City Managers Report
The Honorable Mayor
and members of the City Council
City of Warrensburg, Missouri
Dear Mayor and Council Members:
SUBJECT: City Manager Report for the May 11, 2009 City Council Meeting
Council Letter No. 09-069
May 8, 2009
|
--G. Richard Rieger |
Inspire a Shared Vision
Challenge the Process
Enable Others to Act
Encourage the Heart
Model the Way
The quotation for this City Manager Report centers on the leadership concept of
"Encourage the Heart.”
City Council Meetings, Study Sessions, and Executive Sessions
Our next City Council Meeting is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. Monday, May 11, 2009, and we plan to have an Executive Session at 6:00 p.m. at the City Hall Annex just prior to the regular City Council Meeting. We anticipate that the Agenda for the 7:00 p.m. City Council Meeting will include the following:
- Resolution Authorizing the Payment of Bills;
- Resolution Authorizing a Warrensburg Task Force to Review Sports Tourism, Use of Joint Recreation Facilities, and a Possible Sports Authority;
- Resolution for Approval to make application to MoDOT for Hamilton Street;
- Proclamation for National Police Week;
- Demonstration of Fire Department Pre-Fire Planning Program;
- Second Reading of an Ordinance Adopting a Revision of the Annual Operating Budget for the Fiscal Year Beginning October 1, 2008 Ending September 30, 2009, for the City of Warrensburg, Missouri;
- Ordinance Approving a Contract for Engineering of the Downtown Revitalization Phase III (Pine Street) Project;
- Ordinance Authorizing a Contract for Water Service to the Animal Shelter;
- Ordinance Authorizing a Contract on the Sewer Lining Project;
- Ordinance Authorizing Change Order #1 with Straub;
- Ordinance Accepting the Southeast Sewer Districts Improvements and Making Final Payment on the Southeast Sewer Interceptor;
- Ordinance Accepting the Bike Route Project and Authorizing Final Payment;
- Ordinance on a Minor Plat of Civic Center Addition;
- Request from the Mayor to Discuss the Nancy Anderson/Stevenson Trust Fund:
- Mayoral Appointments to Boards and Commissions.
The City Clerk has arranged for pictures of the City Council either before or after this meeting. Please dress as you seem appropriate and smile big.
It is anticipated that the second Council meeting in May will be a Goal Setting Study Session to review the City Council Goals, Objectives and Action Steps for 2009-2010. Your adopted financial policies note that:
“In late May or Early June, before the preliminary budget numbers are completed by the department directors, the City Manager conducts a Council Retreat. The retreat is attended by the Council, City Manager and Department Directors. This retreat provides an opportunity for the City Manager to present preliminary guidelines to the Council for their concurrence as well as to set priorities for the coming budget year. Department Directors present major topics to the Council for their input. Council should also express their views on what priorities should be in the budget.”
Some Council members plan to be on vacation during the first week in June and the Regional MML meeting is scheduled in Slater on Thursday evening May 28. Possible dates to meet for the annual goal setting session might be Tuesday, May 26 or Wednesday, May 27. Please let me, Cindy or Jacquie know the date and time that works best for you and we will try to make the arrangement.
Possible items for the June 8, 2009 City Council Agenda include:
- Resolution Authorizing the Payment of Bills;
- Resolution by the Parks Board and the City Council on Policies;
- Presentation by Archer on the Inflow & Infiltration Study;
- Second Reading of an Ordinance Creating a Tree Board;
- Second Reading of an Ordinance Regarding Amateur Radio Services;
- Ordinance Authorizing a Change Order for the Waste Water Treatment Plant Project;
- Ordinance Authorizing a Contract with Archer Engineers for an Inflow & Infiltration Study;
- Ordinance Authorizing an Agreement for Iron Horse Phase II;
- Ordinance Authorizing an Agreement with OATS, Inc. for Old Drum Public Transportation;
- Ordinance Authorizing a Contract for Engineering Services for Hamilton St;
- Ordinance Authorizing a Contract for Engineering Services for Lake Ridge;
- Appearance of Joel Urdang to discuss smoking issues; and a discussion of a proposed public smoking ban ordinance.
New Public Works Director Appointed by City Manager
I am pleased to announce the appointment of R. Michael Batie as the City’s new Public Works Director. The following are excerpts from the press release that went out on Friday on this important Warrensburg senior management position:
“The City went through a nation wide search and an extensive process to select Mr. Batie. Out of 55 Public Works Director Applicants, five final candidates participated in an intensive day long assessment process.
City Manager Jeff Hancock stated today that “With his demonstrated education and experience, Mr. Batie clearly has the ability to not only move the Public Works Department forward, but also has the skills and abilities to oversee the City’s existing $52 million five year capital improvement program. He will be a great asset and should benefit the total City and region and has the personality to build positive relationships to assist the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) existing and upcoming Warrensburg area projects including the construction of MoDOT’s $60 million Highway 13 East-Loop project.”
Mr. Batie is currently the Project Manager for the geotechnical division for Grubbs, Hoskyn, Barton & Wyatt, Inc., consulting engineers in Little Rock, Arkansas.
Over his career Michael Batie has worked as Director of Public Works Department for the City of Little Rock, Arkansas, Director of Public Works Department for the City of Fayetteville, Arkansas and Chief of Civil Engineering, Public Works Department in Little Rock, Arkansas.
He has approximately 30 plus years of experience in design, construction, technical services, engineering office management and supervision of technical and administrative staff. His professional experience includes private projects both international and domestic of over $27 million in construction costs.
Mr. Batie was awarded ‘National Regional Engineer’ for the City of Little Rock, Arkansas in 1999 and has also served as American Public Works Association – Arkansas State President and President of the Little Rock Engineers Club- President.
Mr. Batie has a Master of Science Degree in Civil Engineering from the University of Arkansas and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock and Fayetteville, Arkansas and is certified as a professional engineer and a floodplain manager.
Mr. Batie will begin his duties with the City of Warrensburg on June 8, 2009.”
Council Communication and Projects
You have communicated to City staff, as a group or individually, requests for information on certain issues. The following are some of those items:
Survey of Restaurants/ Bars and Additional Smoking Ban Information
The City Council voted to raise the smoking issue in restaurants and bars in April from a medium level to a high level. At the last City Council meeting the City Council received a completed survey ascertaining what City restaurants and bars presently allow or disallow in regard to smoking and if they do allow smoking and what additional restrictions they provide. We have enclosed additional information for your review. This include: minutes from the Hospitality Committee of the Warrensburg Partners in Prevention, Surgeon General Report, a 2008 St. Louis Federal Reserve Report on the Economic Impact of a Smoking Ban in Columbia, Missouri, a summary from of the effects on Smokers of Boston’s Smoke free-Bar Ordinance, and a summary list description of smoking bans in Missouri.
We are receiving quite a bit of discussion on this issue and individuals and groups are requesting to speak before the City Council. Councilperson Dyer has suggested that a public meeting take place to obtain comment from citizens at the upcoming June 8 City Council Meeting. We are available and ready to proceed as the City Council’s direction.
Information on Possible Second Reading of Ordinance Creating a Tree Board
At the March 23, City Council meeting city staff placed on the agenda for first reading an “Ordinance Creating a Tree Board in the City of Warrensburg, Missouri, and Regulating the Planting, Maintenance and Removal of Trees, Shrubs, and Other Plants within the City.” At that time, concern was expressed by the City Council on the administration and possible bureaucracy of said ordinance. As a result, city staff went back and attempted to redesign the ordinance to meet City Council concerns. Attached is a new draft redline ordinance for review.
The new ordinance places administrative control with a committee of department heads and removes the provisions referencing ANSI. It also clarifies that this ordinance does not expand control of private trees beyond what is currently in effect under the City Code. Again we left the revisions in redline form so that the City Council can see what has changed.
I did not want to rush this ordinance to the table without your comment. Please review and provide any thoughts you may have. If there is no major objection or revision, we plan to place this new ordinance on a June City Council Meeting Agenda for your review and possible action.
Efforts to Market and Communicate Good News on Warrensburg
In an effort to enhance our marketing efforts and support the City Council’s desire for city staff to keep releases on the web and issue press releases to the news media, we are now using a no cost intern with a master’s degree to help us in these efforts. Raghvendra Singh is now working with us as a public relations intern. He has recently written the following press releases:
Invest, Market and Grow: This press release highlighted City Manager, Jeff Hancock’s presentation to the Warrensburg Chamber of Commerce at the Chamber’s breakfast networking taken place on April 17, 2009 at the Community Center. The press release emphasized the three major issues of Hancock’s presentation, that being the kind of investment presently taking place in the community, need to market the community at the local and state level, and the opportunities coming to the Warrensburg community with its gradual growth.
Wal-Mart gives back to the community: This press release was about the donations Wal-Mart recently made to the City of Warrensburg for Old Drum public transportation and to the Warrensburg Police Department, which will be used by the department for arranging particular force training for their officers. (In regard to this press release, I talked with Mayor Jeff Terry, Bruce Howey-WPD Police Chief, Bryant Armstrong-Manager Wal-Mart and Michael Wilson, Assistant Manager Wal-Mart.)
Warrensburg Police Department reports decline in Liquor Law Violations : This press release highlighted WPD’s report on Liquor Law Violations, and how the 21 and over ordinance has actually helped the city create a safer environment, which can be reflected from the drop in the liquor law violations, as well as the decline in assaults due to consumption of alcohol. (In regard to this press release, I talked with Bruce Howey-WPD Police Chief, John Harrington- WPD Alcohol Compliance Coordinator and Jessica Rhodes- member WAPIP and executive director of Main Street Inc.)
Other Marketing Efforts
Mr. Singh is also currently working on an article for the Missouri Municipal League newsletter - Missouri Municipal Review. The article basically is a City Profile of Warrensburg and highlights many aspects of Warrensburg starting from its history to more current day and upcoming projects in the community. Katie Bradley, Missouri Municipal Review Editor has asked this article to be from 1500-2000 words and to be submitted with some high resolution photographs of the city.
Recent City Manager Activities, Meetings and Events
Since our last City Council meeting, your City Manager attended a Census Committee meeting, meet with Bob Crumb and the Public Works Project Managers, attended the Traffic Commission and spoke at a Chamber networking breakfast.
I also participated in our monthly KOKO radio show, spoke at a Parks and Tourism class on campus, and attended a Business Roundtable discussion and breakfast on campus and the Pioneer Trails Regional Planning Commission Board Meeting. From Wednesday April 22 through Friday, April 24, I attended the annual Missouri City Managers Conference at the Lake of the Ozarks.
Last week I met with representatives of First Baptist Church, discussed police grants with the Police Chief, worked with Barbara Carroll to prepare for the upcoming retail conference in Las Vegas, met with a regional solid waste planner, worked on the Hawthorne project, met with the budget team and attended a study session with the City Council.
This week I met with our new emergency management director, attended a city staff meeting and left on Monday to attend a funeral and be with wife on the death of her father.
Upcoming City Manager Activities, Meetings and Events
During the week of May 11 I will attend a census meeting, meet with Council Member Brock, attend a Pioneer Trail Regional Planning Board meeting, meet with Chris Lowe and Kory Alfred on the development of joint park board and city council policies, attend a Warrensburg Partners in Prevention Meeting and a Tourism and Visitors Board meeting, meet with the Warrensburg School District on Hamilton Street and attend a Whiteman Area Leadership Board Meeting.
Between May 17 and May 20 I will be out of town recruiting retail at the annual ICSI conference.
Economic Partnership Activities
As is our custom, attached are the monthly reports from Warrensburg Main Street, Inc. and the Chamber of Commerce and Visitors Center. Johnson County Economic Development Corporation reports on a bi-monthly basis. The reports from these Warrensburg Economic Partners are not only being provided to keep you informed, but are also available for interested citizens.
As always, if there are any questions on any matter, or if you need additional information on this report, please contact either myself or any of the Department Directors noted in this report. You may always contact me on any subject at any time by e-mail or mobile phone or leave a voice mail message at (660) 747-9180.
CITY CLERK
Cindy Gabel
- Monday, May 11 is an Executive Session at 6:00 p.m. and a regular City Council meeting at 7:00 p.m.;
- Wednesday, May 13 is the Chamber Networking luncheon at 11:45 a.m. at the U.C.M. James C. Kirkpatrick Library;
- Thursday, May 28 is the Legislative Wrap-Up Dinner meeting for the Central Division of the Missouri Municipal League at Maxine’s Tea House in Slater. Registration and the social hour will begin at 6:00 p.m. The deadline for reservations is Friday, May 22. Please let Cindy know if you plan to attend.
Megan will be taking pictures of the City Council and City staff at Monday night’s meeting.
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT
Barbara Carroll, Director of Community Development
April 2009 Community Development Activity Report
The Community Development Report for the month of April is attached. Please ask if you have any questions regarding this information.
DREAM Kick-Off Meeting Scheduled
The Downtown Revitalization and Economic Assistance for Missouri (DREAM) initiative will be the topic of discussion at the DREAM Kick-Off Meeting which will be held on June 9th at 6:00 p.m. at the White Rose Pavilion. The keynote speakers will be Mike Hurlbert of PGAV, Inc., the planning firm under contract by the Missouri Development Finance Board to provide the DREAM planning components. Representatives from the Missouri Development Finance Board, the Missouri Department of Economic Development, and The Missouri Housing Development Commission will also be in attendance. Please mark your calendars now to attend.
Housing and Employment Workshop Held
A Housing and Employment Workshop was held on April 22, 2009, from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the ABC Building. While attendance was low, the participants did receive excellent information on programs being offered by the Missouri Valley Community Action Agency, KCP&L, Workforce Development, and Missouri Housing Development Commission. City staff is working to get the PowerPoint presentations given that day posted on the City’s website.
Building Inspector/Project Manager Presents to UCM Class
Brett Penrose, Building Inspector/Project Manager, was the guest speaker at a Construction Management Seminar class at UCM on Thursday evening, April 16. Penrose presented a brief discussion on the relationship between construction managers and building code enforcement professionals and took questions afterward. The presentation was well-received and staff always appreciates the opportunity to educate others about our work.
City Planner attends Information & Resource Fair
Shiloh Baptist Church and the Heart of Missouri Hunger Coalition sponsored an Information & Resource Fair on April 28 at 5pm. There were a variety of different agencies such as Catholic Charities, Health Care USA, KCP&L, City of Warrensburg, MO Valley Community Action Agency, Angel Food, Connected Hearts, Big Brothers Big Sisters, and Pathways in attendance. . The City of Warrensburg was represented by Angela Eley, City Planner, and Tom Carey, Police Officer. Ms. Eley distributed copies of the Old Drum Bus schedule, the Parks & Recreation activity guide, and the Warrensburg telephone book. Pastor Moody wants to have another Information & Resource Fair in the future. He challenged all agencies to continue to work together for the purpose of helping those in need of social services.
Building Division Staff Attend OSHA Training
Brett Penrose, Building Inspector/Project Manager, and Steve Fuchs, Building Inspector, attended a two-day, 10-hour Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) training on April 30 and May 1. The OSHA training is required per a Missouri law that goes into effect in August that requires all personnel involved in public building projects. The training was organized by Pember Construction, project manager for the City building projects. Penrose and Fuchs attended along with approximately 50 other City employees.
Rotary Presentation Given
On April 14, Barbara Carroll gave a presentation to the Noon Rotary Club about the services offered by the Building Inspection Division and Nuisance Code Enforcement Division of Community Development as well as the preparations underway for the 2010 Census. There were several questions following the presentation about current development services, nuisance ordinances, and the Census in general.
Staff Prepares for Retail Conference
The City Manager will again be attending the International Council of Shopping Center’s annual conference in May this year. Barbara Carroll, Community Development Director, and Jacquie Estes, Executive Assistant to the City Manager, have been working to develop marketing pieces to be sent by email prior to the conference and to be distributed at the conference. Materials are being targeted to retail market segments identified as areas of need. Staff is using the data from ESRI, Inc. and Retail Lease Trac that the City subscribed to last year to identify needs.
ASSISTANT CITY MANAGER
Chris Lowe
Support Services
We have begun initial research regarding smoking bans. While I have not attached to your packet, but will make available for your review, the lengthy report of the Surgeon General titled, The Health Consequences of Involuntary Exposure to Tobacco Smoke, which discusses a whole range of issues associated with second hand smoke, the City Manager included in his section, an excerpt from that report for your review which discusses trends in public support for smoking restrictions including restaurants and bars. Also attached was an article discussing the economic impact of a smoking ban in Columbia, Missouri which comes to the conclusion that there is a negative impact on sales taxes for some establishments and the correlation that places that serve only alcohol versus alcohol and food are disproportionately affected. We are not a subscriber to the Journal of Public Health Management, so I have not downloaded the full text of the article which came to the opposite conclusion because of cost; however, I have provided an abstract and if any Council Member desires for me to do so, I can pay the fee to retrieve that article in full. Finally, staff contacted some of the municipalities that have implemented bans to discuss their experience with respect to impact on local business revenues, and restaurant/bar revenues and feedback from citizens. Those results have not been fully developed into a report at this time. I have included the Wikipedia information with respect to the state of Missouri and smoking bans in its City for your review as well.
Staff will be speaking at the Missouri Bar Spring meeting of the Labor and Employment Law committee on changes to the Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) regulations for employers. We will be using this presentation to train our supervisors on this as well as the Americans with Disabilities Act Amendment Act (ADAAA) in the near future.
Finance
Finance has met several times to work on the Second Quarter Financial Report. We are not in a posture to have all bond activity reconciled and to address the handling of short and long term debt proceeds as revenues in the budget at this time. We are working with our auditors to figure out the best way to organize these accounts from an accounting standpoint. We are also developing a budget calendar and will soon be meeting with all departments to review their revised budgets. The new proposed budget will be installed in the system for the departments to begin their budgeting works in the next month.
Municipal Court
Our municipal court continues to hum right along. Judge Hall is a terrific resource and continues to demonstrate great professionalism and speed and is a true asset to the City. We have also begun cross-training Toni Yost, our Part time Collections Assistant, in the municipal court, so that we will be able to cover for Brenda Davis’ upcoming maternity leave. Brenda, Teresa Baumeister and Toni have all pitched in and worked very hard to prepare for this event and to make sure there is no drop in service. This department is continuing to provide great service even though the part time position vacated by Wendi Copello has not been filled. I am not certain how long the understaffing can be accommodated without some decrease in service, but that staff has been very upbeat and positive. I received an email from City Prosecutor Doug Harris commending Teresa in particular for her great service on some of his items just last month.
Information Technology
We have signed the contract for phone services with RSM McGladrey to install a new voice over IP phone system city-wide. The new system will help us be more cost-effective, efficient, and customer-oriented by providing for a number of new features. Some of these features include:
- Transfer between facilities
- Direct Inward Dialing (all desk employees have a direct number)
- Call queuing for reporting call volumes and hold times
- Redundancy in the case of outages or emergencies
- Flexibility to grow with the city
We are thankful that the City Council approved this important project as a part of the budget. We are very excited to begin this project. We anticipate the project to begin in the middle of May and we should be finished by the end of June.
The ITT Team continues its great work as liaison to the departments and is preparing to review bids for the system accountability review which should begin sometime this summer.
FIRE DEPARTMENT
Phil Johnston, Fire Chief
Firefighter Employment Update
The City is again accepting applications from persons interested in becoming a part-time firefighter. We have ten openings for conventional part-time firefighter positions and three openings for student-resident part-time firefighter positions. Applications will be accepted through August 18. The written test and physical ability testing are scheduled for Saturday, April 29.
Part-Time Firefighter/EMT joins WPD
Part-time Firefighter/EMT Joe Plemons was recently employed as a Warrensburg Police Officer, and his appointment as a part-time firefighter/EMT has ended. We appreciate the many contributions that Joe made while he was with the Fire Department. After he joined the Fire Department, he became an emergency medical technician and went to work for the Johnson County Ambulance District. He continued working as a part-time firefighter/EMT as often as he could. Joe attended the law enforcement academy at UCM and obtained his peace officer certification. From there, the rest is history in that he is now a police officer helping us from a different perspective. We will miss Joe in the Fire Department, but we certainly are happy that he is now a member of the Warrensburg Police Department.
Pre-Fire Planning Update
The Fire Department’s pre-fire planning program will be demonstrated during a presentation at the May 11 City Council meeting. Fire Department personnel will show the program’s features and ways of being utilized during the presentation.
Portable Fire Trainer Project Update
On Friday, April 10, Battalion Chief Jim Kushner, Captain Bryan Wilson, and Firefighter/EMT Jeremy VanWey visited three fire departments in southwest Missouri to examine portable fire trainers. The primary purpose of this one-day trip was to examine and evaluate different brands of portable fire trainers so that we may properly prepare purchase specifications. Assistant Chief Sean Douglas has completed the specification packet, and we hope to send the bids to prospective vendors within the next week. The City previously was awarded a $133,000 federal grant to fund the purchase of a portable fire training unit. The units that were examined are within the $140,000 that is available for this project. The City’s portion of the fire trainer project is estimated to be $7,000. Funds are available in the current budget.
Fire Crews and Equipment Relocated from Station 1
On Friday, May 1, 2009, the on-duty Station 1 fire crew relocated to the former Johnson County Fire Protection District station at 410 N. Holden. This move was made necessary by the work that will be done to the concrete and roadway in front of Station 1 as a result of the construction of the new WPD headquarters. The in-service fire engine, Engine 1111, was relocated to the N. Holden location. The reserve fire engine, Engine1112, and the aerial ladder, Ladder 1114, were moved to Station 2. We hope to return to Station 1 by June 30. We are again grateful to our colleagues at the Johnson County Fire Protection District for their willingness to help us during this transition period.
PARKS and RECREATION
Kory Alfred, Director
Nassif Aquatic Center
The amount of rain over the past few weeks has slowed the Nassif Aquatic Center project significantly. Substantial completion for the project was scheduled for May 1, 2009. The substantial completion date is now changed to May 18, 2009. The opening date is still scheduled for Memorial Day, May 25, 2009. The opening event schedule is listed below.
Friday, May 22 10:00am
Ribbon Cutting & Tours
WPR Water Fun Day 2:00-3:00pm
VIP Party (Soft Opening) 6:00–7:30pm (City Council, Park Board, & City Staff) by invitation only. Concessions stand operational.
Opening Week Events
Monday, May 25
Open to Public
Tuesday, May 26
Ice Cream Social
Free Ice Cream to the first 250 paid admissions after 5:00 pm
Thursday, May 28
Sizzle & Swim
Free hot dog or burger to the first 250 paid admissions after 5:00 pm
Saturday, May 30
WPR ducky fun morning 10-11:00 am
Lions Lake Update
I communicated in my last report staff is investigating renting hydraulic (floating) dredging equipment to remove the silted material from Lions Lake. The plan is to pump the material to the small basin west of the lake. David Flick, Principal of Terra Technologies, has completed the calculations and determined the basin will hold the amount of material to be removed from Lions Lake. The next step in the process is to determine if the basin is spring fed.
PUBLIC WORKS
Marvin Coleman, Acting Director of Public Works
Street Department Activities
Due to the wet weather during the past weeks, some of the crew constructed four heavy steel work tables for the new buildings shop area; this saved about $1,000 toward outfitting the shop. Other employees dismantled the backhoe digging bucket and completely rebuilt the pins and hydraulics. While the parts were expensive, the city saved the cost of labor had the unit been sent out for the rebuild. A considerable amount of slack had developed in the aging unit and it had become difficult to operate in tight quarters around utilities.
The crew also installed the new LED lights on the Holden and South Street signal. The contractor installed the new Video Detection System at the intersection the week of April 20. It has been functioning quite well and has improved the traffic flow through the intersection.
The crew worked on clearing the detention basin of trees off of Creach Drive to improve its capacity. Grading was done to prevent flooding that was occurring to an adjacent property owner.
Numerous storm drains were cleaned and cleared during the storm events. Some minor street flooding occurred and those areas were blocked off to traffic until the water receded.
Access roads to the sewer plants were graded and roto-millings applied to keep them in condition due to the heavy volume of large truck traffic during construction.
Work will be performed this week on installation of a storm drain and piping under Warren Street at Dan Street to alleviate a drainage problem in the area.
They are also planning to work on crack sealing as weather permits.
Street Maintenance Program
Notice of Award has been sent to Hilty Quarries. We are waiting on their response as to when they plan to proceed with the asphalt overlay.
Curb and Sidewalk Program
Notice of Award has been sent to Heartland Contractors and the homeowners that are part of the program have been notified.
Bike Route Project
Megan Douglas met with the Bike Club and received praise for the City’s effort to make this form of recreation safe and helping to make the motoring public aware of the need to “Share the Road”.
Gay and Burkarth Traffic Study
The traffic counters have been collected and are being analyzed. Stakeholder meetings with the Warrensburg School District and Western Missouri Medical Center have been held and the information learned from these groups is being considered in the analysis of the traffic issues.
Wastewater Plant Expansion Project
The contractor has begun construction at both facilities. Excavation work has been moving along as weather permits.
Highway 13 Intersections Project
Contracts for the project have been executed with J.C. Myers Construction Company and the Notice of Award was issued on March 11, 2009. We held the first utility coordination meeting on April 1, 2009, for J.C. Myers Construction to complete the traffic control plan for Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) approval. We will tentatively issue the notice to proceed in mid-April, pending required utility work. The construction schedule will coincide with Martin Warren School’s closing date, for the Grover & Hwy 13 intersection. The project is tentatively scheduled to be completed before school reconvenes in August.
Fire Station No. 2 Parking Lot
Work is progressing on the replacement of the parking lot.
Johnson County Historical Courthouse
We have received the preliminary plans approval from MoDOT and the final plans and specifications are being updated by HDR/Archer for final plan approval submittal. MoDOT is working on approval for the ADA alternative methods required for this project and will address the issue during final approval.
WPC Utility Inspection Report
See attached
Public Works Maintenance Building
The building interior is nearly ready for an initial substantial completion inspection. The epoxy floors were installed just over a week ago. Cabinet installs and electrical and plumbing trim outs are underway. Site work continues with the final grade and preparation for parking lot pavement. We expect the contractor to achieve substantial completion this month.
Police Building
The new police headquarters building project continues positive progress in spite of significant and continued weather challenges. The sewer mains are currently under construction. The Fire Department recently moved out of their new quarters in City Hall in order to accommodate Straub Construction’s on-going pavement work in and around the City Hall area. We expect the newly routed Madison Street to be complete and operational by the end of June.
City Hall Renovation
City senior staff is reviewing the latest floor plan layouts and will provide their comments later this week. The architects will incorporate the latest feedback and resubmit final conceptual layouts prior to beginning the full blown design effort associated with the new contract. This will complete the programming phase of the City Hall Renovation project. George Butler Associates (GBA) has submitted a final proposal for the design and construction phase services for the City Hall Renovation project. The Construction Manager has reviewed the most recent proposal and is recommending Council approval at the May 11 meeting.
Animal Shelter
The mechanical, electrical, plumbing and structural drawings submittals were issued to the construction manager last week for his review. Drawings should be ready for plan review by mid-May and out to bid by early June. In addition, we opened five proposals last week for the 2” water service line project. The low bidder was less than one half of our budgeted amount for this project. We hope to use the excess savings to offset the cost of asphalt material for a new animal shelter parking lot and driveway.
Cemetery Maintenance Building
The contract with Grun-D Construction was approved by Council at the April 2009 meeting. The preconstruction meeting for the cemetery maintenance building is being conducted today.
Activities and Meetings of the Acting Director of Public Works
Megan Douglas, Bill Graves and I meet with MoDOT on Friday to discuss funding on the Hamilton Street Project and will be attending a meeting with the School District and their Architect on Thursday, May 14, 2009. .
POLICE DEPARTMENT
Bruce Howey, Police Chief
Randy Eich Receives the Gene Darnell Award
Detective Lieutenant Randy Eich received the Gene Darnell Excellence in Law enforcement Award at a dinner meeting of the West Central Missouri Rural Major Case Squad on April 15. This is an annual award honoring the late Gene Darnell who was one of the originators of the Major Case Squad. Past recipients include retired Missouri State Highway Patrol Superintendent Mel Fisher and Lafayette County Sheriff Kerrick Alumbaugh. At this same meeting I was elected president of the Major Case Squad for 2009-2010.
Blood Drive Again a Success
The combined efforts of the Police and Fire Department Blood Drive netted 90 participants and 77 pints of blood donated on Monday, April 13 at the Warrensburg Community Center. Community Policing Coordinator Tom Carey and Fire Compliance Officer Justin O’Neil organized the event.
Warrensburg Police and Fire Receive Award in Jefferson City
On April 21, Fire Chief Phil Johnston, Fire Emergency Prevention Officer Justin O’Neil, Lieutenant Asher Snook, Community Policing Coordinator Tom Carey and I traveled to Jefferson City and attended the awards luncheon for the Community Blood Center. Warrensburg Police and Fire received the 2008 Outstanding Community Award. In 2008, we collected 344 units of blood in the WPD/WFD blood drives. So far this year we have collected 157 units. The next blood drive will be on 06-22-09.
Federal Monies Available for Police Equipment
We have been notified that the Police Department is eligible to receive $20,275 in equipment monies from the US Department of Justice. We have discussed this with the City Manager and will be applying to use it to purchase a Live Scan automated fingerprint system for our new Police Department building. The maintenance fees will be perpetually paid by the $.50 per ticket fee that is generated by Municipal Court.
State and Federal Grant to Provide Traffic Safety Equipment
Thanks to Traffic Commission Chairman Glenn Carricker we are exploring the possibility of receiving $31,637 in equipment from State and Federal Highway Safety under the Destination Safe program. This will be a joint effort between the University of Central Missouri Department of Public Safety, Missouri State Highway Patrol and Warrensburg Police Department. If it is approved, we will receive a speed measuring trailer, laser speed measuring unit, digital camera with slave flash units, GPS unit, TOTAL Station for Accident Reconstruction, hand held radar unit and a prism pole. This equipment will be supplied to our departments and will not have to be purchased.
Animal Shelter
Donation for New Animal Shelter
The Animal Shelter received a donation of $1,000 from The Office of Greek Affairs this week. During “Greek Week” the Greek organizations held a penny drive with the proceeds going to the shelter.
City Managers Report available in .pdf
Visitor Center Advisory Board Minutes
If you would like to receive an electronic copy of the City Managers Report send an email to:
CMmailing@warrensburg-mo.com