City commission votes to cap manhole at abandoned sewer line

An abandoned city sewer line running through a farmground plot east of Holton will remain in place, but the Holton City Commission on Monday voted to cap a manhole at the southern end of that line in an effort to alleviate any future drainage issues in the vicinity.

Commissioners voted unanimously to approve a motion by Erich Campbell to “plug” the manhole and terminate the city’s easement around the sewer line that was abandoned by the city in the late 1980s, but take no action toward removing the line. The matter had been discussed at the commission’s last two meetings, with commissioners agreeing on Oct. 19 to research the line further before taking any action.

Lee Doyle of rural Holton owns the property where the abandoned line is located, and at previous commission meetings, he expressed concerns that the abandoned line is causing drainage problems on his property. Furthermore, Doyle said, parts of the clay tile line are breaking off and could do expensive damage to farm equipment that is used on that ground.

Commissioners reiterated the need to cap the manhole at the southern end of the line, and Commissioner Tim Morris said that based on a recommendation from City Attorney Dennis White, that could be done.

“We have to do that,” Morris said. “Unless someone can tell me differently, that’s where we have to start… The problem was left unattended 20-some years ago, and we have to do whatever it takes, the way it should have been done, back when they closed it.”

Campbell agreed with capping the manhole, but contended that the city was not responsible for any further action regarding the line.

“It’s kind of a legal matter now,” Campbell said. “The sewer line was abandoned four years prior to Lee taking possession of the property, and he’s said that he did modifications and repairs to the line… Once you do that, you exercise ownership of that line.”

As for the potential damage that could be done because of cracking clay tile sewer line — Doyle previously said that if a piece of the broken line goes through a combine tire, it’s a $5,000 expenditure to replace the tire — Campbell said that damage is “not a city commission issue, but an insurance issue.” Doyle had said at the Oct. 19 meeting that this has not yet happened but it remains a concern.

“The city has insurance, and he can file a claim with the city,” Campbell said. “But for us to second-guess what might or might not happen is really not in our realm.”

Following the vote to cap the manhole and terminate the city’s easement, Holton City Manager Bret Bauer said he planned to meet with Doyle on Tuesday to further discuss action that was taken during the meeting.

In other business on Monday, commissioners received a reminder from Bruce Rinkes of Holton’s King and Associates Engineering that the concrete street reconstruction project at Holton Industrial Park will be completed sometime in the next two weeks, weather permitting. Street reconstruction work has stopped temporarily, Rinkes said, to allow recently-poured concrete time to cure.

Campbell later suggested that the city hold a ribbon-cutting ceremony for the reconstructed industrial park roads, a collaborative project between King and Associates Engineering and Topeka’s Kansas Heavy Construction firm that cost the city roughly $930,000, when the work is complete. Such a ceremony, Campbell said, would give the city a chance to show city residents how their tax dollars are being spent.

“It’s more than just this project,” Campbell said. “We have a lot of other projects that we need to show that we’ve completed, like painting the water tower. We should start broadcasting when we finish these projects, as opposed to getting the money, doing the job and staying quiet about it.”

The city’s industrial park is located north of the city limits on U.S. Highway 75 and includes an estimated three-quarters of a mile worth of streets. The commission had earmarked $1 million in this year’s budget for road improvements in the industrial park, noting an intent to pay for the improvements with existing cash rather than issuing debt to do it and pay interest on that debt later.

Chip-and-seal roads in the industrial park had been heavily deteriorated in recent years due to heavy trucks that utilize those roads, and in December of last year, Holton Street Superintendent Rex Cameron recommended rebuilding the roads with concrete. It had been discussed whether city street crews could go out and do the work, but Cameron and Bauer said it would be better to have the job contracted out so that city crews could concentrate on the annual street repair program.  

Commissioners also:

* Approved minutes from the Oct. 19 meeting and budget appropriations made since that meeting.

* Were introduced to new police officer Justin Schmitz and new power production employees Josh McClintock and Mathew Rice.

* Approved a resolution adopting an “omnibus continuing disclosure undertaking,” which Bauer said allows the city to “commit to timely and accurate market disclosure” relating to the recent refinancing bond issue in regard to annual filing of certain financial information and operating data. 

* Heard a comment from Commissioner Dan Brenner about city police and Jackson County Sheriff patrols on U.S. Highway 75 through the city.

* Heard a question from Brenner about whether communications and other companies have to submit forms to the city to close alleys in order to do line maintenance. Assistant City Manager Kerwin McKee said that an alley serves as “an easement for utlities” who do their own work, and that he had heard no comments about damage to a residential structure in the area where a company had been doing recent work.

* Heard a comment from Mayor Robert Dieckmann about junk vehicles in the city limits. McKee reminded him that “there is a procedure” that the city follows in cleaning up unsightly vehicles and properties.

* Heard a comment from Campbell about a year-to-year drop in September sales tax collections for the city, as well as a question about what impact that drop may have on the city. City Clerk Teresa Riley said that September is “generally a slow month” for sales tax collections, noting that in terms of month-to-month comparisons, this year has been “a lot more steady” than previous years.

* Continued discussion on how to handle a Christmas bonus for city employees.

* Met in executive session for 10 minutes to discuss land acquisition and matters of attorney-client privilege. No action resulted from the session. n Adjourned the meeting at 7:45 p.m. All commissioners were present, including Dieckmann, Brenner, Campbell, Morris and Twila White.