Kimball council purchases materials for summer road repairs

The Kimball City Council approved the purchase of materials needed for road repairs this summer at its regularly scheduled meeting on May 5.

The council heard from Adam Vath, of the firm of M.C. Schaff & Associates of Scottsbluff, regarding a bid for the chip seal project for city streets. The bid amount from the company, which has worked with the city often in the past, included alternative bids based on which oil is used for the project.

The lesser amount, which uses a “water-based” oil, totals $88,041.30. The most expensive bid totals $97,498.75.

The more expensive bid was recommended by M.C. Schaff and includes an oil, which, according to the bid, is “less prone to problems during construction should a weather event suddenly occur.”

The project would cover approximately 14 blocks of city streets, including Walnut, 2nd, 3rd, 9th and County Road 43 from 3rd Street to the gravel.

The council voted to accept the bid using the more expensive oil. Work will begin in August and is to be completed before Sept. 15.

Additionally, the board heard an update on the power plant from Lance Terrill that included photos of necessary repairs. Terrill said that the engines were evaluated in April and that is when the photos were taken.

“I pulled everything out that I felt was a priority and made a summarized list,” Terrill said of the packet given to the board.

The facility has several needs that are currently being addressed with priorities defined for immediate attention, including brittle hydraulic lines which may be causing leaks pressure on one engine.

Engine three is currently completely non-operational and crews believe that the issue is in the head of the engine.

“It was an issue to the point that he (Larry Wheeler) said to shut it down and don’t run it until we get the issue figured out,” Terrill said.

Terrill added that it has been slow going as crews are forced to narrow down potential concerns on each of the engines.

The Environmental Protection Agency warned the city about keeping a maintenance log on all equipment, according to City Administrator Daniel Ortiz.

Terrill has made handwritten logs and is currently implementing a computer printout that will detail work done on each engine in the plant.

Mayor Keith Prunty asked how many of the engines can be run on gas, to which Terrill said the Cooper and engines four, one and two are switched over and engine five runs on diesel as far as he can tell.

The town ran off power generated from the plant last Thursday while electric work was being done locally.

He added that the measure will be taken while work is being down to a substation and main lines that feed the city’s power.

Terrill assured the board that the power plant should be ready to cover the city’s power needs, which it was able to do.

The council also approved a $1,000 Keno fund grant for three young ladies from the Dead Eye Shooters 4-H group.

The funds will assist with travel expenses for Madie Snyder of Kimball, Shauntae Daily of Dix and Annie Grothhusen of Mitchell, who are all participating in the NRA National Invitational to be held May 23-24 in Albuquerque, N.M., and the CMP National Invitational in Anniston, Ala., on June 20.

Coach Nicole Snyder estimates the total cost for the combined events at $7,000, and as the entire cost of the competitions and travel fall on the contestants. The ladies will be doing fundraising on their own to supplement the grant.

“These young ladies have worked really, really hard this year,” Snyder said.

Council member James Schnell joked with the girls, “Just one more question – what happened to the boys this year?”

“Well, they don’t shoot as well,” Madie Snyder quipped.

“Thank you very much. Your ongoing support has been wonderful,” Nicole Snyder said. “We have grown from a club of about 10 to 15 kids to well over 30 who come continually.”

The club has requested Keno funds previously and has received a total of $2,500 in grant monies since 2013.

The council also appointed Chris Rowley to the Board of Public Works and ratified the list of active volunteer firemen.

Prior to the city council meeting, the council met as the Community Development Agency. The CDA last met Jan. 20 of this year to discuss selling two lots on Evergreen Street jointly, but no action was taken at that previous meeting.

Those lots were again a topic in front of the board last Tuesday. They have been advertised for sale, but no bids have been received on either lot.

Ortiz reminded the board that based on previous discussion, the lots can be sold jointly and a resolution was written for that purpose. Without further discussion, Resolution 2015-01 passed. It stated that the lots can be combined for sale as one if interested parties want it that way.

“I think the same rules apply for the two-year window for construction on those lots,” Ortiz said.

According to Resolution 2015-01, if both lots are purchased as one parcel, the selling price will be $1,000. However, if after two years a single family home has not been constructed, the lot(s) will revert back to the CDA and purchase price will not be returned unless good cause is shown. Additionally, buyers must state in a sealed bid that two lots will be used for one dwelling and the home must be constructed according to the specific rules for that land purchase.

If a buyer purchases two or more lots, and each lot is used for separate dwellings, buyers would have additional two-year windows in which to build.

The board, still in session as the CDA, also voted to repay loans for the rail spur from economic development funds during the meeting.

“If you recall last year we had accrued enough tax proceeds last year to pay the Board of Public Works loan, but we didn’t have enough to pay back the EDA loan,” Ortiz said. “Looking at where we stand right now with tax proceeds we now have enough to pay those back and get those off this account.”

Prunty said that this was basically Paul getting paid from Peter, though the CDA fund will still have a negative balance.

Council member John Morrison was absent from both meetings. He was excused from the CDA meeting, and later from the council meeting as well.