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2001 - Summer A report from your city government aTheSalina Citizen Summer 2001 Dear Salina Citizens: The City of Salipa is pleased to present to you the Summer 2001 edition of The Sa- lina Citizen. We hope this issue not only helps inform you in regard to City projects, but stimulates your interest and par- ticipation in local government. The City Commission and members of the City staff en- courage you to ask questions and to make your views known. This continues to be an exciting and challenging time for our community. We look forward to hearing from you and working with you to meet the challenges. ahead. Sincerely, Salina City Commission SALINA POLICE DEPARTMENT RECEIVES RE-AcCREDITATION On March 24, 2001, the Salina Po- lice Department was re-accredited by the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies (CALEA). During a formal cere- mony, the Commission recognized the department as having met all ap- plicable professional policing stan- dards required for accreditation. The Salina Police Department was first awarded accredited status in March of 1996. By voluntarily complying with 439 nationally rec- ognized professional police stan- dards, the department sought to: (1) increase its capability to prevent and control crime, (2) enhance agency effectiveness and efficiency in the delivery of law enforcement serv- ices, (3) improve cooperation and coordination with other law enforce- ment agencies and with other com- ponents of the criminal justice sys- tem, and (4) increase citizen and staff confidence in the goals, objec- tives, policies and practices of the department. To be re-accredited, a team of three CALEA assessors conducted a comprehensive top-to-bottom inspec- tion of the police department, and determined that the department's or- ganizational practices and opera- tional procedures met or exceeded all required professional standards. Upon completion of the four-day on- site assessment, the assessors pre- pared a detailed report of their find- ings, which was submitted to the Commission on Accreditation for review. The team of assessors rec- ommended that the agency be re- accredited, and wrote in their report that they found the Salina Police De- partment to be "a very well oper- ated and professional law enforce- ment agency." Accreditation's seal of approval, which is granted for a three-year pe- riod, provides consumers of law en- forcement services with confidence that their police department's rules, regulations, policies, procedures and practices conform to the highest pro- fessional standards. "Although re- accreditation has been a major un- dertaking that has required consider- able commitment of departmental energies and talent, the endeavor has left our police department better for the effort and more professional for the accomplishment," said Chief Jim Hill. "Most importantly, however, accreditation has enhanced and will continue to enhance the police de- partment's ability to provide the citi- zens of Salina with the highest qual- ity, most professional, police service possible." Inside: 2 Making Sense ofCen- sus 2000 4 New Payment Options for City Services 7 City Receives 2001 Public Im- provement Awards THE SALINA CITIZEN Page 2 KEEPING THE STREETS "CLEAN" One of the more important func- tions of the City's Street Division is the street sweeping operation. Salina is considered to be a very clean city, from the standpoint of our parks sys- tem, landscaping standards for devel- oping properties, appearance of our downtown business district, and the conditions of our building and facili- ties. Certainly, a major element of be- ing perceived as a clean city is the con- dition and cleanliness of our streets. In 1999, the City's Street Division was charged with the internal goal of significantly improving the cleanliness of all streets in the City, while utilizing existing equipment and labor. . At that time, the goal of sweeping each street once a month was rarely being achieved. The City was operating two street sweepers two shifts per day. One shift operated from 2:00 AM to 10:00 AM and the other from 7:30 AM to 4:30 PM. As a result of re-evaluating our street sweeping operations, the Street Division added one additional shift to the street sweeping operation. Currently, the City operates two street sweepers in two separate shifts. The first shift runs one of the street sweepers from midnight to 7:30 AM, while the other shift oper- ates both sweepers from 7:30 AM to 4:00 PM. The goal of sweeping all streets in the City once per month is now being achieved. In addition, the downtown streets are swept daily and major arterial streets are swept bi-weekly. Perhaps the most visibly noticeable change from our citi- zens standpoint has been in the . cleaner arterial streets. Ultimately, it is the City's hope that these internal changes in street sweeping result in a higher quality service delivery to the citizens of Salina. IMAKING SENSE OF CENSUS 2000 The 2000 Census figures indicate for the most part that all parts of Salina have had some moderate increase in population compared to the 1990 Cen- sus. As the chart indicates, there was lesser growth in Salina's core and its original neighborhoods, while more people are living in the eastern and southern areas of the City. Overall, Census 2000 figures show the City of Salina has gained about 3,376 people over the past ten years. Rural Saline County has added an additional 920 residents. The areas where the population has increased aren't swprising. The City has been developing rapidly to the south and east over. the past ten years, where the availability of and relatively easy access to agricultural land encour- ages growth. New housing develop- ments in these areas include Golden Eagle Estates, River Trail, Eastview Estates, Woodland Hills and HigWand Meadows Hamlet, all representative of the type of high-quality residential growth the City of Salina is experiencing. The areas where popu- lation has grown at a slower rate are not sur- prising either. Natural and human-made barriers to the north and west (floodplains and high- ways) inhibit growth there. The City continues to experience outstanding commercial and institu- tional growth and rede- velopment. However, centrally located areas with minimal vacant land experience the loss of residential property as an inevitable result. 2000 Census Data 2000 _m~______~_~_~ _.~___ _____~~__ ~___~_m 1800 ,---------- - -....-- .m___._~__n_ ~.~ ~ _.n ----~ i 1600 -L---________~_~__~_~_~__~_~~.__. ... , e 1400 -'-------------------------- ,g , I: 1200 .,------- -------.-. ____.____.u________ I ':~~-:-m_.~~~.=-~I----~-~~-~. e 4OO~____n.___m_ -- - --.-- c 200 . __u___ Q. l1li, . All in all, Salina shows strong commercial and residential growth. The Downtown core and older neighborhoods remain relatively sta- ble in the face of commercial rede- velopment. Residential growth con- North Salina WfS Salina South Salina East Salina locaIIon tinues to move further east in a compact and orderly fashion. With clear boundaries to the north and west of the City, avail- able land to the south and east, and a commercially viable down- town core, it is relatively easy to predict and prepare for the City's future growth patterns. I SUMMER 200 I Page 3 CITY & COUNTY INSTALL NEW PHONE SYSTEM tributed as an insert in the Buyers Guide and Country Roads publi- cations on March 6th. These re- placement pages were designed to look like actual telephone book pages to be retained and inserted into the telephone directories for future reference with additional replacement pages available at the numbers to be automatically for- warded to the proper locations through mid-September. After that time, the caller will receive a mes- sage that the number has been changed and the new number will be given. This message will stay in effect until the new directories are published in late 2001. The new system provides several service related features that were not available on the previous system. These include voicemail, the ability to add remote sites, additional expan- sion capabilities, the ability to track usage and the ability to track demand on the phone system. We are confi- dent that this transition will be seam- less for our citizens. However, if any resident experiences difficulty con- tacting the City or the County, they should contact the City Clerk's office at 300 West Ash, Room 206, (785) 309-5735. Furthermore, brochures that can be inserted into the phone book are available at several offices in the City-County Building and other locations. On March 12, 2001 the City of Salina and Saline County re- placed their antiquated and mal- functioning telephone systems with a modern system to serve the City- County Building, the Smoky Hill Museum, Arts and Humanities, Sanitation and Street Departments. As a result of this change, the phone numbers for these locations have changed. Emergency numbers such as the Salina Police Department and Saline Fire Department were not part of the new phone system in- stallation and their phone num- bers did not change. All of the phone numbers that changed will now have a 309 prefix. The City and County under- took a public information cam- paign to ensure our customers were informed about the phone number change. Notices with the new phone numbers were sent by City Clerk's Office. direct mail to most Salina/Saline In the event that a resident County residents on March 6th. misplaced the new numbers, the In addition, replacement pages City of Salina and Saline County for the telephone book were dis- have arranged for calls to the old IFIRE DEPARTMENT PLANS FOR "HALLOWEEN FIRE HOUSE" "I As part of National Fire Pre- W. Elm Street, will serve as a tempo- Lighters & Matches: Dancing vention month, the Salina Fire De- rary Halloween theatrical set de- Skeletons and Pumpkins will demon- partment, along with the Salina signed with six rooms, each provid- strate the dangers of playing with Homebuilders Association will be ing a specific fire or life safety les- lighters, matches and fire. offering a "Halloween Fire House" son. Flammable Liquids: A Mad Scien- in October. The Halloween Fire The following rooms are tist explains the danger of playing House will be open evenings from planned: with fire and flammable liquids, es- 6-9 PM starting Thursday, October Smoke Alarms: Count Firefighter pecially gasoline. 25 and running thru Saturday, Oc- Floyd will demonstrate the need for Stop, Drop & Roll: Monsters will tober 27. working smoke alarms in your home. demonstrate the need to Stop, Drop This safe Halloween event will 911 Calls: Frankenstein ant! The & Roll when clothing catches fire. provide a place for families with Mummy will demonstrate calling 911 Firefighters and other volunteers children 10 years and under to en- for fire, medical and other emer- will perform the demonstrations. joy the "spookiness" of Halloween gency calls. These will be "role playing" only and free of charge, while learning life Escape: Ghosts will demonstrate the will not endanger anyone. Super- saving fire and life safety rules. need to have two exits from every Sparky, will provide Halloween Fire Station #1, located at 222 room in case of fire. Safety Tips and safe treats to all. t "Emergency numbers such as the City of Sa- lina Police Department and Fire Department were not part of the new phone system installa- tion and their phone numbers did not change. " THE SALINA CITIZEN Page 4 New Payment Options for Services On May 14, 2001, the Salina City Commission approved a pro- gram to expand the City's ability to accept credit cards for payment. In the past, the City has accepted credit cards for payment at three locations: the Bicentennial Center; the Golf Course Pro Shop; and the Parks & Recreation Department. Under this expanded program the City will now accept credit cards for payment at several additional locations. These include: Solid Waste Landfill; Building Services; Finance/City Clerk's Office; Water Customer Accounting; and Munici- pal Court. This expanded program allows our customers the ability to pay for most City services ranging from acquiring a building permit to paying a water bill with a credit card. Along with the expanded credit card program, water bills can now be paid online with a credit card. The City of Salina has contracted with the Official Payment Corporation (OPe) to provide City water users the ability to pay their water bill online. To pay the bill online, the customer must go through the City of Salina homepage, which can be located at www.ci. salina.ks.us. Once on the City's homepage, you will need to navigate your way to the Water Customer Ac- counting web page, from which you will be able to access the Official Payment Corporation link. Once on the secure Official Payment Corpora- tion link, the customer answers a series of questions to ensure the cor- rect account is credited. There is a charge to the customer for utilizing online credit card payments. The customer is advised of the fee sev- eral times during the transaction and is given several opportunities to withdraw from the transaction. The fee for the transaction is dependent on the amount of the water bill, however the typical fee for a $60 to $75 bill is $2.28. The goal of these two new pay- ment programs is to implement ac- cepted business practices that result in customer service and convenience improvements for the citizens of Sa- lina. , CITY IMPLEMENTS CONTRACTOR REGISTRATION PROGRAM The City of Salina recently adopted registration requirements for contractors and tradesman. Registration of contractors and tradesmen ensures that work per- formed is done in a satisfactory manner and in compliance with the J 997 Uniform Building Code. Also, registration allows the City to maintain a database of all contrac- tors performing work in the City of Salina. Currently, there are two cate- gories of registration: (1) Contractor: a person that plans and supervises the unlimited con- struction, alteration, remodeling, addition, improvement or repair of any building or structure exceeding $25,000. (2) Tradesman: a person that plans and supervises the construction, alteration, remodeling, addition, improvement or repair of any resi- dential building or structure in an amount not to exceed $25,000. To be exempted from the registra- tion requirements, one of the follow- ing must apply: (a) The owner of an owner-occupied dwelling shall not be required to be registered in order to do work on that dwelling regulated by the above re- . quirements. (b) Persons who own property or are regularly employed by the property owner are exempt from the registra- tion requirement when they are per- forming work on property that is ex- empt from the requirements for a permit. An appropriate registration is required for all work that requires a permit. In order to be registered, the fol- lowing requirements must be met: . Completion of an application form available at the City Clerk's Office. . Payment of a fee, good for three years, as follows: Contractor - $55 Tradesman - $25. . Provide a surety bond in the amount of $10,000 on the City's Standard Bond Form. . Provide documentation of liabil- ity insurance. . Provide documentation of work- ers compensation coverage if required by state law. The City currently has over 275 registered contractors and tradesmen and City staff will continue to moni- tor the implementation process to ensure all contractors will be regis- tered. Performing work without proper registration is a violation of the Salina City Municipal Code. If you have any questions regarding the registration process or questions on whether or not your contractor is registered with the City of Salina contact the City Clerk's Office at (785) 309-5735 or the Department SUMMER 200 I Page 5 NEW LEAD BASED-PAINT REGULATIONS New lead based-paint regulations (K..A.R. 28-71-51 to 28-71-54) have been passed by the Kansas Legisla- ture that affects pre-1978 housing. The new regulations are designed to provide residents of pre-1978 hous- ing with information to help prevent lead exposure, which can cause seri- ous health effects, especially in chil- dren and pregnant women. In gen- eral, these new requirements apply City of Salina Organization Chart July 2001 to anyone compensated for work per- formed in housing built before 1978 including: residential rental property, owner/managers, general contrac- tors, painters, plumbers, carpenters and electricians. These new regula- tions are applicable when a project disturbs more than 2 square feet of painted surfaces. Under the new law, the person performing the work must distribute City Commission Kristin Seaton, Mayor Alan Jilka Deborah Divine Larry Mathews Monte Shadwick Building Codes Inspections Administration Fire Suppression EMS Codes/Inspection Public Education. Engineering Design/Inspect. Traffic General Services Streets Flood Works Traffic Control Sanitation Central Garage Planning Neighborhood Services Operations Food & Beverage Ticket Office City Clerk Accounting Utility Accounting Treasurer Municipal Court Judge City Attorney Municipal Court Adm. City Prosecutor Human Resources Information Services Human Relations Water & Wastewater Water Treatment Wastewater Coil. & Treatment Solid Waste Patrol Investigations Communications Internal Affairs Museum Arts Education Arts Services River Festival Horizons Program Swimming Pool Golf Course Parks Recreation Forestry Cemetery Building Maint. the pamphlet, Protect your Family From Lead in Your Home, and a renovation notice, including start time and project details to housing owners and occupants before start- ing the renovations. For more infor- mation or to obtain Lead Hazard In- formation Pamphlets, contact the Kansas Childhood Lead Poisoning Prevention Program at 1-888-291- 2821. JOB OPPORTUNITIES City of Salina job vacancies are adver- tised in the Salina Journal on the I st and 15th of every month, can be seen daily on the Government Information Channel (20), and on the City Website at ci.salina.ks.us. De- pending on the nature of the position, the City may advertise in other publications. A City of Salina employment application must be completed for each position and a resume may be attached to the application. The City generally establishes application deadlines for all advertised positions. The length of the deadline is usually a minimum of ten (10) days. Following the closing date, applications are screened by the supervisors from the de- partment that has the vacancy. Candidates are selected for interview and/or testing based on the information provided. After interviews and reference checks are con- ducted, and approval from the City Manager is received, candidates are provided a condi- tional employment offer. As a condition of employment, the candidates may be required to pass a physical examination to ensure that they can perform the essential functions of the job. All new employees must pass a drug test as a condition of employment. All other remaining candidates are notified by mail of their status. For more information on City of Salina employment opportunities, please call the Human Resources Department at 309-5710 or (TDD) at 309-5747. The Human Re- sources Department is located in Room 200, City-County Building, 300 West Ash. I THE SALINA CITIZEN PAGE 6 On Saturday.May 5, 2001, the City of Salina Municipal Golf Course offi- cially opened its six-hole, Par 3 Golf Course. The Par 3 Course is located adjacent to the Salina Municipal Golf Course on Crawford Street. For many years, Salina has pondered the possi- bility of having a Par 3 golf course to complement its current facility, but it wasn't until the City was approached by a group of citizens with a mission of bringing golf to all of Salina's youth that this project was able to be com- pleted. The local First Tee Chapter is a na- tional organization sponsored by the Professional Golfers' Association (pGA) Tour, the PGA of America, the Ladies Professional Golfers' Associa- tion (LPGA), the United States Golf- ers' Association (USGA) and the Augu~ta National Golf Club. The or- ganizations objective is to develop af- fordable and accessible. golf facilities for youth up to the age of 18. Salina's local First Tee chapter was able to ob- tain $100,000 in grant funds from the National First Tee Foundation, $100,000 from USGA, $200,000 in local contributions for a total $400,000 in donations. The City's portion of the project was $200,000 for a total proj- ect cost of $600,000. In an effort to concentrate on youth play, there are reserved times in which youth play or youth and adult play have priority. During weekdays in the summer, times will be reserved for youth play or youth and adult from 8:00 AM to 3:00 PM. After 3:00 PM, play is open for general public play. On weekends, youth will have priority IRED LIGHT, GREEN LIGHT State-of-the-art technology contin- ues to prevail in the traffic control area of municipal public works. The City of Salina Traffic Control Division, along with the Traffic Safety Team, have recently adopted and imple- mented some of the new technology available for traffic control. First, the City has begun installing emergency preemption devices at ma- jor intersections. These devices allow an approaching emergency vehicle, mounted with a special light bar, to trigger the signal controller to provide a green light in the direction of travel of the emergency vehicle. This new technology not only improves response times, but it also enhances the traffic safety at the intersection. There are over 20 of these systems in service on Ohio Street, Crawford Street, Broad- way Boulevard and Ninth Street. Secondly, the City ha'S begun utiliz- ing a video detection systems for new traffic signals. Most traffic signal sys- tems installed over the past twenty years have included a loop detection system, which is made up of wires (loops) embedded in the pavement for the detection of approaching vehicles. When the wires detect a vehicle, a message is sent to the signal controller and the signal turns green for that phase of the system. The loop detec- tion system has been very reliable over the years. However, problems do arise from time to time and the repairs are expensive and disruptive to traffic. The new video detection' systems are actual video cameras mounted on poles overlooking the intersection. These video cameras are specifically de- signed for detecting vehicles and rug- ged outdoor, continuous use. Most major intersections will have four cam- eras, one detecting each direction of travel. In addition to much lower cost for repairs, the response time for repair will improve significantly, due to the ease of replacing a single camera. These cameras are not utilized for writing traffic citations, as they do not on Saturday's from 7:00 AM - 3:00 PM and on Sunday's from Noon to 3:00 PM. During other times, the course will be open to all golfers. Green fees are $5.00 for adults and $2.00 for youth for unlimited daily play on the Par 3 Course. actually take a picture. There are three such systems in operation at this time along Belmont Avenue. Lastly, the City is in its third phase of three phases of convert- ing all its incandescent red traffic signal light bulbs with new LED (light emitting diode) traffic signal bulbs. These new LED traffic sig- nal bulbs have several advantages over the older incandescent bulbs. In addition to being brighter and more visible for driving, other ad- vantages of the LED bulbs are that the life span of the bulbs is 10 times greater than the incandescent bulbs, and the LEDs require much less energy for use, which results in a long-term cost savings for the City. The City's Traffic Control Di- vision and Traffic Safety Team will continue to monitor the suc- cess of these programs and keep the most up-to-date technology on the streets of Salina. SUMMER 200 I Page 7 THE BICENTENNIAL CENTER BEGINS NEW PROGRAM The Salina Bicentennial Center has begun using a new computer- ized ticketing system that makes ticket ordering more convenient for both local and out-of-town customers and all customers with access to a computer. Until recently, the only way to order tickets for events at the Bi- centennial Center was to call the Bi-Center's box office, or physi- cally go to the Hi-Center or one of its 9 ticket outlets in 8 area cities. You would then receive a "paper" ticket that admitted you to the event. Beginning last year, The Bi- Center began experimenting with a computerized system calledSe- lect-a-Seat. To utilize the com- puterized system, you must access the Select-a-Seat website at www. selectaseat.com. Once at the web- site, select the "Bicentennial Center" as your site, then select the event you want tickets for and follow the on- screen instructions. There is a slight additional fee involved when using this option, but it's perfect for those persons who cannot easily travel to the Bicentennial Center's box office. or one of the ticket outlets. As an added bonus, use of this system has added an estimated 19 additional ticket outlets in the Wich- ita and Hutchinson area to the 7 al- ready in use in the Salina area. If this system continues to succeed, it is possible that more outlets will be- come available in the future. In addition, the Bicentennial Center maintains a very useful website of its own at www.bicentennial.org. On it, you will find up-to-date information and announcements about a myriad of upcoming events. The website is up- dated regularly and is the easiest way to find out about events, last minute changes or special announcements. PROJECT UPDATES CITY RECEIVES 2001 PUBLIC IMPROVEMENT AWARDS On May 17, 2001, the Kansas Chapter of American Public Works Association awarded the City of Salina two awards for "Project of the Year" in Kansas. The City of Salina received two of the seven state-wide awards in 200 I. The $4 million South Ohio Corridor Improvements Project received the 200 I Transportation award in the $2 - $10 million category and the Water Treatment Plant Improvement Project re- ceived the 200 I Environmental award in the $2 - $10 million category . The South Ohio Corridor Im- provement Project was completed November 20, 2000. The project involved major street and flood control improvements on South Ohio Street from Belmont Boule- vard to Magnolia Road and on Magnolia Road from Ohio Street to Belmont Boulevard. The proj- ect will provide benefits in the way of alleviating flooding problems and drainage inadequacies along Magno- lia Road, S. Ohio, and Belmont Boulevard. Furthermore, the project will improve traffic flow and safety for the S. Ohio Street/Belmont Blvd.! Wayne Ave. intersection and at S. Ohio Street/Magnolia Road. Realign- ment, dedicated turn lanes and traffic signals will improve efficiency and safety of the intersection. The road improvements will accommodate fu- ture growth in southeast Salina. By improving existing corridors and making accommodations for future corridor improvements, this project will minimize the negative impacts of future development in southeast Sa- lina. The $5 million Water Treatment Plant Improvement Project was com- pleted in the fall of 2000. This proj- ect effectively removes dry cleaning solvents and petroleum products pres- ent in groundwater supplies, which could threaten our public water wells. This process is achieved through the use of air stripping units, which provides for the remediation of contaminated groundwater. These units provide a beneficial re-use of the treated groundwater as a safe wa- ter supply for our customers. It is important to note that not only did these two major City proj- ects receive these prestigious awards, but both projects were also com- pleted on schedule and under budget. THE SALINA CITIZEN Page 8 FIRE INSPECTION PROGRAM EXCELS AT PREVENTING FIRES The Salina Fire Department's overall goal is "Excellence in the Prevention and Mitigation of Emer- gencies." Even though the word "prevention" is oftentimes over- looked by people when they hear the name "Fire Department," the City of Salina Fire Department puts it "first" in their efforts. Fire prevention is achieved in sev- eral ways, but one of the more impor- tant ways for the Salina Fire Depart- ment to assist in preventing fires is by its annual inspection program of commercial businesses. The Salina Fire Department is able to reduce the frequency of fires by identifying risks and correcting them before a fire occurs. The Salina Fire Depart- ment was able to accomplish its year 2000 goal of completing 2,156 in- spections of commercial structures. These inspections prevented many possible fires in the community by identifying over 1,200 fire code vio- lations. Once a fire code violation is iden- tified, the Salina Fire Department has recently adopted a four-step process that focuses on working with the cus- tomer, but it also outlines a clear path of what will take place if a violation is not corrected. A fire can affect people directly and indirectly, through physical injury or loss of livelihood. How- ever, many fires can be prevented by taking the necessary steps be- fore a fire occurs. The Salina Fire Department Inspection Program is often overlooked, but it is an es- sential component in protecting your personal safety and to safe- guard the business that .you may work or visit. If you have any questions regarding fire inspec- tions or safety precautions, please contact the Salina Fire Department at 826-7340. Articles were written by City Staff. with design by Rocky Bumgarner and LaDonna Bennett. Questions/Comments? Call the City Manager's Office at 309-5700 a Residential Patron Salina, KS 67401 * Printed on Recycled Paper PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID Permit No. 400 SALINA. KS City Commissioners want to hear from you Members of the Salina City Commis- sion are always interested in your comments and suggestions on city services and poli- cies. Each Commissioner welcomes letterS and telephone calls. Write them at P.O. Box 736, Salina, KS 67402-0736. The Commissioners phone numbers are listed below: Kristin M. Seaton Larry L. Mathews Alan E. Jilka Monte Shadwick Deborah Divine , I ,I 825-7926 823-8228 827-0002 827-6761 823-3447