Upkeep of Iola’s city streets will be an expensive proposition this year.
The city can expect to spend $290,000 or more for chip-sealing the northwest quadrant of the city this summer, well more than the $180,000 that had been budgeted, Street and Alley Superintendent Dan Leslie told Iola City Council members Monday night.
To cover the extra costs, Leslie encouraged councilmen to pull from Iola’s reserve fund for milling and overlay projects.
Leslie said the city for years had designated quadrants of the city for chip-sealing to ensure streets are maintained at least once every four years. That process has been skipped twice since the northwest part of town was last maintained, meaning it’s been six years since most of the streets were touched.
“And it shows,” Leslie said.
Councilman Ken Rowe asked Leslie if two of the busier streets, Colborn and Elm, should instead be considered for milling and overlay because of their deteriorating condition and heavy usage for school traffic.
Leslie replied that it could be considered. He will investigate the matter further.
In an unrelated matter, councilmen paid $25,728.30 to the Kansas Department of Transportation for work on Cottonwood Street done in 2007. The bill, submitted to the city in February, was for costs related to milling and overlaying a small portion of Cottonwood not included in the street rebuild from Lincoln to Garfield streets five years ago, Leslie explained.
COUNCILMEN APPROVED demolition orders on three dilapidated properties in town, at 408 S. Third St., 206 N. Fourth St. and 418 S. Colborn St.
The Colborn Street house issue was discussed at length, with Mike Layne, property owner, and several neighbors, who filed a petition in December to have the house condemned.
Lane is asking for a 30-day extension to determine whether the house can be repaired.
His comments drew a swift rebuke from some of his neighbors, who also were at Monday’s meeting.
Bret Heim, a local attorney, told councilmen how his children couldn’t play in their backyard at times last summer because of foul odors coming from the Layne property, due to dead animals, waste, stagnant water and other nuisances. Bill Fritsche, Don Hillbrant and Jack and Ruth Vincent also spoke out against granting the extension.
Councilman Kendall Callahan noted that while the city proceeded with the demolition order, the order still gives Layne a 30-day window to seek bids on house repairs.
Code Enforcement Officer Jeff Bauer and Assistant Code Enforcement Officer Tony Godfrey said they anticipated the costs to repair the home, which needs significant roof and foundation work, would exceed the 50-percent threshold of the property’s appraised value, triggering their request for condemnation.
Heim said he had no quarrel with granting Layne a 30-day window to seek repair bids, but he was vehemently opposed to giving Lane up to a year or longer afterward to complete the repairs.
