HUMBOLDT — As new chief of police, Brian Dillow will take the police department in a new direction by evidence of him being “visible and sociable,” said Mayor Ivor “Nobby” Davis at Monday night’s Humboldt City Council meeting.
City councilman Dan Walburn challenged Davis’ explanation at the May 10 meeting of wanting to take the department “in a new direction” by replacing longtime chief Dan Onnen.
“Will we know what this new direction is or is it going to be a secret?” asked Walburn. Davis’ simple explanation seemed to satisfy his eight council members. Dillow was approved by a unanimous show of hands.
MOSTLY WILD CATS, a handful of skunks, a fair number of opossums, six raccoons and one reprobate groundhog have been trapped by Carson and Sons Nuisance Animal Control, under contract with the city.
The Toronto-based company’s tally of 81 captured animals wasn’t quite what it had hoped for and by email asked the city to extend its month-long contract by two more months.
In exchange, the trappers agreed to waive its $15-a-day travel fee, and continue its charge of $5 for each trapped animal.
In a month’s time the city has spent $2,410 for the service. Of that, the daily travel fees accounted for $450. Under the original contract, no such fees would be incurred if the service trapped at least 21 wild animals in a week’s time. There was never a week that number was attained, said Larry Tucker, city administrator. About 30 traps are scattered throughout town to catch the stray animals. If a domesticated pet were to be trapped, it would be turned into the police department.
The city has $3,700 budgeted to find means to control “what has become a huge problem — feral cats,” said Tucker.
Council members also want Humboldt police to confirm the Toronto business disposes of the animals “in a humane way,” said Sunny Shreeve.
City council members voted 6-2 to the extension, under the provision that Humboldt Police Department verifies all catches by Carson and Sons, which in the later part of the month it had begun to do.
HUMBOLDT is under the gun to prove it’s making progress toward complying with a 70-item punch list of violations with the Americans with Disabilities Act. As soon as Thursday Tucker said he expected a call from the Department of Justice regarding its compliance.
The city errs in basically two ways, said Tucker. First, it’s lacking adequate signage notifying citizens of things like where an elevator is in a public building. Second, are structural deficiencies such as curbs that accommodate wheelchairs at an adequate number for the size of Humboldt.
Relief came in the form of Ray Petty, Kansas coordinator for the Great Plains ADA. Petty, of Lawrence, said he could work as a liaison between Humboldt and the federal regulators, who in January issued a list of violations against Humboldt.
Fred Works, city attorney, believes the city has come a long ways in rectifying the deficiencies by building a new city hall and meeting room.
“Perhaps all we need help with is drafting a response to show we’ve taken care of a majority of the complaints,” he said.
Petty said that after a thorough review he could help the city with its report. He also said he could be of great benefit in training city employees how to comply with ADA codes, implemented in 1990.
“No new construction should happen without understanding of ADA compliance standards,” Petty said.
He can also help the city with long-term planning when it comes to incorporating designs to accommodate the handicapped.
After a “windshield inspection” of the town, Petty surmised, “most things can be handled in 3-5 years.”
Petty, who walks with difficulty, said signage is critical to those dependent on special services. “I looked everywhere for your elevator,” he said.
Much to the council’s chagrin, the elevator in city hall is out of order.
Council members agreed to retain Petty’s services. He would charge for travel and accommodations and the time spent for an on-site review. Any training of city employees is covered by a federal grant, he said.
THE CITY agreed to purchase a new storm warning siren and have its current siren relocated from city square to Centennial Park. Council members went with Washington Electronics of Pittsburg and its bid of $16,014.80, the lower of two.
The city will pay the fee up front, and then be reimbursed by the Kansas Division of Emergency Management by 75 percent of the cost of the new siren, but not for the expense of relocating the old one.
Total cost to the city is expected to be $6,503.70. The new rotating siren has a one-mile coverage radius and can be installed in 6-8 weeks.
CURRENT STREET improvements do not include “smoothing out” the railroad crossing on east Central Street, Tucker said, and requested city council members approve $1,500 to mill and lay the asphalt to make the crossing a less bumpy ride.
“The public wants that crossing as smooth as possible,” Tucker said. The work “will benefit the main arterial street that comes into Humboldt and will benefit the community for many years to come.”
Council members approved the additional expenditure to the road improvement project conducted by Killough Construction.
Other work along Bridge Street, 13th and Central is progressing on schedule, Tucker said.
Members approved retaining the firm of Williams, Spurgeon, Kuhl and Freshnock of Kansas City to study the needs of Humboldt’s fire station and ambulance building.
The feasibility study would consider three options:
1. Renovate or expand the current fire and ambulance buildings;
2. Convert the old fire station into a new ambulance building and construct a new fire station building;
3. Close both of the current buildings and build a joint fire and ambulance building.
By unanimous consent, the council approved spending $3,000 for the study.
“It’s the first step in the process,” said Vada Aikins, council member. “It’ll tell us what we really need to do.”
MEMBERS VOTED to go with a new firm to oversee the city’s gas utility system for a savings of $2,700.
They switched from using Haines Pipeline Services out of Derby to Black Hills Energy of Wichita. The firm will monitor the city’s natural gas transmitter and make quarterly inspections of the border station monitor for $1,232.73 a year. Haines’ bid was for $4,000.
Members agreed to join the Kansas Mutual Aid Program for Utilities. This puts Humboldt in with a pool of communities to assist in times of emergency. The membership is free and ensures the city is at the top of a list of first-response when a natural disaster occurs, and likewise comes to the aid of others in the program.
Construction should begin “in the next week or two” on the new senior housing development, Tucker said.
“Some paper work” is now out of the way, he said. Units are still available.
The city’s “Use-A-Truck Program” is back in use, Tucker said. The program was suspended temporarily when a citizen questioned its legality, he said. A legal review confirmed the service “serves the public good,” Tucker said.
Citizens can access the dumpster up to three times in a year. It can not be used by a commercial enterprise.
IN ADDITION to Dillow, the council also approved the one-year appointments of Fred Works as city attorney, Audrea Johnson, city treasurer, Larry Tucker, city administrator, Jean Flores, city clerk, Lora Hunt, assistant city clerk, Kent Barfoot, fire chief, Dan Julich, assistant fire chief, and Ron Call, municipal judge.
