City managers review 2016 plans

Archive for Wednesday, December 30, 2015

December 30, 2015

With 2015 in the books, area city officials now are preparing for the projects that will take up much of their focus in 2016.

Street projects, as always, will take precedence, but city managers in Basehor and Edwardsville each say they’ll need to take some time for long-range plans, while Bonner Springs will tackle a list of projects for technology, water and library improvements laid out in the 2016 budget process.

Lloyd Martley, Basehor city administrator and police chief, said the city would start working on the planning process for the City Campus on 158th Street and continue to expand and improve Basehor City Park.

The Basehor City Council reviewed economic development incentive possibilities toward the end of this year, and Martley said working to attract commercial development also will be a focus for 2016.

He said that the city would continue to work with the county on improving street infrastructure. In addition to Donahoo Road, which the city issued bonds to improve, Martley said work would take place on 147th Street, Hollingsworth Road and Parallel.

The other bonded projects also will be a big focus: the sidewalk along Leavenworth Road and stormwater and sanitary sewer improvements near 155th and Parallel.

Michael Webb, Edwardsville city manager, said the biggest projects for the city in the next year likely would be the Kansas Avenue project and continuing discussions regarding the installation of sewer lines in the city’s northern areas.

He said he hoped the city staff and council could spend some time studying long-range plans for the city’s buildings, facilities and staffing.

“Our new customer service clerk and Zach (Daniels, assistant to the city manager/city clerk) will allow people to spend more time in planning mechanism,” Webb said.

Webb said the city also would make sure to be active in the Kansas Highway 32 corridor study with Bonner Springs, Kansas City Kan., and KDOT.

In Bonner Springs, Sean Pederson, new city manager, is still settling in after joining the city in late October. He said the city will focus on completion of projects funded in the 2016 budget.

One big improvement will be a $291,500 update to the records management system for police, fire and EMS, which will be integrated into the Kansas City, Kan., system. The hardware and software are to be purchased in January, installed in March and then tested after staff training in order to go online in May.

The city will match its 2015 street project budget of $715,000. Some of the largest improvements include an overlay of 134th Street from Kansas Avenue to Metropolitan, and mill and overlay improvements on Second Street from Nettleton to Front Street.

Residents will notice construction to complete repairs and improvements to the city’s water lines in 2016, which are expected to total nearly $1.35 million. The biggest project will be a new 12- or 16-inch water transmission line running from the water treatment plant on the south side of Kansas Highway 32 to the intersection of Cornell and Morse.

Replacement waterlines along Cornell, Emerson and Sheidley, originally scheduled for 2015, will be installed, as will replacement lines on Clark and Forest. In each case, a 2- or 4-inch line will be replaced with a 6-inch line.

The Bonner Springs Library also is currently reviewing a list of capital improvements it can make with excess funds generated from the library special sales tax. The tax, established to pay off the construction of the library 10 years ago, will expire next year and will generate about $450,000 more than is needed to pay off the building.