City approves purchase of slide for pool

Purchase of a family water slide to be installed at the Concordia Municipal Swimming Pool was approved by the Concordia city commission during its regular meeting on Wednesday.
The commission approved authorizing city manager Amy Lange to enter into a contract with Avalanche Waterslides, Chamois, Mo., with a base bid of $65,000 and the addition of a canopy for $3,100 for a total cost of $68,100 to be paid for jointly from the swimming pool department in the general fund and the special parks and recreation fund.
Installation is included in the cost of the eight-foot slide, but concrete work, plumbing, electrical and fencing are not.
Estimates for the additional work are approximately $21,600, bringing the total cost to $89,700.
The slide, which is phase two of a three-phase plan for adding feature at the swimming pool, is to be installed before the 2019 pool season.
Phase one of the plan included the installation of a custom slide by Mason Corporation, Brentwood, Tenn at a cost of $54,000, and the purchase, by auction on Purple Wave, of a fish slide for the baby pool from the city of Overland Park at a cost of $5,777.50.
“This is a continuation of the entire project that we approved,” Mayor Sam Sacco said.
In 2017, the city commission approved a $2 fee on all city utility bills to help fund the improvements at  the pool.
That $2 fee is expected to cover $43,700 of the cost of the slide and installation. The remaining $46,230 will be paid from the special parks and recreation fund.
Funds in the special parks and recreation fund come from the Kansas Department of Revenue's Alcoholic Beverage Control's liquor drink tax.
Half of the fund received from the tax go into the city's general fund and half go into the special parks and recreation fund.
The third phase of the improvements at the pool is expected to include the installation of a climbing wall and a floatable in the training pool at an estimated cost of $42,435.
The $2 fee on the utility bills will end after three years.
“I have had a lot of people ask me about this, and I think there has been some confusion as to fee assessed to the water bills. I have been telling everyone two dollars, three years,” commissioner Chuck Lambertz said.
In other action taken during the meeting, the commission approved to approve a change in providers for worker's compensation, beginning in 2019, to Midwest Public Risk.
The city had been with Kansas Municipal Insurance Trust since 1996.
City clerk Stacey Smith informed the commission that the quote received from Midwest Public Risk is $4,000 less that what was paid in 2018.
The commission approved reappointing Cheryl Lanoue, Dennis Smith and Mike Gallagher to three-year terms on the Concordia planning commission.
The planning commission serves at the pleasure of the city commission, and duties include reviewing site plans for new construction or large additions, having public hearings on zoning changes, easement vacations and conditional use permits as well as reviewing zoning, comprehensive plans and subdivision regulations and recommending changes.
The terms for each of the three appointed will expire on October 21, 2021.
Five city employees were recognized during the meeting for their years of service. Each received an appreciation certificate provided by the League of Kansas Municipalities.
Those recognized include Rick Knudsen, Fire Department captain, and Megan Murdock, utility billing/court clerk, 10 years; Tim Halfhide, wastewater plant supervisor, and Jared LeDuc, Sports Complex supervisor, 15 years; and Ric Fredrickson, police chief, 20 years.
Raymond Mendenhall, who recently retired from the Parks Department, was presented a 45-year certificate by the president of the League of Kansas Municipalities and Governor Jeff Colyer.
The commission joined Cloud County Health Center in proclaiming November 15 as the Great American Smokeout Day in Concordia.
Sponsored by the American Cancer Society, the Great American Smokeout Day encourages quitting tobacco use.
During a study session following the regular meeting, the board again discussed proposed amendments to the city's animal control ordinance.
The commission discussed the ordinance during a study session on October 3.
A memo presented to the commission from Lange stated that the goal of the animal control ordinance is to provide clear guidance to the city's residents related to expectations of pet ownership within the city limits. It is also to provide clear guidance to the animal control officer to perform her duties.
Included in the conversation during the previous study session was possibly repealing the breed specific language.
Licensing fees for animals were also discussed.
It was recommended by city staff to increase the fees from $5 to $10 for spayed or neutered dogs and from $8 to $20 for dogs not spayed or neutered.
It was decided to keep the licensing fees and $5 and $8. There is also a $10 per dog charge for any household over four dogs.
There is a fee waiver for dogs registered from March 1 to March 31 and during the first 30 days a dog becomes eligible to be licensed.
The staff also recommended that any person found violating any provision of the ordinance be subject to a misdemeanor and a fine not to exceed $1,000 plus court costs.
The focus of the conversation during the study session of Wednesday was on whether or not to prohibit hybridized dogs and cats in the ordinance.
Lange and city attorney Justin Ferrell presented information to the commission.
The city ordinance presently states that a dog that has been hybridized with a wild canine cannot be kept within the city unless it has earned a Canine Good Citizen Certificate from the American Kennel Club.
A proposed change to the ordinance would state animals allowed within the city limits would include domestic animals, except those hybridized with wild canines and domestic cats, except those hybridized with wild felines.
Sacco asked what the state of Kansas considers to be a domesticated animal.
Ferrell said that under the Kansas Pet Animal Act, a dog is defined as any animal that is wholly or in part a species of canis familiaris. It is similar for a cat that is wholly or in part of the species felis domesticus.
It was reported to the commission by Ferrell that according to the United States Department of Agriculture does not extend approval for use of the standard rabies vaccine for hybridized animals.
Ferrell said that if a hybridized animal bites someone, it would have to go into rabies protocol, which includes euthanasia.
The individual that was bitten would also have to start rabies protocol.
“It is not so much a breed specific thing, but a safety concern because if one of those dogs bites that citizen has to get the rabies vaccinations and we have to put that dog down,” Ferrell said.
Following a nearly 30-minute conversation, it was the consensus of the commission that the ordinance should state that animals allowed within the city limits shall be domestic dogs and domestic cats. The language that states those hybridized with wild canines and with wild felines would be removed.
The commission also conducted a study session on quarterly finances.