Wamego will be taking its show on the road, but will be staying close to home. At Tuesday’s City Commission meeting, City Manager Merl Page showed a video that was co-sponsored by Kansas Municipal Utilities. The video’s focus is the importance of locally owned utilities, with control and management by people that care. Page said the video will be shown at different public forums as a way to communicate the value of local utilities to the community.
To continue the utility conversation, Page said the staff is getting ready to do a thorough review of the Power Plants equipment based on the recent peak load analysis, which showed that demand has increased. He said they are looking at expanding the capacity to 7 megawatts, which would require expanding the Plant. Page said the staff are still evaluating the process and looking at options and should have more to bring before the Commission in the next 30 days.
Page announced the City received a Gold Star Award from the Kansas Municipal Insurance Trust (KMIT) Loss Prevention Program for 2011. KMIT is the City’s Workmen’s Compensation Insurance provider, and because Wamego is setting the right policies, the award provides a 5 percent discount on next year’s insurance premium.
The City of Wamego is owner of record of the newly completed Homestead Senior Residences. In November 2009, the City issued $6-million in Taxable Senior Housing Revenue Bonds for the project and accepted a Deed to the property. At Tuesday’s City Commission meeting, Page introduced a Resolution for ratification of an amended and restated mortgage agreement of the original resolution. According to Homestead’s Tom Bishop, the original loan is a USDA Rural Development guaranteed loan that was reassigned to a different mortgage company, and the new lender wanted to perfect their mortgage. The Commission approved the new Resolution.
In other business, the City is taking steps to solve the Burn Site problems. The City currently provides a site for the disposal of yard and downed tree waste at no cost to the public, and there is limited space available for the upcoming fall debris without some cleanup. Director of Operations Mac Campbell introduced three informal proposals for waste removal, and the Commission accepted the low bid of over $48,000 from Hartwich Brothers. The City wants to develop a plan to sustain the site after this cleanup, to avoid another big expense in the future.
