City applies for CDBG for Lincoln Street project
Hillsboro City Council met Tuesday in a special meeting at the city building.
Bob Previtera from Reiss & Goodness Engineers of Wichita presented a contract for the Lincoln Street project.
Mayor Delores Dalke and city administrator Steve Garrett both had questions about the contract.
"The Lincoln Street project hinges on our getting a Community Development Block Grant," said Garrett. "Under this contract, what happens if we don't get the grant?"
According to Previtera, the city would only be billed for the work Reiss & Goodness has already done.
"We won't charge for work until we proceed with the grant," said Previtera. "This contract is according to state procedure."
It was the consensus of the council to have city attorney Dan Baldwin look over the engineering contract before taking any action. The signed contract must be sent to the state in October with the grant application.
"Our confusion with this contract is because our contracts with Reiss & Goodness are usually two pages long," Garrett said. "The state requires us to use its contract format when we apply for the grant."
The council unanimously approved revised engineering statement No. 3 from Reiss & Goodness Engineers for $2,135. The charges were for resident inspection for the Main Street project from an area north of First Street to the south line of Third Street from June 28 through July 23.
The council unanimously approved engineering statement No. 4 from Reiss and Goodness for $2,800. The charges were for resident inspection for the Main Street project from July 26 through Aug. 6.
Previtera presented the council with estimate No. 3 for $55,676.89 for the Main Street project from an area north of First Street to the south line of Third Street. The city will receive the final pay contract in September.
The city of Lehigh and Liberty Township have returned agreements for fire protection services.
The council tabled signing contracts until clarification can be made about when the contracts begin and amount of the charges.
Garrett will meet with Baldwin to review the contract language.
Dalke questioned the city's billing procedure if fire protection services are used by another entity.
"I'm questioning if we don't bill, who is keeping track? Who is the responsible party?" Dalke said. "Someone needs to be responsible for billing or the contract is no good."
According to Garrett, the fire chief sends the billing from his office.
The council approved Ordinance No. 1090 which changes the Hillsboro Historical Society to a museum advisory board and clarifies the language of duties of the board. It also names the city treasurer as treasurer of the board.
"We need to reappoint members to the board," said Dalke after the ordinance passed.
Garrett presented the council with a recommendation regarding city employees' health insurance. Renewal rates are down by 23.7 percent. In order to combat deductibles and out-of-pocket expenses, he recommended changing from the Blue Select plan to the Blue Choice plan.
Currently, city employees are covered by the Blue Select plan. Single coverage under this plan is $225.72. The city offers coverage for all full-time employees.
The Blue Choice plan costs $219.51 monthly for a single plan which the city pays. For employees taking more than a single plan, the city pays the cost of a single plus one-half of the difference between a single and another plan.
For example, a family plan will cost $675.75 per month. The city will pay $219.51 and one-half of the difference between the two plans or another $228.12. An employee on the family plan will receive a monthly insurance benefit of $447.63.
Other monthly rates for the Blue Choice plan include employee with children, $424.16, and employee and spouse, $471.09.
"We can increase the benefits while saving money," said Garrett. "We can also reduce the deductible which is now $1,000."
The council unanimously approved the change from Blue Select to Blue Choice. The change will take place the end of September.
Jared Jost, representing Hillsboro Management Board, reported that the joint USD #410/chamber luncheon was a success with 180 attending. HMB also gave baskets to new teachers.
Tabor College will host the chamber luncheon in September. Council members will speak at the chamber luncheon in October.
Garrett reported the airport passed the KDOT inspection, the recreation commission is discussing facility use agreement proposals, and the city is below last year's electricity use.
The council approved Ordinance No. 1091 which regulates public offenses within the corporate limits of the city of Hillsboro. The council also approved Ordinance No. 1092 which regulates traffic within the corporate limits of the city.
