June 2019 Meeting Minutes

Meeting Minutes for June 6th

The Jetmore City Council met in regular session on June 6, 2019. Mayor Derek Olson called the meeting to order. Roll call was answered by Councilmen Jeff Channell, Jesse Pitts, Orval Shewry and Larry Steinbring. Not present was Councilman Mike Hendrickson. Also attending were City Administrator Michael Ort, City Attorney Clayton Kerbs, and City Clerk Deb McKivergan.

Councilman Channell made a motion to approve the consent agenda. Councilman Steinbring seconded the motion; vote unanimous.

CITY ATTORNEY REPORT:  City Attorney Clayton Kerbs reported that court is going well.

CITY CLERK REPORT:  City Clerk Deb McKivergan presented a variance request from Brett Waterhouse for his property at

412 Eakin. Councilman Channell made a motion to approve the variance contingent upon the approval of the City Administrator and the City Foreman. Councilman Pitts seconded the motion; vote unanimous.

BUSINESS ITEMS:  During a recent insurance survey of the power plant, several items were indicated to not be up to industry standards. Only one deficiency remains, the air tanks that are downstairs in the power plant. It has been determined that the removal of the two tanks downstairs required replacement with a single tank. Farabee Mechanical has offered a proposal to remove and dispose of the old tanks, install new and modify existing piping, lower the current tank upstairs and install the new certified and pressure tested tank above with all the mounting hardware necessary. The quote for this work is $13,969.00. This quote is good until July and can be paid out of the electric reserve fund. Mr. Ort will attempt to secure two more bids and then offer the project to the lowest responsible bidder. Councilman Steinbring made a motion to authorize the expenditure up to $13,969.00 for the air tank project. Councilman Pitts seconded the motion; vote unanimous.

The feral cat problem was discussed and Mr. Ort suggested a trap/neuter/return program to help control the feral cat population. Mr. Ort and the City Attorney will work together to draft an ordinance and how the ordinance would be enforced.

With the purchase of a new city car, the city administrator suggested using the Dodge Charger as an airport courtesy car. He presented a policy adapted from another airport. After some discussion, it was determined that this service is more responsibility than the city wants at this time.

CITY ADMINISTRATOR REPORT:  City Administrator Michael Ort presented his June travel schedule.

*The main transformer visual check showed no deficiencies. Mr. Ort is still waiting to hear a report on the testing. The testing by Solomon was completed more quickly than expected; closer to four hours instead of 24. If Midwest would have been able to be here earlier Friday, we wouldn’t have experienced the outage. Fortunately the outage only lasted  35-40 minutes.

*At this point the speculation among Farabee personnel for the engine failure is that some sort of obstruction in the oil distribution system at cylinder No. 4 is what caused the engine failure last week. The run data indicated the failure began at No. 4. This is different than the other failures, which originated around 11 or 12, close to the generator. It is unusual that the engine failed after running at a full load far past the one hour threshold. The damage was extensive. All but three bearings were damaged and there is aluminum throughout the engine that will need to be cleaned out. The oil will need to be replaced and Kevin has 28 bearings on order. It is believed that these repairs and replacements will be on Farabee.

*Preliminary results were received from the testing that was conducted last month on all four wells. When Ned Marks came to Jetmore last month he came thinking they were testing only well #12, but it was decided that it made sense to have an understanding of all the wells. The cost is approximately $1,500 per well, but the information is invaluable to our citizens and will help build a long term plan to address our water quality issues over the next few years. Mr. Marks indicated that as suspected, well #12 has the most significant issues. Final results are expected with the next week or so. Mr. Ort will text the council with any significant findings.

*The water lines are all but put in the ground now. They need to finish running the line to the water tower, which was stopped just west of the tower site, and possibly a section or two elsewhere around town to make connections across streets, but all the water lines that will be added or replaced have mostly been completed. That leaves filling the water lines, chlorinating them, testing them for bacteria and making individual service connections. Estimated completion is within the next two months.

*The water tower is being painted and will be completed with the next week or so. After the painting is completed Don’s Electric will return and complete the work on the telemetry system at the base of the tower. The total project should be completed with two months.

*Kevin Cowan with Gilmore & Bell is scheduled to attend the July meeting to present the bond paperwork and complete the process of the bond issuance and USDA.

*The lake bathroom project has been completed by the contractor. City staff will work to add benches, towel hooks soap/shampoo holders and shower doors for each side. Mr. Ort will also change the lights from being on all night to a motion sensor system in an attempt to cut down on the bugs.

*In order to add the new 50 amp camp sites there needs to be another 200 amp meter service added. This will cost approximately $1,400. A new meter would cost an additional meter charge of $20 per month. The upgraded service will pay off in less than 6 years. A rough estimate on running wire to the new spots and pedestals is $5,000. The bathroom project came in under budget, so that amount can be applied to the electric updates.

*Nine code letters were sent in May for high grass and weeds, six of which are in compliance.

*Mr. Ort recently held a staff meeting and discussed things he would like to have accomplished with the additional summer staff. Mr. Ort asked the council for any ideas they had and will present a list of projects completed at the September council meeting.

*In order to hook up the primary and set the new dead-end pole for the Pride Ag electrical project we need assistance from another agency with more equipment and a bit more experience. After comparing bids from Midwest Energy and Victory Electric, it was determined that the bid of Midwest Energy in the amount of $14,499.80 was the better bid. This investment will be paid off very quickly with the added revenue from the service.

Councilman Shewry put out a plea to the council and administrator to write letters to representatives, the KDOT Chief Engineer, the Governor and anyone else involved about the conditions of Highways 283 and 156 in Hodgeman County.

Councilman Channell made a motion to enter into executive session for 15 minutes with the Mayor, Council, Administrator and Attorney present pursuant to the attorney-client exception,  K.S.A. 75-4319 (b)(2). The open meeting will resume in the council room at 9:35. Councilman Steinbring seconded the motion; vote unanimous. Councilman Channell made a motion to come out of executive session. Councilman Steinbring seconded the motion; vote unanimous. Councilman Channell made a motion to enter into mediation with Earles Engineering concerning the water tower project. Councilman Steinbring seconded the motion; vote unanimous.

Councilman Channell made a motion to enter into executive session for 15 minutes with the Mayor, Council and Administrator present pursuant to the nonelected personnel exception, K.S.A. 75-4319(b)(1). The open meeting will resume in the council room at 9:55. Councilman Steinbring seconded the motion; vote unanimous. Councilman Channell made a motion to come out of executive session. Councilman Steinbring seconded the motion; vote unanimous. Councilman Steinbring made a motion to increase the seasonal employees’ wages by .50 per hour. Councilman Pitts seconded the motion vote unanimous.

Councilman Channell made a motion to adjourn. Councilman Steinbring seconded the motion; vote unanimous.