[0:03] got to go to Kansas. I'm not driving that way, but

[0:08] » not ready for long. >> Like riding a bike right?

[0:14] » Oh, let's go. >> 6 o'clock. Okay. Good evening.

[0:19] Welcome to your city commission meeting. Please turn off or silence all cell

[0:23] phones during the meeting. Meetings are available for viewing on YouTube.

[0:27] because of a a glitch with our cameras. We it will not be livereamed tonight,

[0:32] but meetings are available for viewing on YouTube afterwards. First item on the

[0:36] agenda, we have a proclamation. Levvenworth Farmers Market.

[0:41] » Oh gosh. See you taking French medicine here.

[0:48] We'll begin with the pledge of allegiance followed by a silent

[0:51] meditation. I pledge algiance to the flag of the United States of America and

[0:56] to the republic for which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with

[1:02] liberty and justice for all.

[1:10] » Thank you. All right. Now, we will do a

[1:15] proclamation for Farmers Market. Joe, would you like to

[1:21] come forward to the podium here? Mr. Schwin,

[1:28] you just stand here and I'll let you speak a little bit afterwards. Um,

[1:34] brain's pretty small. Whereas the Lemore Farmers Market offers

[1:38] consumers farm fresh, affordable, convenient and healthy products such as

[1:42] fruit, vegetables, cheeses, herbs, flowers, baked goods, meat, and farmers

[1:47] market serve as integral link among urban, suburban, and rural communities.

[1:52] Supporting farmers and consumers the opportunity to interact. And the

[1:55] popularity of farmers markets continues to rise as more and more consumers

[1:59] discover the joys of shopping for unique ingredients sold directly from the farm

[2:04] in their freshest possible state. And whereas farmers markets play a key role

[2:09] in developing local and regional food systems that support the sustainability

[2:13] of family farms, revitalize communities, and provide opportunities for farmers

[2:18] and consumers to interact. And whereas the Lev North Farmers Market offers

[2:22] electronic benefits, transfer technology for use by supplemental nutrition

[2:27] assistance program recipients in redeeming their benefits, offers

[2:30] opportunities for senior citizens, participating in the senior farmers

[2:34] market nutrition program to detain their checks and provide unsold produce to

[2:40] community free food programs. And whereas the United States Department of

[2:44] Agriculture strongly supports and promotes the development, operation, and

[2:50] expansion of farmers markets and other direct to consumer marketing activities

[2:54] for agricultural producers, providing them with marketing opportunities. Now

[2:59] therefore, I, Nancy Fer, mayor of the city of Levorth, Kansas, hereby

[3:03] recognize farmers markets and the contributions that farmers make to daily

[3:08] life in America, and give notice to our citizens of August 2 through 8, 2026, be

[3:14] proclaimed the Lev Farmers Market Week.

[3:25] » Now, would you like to say a few words? Well, the proclamation kind of stole all

[3:29] my thunder there. I mean, you kind of hear what we do there. But we are very

[3:32] proud of the market we've created. Everything that is sold at the market is

[3:36] from someone in Levvenworth County or an adjacent county. And we follow those

[3:40] guidelines very strictly. We would do farm tours and to make sure that that is

[3:45] the case. We, as it says there, we have everything from vegetables to um meat,

[3:50] eggs, um >> everything.

[3:53] » Soap. Yeah. We have all kinds of things down there. Honey, yes. A lot of things

[3:56] down there. And everybody there also has a tax number. So we do generate a little

[4:01] revenue for the for the community. The nice thing is though I think as as the

[4:05] years have gone by people we'll see people that come after breakfast or they

[4:10] will meet there and then go to breakfast and it is a place for them to meet and

[4:13] gather and uh so it's been a very good relationship for for farmers and for the

[4:19] communities. So thank you very much. >> Thank you Jim. Thank you for coming.

[4:27] YOU CAN hang it up at farmers market on Saturday.

[4:38] » Okay. Next item on the agenda, old business, consideration of previous

[4:42] meeting minutes from July 14, 2026 regular meeting.

[4:47] » Make a motion to accept previous minutes.

[4:50] » I'll second. >> It's been moved and seconded. Please

[4:52] begin voting. Commissioner Wilson. I >> I

[4:55] » I >> I

[4:56] » I >> All right. Next item on the agenda, new

[4:58] business. Public comment. Public comments are limited to three minutes

[5:02] per speaker. In the interest of time, we ask that groups wishing to speak limit

[5:06] their public comment to one presenter. Uh this is the opportunity for the city

[5:10] commission to hear the thoughts of the public prior to conducting official city

[5:14] business. The mayor, city commission, and city staff have been asked not to

[5:18] respond to those giving public comment, and action may not be taken by the

[5:21] commission on public comment items. The mayor may direct staff to follow up with

[5:26] specific individuals after the meeting. When speaking, please state your name

[5:30] and address. A signup sheet will be provided in the commission chambers for

[5:33] anyone wishing to speak. Do we have anyone tonight?

[5:36] » We have one tonight, Mr. John Kesler. >> Okay.

[5:43] » John Kesler. 1367 Sherman Avenue, Leworth, Kansas.

[5:49] Mayor and commissioners, thank you for your service and for the work that goes

[5:53] into planning our city's future. After listening to the budget discussions, one

[5:59] question comes to mind. What is Levvenworth's strategy for

[6:04] growth? The plans clearly show how we'll repair,

[6:10] replace, and preserve what we have. They protect what we built. They don't

[6:17] define where we're going. It is encouraging to see long-term

[6:22] thinking such as the parks department setting aside $500,000

[6:27] for future land acquisition. Imagine applying that same long-term

[6:32] thinking to the economic assets that will shape Lemore's future.

[6:39] But where is the strategy to significantly increase the population.

[6:44] Where is the strategy to attract major employers

[6:48] and who is accountable for delivering that strategy?

[6:52] Economic development is one of the most important responsibilities

[6:57] of any city. If we delegate much of that responsibility,

[7:02] how are we measuring success and how are we holding ourselves accountable for the

[7:07] results? Where is the strategy to expand our

[7:11] sales tax base? Where is the strategy to create enough

[7:16] new taxpayers that the burden on existing taxpayers becomes lighter?

[7:22] The city's own projections show Levvenworth growing at just 818 people

[7:29] over the next decade. These challenges shouldn't discourage

[7:34] us. They should challenge us. As this commission decides how to invest

[7:40] people's money, one question should come first.

[7:44] Will this in investment simply maintain the city we have? Or will it build the

[7:50] city we were always meant to be? Cities don't become stronger by simply

[7:56] preserving yesterday's investments. They become stronger by making the right

[8:00] investments for tomorrow. Thank you. >> Okay. Thank you.

[8:07] Next item on the agenda, presentation of the 2025 audit.

[8:14] » Good evening.

[8:20] » My name is Warren Heric. Uh I'm with Hooden Associates. I've been asked

[8:23] Michael Keenan extends his uh regrets for not being here himself. Uh but he

[8:30] can't be everywhere all the time. So he's asked me to present. I've been

[8:34] associated with the audit for the city of Levvenworth for this is five or six

[8:38] years now. So I'm familiar with your operations and the city and the people

[8:43] that work here. It's it's it's a pleasure.

[8:45] » Um Hood a little bit about the firm Hood

[8:50] Associates has uh in in the past we talked about we've served Missouri,

[8:56] Kansas, Oklahoma, Texas and we've also added offices in Tennessee. Now, we uh

[9:03] um have received gone through a peer review. That's where another firm comes

[9:07] in and reviews our control procedures. In fact, we're going through that right

[9:12] now. So, we get to feel Andrew's uh discomfort of of being scrutinized. I

[9:20] tell that to all our clients. We we do get to feel your pain. So, we try to try

[9:24] to minimize that as we're going through the process. Um but we at this point

[9:28] have um the highest award for a peer review uh for for our highest rating and

[9:37] um we are also members of the American Institute of Certified Public

[9:41] Accountants and I'll refer to it as AICPA going forward so we don't have to

[9:45] say all that. Um we're also part of the AICPA's

[9:50] uh government audit quality center as well as one one member is part of the

[9:56] government uh financial offices uh quality control special review committee

[10:02] uh which is is part of uh which is a group that reviews

[10:10] municipalities financial statements for uh certification which you're quite

[10:15] familiar with there. Um, we also are licensed in all the city states that we

[10:22] uh serve as well. Missouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Tennessee, and Texas. The

[10:27] scope of our audit of course is the is the the audit of the annual

[10:30] comprehensive financial report and compliance over with a single audit.

[10:38] Manager's responsibilities with respect to the uh financial statements is uh

[10:44] they're responsible for the design implementation of internal controls

[10:48] relevant to preparing the financial statements uh to asssure that they're

[10:52] free of material misstatements whether they're due to fraud or error. Also

[10:58] responsible for following laws and regulations compliance with contracts,

[11:03] federal awards, those sorts of things. Uh they're also responsible for ensuring

[11:07] financial information is reliable and properly reported. Um

[11:15] as part of that they're make sure that they are in compliance with proper

[11:20] accounting principles and uh making sure that they're in compliance with all the

[11:25] requirements uh with the statement of expenditures of federal awards.

[11:33] Now our responsibility as auditors as your auditors is to conduct our audit in

[11:38] accordance with generally accepted accounting principles auditing standards

[11:42] and the government audience standards as well as the uniform guidance. Uh first

[11:46] two are respect to financial reporting primarily uniform guidance is uh

[11:52] guidance with respect to your single audit the schedule of expenditures of

[11:55] federal awards. We are to plan and perform our audit to obtain reasonable

[12:00] but not absolute assurance that the basic financial statements are free of

[12:05] material misstatements. Obviously, we have to audit every

[12:08] transaction in order to have absolute assurance and that's just not feasible.

[12:14] So, we uh obtain reasonable assurance. We also report on internal controls over

[12:20] financial reporting and compliance with laws and regulations.

[12:24] uh the auditing standards board of the AICPA

[12:28] uh requires us or um to communicate few things with you. One is uh illegal

[12:36] acts and if there were any but none came to our attention we are not aware of any

[12:42] uh there also to communicate any changes in accounting principles. Uh there were

[12:46] no changes uh to accounting principles. No new principles were adopted. Uh we

[12:51] also will will communicate if there's any disagreements or problems with

[12:56] management. We did not encounter any as usual and uh that also we would report

[13:03] there are some problems with cooperation with uh gaining full access to the

[13:08] records. There are none. One of the things that I always talk to clients

[13:11] about is when we request something and they get it right back to us, it gives

[13:17] me warm fuzzies. It takes time to make things up and uh

[13:23] and you're uh you're uh accounting staff and and

[13:29] people here are very competent and they always respond immediately with respect

[13:35] to any requests that we have. So it's always a it's always a a wonderful

[13:39] thing. Makes the audit go easier, makes the world go around better. Um

[13:47] we as in our financial statement audits there's basically a few questions that

[13:52] we uh are are responsible for answering. One are the financial statements free of

[13:57] material misstatements and we have uh issued an unmodified opinion and as

[14:03] you're probably aware that's the highest opinion as auditors that we can give uh

[14:08] that assures that the financial statements are presented uh fairly in

[14:12] all material respects. We also talk about internal controls over financial

[14:16] reporting. Uh that they're uh adequately designed and operating effectively. We

[14:22] didn't find any uh instances of material non-compliance or uh material weaknesses

[14:30] uh during the course of our audit. And then finally, did the city of Levenworth

[14:36] comply in all material respects with financial rel related laws and

[14:40] regulations and and in conjunction with that with uh compliance over the grants

[14:46] and uh there was no non-compliance uh with federal laws that we became aware

[14:52] of. Everything looked very good. Um

[14:58] we are also uh talk about there's other things that we bring to the attention of

[15:05] uh uh management and the governing body again cyber security as something that's

[15:11] ongoing. We had it last year we or two years ago I'm not sure if we had it last

[15:16] year but uh it comes up it's an ongoing issue as we all know. Uh so that's

[15:21] something we always recommend you uh monitor and come up with strategies to

[15:26] protect the information and the systems of the city. Also, there's future county

[15:32] pronouncements. There's only two new ones at this point. Uh but I don't think

[15:38] that they're going to impact or materially affect the city's financial

[15:42] statements uh going forward. Um, and I think with that, uh, we certainly again,

[15:49] as always, are very grateful to the city of Levvenworth, to, uh, the mayor and

[15:54] commission for all of your work. And I guess doubling back a little bit, uh, I

[16:01] know last year you you announced that you for 30 years you've gotten the

[16:04] certificate, had another year, so now it's 31 and

[16:08] we're going for 32 or you're going for 32. Uh again that's a a great reflection

[16:14] on the staff on Andrew and all the staff and of course Robera subsequently

[16:20] » very it's it's it is a joy working with the city and uh enjoy it every year. So

[16:26] thank you and with that is there any questions I I

[16:30] » any questions for the >> auditors?

[16:34] No explanatory. Thank you. Yeah, I just

[16:38] would like to give one minute of context just because in the past few weeks we

[16:42] talked so much about budget and and you know we go through CIP and we get

[16:46] through the budgeting and and all the goal process which is super important of

[16:50] course and it's all forward facing and it gives us the direction and the

[16:54] guidance and the authority to spend city resources. Uh, but I'd submit to you

[16:58] that what you see here and we don't talk about as much um is is incredibly

[17:05] critical and though you don't see it much, this is a validation of everything

[17:09] that u that your staff has been doing and throughout the year ongoing um

[17:15] perpetually. Uh we speak to the the cycle of accounting and so um it's a

[17:19] it's a it's a big deal to have our third party and our partners at Hood to come

[17:23] out and they've been out here since 2021. uh to really help uh validate all

[17:29] the things that we do and put together. Uh this is a very meaty document and so

[17:33] if you haven't seen it, you know, before, if you're unfamiliar with it, um

[17:36] it's posted to the website. It's here in front of you. If you have questions, you

[17:40] know, please reach out and and we'd like to walk you through it if you need to.

[17:45] Um because there there's a lot to it. Uh but again, very critical. Uh and it it

[17:50] does it speaks to the the validity of what we have been doing as a staff uh to

[17:55] make sure that everything is legal, proper and correct. But

[17:58] » yeah, we appreciate Michael and >> everything that you you do.

[18:02] » Yeah, I said if you do have any questions, you can contact myself,

[18:07] Michael. Um you can reach out to Andrew. He has our emails, phone numbers, always

[18:13] available to answer any questions that may come up at any time. So

[18:17] » great. >> Thank you very much. Appreciate it. Have

[18:19] a good evening. >> Thank you.

[18:21] » Okay. Next item on the agenda, resolution B 2427,

[18:26] Kansas Municipal Investment Pool user update.

[18:34] » Uh you have before you this uh or this what you call KNIP. Uh this is the pool

[18:40] investment pool. Currently, we're not using this uh that much. We do have we

[18:45] have $100,000 uh in it right now to keep it active, but generally we will go out

[18:50] for bid to local financial institutions if we have money that is at rest and

[18:56] that we'll put those in, you know, CDs or investment opportunities. Um but the

[19:00] municipal investment pool is available to us as well as another outlet to you

[19:06] know park those uh funds that are not being used at the moment. Uh so we do

[19:11] move money in and out of there. what you have before you is really just what I

[19:14] would call a uh like a point of contact update uh since Roberto has retired um

[19:21] adding myself in as the director and adding uh Rhonda as the deputy. So this

[19:26] is really just speaking to who has access to access this system and so

[19:30] that's what's before you today. >> Okay,

[19:33] it's pretty simple simple. Any questions?

[19:38] » I will entertain a motion then. I will move to update the authorized users for

[19:44] Kib access to uh Andrew C finance director, Rhonda Miller, deputy finance

[19:49] director, Diana Gregory, senior accountant, and updating the depositor

[19:53] contact to Diana Gregory, senior accountant.

[19:56] » Second. Is there a second? >> Second.

[19:58] » Okay, it's been moved and seconded. Please be begin voting with Commissioner

[20:01] Maxwell. >> I

[20:03] » I >> I

[20:04] » I >> All right. Thank you. safety.

[20:07] » Next item, consider award for bid of firewall replacement project.

[20:16] » Good evening.

[20:21] » Madame Mayor, commissioners, good evening.

[20:24] We come before you tonight with two IT technical projects uh for your

[20:30] consideration. The first one's firewalls, and I'm going to let Jack

[20:33] talk about that. >> Okay. Thank you, Margaret. Madame Mayor,

[20:37] commissioners, uh, tonight we're coming for you for you to approve the vendor

[20:41] that we selected for the firewall upgrade. Uh, this is a program that you

[20:47] guys have already approved and we just wanted to go over who we picked.

[20:51] » Okay. >> Uh, so we issued a RFP. We got six

[20:56] responses, two of which were in the budget. Um, the range of bids was

[21:01] between 55 and 250,000. Um based on that criteria, we

[21:07] interviewed uh two of the providers and selected RTI. Um

[21:14] RTI there was two companies that met our requirements for the hardware and for

[21:19] the support u but having interviewed with them uh face to face. RTI gave us

[21:24] the better impression. They're interested in building a relationship

[21:27] with us, not just selling us something and and disappearing. Um, and they have

[21:32] local support out of Kansas City. They have an office there, so we don't have

[21:35] to wait very long if we ever need them to come in person. Um, the current

[21:41] equipment is end of life, uh, October of this year, so we hope to get them

[21:46] started as soon as possible. Um

[21:52] staff recommends the city commission approve the purchase of four forinet

[21:56] firewalls awarding the contract to Riverside Technology also known as RTI

[22:00] in the amount of $105,27944

[22:05] the purchase implementation and initial 5-year licensing and one-year managed

[22:09] services of the Forinet firewall solution

[22:14] the whole thing staff issued an RFP evaluated the

[22:18] responses received and determined that RTI provides the best overall value

[22:22] based on technical capabilities, implementation approach, vendor

[22:25] qualifications, ongoing support and cost.

[22:30] » Okay.

[22:34] Um, generally we get lists of the bids is not not in here.

[22:41] » Was the bid tab not in there? >> No,

[22:45] » I apologize for that. We can certainly get that to you all if that's um

[22:48] » but just it's just something that's good to review.

[22:50] » Absolutely. >> What the other bids were like that came

[22:53] in and where they were from. >> Yes, ma'am.

[22:58] » So, any any questions on this?

[23:06] » Is but I'm not going to grill them on this.

[23:10] Um I noticed in there you guys these are

[23:13] high availability 40et firewalls. >> Yes.

[23:16] » Are you guys do we have a backup in case one of these fails or I mean is there

[23:20] going to be one? >> So it's in each set we have two two

[23:23] pairs at each location. >> Okay.

[23:29] » I don't have any other questions. >> Okay. Any other questions on this?

[23:35] » All right. Well, um, that being said, I guess, uh, we're open to a motion.

[23:44] I'll motion that the city commission approve the purchase of four Fordinet

[23:47] firewalls awarding the contract to Riverside Technology in the amount of

[23:52] 100 thou $15,0002 oh my gosh $15,27944

[23:59] the purpose implementation and initial 5-year licensing and one-year managed

[24:03] services of the Fordet firewall solution.

[24:05] » I'll second. >> Okay, it's been moved and seconded.

[24:08] Please voting Commissioner Wilson. Hi, >> I

[24:11] » I >> I

[24:12] » I >> All right. Thank you.

[24:13] » Thank you. Our second um item before you this evening is

[24:19] replacing the AV in this room. >> Yes.

[24:24] » And it's timely. Uh we also

[24:28] put an RFP out on the streets and the um IT city manager and the PI office

[24:35] collaborated came up with some criteria for what we wanted. The main thing was

[24:40] an easy button to start and stop meetings and this solution will provide

[24:45] that for us. Uh as you know this system has been put together over time uh and a

[24:53] lot of the pieces have decided not to work. the last couple of meetings

[25:00] as we went through uh the companies. I did not put a bid tab in here either,

[25:04] but I'll provide that for you >> tomorrow as well. Okay.

[25:08] » Um our scoring, we came up with uh two vendors that were within our um budget,

[25:15] the two best vendors that we had in our budget. We interviewed them. They have

[25:21] the same platform for hardware and software and replacing

[25:26] microphones. >> Okay.

[25:30] » So, staff recommends approving the selection of vision link AV for

[25:36] replacing the commission room audiovisisual project at a cost of

[25:40] 59,93943.

[25:46] » Who was the second bid? You have a second consideration.

[25:50] » Um, who did we interview?

[25:54] » We interviewed Vision Link and we interviewed.

[26:02] » I'll get that for you. >> Okay.

[26:04] » We'll send we'll send the bid tabs for these projects to you guys.

[26:06] » Okay. This what it's going to look like.

[26:09] » Yeah. I was turn I noticed that too. I was like

[26:13] » that was their marketing. >> Oh, we figured as much. Um, so the

[26:19] improvements, I mean, you could talk about the improvements here, but how is

[26:22] it going to be an improvement over what we have now?

[26:26] » There will be one box in the back um called a CQIS. It's the CUCIs platform,

[26:31] okay, that will manage uh all the streaming and all the audio coming in

[26:35] and out of here. We're replacing the mic bases and the mic arms. We're going to

[26:40] continue to hook them up through cables. but gives us a more stable uh

[26:48] a more stable microphone. We're not worried about batteries in wireless

[26:53] mics. We're going to add two mics on the um DIS for commission uh planning

[26:58] commission meetings. So, we aren't moving mics around. Okay.

[27:01] » We're going to permanently fix them to the tables.

[27:04] » There will be two tablets involved in this and and those tablets will be what

[27:11] controls the meetings. So there'll be a wireless connectivity to the CUCAs

[27:15] system. We'll also have a a Microsoft Teams PC.

[27:21] All the meetings will uh run through Teams. So if a commissioner

[27:26] » That would be great. >> is not available.

[27:28] » That's what I was hoping for. >> Yep. If a commissioner is not available,

[27:32] there'll be a link to join a Microsoft Teams meeting and that'll be up on the

[27:37] TVs. It's a one start button system to start and stop and a button to start the

[27:44] recording. Uh I'm pretty confident that it's going

[27:49] to really change how we're able to support our meetings in this room.

[27:53] » Good. That's what that's what I wanted to know.

[27:56] » But we still have somebody that's contracted to go back there and run

[27:59] that. What's the plan there? We we we're working out the personnel side of it,

[28:03] but yes, there will be somebody back there operating it.

[28:07] » I saw that there's going to be like receivers for hearing uh the hearing

[28:12] impaired. >> Yes.

[28:13] » Like how many will we have? That's pretty cool.

[28:16] » We're adding one initially. >> Okay.

[28:18] » Of the receiver and one headset. >> Okay.

[28:21] » And if we find need for more, it's a simple order some more and we'll have

[28:26] them. >> Yeah. My only other question was I see

[28:28] that's $249 per month. Is that like comparable? Like what do we pay now

[28:33] monthly or is it not monthly? >> Uh we pay for support I believe it's

[28:38] almost 7,000 a year. >> Okay.

[28:42] » Um so this will be a lot less.

[28:48] » Okay. Any other questions? I'm excited. >> I'm excited

[28:52] » if this is approved. What's the timeline to get started?

[28:55] » Just going to ask that. >> Yeah. when I have a know there's a

[28:58] signature I'll reach out to them tomorrow and

[29:01] » you have the signature already. >> So I'll reach out to them in the morning

[29:06] first thing and um >> get the order started.

[29:10] » Yes. >> And what's the time frame? How long will

[29:12] it take? >> I I I really don't know, Joe, until they

[29:15] tell us how long. >> Okay.

[29:17] » So I don't think this should be too too bad, but um

[29:22] » I'm looking for >> I don't know until they tell me.

[29:24] » Are they replacing all the cameras? new. >> Yeah, we replace cameras. We're adding

[29:29] new speakers in the hall. We're changing the speakers here for the back behind

[29:33] us. >> Uh it's really a forklift upgrade. Uh

[29:38] what we really liked about this uh install is we're going to build it

[29:44] side by side and there shouldn't be any >> Oh, no downtime

[29:49] » in this room. Okay. >> Okay. That's what I was curious about.

[29:51] » Yeah. Yeah, that'd be great. Sounds good. I'm excited.

[29:56] » I believe the reason that we don't have an exact time frame on on when it'll be

[30:00] completed is just waiting on the the the equipment to come in.

[30:04] » The actual construction piece is only going to be a week or two, I believe.

[30:07] » Right. >> And that was more of my question. I

[30:08] guess I should have phrased that better. >> All right. Any other questions?

[30:15] » If not, I'll entertain a motion. I'll make a motion to approve the selection

[30:18] of VIS link AV for the commission room audiovisisual upgrade project at a total

[30:23] cost of $59,93943.

[30:28] » I'll second moved and second. Please begin voting. Mr.

[30:31] » I >> I

[30:32] » I >> I

[30:33] » Thank you guys so much. >> Mayor, one note on that project. As you

[30:38] as you mentioned, we're having some technical difficulties the last couple

[30:42] meetings. Um, I'm if you guys are okay with it, I'm going to ask the IT team to

[30:46] kind of do what they can with duct tape and bubble gum until we get the new

[30:50] system in, but I don't really want to throw a bunch of money like saying a

[30:52] system we're going to throw away. >> Um, I I would ask for yours and the

[30:56] public's patience that we may have some >> some not properly functioning items for

[31:01] the next couple months. >> Sounds fine. Thank you. And you'll

[31:04] you'll have your signature.

[31:08] Okay, next item on the agenda, storm water. Consider award of design services

[31:14] contract for storm water projects.

[31:31] » Okay.

[31:37] here. Thank you, madam mayor and commissioners. Uh this item is to

[31:40] consider the award of design services with BG consultants for three storm

[31:45] water projects. Uh this will result in three shovel ready project when funding

[31:51] is available. Uh engineering staff did a review of our large list of storm water

[31:56] projects. Uh some projects we can design inhouse as city staff uh but some are

[32:01] more complex and we do need an engineer for that design. Uh this single design

[32:06] contract will consist of developing three individual projects

[32:11] um that will be bid at three different times. The first project is a 1213

[32:16] Kikapoo. Uh we have a failing pipe under the road. We have a fairly large

[32:22] settlement on the one side of the road. We have some issues downstream and

[32:26] upstream. It's a CMP, so we know those rust out.

[32:32] Um, and if we do not do something quickly, we will be forced to close the

[32:36] road. The second project is the second phase of our 6th Avenue in

[32:42] Walnut. We've had the residents come to the commission and talk about this

[32:46] project. As you can see here, this pretty close to the foundation of some

[32:51] homes. We consider this a high priority project. uh to make sure we can protect

[32:56] those foundations. Uh the third project is on 12th between

[33:01] Dakota and uh Pony. If you've been on that street on the east side of the

[33:06] street, the ground gets very steep. We get an accumulation of mud and leaves on

[33:12] that side of the street. Public works goes out there a couple times a year

[33:16] with a skid loader to scrape off all the mud. And this is where people park. We

[33:20] consider this a medium priority project. um it's just really flat right there.

[33:25] And so that design would involve survey work and actually trying to tilt the

[33:29] road a little bit much more to force that water to move. So okay,

[33:33] » we would consider that a medium project. >> Um total engineering fee for the three

[33:38] projects is not to exceed 60,000 in the contract. It actually breaks out the

[33:44] cost for each one and the funding is available in our storm water fund. The

[33:48] staff recommends the city commission authorize the mayor to sign a design

[33:52] services contract with BG Consultants in an amount not to exceed 60,000.

[33:58] » Okay. >> Yeah. Can you answer any questions?

[34:00] » Gosh. Yeah. People will be glad to see that. Especially the ones over on

[34:04] » the Sixth Avenue. Go ahead. I was going to ask the same question.

[34:07] » Yeah. >> Go ahead, Joe.

[34:10] » The Sixth Avenue and Walnut project. I mean, are we concerned or how concerned

[34:14] are we that the foundation of those homes are going to be impacted if we

[34:18] don't move quick? >> If we don't do something fairly quickly,

[34:20] we're concerned. Um, we did on the north side of the road here this past year,

[34:24] extended piping and worked on that. Um, and that was an in-house project. Um,

[34:31] this is something with again with the proximity the foundations, we want to

[34:34] make sure we do it right. Um, and so we're not concerned at the moment. I

[34:39] mean the residents are concerned but if we don't do something there'll continue

[34:43] to be erosion at the at the foundations. >> When do we think that is this like 2027

[34:49] projects the funding might be available or would

[34:52] » Yeah, we we would have money in 2027 for this. You know the challenge we talked

[34:56] about in the last work session was funding.

[34:59] » Yeah. >> When we found out industrial park we had

[35:01] a $300,000 um right

[35:04] » piping thing. Things come up all the time. The first two we would consider

[35:08] high priority because of road closure and damage to homes,

[35:12] » right? >> So, we would we would push those to the

[35:14] front of the list, >> but it's not going to be this year.

[35:19] » Okay. Any other questions? >> You know, I like the first two. The

[35:24] third one, is there another pipe we can do or something?

[35:28] » This one is just a nice We spend a lot of time out there.

[35:32] » Okay. >> I mean, that's from a public works

[35:34] perspective. the people get really frustrated with the mud that continues

[35:37] to to build up on the roadway. Like I said, we said medium priority. This is

[35:41] just to get the design again shovel ready. And so if there's a point in time

[35:46] where we we need to pull a a project off, we can do that.

[35:50] » Is it just a erosion from that slope?

[35:55] » There's a tremend It's very steep right there and it's a continuous flow of mud

[36:00] onto the street. You look at the side. I mean, they got grass growing there. Just

[36:04] it's just so flat and and so steep.

[36:12] » And if if if need be we can pull that one off. We did separate out the cost.

[36:16] » Not too far from your house. >> That that is a a resident complaint one

[36:21] that we get quite a bit on. Um, so we we tried our best to or I should say public

[36:25] work tried their best to find projects that were a necessity from the city

[36:29] standpoint, but also a necessity from the resident standpoint. So,

[36:33] » yeah. >> Okay.

[36:34] » So, 60 60,000 is just for the design. We have no idea what it's going to cost to

[36:39] repair. >> Not at this point. No,

[36:43] » each one is roughly 20,000 from design perspective.

[36:47] » Okay. As part of the design, we do get an

[36:50] opinion the probable cost. And so with that design, the engineer will give us

[36:56] this is what it should cost to do the project.

[36:58] » Okay. >> I mean, you're not saying that the third

[37:01] project is necessarily number three in order. It's just the third one you want

[37:04] to add to this pool for designs, >> right?

[37:07] » You're not saying that the third project is your third priority. You're just

[37:11] saying that this is what you want to add to the pool for designs because there's

[37:14] some others you can do inhouse and things like that.

[37:17] » Right. There's a lot we can do in house. Even the one in in industrial park, I

[37:21] mean, it's just a huge project, but we have as plans that were done before the

[37:27] was built. We can follow those and just lay those right in.

[37:30] » Okay, that makes sense. Okay, any other questions?

[37:36] If not, I'll entertain a motion. make a motion to authorize the mayor sign a

[37:40] contract or to sign a design service contract with B&G Consultants for the

[37:46] three storm water improvement projects in the amount of $60,000.

[37:50] » I'll second move and second. Please begin voting. Mr. Wilson,

[37:53] » I >> I

[37:54] » I >> I

[37:55] » I >> Thank you. Okay.

[38:00] Oh, you're still here. The next Sorry. >> Good. Uh, consider next item on the

[38:08] agenda. Consider approval of final change order and acceptance.

[38:12] » Uh, you skipped the >> I skipped the other one. Consider

[38:14] issuance of a certificate of substantial completion for fire station number three

[38:18] project. >> Again, thank you, Madame Mayor. Um, in

[38:23] July for history, in July of 2023, the city commission approve approved a

[38:28] agreement with Julius College Construction for the initial design of

[38:32] the project. Uh in September of 2024, the city commission approved an

[38:36] amendment uh to the contract for construction of the building. Uh the

[38:42] building was substantially complete on June 18th and the ribbon heading was

[38:45] held last Monday. Uh there are a couple issues or items left to be completed uh

[38:51] that are listed in the certificate of substantial completion. Uh these items

[38:56] are in work and are included in the certificate. Staff recommends the

[39:00] commission approve the certificate of substantial completion with Julia

[39:04] Scott's construction for fire station number three effective June 18, 2026,

[39:10] including the list of items to be completed and to authorize the public

[39:13] works director to sign the certificate. And as a as an add-on to that, of the

[39:19] five items, three have been completed between the time we got the certificate

[39:23] and today. So, >> okay. Is this like a normal thing that

[39:28] like I don't for us ever doing a certificate like for a building is that

[39:32] » for a long very large project like >> okay that makes completion

[39:37] » there was so many >> parts to it

[39:40] » we do it a lot for design build and design bid build projects

[39:43] » got okay any other questions

[39:49] very excited about this take a motion please

[39:54] » make a you want me to do it or you do >> do it do it

[39:58] » make A motion to approve the certificate of substantial completion with Julius

[40:01] Cause construction for fire station number three effective June 18th, 2026,

[40:06] including list of the items to be completed and to authorize public works

[40:10] director to sign the certificate. >> I'll second moved and seconded. Please

[40:14] begin voting with Commissioner Maxwell. >> I

[40:18] » I >> I

[40:19] » I >> thank you.

[40:21] » Madam Mayor, I got to recuse myself. >> Okay.

[40:25] Next item on the agenda, consider approval of final change order and

[40:28] acceptance of concrete inter intersection reconstruction projects.

[40:34] » Uh the 2026 payment management program uh there was three components to it. One

[40:38] of the components was to reconstruct two concrete intersections. Uh those are

[40:43] 18th and Ottawa and 20th and Dakota. Uh construction began uh on the

[40:48] intersection of 18th and Ottawa on June 8th and that intersection was open June

[40:53] 6 the 26th. The 20th Dakota intersection was closed on June 29th and it was

[40:59] reopened on July 16th. Uh the base bid for the contract is 195,635

[41:06] with possible increases to 236,135 with contingencies and incentives for

[41:13] opening the intersection early. the contractor did meet the incentives

[41:18] and the only other item was for an electronic message board stating that we

[41:23] were closing the road unlike 10 and limit.

[41:26] » That was a good thing. >> Um so the total project cost ended up

[41:30] being at 217,885.

[41:34] Uh the city commission reviews change orders and usually makes a formal

[41:38] acceptance of a construction project of this type and magnitude. Once the

[41:42] project is accepted, we will issue a notice of acceptance, and that starts

[41:46] our 2-year warranty period. The staff does recommend the city commission

[41:50] approve the final change order to the 2026 concrete intersection

[41:55] reconstruction project in the amount of 22,250

[41:59] and grant acceptance of the project. >> Okay.

[42:02] » I don't know if you've driven the the road, but they're really

[42:09] » Okay. Any questions? I'll make a motion that um the city

[42:15] commission approve the final change order for the 2026 concrete intersection

[42:19] reconstruction project in the amount of $22,250

[42:22] and grant acceptance of the project. >> I have a second.

[42:26] » Second. >> Okay. Been moved and seconded. Please

[42:29] begin voting. Commissioner Wilson. >> I I

[42:38] four eyes and one abstension. All right. Next item on the agenda.

[42:47] First consideration, ordinance to levy special assessments for news nuisance

[42:52] base, nuisance abatement costs. Madame, mayor, commissioners, before you this

[42:58] evening is an ordinance to levy special assessments to recover the city's costs

[43:01] for nuisance abatement activities to include mowing, tree removal, lot

[43:04] cleanup, and the associated administrative fees. The city code proh

[43:08] uh provides the authority to the city to abate these nuisances when property

[43:12] owners fail to do so as well as to recover the costs incurred. After the

[43:16] city performs the work, property owners are invoiced and provided at minimum 30

[43:20] days to make payment. In many cases, um we have had to mow the properties

[43:25] multiple times. We do send out monthly statements for non-payment. So the time

[43:29] frame for this set of um nuisances is from July 2025 to June 30 of 2026. So in

[43:36] many cases more than 30 days to make payment have been given. Um so the

[43:41] ordinance before you includes unpaid nuisance statements. Um and staff is

[43:45] requesting consensus to place this on first consideration so that we can

[43:48] recover the outstanding costs through tax uh special assessment.

[43:52] » So okay so these goes into lean. >> Yes.

[43:56] » The total on this is 83,000. >> Are these published anywhere?

[44:01] » So paper. >> It will be published in the paper. Um at

[44:04] this time people can still make payment to the city um after we um do second

[44:08] consideration and publish it another time. Um the county clerk does give us a

[44:13] cut off where they will no longer accept payment to have them removed. So at that

[44:16] point they're stuck on the property. >> So what happens is that these are then

[44:20] certified to the county treasurer who puts these on the if they aren't paid

[44:24] that puts these on the tax bills. So the tax bills come out in November um and

[44:28] then they are due and payable just as long with the taxes. And then from

[44:31] there, if they are not paid, then it's you're you're in essentially the

[44:35] equivalent of a tax foreclosure matter. Um, so then

[44:38] » they pay their taxes and not the >> No, they No, they they're not no no they

[44:42] I mean, well, they could, but they would still owe whatever they owed and they

[44:45] would still be in the foreclosure process for not having paid all their

[44:48] taxes, but then the county would start a foreclosure process at that point. And

[44:52] then, you know, then that does take a while after that point. And we've seen

[44:55] that before where foreclosure goes through and two years later, you know,

[45:00] somebody it goes to the sale on the courthouse steps and a buyer comes in

[45:04] and they're they know that they have to pay these taxes or they don't. If the

[45:08] bid comes in low, um then the county and the other tax jurisdictions, they share

[45:13] whatever they can get out of the proceeds from it.

[45:16] » So this is the amount that will if they don't pay it for each of these, this is

[45:21] the amount that will go on >> that will show up on their tax bill.

[45:23] Okay? in addition to their regular property tax

[45:26] » to the regular tax which they should be paying because that's the law.

[45:29] » I mean this is an extensive list. >> Yeah, it is a little

[45:32] » I'm just looking at this and we've got some of these people who haven't paid

[45:35] the city who are sitting on our boards and things.

[45:38] » Uhhuh. >> Is that I mean I I don't know if that's

[45:41] » We do not currently have a requirement that you be

[45:45] » Yeah. >> Okay.

[45:50] All right. This one requires a consensus. Is there consensus to move

[45:54] forward with this? >> Yeah, a lot of money.

[45:57] » It is. >> Yes.

[45:58] » Okay. Thank you. All right. Um I guess I didn't ask if there were any

[46:05] other questions. You guys I think >> um next item is the consent agenda.

[46:09] » I a motion to accept the consent agenda as follows. claims for July 10, 2026

[46:15] through July 23, 2026 in the amount of 1,296,32141.

[46:25] Net amount for payroll 14 effective July 10, 2026 in the amount of $519,74825.

[46:33] No police and fire pension. >> I'll second.

[46:36] » Okay. Been moved and seconded. Please begin voting. Commissioner Maxwell,

[46:39] » I >> I

[46:40] » I >> I

[46:41] » I >> Thank you. Okay, ready to go around the

[46:44] room. Scott, do you have anything? >> Uh, only thing I had, um, I got a call

[46:48] from Joel Monkin, the water director, uh, today. Um, he extended an invite to

[46:53] all five of you to tour their facility. Um, really any timing that you guys

[46:58] want. Um, he's willing to do it in two by twos, so we don't, um, have any coma

[47:02] violations there. Um, just so that that's really all I have.

[47:08] » If you're interested, let me know. Sorry.

[47:10] » Yeah, he has the two facilities. He's got

[47:13] » He does. Yeah, >> I've been out to toured the other one,

[47:15] the one outside of town. >> I'm sure he would do either one.

[47:20] » That was fascinating. I haven't done the down.

[47:22] » The north one is going to go away. So, I would probably do the south one, but

[47:28] » I Yeah, we did. We did it together. Yeah.

[47:33] » Give him a call. Exciting.

[47:36] » It is. It's It's really interesting. Thank Thank you.

[47:39] » Um, anything else? >> It's all good.

[47:41] » Okay. Thank you to the city for opening up the

[47:44] cooling center because it's extremely hot out there. Everybody take care of

[47:48] yourselves. Just watch it in this heat. >> That's all I got.

[47:52] » Okay. >> Yeah. Um prep committee is going really

[47:56] well. Hopefully we'll have something for you guys by the second meeting in

[48:00] August. And we're we're zooming along and I think that's about it.

[48:04] » Okay. Thank you. >> I don't have anything.

[48:09] Um, so this weekend was hot and they still went ahead with Main Street, went

[48:14] ahead with their concert and I just want to give Commissioner Hollister a little

[48:19] shout out. She and my husband and um, Ken Baitman had to lift these four heavy

[48:25] generators and I saw >> Oh gosh.

[48:27] » Commissioner Hollister deadlift like 220 lbs.

[48:31] » I was quite impressed crossfit. >> It was Yeah, I saw that crossfit payoff.

[48:37] But in >> Thank you. But yeah, it's nice to see it

[48:40] was nice to see commissioners down there even in the heat and um staying to the

[48:44] end and volunteering and doing the work that nobody wants to do or no one sees

[48:48] you doing. >> Um and I was in heels so I didn't do

[48:50] anything. >> I can't confirm.

[48:53] » I kept I grabbed the light I did grab the light stuff. I did grab the lights.

[48:57] » You were encouraging. So >> I was extremely So thank you for that um

[49:00] behind the scenes. >> Thank you.

[49:03] » Well, and I'm driving now after my surgery. So, I wanted just wanted to

[49:07] thank everybody that helped me get around to the city events and around to

[49:11] the other other things that I needed to go to here in the city.

[49:14] » Miss Nancy. >> Yes. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you to

[49:18] everybody. It's it's really um wonderful to live in a community where people help

[49:23] each other and and I really do appreciate that. Other than that, we

[49:28] have the next item on the agenda. We have a um an executive session. There

[49:33] will be no business afterwards. Um, so how long are we going to need this? Is

[49:38] » 20 minutes early. Is that good for you? 20 minutes.

[49:41] » Yeah, 20 minutes. >> Okay.

[49:44] Um, I move the city commission recess into executive session for the period of

[49:48] 20 minutes for the purpose of discussing security measures pursuant to the

[49:52] discussion of matters relating to security measures that protect a public

[49:56] body or agency, public building or facility, or the information system of a

[50:01] public body or agency. Exception per Did you write this, David?

[50:07] KSA 75-4319B12C.

[50:13] The city commission, city manager, city attorney, director of information

[50:17] technology, and municipal services, IT manager will be present. The open

[50:21] meeting will resume in the city commission chambers at I cannot see.

[50:25] » 7:10 >> 7:10 p.m. I'll take a second.

[50:29] » Second. >> Been moved and second and please begin

[50:32] voting. Commissioner Wilson. I >> I

[50:34] » I >> Thank you.

[1:10:20] Oh, should I do I need to g back in >> 710?

[1:10:24] » Since she was using the restroom. >> Okay.

[1:10:26] » I mean, I guess you can. >> Well, I just didn't know if we had to

[1:10:29] wait. >> I don't want David to shoot.

[1:10:32] » You can always go long. You can't go short.

[1:10:34] » No, you can't really. >> No, you have to go exact side.

[1:10:37] » So, I do need a gallon. >> I would say just g back session and we

[1:10:40] can sit quietly. >> All right.

[1:10:43] » Okay. We're back in session and we will wait

[1:10:47] » for our lovely mayor.

[1:10:54] » It's pretty cool, isn't it? >> Know what it is, right?

[1:10:57] » Yeah. I got one uh when I was at the prep meeting. It's a coin for the

[1:11:01] dedication >> challenge coin.

[1:11:07] » Look up challenge coin per military. It's a huge military thing.

[1:11:15] » That's what it is.

[1:11:21] » That gives you the best description. >> I had to dig deep to remember what DVR

[1:11:27] was when Martin was talking about DVR. Hey. Hey.

[1:11:33] » I was like, DVR sounds familiar.

[1:11:38] » That hurts. >> That did hurt.

[1:11:40] » Well, I don't have cables. I

[1:11:43] » mean, DVR is still around. It's just >> That's for cable,

[1:11:46] » is it? >> Yeah. I mean, that's it's the same thing

[1:11:48] as using streaming or rewinding. >> Yeah, I guess. So, they don't call it

[1:11:52] that. I had I gave us back in, but we're just chilling.

[1:11:56] » Yeah, we still got a minute, though. Oh, we don't have a minute. We can go. We

[1:12:01] can go. Do I have a motion to adjurnn?

[1:12:04] » So move. >> All in favor? I we

[1:12:21] » see I have

Leavenworth City Commission Meeting for July 28, 2026

Transcript