LAHARPE With work to improve LaHarpes electric grid just weeks away from starting, an oversight has made the project slightly more expensive than previously expected.
City Council members learned Wednesday the project is not tax-exempt, thus adding about $29,000 to the price tag.
Following an extensive discussion, Council members voted, 4-0, to remove one of the project alternates, pegged at $28,000, to do away with a handful of 40-foot utility poles strategically placed around the city.
This is the first time Id heard of a CDBG project that wasnt tax- exempt, noted Eric Hethcoat, with BG Consultants, which is guiding the city through the electric upgrade project.
Thats in part because CDBG funds are rarely used for electric distribution projects, he continued.
The oversight wasnt realized until Hethcoat was finalizing contracts with Black and McDonald Electric LLC, the general contractor approved by the city to do the work.
We got a letter from the Kansas Department of Revenue detailing the tax exemption statutes, Hethcoat said. All electric and gas distribution projects must assess taxes on equipment and labor.
The city must refile a notice to account for extra taxes, and notify Black & McDonald, Hethcoat said, although he anticipated no conflicts with either process.
Adding the $29,000 puts the price tag for materials and labor at a shade over $670,000.
Hethcoat expects work to begin in mid-June.
A ROOM at City Hall that will contain exercise equipment for the community is nearly ready for use.
Equipment is being ordered and will be on hand soon. A new video surveillance system and keyless entry already are in place.
Meanwhile, LaHarpe PRIDE Committee members are working with the city to determine rules of use.
Families will have access to the equipment for $10 a month.
PRIDE members said the room should be open by July 1. The exercise equipment and new security system are being funded by a $10,000 Health Care Foundation of Greater Kansas City grant.
In an unrelated matter, the Council notified LaHarpe PRIDE it is receiving a $7,500 donation from the Prairie Queen Wind Farm, which soon will begin construction north of town. The donation will be given to PRIDE for continued park and community improvements.
COUNCIL members rejected, 4-0, the appeal of former Police Chief Ashley Wright, who was seeking reinstatement following her termination in March. Wright was fired after being arrested by Allen County sheriffs deputies for not allowing deputies into her home to serve an arrest warrant out of Texas on her husband, David. Councilman David Lee was absent.
