Star-Journbal Editor
While plans call for the lagoon to be built in a remote area on Jade Road, north of what used to be the railway right- of-way, Dalke and a contingent of city workers and council members visited working lagoons in other areas, checking to see if the process could pass the sniff test.
"We went and looked at other systems because we had some people in the community who were concerned about odor and that kind of thing," Dalke said. "We were very, very impressed with how they work. And the savings in the long run, because of the difference in the amount of energy that it takes compared to the mechanical plant that we have now. And the difference in the labor."
Workers at the city's mechanical plant are on-site at least eight hours a day, Dalke said, adding that the city also pays for removing sludge from the plant.
"Now that will all be taken care of within the system," she said. "And it will actually be less expensive as far as our operations. Yes, we're going to have to pay back the loan money for getting it built, but in the long run it will be a savings to the community in efficiencies."
In other business,
— The public hearing for the 2007 city budget was conducted Aug. 15. There were no members of the public present. The budget was certified by the council and sent to the county as written, with no increase to the mill levy.
Preparing a city budget with a fluctuating oil market isn't easy, Garrett said.
"With every year it gets tougher to pigeon hole what the expenses are going to be because of the volatility of fuel and oil and oil-based products," he said. "I think we've got a good guess, just like any budget that's prepared a half year in advance, and I hope that we've guessed correctly on these costs. I don't foresee a time when the volatility is going to go away, so this might be one of the times where we look back and think these were the good old days."
— In a second public hearing, Rose Mary Saunders of Reiss and Goodness Engineers, presented a proposal for a $380,000 improvement project to replace 3,500 feet of waterline on Birch Street. Half of the funds would come from the city, and half from a community development block grant. Replacing four-inch pipe with eight-inch pipe will improve water pressure for 87 residential units, two businesses, and improved fire protection.
To qualify for the federal grant, the city must certify that the majority of residents affected by the project are of low and moderate income. Questionnaires supplied by the federal government were mailed by the city asking residents to report their annual household income. No names are used in the collection of this data, and the income information is confidential, Garrett said.
— The council approved payment of vouchers in the amount of $203,103.47.
— The council voted to accept a bid of $216,635.75 from APAC Kansas, of Wichita, for a new helicopter pad and other renovations to the municipal airport. According to project engineer Bob Previtera of Reiss and Goodness, construction should begin in early September, with completion by Nov. 9.
"I think it should go quite quickly," Previtera said. "[APAC] was talking about bringing crews in from Emporia as well as from Newton or Wichita at the same time, so they can get a lot done in a hurry."
— In an effort to regain more control over the use of the city ball diamonds, the council voted to adopt the following guidelines for groups using sports complex facilities: "All organized activities taking place at the Hillsboro Sports Complex shall be approved and supervised by city staff."
The action follows a summer in which baseball tournament organizers hosted events at the city complex and pocketed the proceeds without paying rental fees to the city. During discussion, Dalke asked if the city had put enough emphasis on collecting rental fees.
"There's a fee schedule, but nobody ever pays it, do they?" Dalke asked. "We always waive it. It cost a lot to use a field. There's all the chalk. I wouldn't want to keep somebody away from the use of our diamonds, but we need to get a better cost estimate and charge accordingly. But in the past we've said, 'Oh, no. You guys are different. You don't have to pay fees.' It goes back a long ways."
According to Garrett, there should be city staff present at all events, for insurance purposes.
"It's an insurance issue as far as I'm concerned," Garrett said. "We needed a policy that allows us to get our programs covered under the insurance umbrella."
— In another policy-making decision, the council voted to strengthen its residence requirements for city employees: "It is a policy of the city to employ its residents, subject only to limited circumstances when employment of persons outside its geographic boundaries is necessary or desirable. If an employee living outside the geographic boundaries of the city changes residences, the employee may be required to then reside within the city to retain employment. Employees currently residing within the city shall maintain residence within the city to retain employment."
— In an effort to keep exotic critters and ordinary farm animals out of Hillsboro, the council voted to include more specific language to an ordinance prohibiting the keeping of livestock in the city.
The ordinance defines livestock as, "Any member of the horse family, jackass family, swine family, sheep family, goat family or any species of cattle." It defines fowl as, "Any member of the species Gallus domesticus, any pigeon, any species of peafowl or any bird used for food or hunted as game."
Under the ordinance, only livestock and fowl kept on the premises of fairs, livestock shows, rodeos, or circuses are exempt from the restriction.
The ordinance also makes it unlawful for livestock or fowl, "to run at-large within the city or to picket or drive any livestock or fowl in or upon any street
— In the city administrator's report, Garrett said the city had received a request from LaVonne Calam to allow a group of citizens working in conjunction with American Legion Post #366 to install floodlights to illuminate the American flags in Memorial Park, specifically the evening of Memorial Day. The project would be dedicated to the memory of Carl Gayle.
"I was out there, and what it would look like is very nice," Dalke said. "My only concern with it is, the weekend we were out there somebody was out there breaking sprinkler heads off."
The council agreed to the request, provided the group maintain the lights, and pay for any damage caused by acts of God or vandalism.
— The council approved an increase from $40 to $60 for the amount charged for principle fees in municipal court. The increase was prompted in part by an increase in the fees charged to the city by the state. The increase also brings the city's court costs in line with other city courts in the area.
