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Carbondale
City Council
Council discusses pool and sewer extension
Vickie Peek | Reporter
CARBONDALE — Carbondale City Clerk Sandy Schiffelbein informed
the city council at the Jan. 17 meeting that the city’s grant
application to Jones Trust for the city’s pool project had
been denied.
Council member Daryl Makowski asked if Jones Trust had given any
reasons for denial of the grant application.
Schiffelbein said the trust indicated that too much money was requested
for the city’s size, and that more detail was needed to show
how the city would pay for maintenance and operation of the pool.
Schiffelbein suggested resubmitting the request to Jones Trust and
providing more information.
“The city never got a penny without a grant writer over the
past 20 years,” former mayor Joyce Green said. The council
discussed hiring a professional grant writer.
The council also considered other options for funding the new pool
and how costs could be decreased.
Rick Entz, the city’s financial advisor, suggested the council
obtain new bids because he has noticed a decrease in construction
costs lately.
Entz provided financial details for 20-year revenue bonds to pay
for the pool project. The one-percent sales tax approved by voters
would provide approximately $80,000 per year, and the city would
need an additional $50,000 a year to pay the principal payment on
the revenue bonds, he said.
Council member Clint Vawter said the city might be able to get a
$1 million bond without increasing the mill levy because sales taxes
receipts are showing an increase in 2009 compared to 2008, adding
there would also be additional sales tax receipts from Dollar General.
Further discussion about the pool was tabled to allow the city and
the pool committee to obtain more information and consider the city’s
options.
The council discussed the use of general obligation bonds for the
sewer extension project.
“It is quite a bit of work for a small amount of money,”
Schiffelbein said about the sewer extension project. She suggested
that the city consider adding dredging of the lagoons to the general
obligation bonds.
The cost to clean the lagoons was discussed by the council because
the new bids were much higher than those obtained when lagoon dredging
was considered in the past, possibly due to new Environmental Protection
Agency requirements.
Entz presented projections comparing costs for 10-year to 20-year
general obligation bonds. He used estimates from Kramer Engineering
that combined the sewer extension project with dredging of the lagoons.
The 10-year bonds would cost $36,000 to $40,000 a year and the 20-year
bonds would cost $26,000 to $27,000 a year, Entz said. He said that
as the assessed valuation increased over the years, the amount of
mill levy would go down.
“The 10-year bonds would be better than the 20-year bonds.
The 20-year bonds have three times the interest,” Vawter said.
Entz said the bonds would have call features which allow the city
to pay off the bonds earlier to get lower interest rates or to pay
off the bonds with cash.
The city council discussed the use of special benefit districts
in comparison with the general obligation bonds.
Larry Hinck, owner of Hinck Commercial subdivision, said that potential
commercial buyers for his land always ask if there would be special
benefit districts because they do not want to buy any commercial
property with special benefit districts.
City attorney Sue DeVoe said that costs would be borne by the businesses
within that special benefit district. She said these costs would
be prohibitive to individual developments, and could keep businesses
from establishing in Carbondale.
“We want to keep businesses coming in,” councilman Daryl
Makowski said.
DeVoe added that general obligation bonds would spread costs out
to the city at large. She believes that bonds would be more appropriate
because businesses would bring increased sales tax receipts to the
city, which would in turn lower the mill levy.
She further noted that dredging of the lagoons could not be paid
for with money from a special benefit district.
When asked by Makowski when the lagoons would have to be cleaned
in the future, Kevin Richardson, maintenance supervisor, said the
east lagoons would need dredging within five years.
After lengthy discussion, a motion was approved to obtain 10-year
general obligation bonds for the combined sewer extension and lagoon
dredging projects.
Ben Kramer, of Kramer Engineering, P.A., presented a detailed list
of the five bidders meeting the Feb. 16 bid deadline for the sewer
extension project, which included a letter of recommendation for
Emcon Inc.’s work.
The council awarded the sewer extension contract to Emcon Inc.,
of Berryton, the lowest of the five bidders. Emcon’s bid was
$68,993.30. The State Bank of Carbondale and C&C Auto will pay
a combined total of $5,405 to connect to the sewer extension, bringing
the city’s cost for the sewer extension project down to $63,588.30.
In other business, the council:
• was addressed by former police officer Greg Wallace after
the reading of the Feb. 2 meeting minutes. He asked if the meeting
minutes should show why he was suspended.
City Attorney Sue DeVoe answered that the reason for suspension
was not stated and the minutes as read are an accurate reflection
of what occurred that night.
Wallace replied that the Kansas open records act says that the council
has an obligation to explain to the citizens why the council took
the action.
DeVoe responded that was not her interpretation of the act.
• heard a citizen complaint about the firing of police officer
Shane Quigley and the lack of warning to Quigley. The council gave
no comment to the complaint.
• approved the placement of three stop signs where David,
Tucker and Center streets merge with First Street, as requested
by Carbondale Police Chief Adam Marion.
• approved hiring Josh Reynolds for a maintenance position
effective Feb. 18.
• approved a firework stand application for 2009.
• learned the city clerk will review the water rate study
with John Haas and present the results at the next meeting.
• discussed possible monies available to the city from the
federal stimulus package to provide street, sewer or other city
improvements,
• approved a policy to pay former police officers if they
are subpoenaed to appear in municipal and district courts.
• approved having Kramer Engineering determine what channeling
needs to be done, get bids for guardrails and resubmit figures to
the state to bring the Osage Street bridge into state compliance.
Carbondale retains employment attorneys
The Carbondale City Council held a special meeting Feb. 23 to discuss
non-elected personnel matters. The council immediately went into
executive session with city attorney Sue DeVoe.
When the council returned from the 16-minute executive session,
a motion was approved to retain the Wichita office of national law
firm Kutak Rock LLP to handle contractual personnel matters for
the city. The focus of the law firm’s Wichita office is employment
law and litigation.
The council also approved a motion to place a newspaper ad to hire
a full-time police officer. The ad is expected to run March 5 and
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