The City crew has been staying busy with their routine duties. Daily they check water wells and perform routine maintenance on them.   With all of our recent rains they have been busy mowing and working on alleys and roads in town and at the lake and airport. Mid-month they read meters. Monthly, safety trainings are held with Kansas Municipal Utilities providing the instruction. They also check draw down on water wells monthly. Quarterly they fill out a sewer report for KDHE.   Along with the routine duties, they have the random meter replacement, tree trimming, service line repairs, etc. Most of this week will be spent repairing the water main at the intersection of Eakin and Park, installing valves and a new piece of water main pipe.

Our council recently completed a workshop and training course with Don Osenbaugh, who is a former City Administrator and worked with the League of Kansas Municipalities.

We have had a lot of complaints about overgrown weeds and grass on properties. Any vegetation over 12 inches tall is presumed to be blighting and will be cited for code violation. Please check your property and be proactive in taking care of this.

The street project is moving quickly and is on target to be completed before the new school year begins.

The Cheyenne Hills Golf Course will be holding a Day/Night Tournament on August 29^th. There will be more information coming on this, either in the newspaper or in the next news article.

Have a great week; the last full week before school starts!

Happy August! Where has the summer gone?

The east lane of the street project is well underway. The bricks have been removed and they will replace the storm drains and water lines on that side, then begin leveling the surface for the concrete. It is estimated it will be completed before the end of August, barring any rain delays or unexpected problems!

The power plant project is moving along also. All of the underground conduit outside of the power plant has been installed. About 80% of the conduit inside the power plant has been installed. There is still a little conduit to be installed to the cooling tower after the piping is done. The medium voltage cable (rated at 5,000 volts) has all been pulled into the conduit. They will start installing the control wiring the week of August 10^th. The control panel should be delivered that week also. After that, they will begin hooking up the control wiring and the instrumentation will begin to work.

The bricks are available and are being stored on the City lot and a few are stored at the County Road Department. If you would like bricks for any small projects they are available now. After August 17^th it will be opened up to people wanting large amounts and people from out of town. Any bricks left after late September or early October will be crushed. This is only a general timeline. As soon as we know the date the crusher is scheduled we will let the public know.

The Cheyenne Hills golf tournament that was scheduled for August 15^th has been cancelled. The next club tournament will be a day/night tournament on August 29^th.

With the rains coming to an end, the city crew has been catching up on some of the items on their “to do” list!  Work continues on the street project and the power plant project.  Both projects are on schedule to be completed by late summer/early fall.

The City Council would like to remind our residents of Chapter Vlll of the code book which addresses, among other things, weeds and junked motor vehicles.  (The entire code book is available on our website www.jetmorekansas.com or can be viewed at the City Office.)

A motor vehicle nuisance is any motor vehicle which is not currently registered or tagged; parked in violation of city ordinance; incapable of moving under its own power; or in a junked, wrecked or inoperable condition.  They can serve as a breeding ground for insects and rodents and can be a safety hazard.

Any grass or weeds over a height of 12” are considered blight.  These tall weeds can become a fire hazard and harbor insects, rodents and other animals.

The City will be identifying properties containing these nuisances and will be asking residents to abate the problems.  Please look around your property and see if there is anything you can do to clean up.  We are proud of our town and want to keep it clean and healthy!

The County Fair will be held on July 16^th – 20^th.  There are many fun, family friendly events planned.  So check out the entries, enjoy some great fair food and support the youth in our community!

This week is a busy week for the City.  We will hold our regular monthly council meeting on July 2, at 7:00 p.m.  As always, meetings are held at City Hall and are open to the public.  The main order of business will be finalizing the 2016 budget.  Our office will then be closed on Monday, July 6^th to observe the 4^th of July holiday.

Phase I of the Main Street water project is complete.  They are now preparing the ground to begin laying the driving surface.   Again, please drive carefully through the work zone.

The new saucer swing has been installed in the park.  Thanks to the volunteers that installed it.  Enjoy the new swing, but swing responsibly and use it only as it is intended to be used!

If you enjoy fireworks, we have two shows coming up in our community.  On Friday, July 3^rd, the Horsethief Reservoir will host a display and on Saturday, July 4^th, the annual Hodgeman County Big Bang will be held at the Fairgrounds in Jetmore.  Both shows start at dusk.  Thanks to all the sponsors who donate to make these displays possible.

Along with that, please be reminded that Chapter 7, Article 3 of the City Code states that fireworks can only be discharged in the City between the hours of 8:00 a.m. and 12:00 midnight on June 28^th through July 5^th, as long as the fireworks are not discharged within 25 feet of any building.  Article 7-307 also states that the adult granting permission to detonate fireworks at a private residence shall clear the front yard of that private residence and all adjacent public right-of-way of all debris from the detonation of the fireworks before 10:00 p.m. July 5^th.  Please help us keep out streets and properties clean!

Have a Safe and Happy Holiday!

Work continues on the power plant and we are still on schedule for an August completion date. We look forward to having the back-up power source available again.

Even though the calendar doesn’t say it is officially summer, the thermometer does!  We would like to offer a few simple suggestions to help you conserve energy and lower your energy costs:

* Set your air conditioner thermostat as high as comfortable – possibly 78 degrees or higher when you’re home and 85 degrees when you are gone.  Make sure air vents are not blocked.  Tune your air conditioner in the spring and replace filters often for more efficient operation.

*Minimize indoor heat:  run the dryer and dishwasher at night and let your dishes air dry.  Line dry laundry if possible.  Avoid heat-generating incandescent lighting and use a microwave, toaster oven or outdoor grill instead of the oven.  It’s best to avoid the use of major appliances between 2 and 8 p.m.  Unplug appliances and electronics when not in use.  Plug home electronics into power strips and turn off the power strips when the equipment is not in use. Set your water heater to 120 degrees.  Wash clothes in cold water and clean the lint filter in the dryer after every use.

*Keep the blinds and windows closed during the day and open at night.  Window, ceiling and whole-house fans are also low cost ways to keep your home a little cooler.

There are many other energy conserving ideas, but these are a few quick and inexpensive ideas.

Stay cool and enjoy your summer!