CITY OF OVERBROOK
MINUTES REGULAR COUNCIL MEETING SEPTEMBER 13, 2006
MEMBERS PRESENT: Larry Coursen, Bob Sisson, Ira Allen, Bruce Smith, Mayor Jack
Young. Rich Hamit absent.
OTHERS PRESENT: Ken Krause, Jon Brady, Vic Robbins, Kris Stangis, David Osborn, Mike Dickerson, Bob Call, Jim Koger, Ed Harmison, Everette Dannar (8:15 pm), Cheryl Brown.
The meeting was called to order by Mayor Young at 7:00 PM. Roll was taken by the clerk.
MINUTES / WARRANTS: Larry Coursen made a motion, seconded by Ira Allen, to approve the minutes of the August 23, 2006 meeting as written. Motion carried 4-0.
Bob Sisson moved to pay all warrants presented. Larry Coursen seconded; motion carried 4-0.
JONES PARK PROJECT: Ken Krause came before the council with an updated presentation for plans to developing Jones Park. Copies of the material are available at City Hall. Krause reported that applications for grants from the Jone’s Trustees and the Dept. of Commerce, Division of Tourism. Krause said that several issues that require confirmation from the city before they can proceed with the grant process. These issues are the following:
1. A survey of the city park property
2. Water supply to the restroom facilities at the city lake
3. A “test U” cut into the wooded area designated for the RV park
4. Extension of Fifth and Market Streets into the park
The grants being pursued are as follows:
1. $133,000 Phase II of the Trails
2. $122,015 Jones Foundation---- Pride projects, Overbrook City Park
3. $125,000 Jones Foundation------ Overbrook Athletic Association
4. $ 6,250 Dept of Commerce----RV park & landscaping
5. $ 15,000 Children’s fishing pond
The PRIDE projects at the city park include establishing the Hylton Homesite, a memorial circle, a concert/shelter pavilion, equipment and flooring, picnic tables and grills, and a basketball court.
Mayor Young asked if any of the grants would pay for the street extensions and was told by Krause that they did not. The mayor said that a survey of the city property needs to be done before anything else.
Krause said that they will be submitting the grant application September 22nd, and will be meeting with the Dept of Tourism on September 18th. Mayor Young said that the city’s commitment will depend on how much grant money is awarded. Krause said that he personally is not going through with the project if the city is not willing to put in the road extensions. Krause said that these items will be required before the grant can be awarded. Mayor Young said that he has no problem with extending the streets, but the 2007 budget has already been approved and does not include funding this project. The mayor also said that the city would need definite cost figures for street extensions before making any commitments. Bob Call mentioned the entrance to the lake on Hwy 56 would also need to be widened to accommodate RV’s. Ira Allen commented that this seems to be a 5-year project rather than something that’s going to happen in 2007. Krause said that if the city does what the project committee is asking, they can get this all done in a year. Bruce Smith said that the city allocates funds on a yearly basis, and without having definite amounts, it would be very difficult to do that before the 2008 budget is in place. Krause asked if the city is saying to put the project on the shelf for a year. Krause said that he thinks the assets the city would gain are more than what the costs will be. The mayor agrees, but still can’t make any commitments without facts and figures regarding the costs. Bruce Smith and the mayor both stated that they didn’t think extending the streets should “make or break” the project.
Bruce Smith moved to authorize having the park area surveyed and title searches done as soon as possible. Ira Allen seconded; motion carried 4-0. There was more discussion about a waterline to the lake restroom area. Bob Sisson said that when the project first started, he was excited about it, but also thought it would amount to a $10,000 project rather than half a million dollars. He still thinks it’s a good idea, but it can’t happen overnight. Krause asked what the council wants him to do. The mayor said that he wants to know how much grant money we’ll get. Krause said he’s not going to put in for grants without the city agreeing to what he’s presented at this meeting. Bob Sisson said that he didn’t know that street extensions would need to be done to get grant money. Bruce Smith said it’ll be a year away for the city to do any of this, unless the money is taken from something already planned in the 2007 budget. Jon Brady asked if the council thinks that there can be a comprehensive plan in place for next year. The mayor said that was very possible, but reminded everyone that 2007 budget money isn’t available until January, 2008. Krause said that the committee doesn’t feel like the city is interested in going forward with the project. Mayor Young said he would love to go forward, but considers getting the sewer and water systems updated is a priority. Larry Coursen asked if the $401,265 in grants is a full grant, or if the city would be obligated for a certain percentage. No one was able to answer the question.
WATER / SEWER REPORT: Vic Robbins said that we’re still waiting on the Pedrotti company to send the necessary parts for the water-level sensor.
Robbins said that Joshua Excavating is working in the alley between Maple and Oak. The utilities between Santa Fe Trail and Market haven’t been located as yet. Robbins said that moving the sewer line over may be the best option in order to avoid the other utilities. He feels that since this is an advantage for Joshua Excavating, they should bear the brunt of any extra expense. Robbins explained that the other utilities, referring to the gas and phone lines, were installed over the existing sewer lines. The mayor asked if, in the future, the city can require utility lines to be placed in a certain area of the easements. Robbins said that the city does have that right, and that the city should be notified in advance.
Robbins reported that the replacing the lines is about 40% completed, but nothing has been done on the manholes as yet. A load of the necessary supplies have been delivered, and the work should get started next week. The contractor is still behind on the clean-up work. Joshua Excavating has been talking to Scott Tucker and Dane Wells about doing the seeding and landscaping. Robbins thinks this would be a good idea since they’re local in case of future follow-up work. Robbins said there are a few places where the drain tubes can be replaced by the city, but not many. There was discussion about the best way to clean culverts while they’re exposed.
The council agreed by concensus to authorize the mayor to sign a change order and pay request from Joshua Excavating after it’s approved by Robbins. Robbins explained that the extra work done at the corner of Santa Fe Trail and Western Heights Dr was done to correct the angle of the line. The council agreed to pay the extra cost for this.
Robbins said that he had designated all the alleys as graveled surfaces, but the one between Maple and Oak in the 300 block has been paved. Bruce Smith said that as long as it’s well compacted, it should be okay for the city to work with later.
Jon Brady said he and Lee Flowers have a question about the extra cost involved if they change the type of fencing being replaced. Robbins said that it can be handled different ways, but the contractor might be willing to put in different fencing and charge Brady and Flowers the difference. The mayor said that he would sign a change order if necessary. Brady also asked about connecting driveways. Mayor Young said he and Bob Call would look at it sometime after the meeting.
PROPERTY DRAINAGE: Mayor Young said that he’s asked the city attorney to draft a permission letter for property owners to sign in order to change the drainage ditch on part of the 100 block of Ash Street. The city would make one attempt to improve the drainage, and the property owners would be responsible for maintaining it. Mayor Young asked Kris Stangis if she would be willing to help get the letters signed. Larry Coursen mentioned that the city attorney had previously advised not to make any changes since the drainage ditch is on private property. Mayor Young said that the matter will be voted on again before anymore steps are taken. More discussion followed, after which Bruce Smith moved to proceed with improving the ditch on a one-time basis after getting consent letters signed by all property owners involved. Ira Allen seconded; motion carried 3-1, with Coursen voting against.
BOUNDARY SURVEYS: Cheryl Brown, City Clerk, said that she has visited with Michael Coffman about this, and Coffman would like to have some direction from the council. The purpose of amending the ordinance is to put the responsibility of determining property lines on the owner, and not the building inspector. Mayor Young said he would talk to Coffman.
TREE LIMB DUMP SITE: The mayor asked if Bob Call has anything worked up for a schedule to have the tree limb site open certain times. Call said he didn’t and asked if the council wants the maintenance department to be in charge of it. Chief Harmison suggested hiring someone rather than chance having to pay maintenance or the police department overtime. Harmison reminded the council that there is no ordinance to reinforce the signs. The mayor said we have three choices---control it, shut it down, or just not worry about what people leave there. After discussion, Larry Coursen moved to shut it down. Bob Sisson seconded; vote was 2-2 with Smith and Allen voting against shutting it down. Mayor Young voted in support of the motion to shut it down. The mayor said that he would entertain opening it again if a workable plan can be put in place. Larry Coursen agreed with the mayor.
LAW REPORT: Chief Harmison said that August was a very active month with the fair and other events. Harmison said that his patrolcar needs new tires, but that the catalytic converter was replaced under warranty after all.
Officer Dannar has found a class that’s free through Homeland Security in October. Harmison and Dannar will be attending classes in Wichita soon. Dannar presented the following information regarding the cell phones.
Dannar has been told by Cingular that the phones can be upgraded to camera phones even though the contract isn’t up until sometime in November. The pictures can be downloaded into a computer. Dannar said that the new phones would be $59.99 each with a $30 rebate on each phone. They would also have a data pack to allow the phones to access the internet for text messaging, and emailing pictures. Dannar said that this data pack is $9.99 which would allow for 400 messages per month. There’s also a one-time fee of $3,99 to access local radar. Currently the city pays about $110/month for all 4 cell phones, and the new phones would cost about $149.99/month with the data packs. The minutes would increase from 825/month to 1400 minutes/month. Bruce Smith asked if they’re having trouble with the phones, or if they’re just wanting to update. He asked why they wanted phones with a camera. Chief Harmison said that they always carry their phones, where the 35mm camera is kept in the car. Dannar said that maintenance will be able to take pictures of work areas, etc.
He was asked if the new phones would have better reception. Dannar has been told by the Osage County officers there’s only a couple of places in the county where they don’t get good reception using the phones that Dannar is requesting. The council agreed by concensus to proceed with upgrading the cell phones.
MAINTENANCE REPORT: Bob Call told the council that he found a 1998 GMC truck through Osage AutoWorks for $5,000. It’s a 4WD. The council agreed by concensus to buy the truck, along with signs stating that it’s a city truck.
Call said that there’s been 4 water line breaks in August, and that he needs to replace a valve at Santa Fe Trail and Elm.
Mayor Young said that Bob Gloss has asked if the city could build a berm in his yard to divert the drainage until a permanent solution can be found after all the sewer rehab work is done. Call said he would check into it. Call also suggested building some kind of concrete retaining wall to divert the water.
Larry Coursen asked if we’ve gotten any information about skidloaders. Bob Sisson said he’s still looking.
Ira Allen asked if there’s a valve that can be opened to help get rid of the smelly water at the clinic. Bruce Smith and Bob Sisson both said that it may be a problem with the hot water heater. Smith said that if the chlorine level is ok in the cold water, but low in the hot water, it’s probably the hot water heater. Mayor Young asked Call to check this sometime this week or next.
TREASURER: Patty Hylton reviewed the current financial reports. Hylton checked with Kansas State Bank to make sure all the city funds are covered by either federal deposit insurance or a pledge from another bank. The funds are covered up to $300,000.00. Hylton reminded the clerk that there’s still money in the library fund which needs to be paid soon. Hylton also reported that the revenue from the pool is about the same this year as last year, even though it closed earlier than planned.
She told the council that she’ll be submitting another request for reimbursement from the sewer loan soon. Donna Crawford was very quick in submitting the last request from the grant side, and we received the money within just a few days.
Hylton gave a brief report on the budget balances. The General, Water/Sewer, and Law funds are close but all are okay at this time. She cautioned everyone that spending the full amount that’s been budgeted is not advisable estimating the cash balances at the end of the year.
CLERK’S REPORT: Cheryl Brown said we received a thank you note from the school crossing guards for the new vests and raincoats. Someone from Data Technologies will be here October 16th to do a utility billing software conversion, and Brown will be gone October 18-20th.
COUNCILMEMBER COMMENTS: Ira Allen said that he would hate to see the council not work towards the park project, and that he realizes that these things must be budgeted in advance.
MISC: David Osborn, Card Payment Solutions, was present to see if the city has reached a decision about installing their card payment program. The clerk said that it hasn’t been discussed since the presentation. Osborn said that Osage Rural Water Dist #5 has just started using it. Smith said he isn’t sure how it’s working with his water district, but will do some checking.
There being no further business before the council, Ira Allen moved to adjourn. Bruce Smith seconded; meeting adjourned at 9:15 PM.
Respectfully submitted,
Cheryl L. Brown
City Clerk
APPROVED:SEPTEMBER 27, 2006