CITY MANAGER’S REPORT

Week ending November 16, 2012

Water/Wastewater Capital Improvement Plan Options and Revenue Requirements

This fall City staff has been working to develop a number of possible capital improvement scenarios for the City's water and wastewater utility.  The attached report provides these options along with revenue requirements and community consequences associated with the various options.   Staff recommends that the City Commission review these options in the coming weeks to determine the appropriate course for the utility in 2013 and beyond.   Past capital investments have provided substantial benefits to the community - as the water reliability provided to customers during the current drought illustrates.  Staff has also worked to achieve a number of efficiencies in the operation of the utility, even in a market of climbing chemical and electric costs and with increasing costs associated with personnel (see graphs for all city costs for health care and KPERS).  Staff looks forward to continued discussions with the City Commission and further refinement of these options moving forward. 

Oread water tank inspections completed

The Utilities Department staff and contractors recently inspected the 1,000,000 gallon and 1,300,000 gallon Oread ground storage water tanks. The south tank was built in 1931, while the north tank was built in 1954. The purpose of the inspection was to determine the condition of the coatings and structure and evaluate the tanks for compliance with sanitation guidelines, safety and security regulations and guidelines in accordance with AWWA, OSHA, KDHE, US EPA, and US Department of Homeland Security and related state and federal agencies.

The attached report contains a summary of the findings of the inspections, and photos of the tanks. The contractor believes that rehabilitation is a feasible option for the tanks. Estimated costs to rehabilitation for the tanks are not available at this time but will be provided upon completion. Staff will evaluate the cost of rehabilitation versus replacement and may consider bidding both options.

KU/Oread lighted pathway project complete

The 12th Street, KU/Oread lighted pathway is now complete and under budget.  Usage numbers from a year ago have shown an increase in the use of this section of sidewalk. Please see the attached memo for more information and photos.

Performance management training sessions for supervisors held

Performance management training sessions were recently offered to supervisors within the City. The first session was specifically for new supervisors, and included a review of the city’s performance appraisal handbook, situational advice and tips for good documentation. Twenty-two participants attended the new supervisor training. Based on the evaluation feedback from this session, 58% of those participants think this training should be offered annually to new supervisors.

The other sessions were “refreshers” offered to experienced supervisors in a roundtable fashion. Two supervisor experts at three different roundtables led discussions on various aspects of performance management where participants could ask questions. Fifty-five supervisors participated in these sessions. Feedback from evaluations indicates that a majority of supervisors (61% of those who filled out evaluations) would like to attend these “refresher” sessions on an annual basis, and that they benefited from the structure of the roundtable discussions.

The performance management page on the intranet has had over 2,500 views from employees, making it one of the most frequently viewed pages on the intranet up to this date. Special thanks go to Tammy Bennett, Mark Hecker, Toni Wheeler, Margene Swarts, Marlo Cohen and Lori Carnahan for facilitating the roundtable discussions, and volunteering their time and expertise. Additional thanks to Marlo Cohen and Emily Kotay for helping coordinate these sessions and update the Performance Appraisal Handbook.