Hillsboro takes small steps for street projects

The Hillsboro City Council made uneven progress at its July 27 meeting regarding a series of street projects planned for the city.

No one from the general public was on hand to ask questions or offer comments during a mandatory public hearing regarding the city?s application for a Kansas Department of Com??merce Small Cities Com?munity Development Block Grant to help pay for some of the proposed projects.

The projects that would receive CDBG support include the rebuilding of Birch, Cedar and Date streets, from D Street north to First Street.

The city?s grant adviser, Rose Mary Saunders of Ransom Financial Consultants, said the application, if approved, would provide up to $400,000 of the estimated total cost of $2.05 million.

But City Administrator Larry Paine told the council he will not recommend moving ahead with the entire package of projects because of the cost; the council will need to set priorities later.

Meanwhile, the council tabled action on a contract proposed by Evans, Bierly, Hutchison &?Asso?ciates for engineering work regarding street projects other than the ones involving CDBG funding.

Those projects include: First Street, from Main to Adams; A Street from Ash to Washington; Adams from the railroad right of way to U.S. Highway 56; and Industrial Road from U.S. 56 to Commerce Street.

Paine asked the council to table the contract item with the hope of negotiating a better deal with EBH.

Mussel blockage?

Paine report that indications earlier this month that zebra mussels were causing restricted waterflow within the intake system at Marion Reservoir may have been partly a ?telemetry issue? involving the radio signal between the pump station and the water-treatment plant.

?What was going on is that the pumps were turning off because the telemetry was telling it do something,? Paine said. ?But when they went and pulled the baskets (that strain out mussels), there wasn?t anything there.?

Paine said city staff was able to push waterflow to the maximum 700 gallons per minute. Earlier reports indicated the flow had been reduced to as low as 300 gallon per minute.

On a related issue, Paine said the city is moving ahead with the project to create fast waterflow through the main pipe in the station to give the city the ability flush out the line if need be, Paine added.

?If we have a real (blockage) problem, then we have a mechanism to try to alleviate it,? he said. ?If we left it the way it is, then we?d have to build it in a hurry, and we?d be kind of up a creek.

?Basically the system is saying we have a problem out there, we know the zebra mussels are prolific, and if you don?t fix it you will pay,? Paine added. ?We?re trying to get ahead of it so that if something does happen, at least we have some remedial steps we can take immediately to try and unblock it, if we do have a block in there.?

Provisional permission

The council gave its provisional permission for Joanna Pyle to use sparklers and tiki torches outdoors at her wedding reception planned for Aug. 27 in Memorial Park.

Because sparklers are considered fireworks, the council was asked to approve their use as an exception to the city ordinance that restricts the use of fireworks to between July 1-4 and on New Year?s Eve.

Pyle outlined her plan to provide appropriate equipment and personnel to ensure safe use of the sparklers and tiki torches.

Concerned about the dry weather this summer, the council approved her request with the provision that the local fire chief will have the final say on the matter as the date nears.

Other business

In other business, the council:

? heard that council member Marlene Fast remained in intensive care at a Wichita hospital following a traffic accident over the weekend. It was not known how long she will be unable to participate in meetings.

? established 4 p.m. Aug. 16 as the time and date for a required public hearing regarding the city?s proposed budget for 2012. The state requires final approval of the budget by Aug. 25.

? approved an engineering contract with EBH to develop a master plan for improvements at the local airport.

The project will cost $40,000; $38,000 would be funded with an airport planning grant through the Kansas Department of Transportation. The city will cover the remaining $2,000 through its airport fund.

? approved the mayor?s appoint??ment of Robin Ottoson to the city?s Library Board. Ottoson is director of the Tabor College Library.

? heard Paine report that the tank to be used for testing the use of ozone to keep zebra mussels out of the pump station at Marion Reservoir will be located at the city?s water-treatment plant.

? met in executive session for about five minutes to discuss non-elected personnel; no action was taken when the public session resumed.

? met for a work session on the 2012 budget following adjournment.

More from Hillsboro Free Press
Tyrell Thiessen signs for Tabor football
  Hillsboro High School senior Tyrell Thiessen signed a letter of intent...
Read More