Emporia city commissioners authorized Mayor Jeff Longbine to sign an agreement between the city and the Emporia Recreation Commission regarding the operation of the Jones Aquatic Center at the commission’s regular Wednesday meeting.
The agreement, good for a term of one year, sets out the responsibilities of each entity for the operation and management of the aquatic center. It calls for the city to take responsibility for ground and parking lot maintenance, landscaping and the purchase of chemicals, and the maintenance of the pumping, heating and filtering equipment.
The ERC will take responsibility for operations including staffing, concessions and routine maintenance.
The agreement also calls for the city to provide $25,000 to the ERC for the management of the aquatic center.
In years past the city covered the aquatic center’s operating deficits at the end of the swimming season; the $25,000 is meant to cover that, with the ERC responsible for any additional losses.
“This is just a straight $25,000 fee, and they will absorb any losses or keep any profits out of that,” assistant city manager Mark McAnarney said.
The agreement also specifies that the ERC will be required to operate a certain number of days during the season as defined by the city.
At this time, the agreement is good for one year and is subject to annual review.
“I think this is a good contract just due to the fact that it may make things more feasible for them to run it more smoothly and also keep costs down,” said commissioner Kevin Nelson. “It’s a big plus.”
The commission also held a public hearing to discuss authorizing an application to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment for a loan from the Kansas Water Supply Fund.
The $1,990,300 loan will go toward improvements at the Water Treatment Plant, including replacement of a basin train that is more than 50 years old. A $360,000 portion of the loan will be forgiven over its 20-year life through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The forgiveness will be in the form of an annual deduction. Over 20 years, the forgiveness would be $18,000 per year.
“The project consists of replacing one of the basin trains, that’s the major element of the cost, that replaces a piece of infrastructure that’s in excess of 50 years old, so it’s life is up,” city engineer Mike Novak said.
“... Since the public is becoming aware of our challenges within the water fund, they may question why we’re spending money when our revenues are so down, but most of these repairs are either very needed or are mandated that have to be done,” Longbine said. “I don’t know if we have an option on delaying or not delaying these repairs.”
Novak said in addition to the basin train replacement, there will be improvements in efficiency that will save money over time.
After the public hearing during which there were no comments, commissioners authorized the completion of the loan application to KDHE.
Commissioners also approved agreements with the Southeast Kansas Regional Planning Commission to administer the Neighborhood Stabilization Program to provide federal aid to help communities put abandoned and foreclosed homes to use through demolition and redevelopment or rehabilitation.
“Our intention to operate with this program would be to carefully select three or four properties in the Emporia market, take them off foreclosure, and either hand them off to non-profits or fix them up ourselves to resell them to income-qualified families,” said engineering housing specialist Jeff Lynch.
Out of the program’s $288,000 grant, $20,190 will be returned to the SKRPC; if the city decides to return the grant it will be obligated to pay a $5,000 fee.
The commission also awarded a bid to APAC Kansas Inc., Shears Division to construct improvements to the intersection of Highway 50 and Graphic Arts Road. The bid is for $1,579,318, of which the city will pay $778,000.
Another bid, for $510,691, was awarded to Killough Construction of Ottawa for improvements to Industrial Road between 15th Avenue and 18th Avenue. The city’s portion of that project will be $55,665.
In other business, commissioners:
F Passed a resolution to close the parking lot at 7th Avenue and Merchant Street for the Twin Rivers Festival activities on Saturday, July 4.
F Authorized Mayor Longbine to sign two proclamations, one declaring June 19 as National Teachers Hall of Fame Day in Emporia and the other declaring June 15-19 as Family Child Care Week in Emporia.
barefootin (anonymous) says...
How will Family Child Care Week be celebrated?
June 17, 2009 at 11:45 p.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )