Osage County Herald-Chronicle -Overbrook discusses city improvements

Overbrook City Council
City discusses city improvements

Vickie Peek | Reporter

OVERBROOK —Vic Robbins, of King & Associates Engineering, and Donna Crawford, Overbrook’s grant writer, attended the Feb. 11 Overbrook city council meeting to discuss several grant topics and related engineering work.

Robbins presented a report on phase I of the sewer project, involving settlement repairs and lawn reseeding. Robbins is working with city attorney Michael Coffman to provide documentation requested by the insurance company.

The council learned that King & Associates is working on the plan for phase II of the sewer project, which addresses the sewer lagoon and additional sewer line replacement.

Crawford said the Kansas Department of Commerce has required that the phase II contractor must be selected by Feb. 1, 2010.

Robbins told the council he saw no problem with the city meeting the deadline and said the bid process would probably be completed this summer.

It was reported that the environmental impact report (EIR) for phase II is being conducted. Don Schultz asked if this EIR would present any issues that might require unexpected work.

Both Crawford and Robbins did not foresee any problems from the EIR.

The city will have two years from the Feb. 1, 2010, deadline to complete the project.

Councilman Schultz asked if the city could apply for a new grant during phase II of the sewer project.

“Yes, the city can apply for a new grant if it is not in an extension situation with another grant,” Crawford said. “A grant application needs to solve problems,” she added.

The council then discussed the possibility of applying for a new grant for street improvements.

“It would be a community facility grant,” Crawford said. “The city would have to put in 25 percent of the estimated cost requested in a grant application.”

Councilman Schultz asked how much the city would need to spend to prepare for street improvement work, and was told the city would need a preliminary plan prepared by an engineer to submit with the grant application. Robbins suggested the city have an engineer provide a complete evaluation of the city’s streets to suggest the best options before having an engineer prepare a preliminary plan.

It was indicated that a new EIR must be conducted for a grant relating to street improvements.

A street engineer with King & Associates will attend the next council meeting to further discuss this issue.

Dr. Steve Pegram, USD 434 superintendent, and board of education president Randy Boudeman spoke to the Overbrook City Council at the Feb. 11 meeting. They discussed the effect that declining enrollment and potential state cuts to education could have on the school district budget.

In other business, the council:

• continued discussion from the last council meeting about Mike Graham’s request to build a garage and the possible deeding of Graham’s land to the city for an easement for existing sewer line. “No easement is there now,” Graham said.

Mayor Jack Young said that he believed it would be better for the city to have an easement if sewer work had to be done in the future. The council approved the preparation of an easement. The city attorney will work on the provisions of the easement to provide resident protection in the event of any future problems.

• discussed requirements for building sidewalks. After lengthy discussion, the council approved several residents’ request to build a sidewalk to Jones Park and specified that the work would be at the residents’ own expense.

• tabled discussion relating to the vacant seat on the Overbrook Planning Commission to the next council meeting.

• appointed JoAnn O’Brien to the vacant seat on the Overbrook Housing Authority.

• heard a report that repairs at Well No. 4 have been completed.

• discussed the draft of an ordinance setting up an Overbrook recreation commission. Further review and a vote on the ordinance were tabled until the next council meeting.

• continued discussion from the last council meeting about advertising for a second full-time policeman and approved placing an ad with the requirement that potential candidates live within a 10-mile radius of the city.

• discussed residents’ problems with aggressive dogs at large.

• heard request from Jon Brady that the council consider closing a specific pier on the west side of the lake to automobile traffic so that cars would not be crossing the sidewalk.