City Manager's Report
Greetings! With the mayoral election coming up, citizens have chimed in on issues that are most important to them. Water continues to be at the top of these concerns. I wanted to take this opportunity to address the Water Improvement Fee that is on our utility bills. The belief is that the City collects this fee, but nothing is ever done with the funding. This simply is not the truth. Over the past several years, new water lines have been installed in certain areas around town and also the wells were rehabilitated. As I have addressed in previous reports, the City was down to a single well to supply the town. With the completion of the wells, the City now has three wells to supply the town and new lines that carry the water from the wells to the plant. The City financed this project and the Water Improvement Fee is used to make the payments. These water projects, though, are multi-million-dollar projects and simply take time to pay off, so we are limited on the number of projects we can do at any given time. I am happy to report that the City just made its final payment on one of the two notes associated with this project. With a little more room in the budget, now we are making plans to begin the next phase of water improvement, the rehabilitation and replacement of the clearwell. We will look to acquire grant funding for this project, but the vast majority of grants require matching funds, often as high as 50%. As citizens, you can help the City acquire grant funding. We will be required to send out an income survey in the near future to help qualify us for grants. We must get a survey sample of 300 homes and all survey responses are kept confidential. Respond to the survey and help the City make these needed water improvements.
Road Repairs. Evans & Associates returned to town to complete work at the old gym. With that, their list of approved repairs is complete for now. The City will now look to additional areas for future repairs. City crews continue to patch a few pot holes around town, including 6th Street. Also, work has been done in repairing alleys behind the clinic and on K. More alleys are planned in the areas of W. 3rd, N. Maple, S. Magnolia, and S. Elm, now that the box blade is repaired.
Public Works. City crews have been working to repair 5 leaks in town including 6th & N, W. 10th, N. J, N. Apple and along 7th. Otherwise, they are working on repairs at the water plant and ground maintenance at the well field. Work also continues on adapting the meter lids on the new electronic read meters. The electric department is working on replacing poles at the grade school and working with Glass Trucking for power at their new wash bays.
Emergency Services. The Fire Department is completing maintenance and repairs on several vehicles. The department easily passed a surprise inspection by the state about a week and a half ago. Otherwise, work continues on recertification. On the police side, training continues going well. The department submitted the approved quote to the state for the ODIS system mentioned in the last report. We will be able to access that data soon.
Staffing. The City is currently fully-staffed.
Donations, Grants & Projects. Supplies continue to be delivered for the No. 1 Lift Station. Demolition of the current lift station is set to begin in April and should take approximately two weeks. Construction will follow, possibly at the end of April, but most likely the beginning of May. The continuation of this project is the renovation of the lagoons south of town. The engineering plans are nearing completion. The City will put the project out for bid once plans are finalized. The Department of Commerce has completed a random number generation for the income survey needed to apply for CDBG funding next year. This funding, if awarded, will go towards the renovation of the clearwell. The city-owned property north of town has been submitted to the Department of Commerce’s project manager for the site readiness program. It is currently under review. The City submitted the bathrooms at Lions Park and pool equipment for consideration. ODOT has scheduled a meeting in April to go over the 90% plans for the sidewalks project slated for 2025 or 2026. BNSF continues work to repair the railroad crossings at 1st and 7th.
Financials. At the end of March, 75% of the fiscal year will elapse. Financials for March will be available at the first meeting in April. In February, revenue remained down 9.3% for the year, as expected, and has remained steady over the past 3 months. Expenses were also down 12% for the year. Total revenue continues to remain above total expenses for the year. Department budgets are running 3.1% under budget for the year.
Events. The candidate forum for mayor and school board will be held tomorrow, Tuesday, March 26th, at 7:00 p.m. at the Main Street office. City offices will be closed this Friday, March 29th, in observance of Good Friday.
Ryan Smykil
Newkirk City Manager