City Manager Report - 1/27/12

8/3/2019 City Manager Report - 1/27/12

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TO: City CommissionCC: Department DirectorsFROM: David Dillner, City ManagerSUBJECT: City Managers ReportDATE: January 27, 2012

KDHE Inspections. Marsha Carpenter, an Environmental Scientist from the Kansas Department of Health andEnvironment, conducted routine compliance inspections on the Water Treatment Plant and Wastewater Treatment Plant.The inspections were done to determine compliance with the applicable permits. Both facilities were determined to be in

compliance with each respective permit. This speaks highly of the staff that operate these critical facilities for ourcommunity. I attribute the plants compliance to the dedicated work ofJay Leusman, Mike Blacketer, G.D. Hite, KevinClark, and Chad Lokken.

MHS Hospital Construction. The City has received submittals from interested firms to provide inspections as providedin Section 109 of the 2003 International Building Code. These inspections were outside the sphere of knowledge for staffand had to be contracted out. The Special Inspections contract will be on an upcoming City Commission meeting. MHSscontractor is still conducting grading activities. It is anticipated to be several weeks before actual construction begins.

2011 Employee Survey. To date, thirty-two employees have completed the 2011 Employee Survey. This represents about50% of the full-time employees. This survey will help management better understand the organization from theemployees perspective and allow them to anonymously provide input and comments to help us identify areas where

improvement may be needed. The deadline for employees to participate is 5:00 pm on January 31, 2012. Management hascoordinated meetings with each department to review the results and begin a dialogue to address any issues identified inthe survey results. This is one action being taken by the City Manager to increase dialogue between management andstaff.

Employee Health Insurance. The Insurance Committee has prepared a recommendation for the City Commissionsconsideration. This item is scheduled for discussion at the February 7 Study Session.

NLC Prescription Card Program. The City has placed the NLC Prescription Drug Cards at the Utility Billing desk atCity Hall and the Senior Center and Community Center. The City has a few other places to locate the cards and willcontinue to roll-out the program.

Girl Scouts 100 Year Anniversary Ceremony.The City has been invited to the Girls Scouts: 100 Years ofLeadership Exhibit Opening Ceremony scheduled for 10:00 am on March 10 at the Eisenhower Presidential Library andMuseum. This event occurs when the Citys delegation will be attending the NLC Congressional Conference, so a CityCommissioner not attending the conference may want to attend this event to represent the City. Please RSVP Darlene byFebruary 2, so she can RSVP for you.

Storm Shelter. Residents in the Timber Ridge Residences had inquired to the Abilene Area Chamber of Commerce aboutthe location of a storm shelter for the area north of Interstate 70. The Chamber contacted me to see about coordinating acommunity dialogue about a community shelter. City officials have met with other agencies to discuss possibilities forthis issue, but no definitive actions were decided upon. I do not see any problems with coordinating another meeting onthis topic to see what the options are and if there are some actions that may be done to address this issue.

CVB/Chamber Exploratory Committee. The Abilene Area Chamber of Commerce is proposing to reconvene anexploratory committee to review options for sharing some of the functions with the CVB. This effort was done in themore recent past, but nothing came of it that I know of. I do not see a problem with participating in a discussion as it maydevelop some ways to address some of the CVBs issues. Glenda and I will be meeting with Sheldon Jones, Chair of theChamber and Cindy Issit to begin a conversation about this topic next week.


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MAJOR CITY PROJECTSE. First Street Rehabilitation Project. Staff is in the process of acquiring several small pieces of property necessary forunderground drainage improvements on E. First Street and wider turning radii at the intersection of Brady Street and E.First Street. Staff is meeting with Schwab-Eaton, P.A. next week to finalize the remaining items in an effort to finalize theProject plans and bid documents. The bidding process is anticipated to begin in the next few weeks.

Staff has also met to discuss the temporary designation of Cottage Avenue from one-way to a two-way street during theduration that E. First Street is closed for construction. Based on feedback from staff and interviews with truck drivers and

ADM, the plan will be to follow through with this designation. Per Section 5-403 of the City Code, the City Manager maydesignate or change the designation of one-way streets without requiring the consent of the City Commission. Staffenvisions that this re-designation will be temporary; once the E. First Street Project is completed and the street is open fortraffic, Cottage Avenue would be returned to a one-way street.

Airport: South Parallel Taxiway Grading and Paving Project. There are still several outstanding items that requireattention on this Project prior to its closure. APAC-Shears, Inc. has not been responsive in the Citys attempts to get theseitems addressed. To encourage APACs cooperation, I am going to request Olsson Associates, as Project Engineer, tosend APAC a letter stating that the City will continue to withhold payment until such items are adequately addressed andthe Project is closed. The City is retaining 10% of the Project expenses, or $94,723, as allowed by the contract documentsAPAC has reimbursed the City $1,238 for damages to Washington Street during the Airport Taxiway Project. The PublicWorks Department had to repair the street due to damage caused by APACs trucks.

Airport: Taxiway Lights, Wind Cone and Electrical Vault Building Project. No significant change since last report.

Airport: T-Hangar Structure.Staff will provide the City Commissions direction to the Airport Advisory Committeeon this item at its February meeting. It is anticipated that this item will require several months of discussion and review bythe Airport Advisory Committee prior to producing a recommendation for the City Commissions consideration.

City Facility Roof Repairs. Wray Roofing will begin work on the north section of the City Hall complex on Monday.Parking on the west and north side of City Hall may be affected until this work is completed.

KLINK Buckeye Avenue Project, Phase III. No significant change since last report.

Buckeye Avenue and First Street Geometric Improvements Project. No significant change since last report.

Airport Runway Marking. No significant change since last report.

PERSONNEL NOTES

Animal Control Officer. Police Chief Mark Heimer has suggested changes to the Animal Control Officer jobdescription to better reflect the current duties of this position. The job description will now reference three distinctfunctional categories: 1) animal control; 2) parking control; and 3) administrative duties. These changes have beenapproved by the City Manager and will be included in the recruitment of this position created by the recent vacancy.

Emerging Leaders Program. The Emerging Leaders Program started this week with a discussion on leadership andthe qualities and traits that make excellent leaders. The participants will be engaged for a few hours each month as

they learn about the Citys operations and various skills necessary to prepare them for supervisory positions within theorganization and community. The inaugural class will graduate in October. Participants include: Kellee Timbrook,Darron Timbrook, Tammy Holub, Jennie Hiatt, Karla Efurd, Kevin Clark, Mark Haaga, Alicia Hoffman, and JenChaput.


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BUDGETARY AND FINANCIAL NOTES

Police and Fire Department Vehicle Purchases.The three vehicles recently purchased by the Police and FireDepartments were done through the Kansas Highway Patrol Partners Program (KHPPP). When the vehicles wererequisitioned, the departments researched three models through the KHPPP. The Ford Explorer model was thendetermined to be the best fit for the department given various factors that were considered. Green Ford, as the localFord dealership, was contacted to provide a bid for the vehicles. The bid was about $4,000 per vehicle more than theKHPPP offering. Unfortunately, Green Ford did not meet the criteria provided in Section 7 of the Purchasing Policypertaining to local preference. Local bids within 3% of the low bid will be given preference for purchases greater than$10,000. Green Fords bid was in excess of this criteria.

These three vehicle purchases were not brought to the City Commission for approval as has been the practice in thepast. This may be due to a misunderstanding on my part. With the approval of Resolution No. 080811-1, the CityCommission approved the Five-Year Capital Improvement Program as amended and provided in full as Exhibit A,and hereby authorized the implementation of the Fiscal Year 2012 Capital Outlay schedule. My interpretation of thisresolution is that the City Manager is authorized to prudently implement the Capital Improvement Program, subject toapplicable ordinances, resolutions and policies. If there is question with my interpretation being invalid orinappropriate, I would welcome a dialogue with the City Commission to better define the City Managers authority inthis area.

The two Ford Explorers were budgeted and within the City Managers purchasing authority, as provided in Resolution052311-1, which would allow them to be purchased without approval by the City Commission. The Chevy Tahoe for

the Fire Department, however, did not meet the threshold for the City Managers purchasing authority of $25,000 orless. The Purchasing Policy requires that all purchases greater than $25,000 shall require prior approval of the CityCommission. As City Manager, I will accept responsibility for this unintentional oversight. As a result of thisoversight of policy, I have already met with the Finance Director to devise an improved process for reviewing vehicleand equipment purchases in the future.

MANAGEMENT THOUGHTS (topics that Imcurrently thinking about)

Marketing of Community for NBAF, Fort Riley, etc. Need to coordinate between CVB, Chamber, Community Development, etc. Emerging Leaders Program Team Building with Department Directors Incentives to support Existing Businesses Organizational Ethics Training Sustainable Community PracticesUPCOMING COMMISSION MEETING AGENDA (subject to change)

FY 2011 Auditor Engagement Letter Conditional Use Permit Ordinance (Verizon Wireless antenna and shed) Rezoning Ordinance (1001 N. Mulberry Street) Remember Your Bags ProclamationUPCOMING STUDY SESSION ITEMS(subject to change)February 7 Health Insurance Personnel Policy State of the City Report Conditional Use Permit PC 11-11 (Verizon Wireless antennas and shed) Rezoning Request PC 11-12 (R-1 to R-2 at 1001 N. Mulberry Street)February 21 Federal Legislative Platform FY 2013 Financial Review


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March 6

Ethics Training for City CommissionUPCOMING MEETINGS/EVENTS (next two weeks)

Commissioner Lunch, January 25 at 12:00 pm (Mayor Peterson and Commissioner Bowers) LKM City Hall Day, February 1 Library Board, February 6 at 4:00 pm

Airport Advisory Committee, February 6 at 5:00 pm Kids Council, February 6 at 6:00 pm Commission Study Session, February 7 at 7:00 am Commissioner Lunch, February 8 at 12:00 pm

Documents

City Manager Report - 1/27/12