[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