September 4, 2007
The Board of Commissioners of the City of Lawrence met in regular session at 6:35 p.m., in the City Commission Chambers in City Hall with Mayor Hack presiding and members Amyx, Dever, Chestnut and Highberger present.
RECOGNITION/PROCLAMATION/PRESENTATION
With Commission approval Mayor Hack proclaimed Saturday, September 8, 2007, as “International Literacy Day.”
CONSENT AGENDA
As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Chestnut, seconded by Highberger, to receive the Mental Health Board meeting minutes of June 26, 2007 and July 31, 2007; the Lawrence-Douglas County Housing Authority Board meeting minutes of June 25, 2007; the Lawrence-Douglas County Housing Authority Board study session of August 6, 2007; the Planning Commission meeting minutes of July 23 – 25, 2007; and the Uniform Building Code meeting minutes of June 28, 2007. Motion carried unanimously.
As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Chestnut, seconded by Highberger, to approve claims to 482 vendors in the amount of $3,279,824.60 and payroll from August 19, 2007 to September 1, 2007 in the amount of $1,681,986.26. Motion carried unanimously.
As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Chestnut, seconded by Highberger, to approve the Drinking Establishment License for Harbour Lights, 1031 Massachusetts Street; Applebee’s Neighborhood Grill & Bar, 3900 West 6th Street; Slow Ride Roadhouse, 1350 North 3rd; and Biggs Bar & Grill, 2429 South Iowa; the Class A Club License to Lawrence Country Club, 400 Country Club Terrace; and Retail Liquor License to Riverridge Liquor, 454 North Iowa Suite A. Motion carried unanimously.
Ordinance No. 8150, adopting the 2007 Standard Traffic Ordinance for Kansas was read a second time. As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Chestnut, seconded by Highberger, to adopt the ordinance. Aye: Amyx, Dever, Chestnut, Hack, and Highberger. Nay: None. Motion carried unanimously. (1)
Ordinance No. 8151, allowing the temporary sale, possession, and consumption off alcoholic liquor on the west side of South Park on September 8, 2007, was read a second time. As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Chestnut, seconded by Highberger, to adopt the ordinance. Aye: Amyx, Dever, Chestnut, Hack, and Highberger. Nay: None. Motion carried unanimously. (2)
Ordinance No. 8153, allowing possession and consumption of alcoholic beverages on certain city property pursuant to Ingredient’s Sidewalk Dining License, was read a second time. As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Chestnut, seconded by Highberger, to adopt the ordinance. Aye: Amyx, Dever, Chestnut, Hack, and Highberger. Nay: None. Motion carried unanimously. (3)
Ordinance No. 8144, establishing the maximum assessments for the construction of 25th Terrace, O’Connell Road to Franklin Road, to include street, storm sewer, and waterline improvements, was read a second time. As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Chestnut, seconded by Highberger, to adopt the ordinance. Aye: Amyx, Dever, Chestnut, Hack, and Highberger. Nay: None. Motion carried unanimously. (4)
As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Chestnut, seconded by Highberger, to approve as signs of community interest, vinyl banners, 6 feet X 3 feet, which state “United Way Helps Here” to be displayed outside of 15 of the United Way member agencies to educate the general public about where United Way funded services are located in the community. The banners would be displayed from September 12 – November 16, 2007. Motion carried unanimously. (5)
As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Chestnut, seconded by Highberger, to authorize the Mayor to sign a Release of Mortgage for Linda Pope, 824 Louisiana Street. Motion carried unanimously. (6)
As part of the consent agenda, it was moved by Chestnut, seconded by Highberger, to authorize the City Manager to enter into an agreement for the expenditure of $25,000 in unencumbered guest tax funds for the development of a management plan for the Freedom’s Frontier National Heritage Area. This item was discussed at the meeting of August 28, 2007 and placed on this meeting’s consent agenda. Motion carried unanimously. (7)
CITY MANAGER’S REPORT:
During the City Manager’s Report, David Corliss said staff was continuing to monitor sales tax distribution. The distribution fell below where it needed to be for 2007 and staff would be looking at those August revenues and expenditures in the general fund and monitoring those distributions appropriately.
He said as a follow up to discussions about shared programs regarding School Resource Officers and School Crossing Guards, pursuant to earlier City Commission direction, staff would send a letter to the Superintendent of USD 497 asking that when the School District prepared their 2008 – 2009 budget, they consider sharing the applicable costs for that program.
Also, work had begun on the Prairie Park fence project. The City purchased the property to enhance the integrity of that park, particularly as property immediately to the west was being developed as a residential subdivision.
He said the Parks and Recreation Advisory Board received information about the pesticide reduction program and that board would review that information next week.
Finally, regarding Street Division activities, staff had followed through in their commitment to place a pedestrian crossing beacon at 11th Street and staff would educate the neighborhood on how that beacon would work’; Micro surfacing was continuing; and the cost/benefit analysis on 6th and Kasold Project showed it had a strong benefit to the community and was not an inexpensive project.
Commissioner Chestnut said on the sales tax report it showed year to date the City was slightly ahead of 2006. It looked like they were tracking what was projected and staff might want to take a look at those figures.
Corliss said he would combine both and take a look at those figures. (8)
REGULAR AGENDA ITEMS:
Receive staff report on Burroughs Creek Trail and Linear Park.
Mark Hecker, Parks Superintendent, presented the staff report. He said the trail and park would extend from 11th Street to approximately 23rd Street on the east side of town and paralleled Haskell along that corridor. Staff had worked with the neighborhoods on the east side of town, discussed where things should go, and came up with a good plan.
Darron Ammann, Bartlett & West, Project Manager and Landscape Architect, reviewed the Burroughs Creek Corridor Park and Trail Master Plan. He said that plan was developed by people working together from the Parks and Recreation Department, the adjacent neighborhood associations, and a number of City staff members. He showed a slide presentation of the trail corridor which ran from 11th Street down the corridor to 23rd Street where it tied in with an existing trail that ran next to Haskell down to 29th Street. The trail started at Hobbs Park, which was a tentative trail head for folks to be able to access the trail. There would be a proposed concrete sidewalk running along the north side of 11th Street to cross 11th Street to get to the main trail. That was their first crossing of an arterial street and decided to use a flashing beacon.
There would be nodes and benches for places to sit on the trail. He said from 11th, 12th, and 13th Streets, was Huxtable and Penny Concrete. At one time, he was involved in the Huxtable project to vacate a portion of the existing right-of-way which was never followed through, but they would like to continue vacating that right-of-way and eradicate that road to provide for a trail connection that would come across that location, go in front of Penny Concrete. That location would also be a concrete trail, doubling as a sidewalk and crossing 13th Street.
He said the main trail head location ran from 13th Street down along the east side of the corridor and into the main trail head. In their plan, a splash park was designed to be a future amenity and was not needed to put the trail together. That area had 3 circular areas for an heirloom garden, a playground, and future splash park. He said there was a potential of moving the police evidence storage shed for a trail head location which was very important to all of the neighbors and constructing a restroom facility a that midpoint location.
It was their goal to enhance Parnell Park and make it a bigger area as part of that trail head and having the trail run through Parnell Park. They were proposing eliminating the playground to move to a trail head, but they would keep the basketball location and run the trail through that area.
He said they would cross the creek at Forest and Ward Avenues, but currently, there was a pedestrian bridge to cross at that location. It would provide a very good connection to bring both residents of that area back and forth east and west and to access the trail. There was also a smaller sidewalk, five feet in width that would connect to the Hanscom/Tappan Addition.
On 19th Street they proposed a future connection to Johnson Avenue, which was a long range goal and one of the higher dollar items when it came to looking at budget to put that connection in because it would require a couple of pedestrian bridges to cross those creek locations, but it was a good linkage to the neighborhood.
He said from 19th to 23rd Street was the most straightforward portion of the plan. It ran from 19th to 23rd under the bridge and connecting into the trail that presently existed at 23rd Street. One amenity was a connection to Moody Avenue that would provide linkage to that neighborhood and access to the trail.
One of their goals was to provide a connection between the Kansas River and the Wakarusa River with the ECO2 Plan that was developed for the entire County.
Wendy Van Dyne, Bartlett & West, presented a three dimensional fly through to help local residents and the City Commissioners envision what was being proposed for the Burroughs Creek Linear Park and Trail. She said they were proposing the following:
1. Vacate a portion of Oregon Street to accommodate the trail;
2. Signalize the crossing at 11th Street much in a similar fashion as was currently implemented near New York Elementary;
3. Add several trail nodes which included a bench, trash receptacles, plantings and landscaping;
4. Add a mini trail head at 12th and Oregon Street with a few parking spaces for those residents who did not live in direct vicinity to the trail who might want to drive from across town to visit along with a bench node;
5. Add a raised crossing at 13th Street along the east side of the drainage corridor between 13th and 15th Streets;
6. Incorporate an heirloom garden and labyrinth on the eastern side of the trail head which incorporated planting and landscape materials that were there at the time the City of Lawrence was settled and would provide a unique feature that was not present within the Lawrence Parks and Recreation system currently along with a labyrinth;
7. Add trail wheels within bike path and pedestrian trail systems which were successful at slowing down traffic and creating a calming device for bicyclists, pedestrians, and those with roller blades or roller skates;
8. Add a splash park eventually and a children’s playground on the western portion of the trail head;
9. Provide a linkage near 14th Street for the neighbors west of the trail to have access;
10. Convert the police evidence storage shed into a restroom facility.
11. Add a raised crossing system across 15th Street;
12. Incorporate some of the existing amenities such as the basketball court at Parnell Park;
13. Connect Ward and Forest Streets with an existing pedestrian bridge for bicycle routes;
14. Add a connection to Johnson Avenue to the north at the Woods on 19th Street Development which was a long term amenity.
15. Incorporate Lawrence history near the 19th Street crossing by reconstructing a portion of the existing rail road tract.
16. Add a signalized crossing at 19th Street arterial;
17. Add trail nodes wherever possible to add interest and rest points along the way on the south side;
18. Add a trail connection to Moody Avenue for an additional access point to those residents living on the eastern side of the trail.
19. Connect to the existing rail trail below 23rd Street and install parking stalls for visitors from other parts of the community.
Ammann said having historical markers to point people in the direction of the Burroughs House was very important to this trail. Their goal was to have people use the trail, but also serve as linkage to the overall plan that ECO2 had in place for the entire county. There were two raised crossing and signalized crossings on the trail.
In current phase I of the plan, the trail from 11th to 23rd Streets was proposed to be in limestone screening material, but the preference would be to do everything in concrete because concrete appealed to more users in making it multi modal for rollerblading, bicycling, jogging, and pushing a stroller. Limestone screenings were much cheaper put completely 100% ADA acceptable and were used on trails they worked on previously. It was similar to the material that was on top of the dyke currently and would provide an opportunity to establish the trail. They felt if they did this project in segments, two blocks at a time, it would not provide the linkage. They wanted to get the linkage established and some of the other bigger amenities like a splash park and so forth when funding became available.
Commissioner Highberger asked if the estimate for concrete cost and one of the options presented was inaccurate.
Ammann said that was correct. The good sign was the decimal could be moved to the left instead of the right. There was a little bit of confusion on one portion of the concrete and thought it was $2.4 million for the concrete which was incorrect. They were looking at $700,000. He said if everything was done, including the splash park, with general estimates in limestone screenings they were looking at about $1.2 million. If everything was done in concrete, with the same type of amenities, they were looking at $1.8 million roughly.
Mayor Hack asked how they would define the phasing.
Ammann said their plan was voiced by a lot of people to really establish the trail through the corridor. If they went two or three blocks, it would not provide the linkage from Hobbs Park to the existing trail down at 29th Street. The first phase, even if they had to do something in limestone screenings, which was secondary in preference to having everything in concrete, would provide that linkage. When things like the police evidence storage shed were sorted and might become part of the trail, those things could be worked in different phases of the plan.
Hecker said he thought it was a unanimous opinion that eventually the trail needed to be constructed with concrete for the purpose of maintainability and concrete was a better surface for multiple uses. He said most of the neighborhoods would like to see ag-lime, but follow it up with continuous phases of concrete as they could afford it.
Commissioner Chestnut said if going with limestone, the incremental was about $600,000. He asked if it increased the total cost of the project if they did it with the screen first and follow up or would they prepare that ground that way anyway.
Hecker said most of the work as far as the grading and bridges would be things they did not need to repeat. The actual surface would be removed and replaced with concrete or over the top. He said there would be a little bit of additional expense by phasing it out. The cheapest way was to put concrete in first, but they did not want to put in a block and a half of concrete and say it was phase 1 that hooked to nothing. They felt it was important they hooked it up and make it usable pretty much after the first phase.
Mayor Hack called for public comment.
John Rasmussen, East Lawrence resident, said he thought the idea was a fabulous idea and hoped it went all the way through. He said he thought he spoke for a lot of people not only in East Lawrence, but in all of Lawrence. He said some of the reasons it was a great idea was because it was a major north/south corridor through this part of the City and promoted alternative transportation. As a cyclist, he cycled quite a bit in Lawrence and his alternatives were Haskell, Leonard, or Massachusetts Streets and for obvious reasons there were safety factors with the cars and potholes. If this corridor was in place it would provide a great north/south access corridor hopefully eventually linking downtown Lawrence all the way to Mary’s Lake. It would be a great way for pedestrians and cyclists to get around. He said if they looked at some other cities around the country, like Boulder or Fort Collins, those areas promoted alternative transportation and as the City grew they needed to continue to think about alternative transportation.
He said as far as the project itself, he thought it was a good idea as far as the visual plans. He said he would like to see safety taken into consideration and a lot of times when he rode along the levy or the Naismith Trail or Mary’s Lake, some of those areas did not feel safe and felt closed in with a lot of trees. He said trees were important but not too many trees because they needed open space to feel safe.
He said around the 13th and 15th Street area, he would like to see more of a park aspect and not so much as a linear thing. He said he would suggest trails on both sides of the waterway or creating a circular area for families to hang out in one area and let kids run around the whole loop on both sides of the drainage area. The linear aspect was good, but he suggested a park area and looking at promoting a sculpture garden in that area or murals on that limestone block building at 15th Street including the 1% of Arts for beautifying the area.
Austin Turney, East Lawrence resident, said on the upper left hand corner of the map that was presented there was a large piece of property with a single family residence, which was where he lived and might have been overlooked.
He said he returned to Lawrence nearly 13 years ago and returned to the house where he moved with his parents 76 years ago, the Samuel Riggs House. He said he learned about the proposal for a trail along the right-of-way of the former Santa Fe Ottawa Branch intended to connect with the existing trail at 23rd Street and he had been waiting for the trail ever since. He said he would enjoy the trial and use it for exercise and find it more pleasant than the arterial streets which he had to use today. An advantage of the wait had been that the proposal had evolved into a very attractive linear park. The big ditch of Burroughs Creek had been completed and he was convinced this park would enhance the attractiveness of this area of Lawrence. He thought it was an area that needed enhancement. He believed it would inspire homeowners throughout the area to improve residential property, tie together other developments and improvements particularly the Hanscom/Tappan and Villo Woods areas and the Burroughs Creek served as a separation now instead of a tie. He said it would help with the possibility that a future owner would tear down the Samuel Riggs House and build small apartments or small houses on the 6 acres. A portion of the park area at 15th Street was within the environs of that national registered property.
Also, the development would resolve the condition of the Police Department evidence storage facility on 15th Street, which now largely had the appearance of two abandoned warehouses. He thought it was fortunate that few people knew it was City property because it stood in sharp contrast to the beautifully maintained pocket park at 15th and Connecticut.
He said he had heard throughout the 13 years of the problem of obtaining clear title to the right-of-way. He confessed it seemed this problem had fallen into the category of never do today what you can put off until tomorrow. He had to believe that it only became more complicated over time as additional people buy property adjacent to the right-of-way so the number of parties to the matter increases.
He urged the City Commission to support this project for the sake of the broad area of Lawrence that it would improve and for the development of Lawrence as a heritage tourism destination, which he happened to be steward of one property. He asked the City Commission to include this development in the Park and Recreation budget.
James Grauerholz, East Lawrence resident, said he supported this project. He said he did not take much credit for it, but had been a cheerleader because he thought the east side was coming because it was considered center city. The walkability of a place was a huge part of its community knitting. He was in favor of this project and the design questions were negotiable, which was one more step in the process. The idea came up 20 years ago and was now in the last four or five years it came so far. The design was very good and if a clerical error meant the cement version would only be $2 million that was the best news he had all night and asked the City Commission to approve the plan.
Janet Good, former President of the East Lawrence Neighborhood Association at the time this project was started, said she was excited about the project. She said the 11th Street crossing was mentioned in the City Manager’s Report and she wanted to say thank you for getting that crossing up for the first day of school. The kids have been using it and pushing the button to cross the street. She thought it was great they were already thinking of the safety for people who would use this trail. There were people out walking and biking in her neighborhood and people would use the trail to get to and from work. She said she had no doubt the trail would be well utilized and thought it would be a huge thing for the neighborhood.
Michael Almon, East Lawrence resident, said James Grauerholz deserved a lot of credit for this plan as one of the key members of the Burroughs Creek Area Plan Committee. He thanked David Corliss, City Manager, for his work in securing the right-of-way because without that right-of-way they could not do anything with that trail. He thanked Bartlett and West for coming up with an excellent plan and Mark Hecker, Superintendent of Parks and Recreation, for championing the entire plan along the way.
He said in perspective, $2 million might buy a mile of arterial street, but they received a lot for $2 million of this trail. He thought it was dollars well spent. He said he did not think the City needed to limit itself to apply for one grant at a time waiting for it not to go through and then going for another grant. The plan identified at least four funding sources and he felt the City might as well go for all of those grants and if they could get enough money, then they had the money to do at least most of the project if not all of the project. He thought that was what the key priority should be to pursue all of those funding sources.
He said as far as phasing, it was pointed out the current idea of phasing was to build the entire trail or distance rather than half of it. He said in the budget, it indicated concrete trail from 11th to Ward and then limestone after that. He asked if the current outlook was all limestone because he believed the trail should be all concrete. Once it was in limestone and everyone had a commitment to finish in concrete, it did not mean it would be done. He was concerned that the maintenance for a limestone trail was higher than a concrete trail. Dollar for dollar the concrete was much more cost effective and lasted much longer and there was no erosion of the limestone or herbicide applications twice a year to keep the weeds from growing on the trail.
He said whatever money the City received, they should put it toward the trail in its entirety and concrete if they could. The amenities should be secondary, if ever, and did not think they needed a duplicate side trail into Johnson Avenue. He said 19th Street had bike lanes already connecting in that direction. He did not think they needed heirloom gardens or splash parks. If they had the money and a few years later, they could do those but they needed to get the trails in first. He was grateful the City included him on the Burroughs Creek Plan Committee and helping anyway he could with the process.
Hubbard Collingsworth, Lawrence, said he was in favor of this trail, but there was one big question that popped in his mind. At 15th Street, in the 100 year flood plain, there was an article mentioned in the Lawrence Journal World about someone donating $4 million for the scholarship hall and there was going to be another grant of $400,000 for maintenance. He asked if they could build the maintenance if the flood did occur without any additional costs to the City built into the project as it moved forward.
Ammann said he would like to clarify that when they were at the end of the project there was a lot of discussion internally about exactly what Phase 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 might be. He thought the confusion with the bid was Almon probably had an older version that did not have the trail going all the way through.
He said the limestone screening, just the material and not putting it in place by a contractor itself for Phase 1, was roughly $100,000. He said all the amenities and everything together and in limestone was a rough estimate of about $1.2 million. He said doing that same portion in concrete, just the material, was about $700,000 with a $1.8 million with everything in concrete.
He said he wanted to thank all the members of the neighborhood associations in working with them throughout the plan. There were a lot of great people that had a lot of great ideas and this plan came together because of all their ideas and passion for having this trail put in place. He appreciated all their help.
Mayor Hack asked Corliss to comment on the 1% for Arts question and how that might fit in.
Corliss said this project would be eligible under the 2% For Arts Resolution. He said staff would have a discussion between the City Commission and the Arts Commission as to whether or not the 2% of the costs of the project should be spent on this project or would then be simply allocated for a separate percent for art project that would be recommended by the Arts Commission. He said as they were getting ready for that project, they could have that discussion.
The first phase of this project was the property acquisition, essentially south of 15th Street. One of the reasons why that property acquisition had not proceeded was because they did not have the design in any conceptual manner, in place, so they could begin discussions with the property owners about what would be next to them. It was an important consideration when talking about buying abandoned railroad right-of-way, whether or not there would be trail heads, fences and all those types of things. The conceptual plan gave the City a target to shoot for when they were talking with the property owners on what the area would look like and the value of this trail being next to their properties which would hopefully smooth the path for negotiations. The negotiations for the property acquisition was going to take some and he was comforted by the fact the City was successful in negotiating property interest to the north of 15th Street for the Burroughs Creek area.
He said if the City Commission believed it to be the appropriate Master Plan for this project they would begin property acquisition. Most of the property acquisition was congruent with where they had a sanitary sewer line and they needed to protect that and why the Utility Department funds would be paying for the necessary property acquisition. They would then have to take a look at future budgets to see what they could build which was one of the reasons for recommendation of proceeding with the KDOT grant application. He said it was important to note the Capital Improvement Project was not a grant, but bonded capital improvement projects from the City that were supported with either general obligation bonds, supported by property tax or sales tax and it was not in the budget. He said they had $300,000 in the project and spent approximately $50,000 for the design work at this point. He said it would be a sales tax funded project and would be the first in line to get going. The City had needed a comfort level that the City sales tax numbers were there to support this level of the project. The next phase would be the property acquisition and once they near that acquisition, they would then be looking at future capital budgets to see what they could build with the $250,000 that was left and wanted to stretch it as far as possible. He said there would be an important distinction about the lime or concrete, but his preference was to get as much of the trail in, but not spend money twice to get the concrete in. He said this was a high priority project from previous Commission’s perspective and this Commission and staff wanted to see if come to fruition.
He said at 15th Street and trail head the City had two building and one of those buildings was being actively used by the Police Department. He said he did not think that was the best site for the Police Department Evidence and Storage Facility and was why there was money in the budget for a new location. If that was able to happen, the City would be able to vacate that premise even sooner.
Vice Mayor Dever asked about the property acquisition costs and if those costs were included in the numbers provided by the consultant.
Corliss said the property acquisition was not included.
Vice Mayor Dever asked if staff had any idea of general costs per linear foot.
Corliss said a number of the properties were appraised a couple of years back when they started the discussions with the property owners, but there were many questions asked by those property owners. He said staff had good response, but staff did not have confirmed responses and now they had confirmation with this Master Plan. He said most of the property was difficult to build on and he did not think the property had great value, but value comparable to the adjoining properties.
Vice Mayor Dever asked if it would be around $500,000.
Corliss said it would be in that neighborhood, but they had to have their sewer line protected. He said when getting into tense discussions with property owners, those property owners would insist the legal title was clear, but as the City purchased the property, it would be clear. Historically, the City paid the railroad for a license to be up and down that corridor and that worked well when the railroad was at that location, but the railroad was not present south of 12th Street.
Mayor Hack asked about the flooding question.
Corliss said his comment was that they were going to follow their storm water regulations as far as the location of those facilities. In many cases, the parks served as good part of a storm water management plan. Parnell Park looked like it was part of a flood control area and to some aspect to that. They would be wise as to the higher cost facilities and could not say at all times the trails would be kept dry. When the trail was on the rail bed, it was a better location for the trail, but as the consultants and others pointed out, they could do a lot of other things with the weaving of the trail to make it a more attractive linear park and wanted to follow through with that idea.
Commissioner Amyx asked if it was important, right now, to approve the Master Plan and help secure that utility easement.
Corliss said property owners would ask what the trail would look like as the City bought sanitary sewer and trail easements, but now the City could show those property owners a Master Plan and how it might function which would go a long way in answering those property owners questions.
Commissioner Amyx said there were very few times when the City acquired easements for sewer pipe and it looked like a park when it was all said and done. The importance of that sewer line and be able to add the park on top of it was a big win-win all the way around.
Mayor Hack asked if staff was asking the Commission what type of trail they wanted.
Corliss said yes if the Commission felt comfortable giving staff direction or staff could bring the issue back. There were a number of people interested in the construction of that trail and he wanted to make sure those people felt they were participatory in that decision as well.
Commissioner Chestnut said since there was new information about numbers changing quite dramatically, with right-of-way and land acquisition it would be nice to see that project in total.
He asked if there was $250,000 committed to this trail project.
Corliss said the previous City Commission committed $300,000 for this project and $50,000 was spent in consultant work so far. He said he placed a freeze on any other projects until they knew a little more about the sales tax numbers. He said it would not affect this project because they needed to do the property acquisition before anything else was done.
Commissioner Amyx said it was important to adopt and proceed with the Master Plan. He said he preferred the concrete idea for this trail from start to finish. He said it was important to look at all funding from any pocket of state or federal money for this project. He said he also thought there was opportunity for public/private initiatives. He said the purchase of right-of-way and establishing the trail was important and then looking at some of the amenities along the trail by some of those public-private partnerships that could be available through things like fundraising. It was an opportunity the City did not need to spend all the money and could receive help from various groups in the community.
Commissioner Chestnut said now that the numbers were closer, he did not consider it when it was between $4 million and $1.2 million, but thought it would be helpful in making decisions on the maintenance cost for a period of time because he guessed the gap would close quickly between concrete and the limestone screening. If they were looking over a 10 year time frame, it would be a better investment on the front end.
Commissioner Highberger said he has been waiting for this trail project and appreciated all the effort by staff and neighborhood groups. He said he shared Commissioner Chestnut’s concern that over the long run it might be cheaper to go ahead and do concrete first. He would hate to spend money and tear it out again and build something else. He liked the neighborhood connections and had a benefit for future walkability of that area.
Vice Mayor Dever said he thought it was an exciting project and would tie the whole concept of their heritage and history. He said the project would enhance the value of those neighborhoods and the importance and focus. He said if the trail was not going to be on the rail spur but an area that could be inundated by limestone screenings made a lot less sense because if the area was inundated it would become a huge maintenance problem in rebuilding those plans. If they were putting any section of this trail in an area that was going to be wet, it made more sense to go with a more serious bed. He said he was excited about this project and looked forward to riding his bike on those trails.
Moved by Highberger, seconded by Dever, to approve the Burroughs Creek Trail & Park Master Plan; directed staff to begin property acquisition for future development of the project; and, authorized a future KDOT grant application. Motion carried unanimously. (9)
Receive staff memorandum on proposed Health Care benefit design plan for City employees in 2008.
Frank Reeb, Administrative Service Director/City Clerk, presented the staff report. He said staff’s memo contained eight recommendations and instead of discussing all eight of the recommendations, he would like to focus on three of those recommendations. The remaining recommendations were specific employee or retiree contribution rates and were hopefully self explanatory.
He said the first recommendation was out of pocket maximums for the health plan and prescription drug plan. Specifically, staff recommended increasing combined out of pocket maximums from the current levels to a combined $2,000 out of pocket maximum for employee only plans and $4,000 for employee plus family plans and other plans the City Commission might approve this evening. This recommendation initially would be phased in over a four year period. This recommendation could be best understood by reviewing the table on page 2 of the staff memo. He said for example, in 2007 there was a $300 deductible for the employee only or single coverage, $300 co-insurance, and when adding those two amounts, it would be an out of pocket cost of $600 on the health plan. Similarly, on the prescription drug plan, there was a $100 deductible, a $500 co-insurance and again, adding the two amounts for a $600 out of pocket cost on the prescription drug. When combing both of those costs, the bottom number was $1,200.
He said what staff was recommending beginning with 2008 was leaving the deductible as it was and increasing the co-insurance $100 for the employee only coverage and $200 for the employee plus family coverage. As for the prescription drug plan in 2008, staff was recommended eliminating the deductible and increasing the co-insurance by $200 for employee only plans and $400 for employee plus family coverage. For an employee only plan, the total out of pocket would be $1,400 and for the family plan or any other plan approved this evening, the total would be $2,800. There were similar increases for 2009, 2010 and ending in 2011 with an out of pocket maximum for employee only coverage of $2,000 and $4,000 with the family plan.
He said it was important to note staff was not asking the City Commission to lock into those phases for out of pocket maximums over the next four years as staff planned to monitor the effects. In the memo it was stated that those recommended changes were subject to future revision and Commission approval for future years. As to the first recommendation, based on the information from Blue Cross Blue Shield, they were expecting the recommendation to save the plan approximately $70,000.
He said the next recommendation involved the prescription drug plan. Specifically, staff recommended increasing the participant responsibility for brand name drugs by charging a $20 fee plus the 20% co-insurance. On the other hand, the use of generic drugs required only the 20% co-insurance payment. This change was recommended by MedTrack Pharmacy Services, the City’s Pharmacy Benefits Manager because the generic substation rate was lower than their general book of business. For the first half of 2007 their generic substitution rate was about 54%. The general book of business for MedTrack was about 59% so the City had a little bit of work to meet the same generic substitution rate as MedTrak’s general book of business. Based on some information from MedTrack, staff estimated this change would save the plan approximately $117,000.
The final recommendation was a recommendation to change from a two tier plan to a four tier plan. Currently, employees were offered the option of enrolling in either employee only coverage or employee plus family coverage. Staff was proposing keeping those two tiers, but adding an employee plus child tier and an employee plus spouse tier. This change would address a fairness concern of charging the same family rate to employees that had one dependent or several and whether there was spouse coverage or not. Another advantage to the four tier structure was increased affordability to retirees because nearly all retiree contracts would qualify for the lower costing employee spouse tier. He said while Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas was not projecting an immediate effect on cost savings for 2008 for this recommendation, staff believed over time it would help reduce plan costs as employees drop coverage for dependents that had other coverage elsewhere.
He said he also wanted to focus on what was on the plate for the Health Care Committee for the remainder of this year as well as 2008. He said among the items on their committees agenda was to discuss whether there should be a policy change to include an employee contribution for single coverage. The City picked up 100% of the employee coverage for the premium equivalents. The other item on the agenda was the retiree healthcare coverage and City contributions for that type of coverage. He said GASB Statements 43 and 45 placed some additional workload on the City and this last retiree healthcare coverage item was related to that. Staff did not plan to market the healthcare plan, at this time, for 2008. He said the health plan was last marketed in 2005 for the 2006 plan year, but staff anticipated marketing those benefits in calendar year 2009.
He said staff recommended, if appropriate, for the City Commission to direct staff to proceed with the recommendations as described in the August 29th staff memo.
Commissioner Chestnut said when Reeb discussed the two tier plan to a four tier, he was assumed Reeb looked at that to be cost neutral to the plan. He said Reeb stated that when the out of pocket maximums, medical and dental, had a savings of $70,000, but asked if Reeb included the fact they gave back part of it with the pharmacy since the deductible was eliminated.
Reeb said it was included in the $117,000.
Commissioner Chestnut said for next year one of the things discussed earlier was the two tiered plan and benchmarking was really difficult because most of the other peer communities and every place else were four tiers. He said he did not see that included for next year and thought it would be helpful. It was a little bit more difficult to understand where the City was at in comparison to peer communities because they had a plan that was a little different. He thought it would be helpful and reasonably achievable as far as coming up with that information.
He said putting on the table again would be to look at the way the funding estimate was made for the minimum retained earnings was something he would like to explore a little bit more because they had a pretty good sized reserve and was not convinced that number would come down anytime soon.
David Corliss, City Manager, said on the maximum retained earnings, it could be part of the Healthcare Committee’s work plan.
Commissioner Chestnut said that was what he was addressing.
Corliss said it then came back in the form of a recommendation and staff could get that early in the budget process so that staff could talk about whether there needed to be a policy adjustment to that as well.
Mayor Hack called for public comment.
After receiving no public comment Commissioner Amyx said this issue finalized the 2008 budget.
Corliss said it was clearly related. Staff had to wait to get information from Blue Cross/Blue Shield and MedTrack to finalize that. He said in this case he thought information was given sooner than usually. He said those numbers were in line with what was already budgeted.
Commissioner Amyx said the committee did a very good job in making sure they followed the discussions the City Commission had for 2008.
Mayor Hack echoed Commissioner Amyx’s comments. The small agenda item represented an enormous amount of work and it would continue on.
Commissioner Chestnut said he appreciated all the work by City staff and it was a solid plan.
Moved by Amyx, seconded by Highberger, to approve the health care benefit design plan for 2008. Motion carried unanimously. (10)
Moved by Dever, seconded by Amyx, to consider a motion to recess into executive session at 8:10 p.m. for approximately 30 minutes to discuss matters deemed privileged under attorney-client relationship. The justification is to maintain attorney-client confidentiality. The regular meeting of the Commission will resume in the City Commission meeting room. (11)
The Commission returned to regular session at 8:40 p.m.
FUTURE AGENDA ITEMS:
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9/11/07 |
● Commissioner Highberger plans to be absent from the meeting ● Continuation of discussion on special assessment benefit district for intersection improvements at George Williams Way and West 6th Street ● (Consent Agenda Item) Cemetery Fees |
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11/20/07 |
● Vice-Mayor Dever plans to be absent from the meeting |
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TBD |
● Chapter 7 of Comprehensive Plan (Industrial Chapter) ● Staff reports on Sales tax options, Intangibles Tax and Impact Fees ● Federal Legislative Statement (in anticipation of delegation visit to federal legislators in October) ● State Legislative Statement ● Downtown Redevelopment Issues (public procedures and financing options) ● Commission and public discussion on goals for 31st Street corridor (Haskell Avenue to O’Connell)
|
(13)
COMMISSION ITEMS:
Moved by Amyx, seconded by Chestnut, to adjourn at 8:45 p.m. Motion carried unanimously.
APPROVED:
_____________________________
Sue Hack, Mayor
ATTEST:
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Frank S. Reeb, City Clerk
1. Ordinance No. 8150- 2nd Read, adopt 2007 STO.
2. Ordinance No. 8151- 2nd Read, temp sale, possession, & consumption of alcohol liquor on W side of S Park on Sept. 8, 2007.
3. Ordinance No. 8153- 2nd Read, allow possession & consumption of alcoholic beverages on certain city property pursuant to Ingredient’s Sidewalk Dining License.
4. Ordinance No. 8144- 2nd Read, max assess for construction of 25th Terr, O’Connell Rd to Franklin Rd.
5. Signs of Community Interest - Banners for United Way.
6. Mortgage Release - 824 Louisiana St., Linda Pope.
7. Agreement - Guest tax funds, $25,000 for Freedom’s Frontier National Heritage Area.
8. City Manager’s Report.
9. Burroughs Creek trail and Linear Park.
10. Health Care benefit design plan for City employees in 2008.
11. Executive Session.
12. Future Agenda Items.
13. Commission Items.