimated that it had over 100,000 miles on it.
Commissioner Collins noted that the truck they were looking at is 20 years old with an over/under double transmission in it. He asked if anyone in the department knew how to operate it. Dennis replied that they did.
Commissioner Collins suggested that we check instead into a lease purchase of a new truck with a shared cost, since both departments are using the truck. He didn’t want to buy “somebody else’s problems.” He was concerned about why they [City of Shawnee] wanted to get rid of it.
Administrator Ladner said she needed their approval to move forward to solicit bids on a new truck. She said that she assumed that this truck was being sold as surplus equipment.
Dennis said that the transmission and engine were sound, although there was some rust on it.
Administrator Ladner said that we have set aside $10,000 from the 2006 budget in capital equipment funds.
Mayor Gernon said that now that we have some new issues that have come up for the sewer department, he didn’t know if the City could afford a new truck at the present time.
Commissioner Gamble said that he thought we should pursue the used truck, and that we could not afford a new truck at this time.
Mayor Gernon said that they should go down and look at it first.
Administrator Ladner said that she was not going to place the bid until the 13th or the morning of the 14th to place the bid.
Commissioner Shamburg suggested they go and look at it and come back before the Commission next week.
Mayor Gernon asked that this be put back on the agenda for next Monday.
6. Consider Contract for Rate and Cost Allocation Study with Ranson Financial Consultants.
Administrator Ladner explained that as authorized by the Commission, she had negotiated a contract for approval with Ranson Financial to conduct the cost allocation and rate study for water and sewer. The negotiated rate is $3,000 for the review, which includes the cost of one trip to Hiawatha during the course of the study. It was her recommendation that to adequately conduct this study and involve the residents of Hiawatha in the process that we contract for an additional two visits at the rate of $1,200 per visit. This will allow for an opportunity at the beginning of the study for Ranson Financial to meet with the appointed citizen’s group to inform them of the process that will be utilized and request feedback on issues that are of concern including capital improvements that they feel are necessary. The second visit by Ranson Financial will be to provide a draft of the study to the citizen’s group to review and answer questions and concerns about the study as well as receive input from City staff on the results. The final visit would be to present the findings and recommendations to the City Commission.
Approval of the contract with the two additional visits would bring it to a total of $4,500, which is significantly less than the anticipated $10,000 to $15,000. It will do everything that we need including looking at our cost of service, our operating and maintenance costs, and any capital improvements we need to make over the next five to ten years, and give us an adequate rate in the coming years to maintain and improve our departments.
Mayor Gernon asked about the citizens group.
Administrator Ladner explained that it would be a group of citizens which would be appointed by the Commission, which would include two to three residents; two business owners, one from manufacturing and one from retail; someone from the bio-energy group; and anyone else that the Commission felt should be included.
Commissioner Schmitt made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Gamble, to approve the contract with Ranson Financial for a rate and cost allocation study in the amount of $5,400. Motion carried. 5 ayes.
7. Consider Resolution of Support for the Sac and Fax Nation of Missouri in Kansas and Nebraska and the Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska in Their Efforts to Provide a Transit System to Both of the Reservations.
Administrator Ladner explained that the City of Hiawatha has been asked to provide a supporting resolution for the efforts of the Sac and Fox Nation of Missouri in Kansas and Nebraska and the Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska in the efforts to provide a transit system to both of their reservations. The tribes are applying to the State of Kansas Department of Transportation for a grant to provide transportation service to the general public.
She said that they were hoping to tie that transportation system in with the Pottawatomie Band Tribe that currently offers transportation services to Lawrence, Wichita, Topeka, and into Oklahoma.
Commissioner Gamble made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Collins, to approve Resolution 2007-05, a resolution supporting the Sac and Fox Nation of Missouri in Kansas and Nebraska and the Iowa Tribe of Kansas and Nebraska in their efforts to provide a transit system to both of their reservations, and have the Mayor sign the necessary documents. Motion carried. 5 ayes.
8. Consider Authorization to Lease/Purchase Postage Machine and Folding/Inserting Stuffing Machine from Pitney Bowes.
Administrator Ladner explained that as she had discussed with each Commissioner, the City’s current use of Stamps.com for handling our postage needs is time consuming and expensive. Additionally, the City is considering printing our utility bills on single full page instead of the card stock. This will reduce costs associated with using the card stock and allow the City to take advantage of additional rate reductions for bulk mailing. The postage machine will handle all postage for individual and small mailings as well as have a scale and the ability to handle postage tapes for larger packages. The folding/stuffing machine will fold utility bills, insert them in permit printed envelopes and seal them.
She said that this would greatly increase the productivity of staff by eliminating the need for running the postcard stock through the printer twice, for the bill back information and for the actual bill information. It will also eliminate the time that the staff spends separating the individual postcards.
The postage machine has a lease rate of $51 per month which includes maintenance and software updates. The folding/inserting machine has a $132 per month lease rate, which includes maintenance. Both of these rates are for a 48-month period, and are set by the State of Kansas contract with Pitney Bowes. Both lease agreements contain the required Certificate of Participation that will allow the City to exit the agreement if the funds are not appropriated for the equipment in future years.
Mayor Gernon asked how many hours staff spends each month doing this mailing.
Administrator Ladner said that Lynette Grier, Utility Billing Clerk, spends approximately ten hours just running the bills through and tearing them apart. We also are paying 37 cents to mail the postcards. By using the permits on the envelopes and using zip-plus-four, we will be able to decrease our postage rate on the utility bills down to 27.3 cents per piece.
Commissioner Gamble asked if we have the funding in place for this.
Administrator Ladner explained that we have the money in the postage fund under administration. She said that it would cost about the same as what we are spending now. Zip-plus-four software would need to be input into our utility billing system.
Commissioner Schmitt made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Shamburg, to authorize the lease purchase of the Pitney Bowes postage machine and the folder/inserting machine for a 48-month period at the rates as set by the Kansas Contract of $51 per month on the postage machine and $132 per month on the folding machine. Motion carried. 5 ayes.
9. Lynne Ladner, City Administrator.
Administrator Ladner said that as she had mentioned last week, there is a sewer problem in the 400 block of Miami Street with a private line that is going to need replaced with a City sewer main in that area. Now that private line has failed. The sewer discharge is going into a covered hole as an emergency situation. It needs immediate repair. She has talked to the USDA about funding options. She didn’t feel that there was time to put special assessments in place. There are potential revolving loan funds available. This will be a $30,000 to $60,000 project to put in the sewer main. This will affect Commissioner Shamburg so he needed to abstain from making the decision on this.
Dave Grimm, Waste Water Superintendent, said that one of the property owners, Bill Bearce, had contacted him last Friday about a blockage. He went over and took a look at it. The property owner had already had it dug up. Where the sewer line goes through the neighbor’s yard, it goes underneath a tree, and right underneath the tree was where the blockage was. He had Randy Blanton go over with his sewer machine, but he was unable to get the tree roots out. In order to dig where the blockage was, they would have to dig under the tree, which could kill the tree, and the neighbor did not want the tree killed.
Dave talked to KDHE about the project. Typically, they require hiring an engineering firm to engineer it. Then it would need to be reviewed and approved by KDHE. Then we would have to take sealed bids. Because of the immediateness of the situation, KDHE is going to allow us on this project to do a sketch drawing in house by an employee who has some surveying experience and submit it to KDHE next week for approval. If they approve it next week, they should issue a permit right away. We will use past projects as an example to make sure the materials are the same materials, and then the City should solicit bids from contractors we have used in the past, and present them to the Commission for approval.
Commissioner Collins asked if they had run his camera down those lines to assess the situation and if there were any issues on private property on this line. Grimm said that they could not use his camera because their camera requires an eight-inch line. He said that he has talked to everybody except for one owner that had recently purchased one of the houses involved, and already has approval from everybody except the one for easement.
Administrator Ladner said that they will have to contact the school to get their approval to bore under the driveway at the grade school.
Commissioner Collins said that they would need to be sure to get legal easements by having the City Attorney prepare them. He also queried if anyone was interested in paying for part of the project.
Administrator Ladner said that the property owners did not feel that they should be obligated to. They have been paying for sewer on their bills for many years, even though they had to maintain their own sewer line.
Mayor Gernon said that this is one of several projects that need fixed in our infrastructure. It has to be fixed. He said that every time a sewer goes down or a street needs repaired, he didn’t want to have to go out there and assess the homeowners for the repairs. If we go through the process presented by Dave Grimm, we should save some on engineering fees. This is an emergency situation, so it needs taken care of immediately.
Administrator Ladner said that there is a potential for some revolving loan funds. She said she will call the State on Tuesday to find out what that is. Otherwise, based on rough estimates on what it would cost, it would take all of the money that the sewer department currently has budgeted for the 2007 year for water and sewer line extension and operational construction. We have $40,000 between those two line items, but since we are only one month into the budget year, she didn’t want to short any other issues that may come up during the remainder of the year. She would like the Commission’s permission to pursue other funding options.
Commissioner Schmitt made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Gamble, authorize the City Administrator to proceed with the planning of the needs for the 400 block of Miami Street sewer project and investigate the various options on available funding. Motion carried. 4 ayes. 1 abstain. Commissioner Shamburg abstained.
Administrator Ladner told the Commission that February 19, President’s Day, is a holiday for City employees. However, she and Malcolm had scheduled a public hearing for that evening on the property at 1310 Iowa, Lot No. 1, not thinking about the holiday. She asked the Commission if they would be able to go ahead and meet Monday, February 19, due to this scheduled hearing, which had already been published to be held on that date. The Commission agreed to meet that day, although Commissioner Schmitt noted that she would be unable to attend.
Administrator Ladner said that she had met in Topeka Monday with members of the committee on the housing grant and got several recommendations for applying for the grant next year. One of the negatives was that the housing that had been occupied at the time of the grant application was vacant when they did their field check. Also, we had pre-applications from renters of the houses, not the landlords. Both needed commitment on the one form. They also recommended that we did not ask for the full amount of the grant, because 100% participation was not possible. We had applied to do renovations on 18 homes. In their field visit they felt that there were only 18 homes that would be eligible. This scored negatively to us, by applying for 100% participation. Also, they mentioned if we had been able to provide a letter of support from NEKCAP that they would help with some of the winterization, it would have helped our scores.
10. Mayor Gernon.
Mayor Gernon asked the other Commissioners what they wanted to do with the evaluations on Administrator Lynne Ladner. They agreed to have copies made for each of them and look them over in an executive session on February 26th.
Mayor Gernon also mentioned that there had been a request to raise the speed limit on West Iowa past Industrial Road from 30 to 40 miles per hour. He asked Administrator Ladner to discuss this with Chief Woehlecke.
11. Com. William Collins.
12. Com. Curtis Gamble.
13. Com. Marianne Schmitt.
14. Com. Steffen Shamburg.
15. Adjourn
Commissioner Shamburg made a motion, seconded by Commissioner Gamble, to adjourn. Motion carried. 5 ayes. Meeting adjourned at 6:56 p.m.