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Uniontown looking at grants for projects
The Uniontown City Council met Tuesday evening in a special meeting to discuss several upcoming capital improvement projects: storm shelters, sidewalks, ballpark lights, gas line renovation and a fishing dock at the city pond.
Storm shelters
The council approved applying for three storm shelters for the community. If the Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) is approved and accepted, they will purchase them from Vaughn Concrete Products, Henderson, Colo. They plan to purchase three 34-person community storm shelters which are certified to meet all National Storm Shelter Association guidelines, at a cost of $28,279 each.
Survive-A-Storm, North Little Rock, Ark., submitted a bid of $41,532 for each storm shelter, with a capacity of 32 people per shelter. Tornado Tough Storm Shelters, Rogers, Ark. submitted a bid of $5,347 for a shelter with the capacity of 21 people. All are above-ground tornado shelters.
Laura Moore, planning and development consultant with Southeast Kansas Regional Planning Commission, sent out a Request for Qualifications (RFQ) for (storm) shelters to several licensed architects, to start the process of applying for a CDBG grant. The RFQs were due April 29.
The city received two RFQs for the storm shelters as of that due date, one from Agricultural Engineering Associates of Uniontown and one from BG Consultants of Emporia.
"We found out that we would have to rate the requests for qualifications that we received from the engineers/architects," City Clerk Sally Johnson said. "Therefore the council will have to rate them before a decision will be made. The ratings will be tallied on Monday."
Once an architect is selected, the project can be finalized.
"We are moving forward," Moore said. "We are going to try to meet the deadline of June 1. The public hearing date would have to be in May, probably at a special meeting."
The most the city could apply for is $350,000, Moore said, with the city providing $35,000.
The city has more than $30,000 in capital improvement funds, some of which will be used for matches required for grants.
The council discussed possible locations for the shelters: north of the fire station, in the old railroad right-of-way and at the site of the old building that was demolished on the northeast corner of the city square.
"The storm shelters can only be placed on city-owned property," Johnson said.
The final decision was to place two storm shelters north of the fire station in the middle of Uniontown and one in the old railroad right-of-way on the south end of town.
Sidewalks, ballpark lights
The CDBG grant could also include park improvements, and the council sought Moore's advice on whether lights at the school-owned ballpark on the towns east edge could be included. The city currently pays for the electricity for the present lights at the north ball field, but was seeking to help the lights be installed at the newest, southern ball field.
"We...found out that the ball field lights will not be allowed in the project," Johnson told the Tribune.
"Sidewalks, storm shelters and park improvements are allowed to be part of the project for this grant and we are going to check to see if we can include the sidewalk at the (city) park, from the main sidewalk to the northeast side of the southeast shelter," Johnson said. "The initial sidewalk discussed (at the council meeting) was from Sherman Street to Cottonwood Estates with curb and guttering to deal with drainage at the shelter site with the possibility of addressing the drainage issue at Cottonwood Estates parking lot." Cottonwoods Estates is an apartment complex adjacent to the fire station.
Gas line renovation
The city currently has some gas leaks and will seek a Community Facilities Grant through another CDBG grant,for possible repair or replacement of the areas of concern in the gas system.
Infrastructure grants can only be started one at a time, Mayor Larry Jurgensen said.
The application for this grant is Nov.2.
The city's gas supplier is Southern Star Central Gas Pipeline.
"Our gas system is not out of compliance with Kansas Corporation Commission on any issues," Johnson said. "But there are some areas of concern that need to be addressed before they become compliance issues. We have some Class 3 leaks which are nonhazardous but need to be repaired. Class 3 leaks are to be repaired within 30 months... Those leaks do not have to be repaired this year, but next year."
There are known leaks south of Union Street and in the alley behind Clay Street.
The city has received estimates to repair or replace the areas of concern that range from $200,000 to a little over $300,000.
"We won't know an estimated total cost until a preliminary engineering report is done," Johnson said.
Jurgensen said that Agricultural Engineering Associates told him they would not charge the city for this report.
"They'll waive the charge for the preliminary report," he said.
Jurgensen reminded the council of their previous discussions of the need to repair city streets.
"We talked about waiting until we get all the utilities (repaired)," Jurgensen said.
Fishing dock
The council is also proceeding on a Kansas Wildlife, Parks and Tourism grant for a fishing dock at the city's pond, just east of Uniontown Junior High School campus. The deadline for this grant is June 1.
The Community Fisheries Assistance Program (CFAP) improves fishing opportunities at community lakes, according to the KDWPT website.
USD 235 maintains the pond.
"Mr. (Randy) Rockhold said he would split the cost of the project," Jurgensen said. "The city would pay 25 percent, the school district 25 percent. So, our part of the $17,800 total cost is $4,450."
The project includes a dock with handrails, concrete steps down to the dock with handrails, and a concrete slab in the ditch which stays wet behind the pond.
Recent election results
The April 7 election results were discussed.
"Danae (Esslinger) was re-elected," Jurgensen said. "Josh Hartman was a write-in. Dustin (Goalden, current councilman who did not seek re-election) was written in, but declined to take another term. Other write-ins received one to two votes." The other write-in candidates were Dixie George, Jeff Feagins, Steve Headley, Crystal Martin, Seth Martin, Randy Rathbun, Merle Rose and Carissa Wisenhunt.
Bourbon County Clerk Kendall Mason told Jurgensen the fifth council position could be appointed by the council.
"I have one person that is interested in coming on board," Jurgensen said. "Lucile Ward." The council approved asking Ward to serve.
The new councilmen will be sworn in at the May 12 council meeting.