By Kelly McElroy, Newton City Manager

Sept. 28, 2022

Building, Development, & Project Updates

K-15: Work continued on concrete base repairs last week on the outside lanes. These were slated to be filled by end of day Friday. Demo work will begin on ADA ramps in need of updates and repairs this week, followed by inlet removal and replacement, and asphalt overlay of the outside lanes.

U.S. 50 South Ramp & S. Kansas: Staff applied for and the City was awarded a Transportation Engineering Assistance Program (TEAP) grant through Kansas Department of Tranportation for a traffic study at this intersection.  Previous traffic corridor studies stated a signal will be needed at this location in the future.  Due to the coming Starbucks, this location requires an updated review.

Sand Creek Station 4th Addition Waterline: Construction will begin on this project this week.

Police Department

We are pleased to report that two Newton officers graduated from the 299th Basic Training Class of the Kansas Law Enforcement Training Center (KLETC): Officers Gavin Powell and Brandon Ward. Officer Ward was awarded the “most improved” award for physical fitness while at the Academy. Welcome back to Newton, Officers Powell and Ward!

Chief Craig Dunlavy was the KLETC graduation speaker. Chief Dunlavy has been with the Newton Police Department for 30 years, working his way up from a position as an intern. As an experienced law enforcement leader, Chief Dunlavy shared his thoughts on what defines a leader and how who you are today translates to who you will be at the end of your career. He imparted great wisdom to the graduating class. His speech can be viewed on the KLETC Facebook page. We are #NewtonProud that Chief was chosen for this honor!

In October, many members of Newton Police will be wearing pink badges to support breast cancer awareness. The shoulder patches will be available to the public for a suggested $5 donation at the Police Department front lobby during business hours.

Building Maintenance

Last week our team rebuilt both boiler pumps at City Hall, performed fall heater service at Fire/EMS Stations #1 and #2, unplugged a blocked sewer line at Station #1, and rebuilt an air compressor motor at the Service Center utility maintenance building.

Park & Cemetery

Crews mowed the cemetery, seeded the depot, City Hall, Meridian Center and the Warkentin House, prepared for two cemetery services during the week and two on Saturday, continued dirt work at Centennial ballfields so we can complete the seeding outside of the ballfields, worked on board replacements for picnic tables for the upcoming “Taste of Newton.” We remain one position down.

Street

Personnel responded last Sunday to set barricades for blocking streets due an apartment fire on West 12th and closed streets on Saturday for the Chili Cook-off. They removed all the snow fence in the band shell from the Blues, Brews, & BBQ event that was last Saturday, and conducted fall cleanup on the slurry truck and all equipment used for the operations. They inspected and cleaned out all storm inlets within the city, and continued work on the drainage ditch in Autumn Glen. They repaired the Rolling Hills storm sewer outlet collapse, performed five utility pavement repairs, completed striping at Meridian Center, and printed the Law Enforcement Center front signs for building maintenance to install.  

Water & Wastewater

Last week our team:

• Handled eight after-hours call-outs.
• Collected creek sampling for our final round of our permit-required stormwater samples of 2022.

• Used approximately 600,000-750,000 gallons of water on for firefighting at the Fox Meadows fire on West 12th.
• Repaired leaks in the 600 block of Park Road; the 700 block of Cottonwood Lane; the 600 block of East 4th Street; the 300 block of East 6th Street; and while repairing a leak in the 300 block East 1st Street, we hit a gas line that was mis-marked by the gas company locator. It required closing 1st Street for a couple blocks until the gas company could repair it.
• Installed two new 1-inch water services on Matson for new housing.
• Sedgwick booster station was repaired without incident for the Public Wholesale Water Supply District #17. 
• Did some troubleshooting and repair to the air valve on high service pump “A” at the Mission Water Treatment Plant. They also repaired a motor on chemical feed pump #3 at Mission.
• Experienced a valve failure on the UV cooling water system at Wastewater Treatment Plant and have a temporary fix in place until the parts arrive.
• We remain two positions down.

Upcoming Meetings & Reminders

Planning Commission Meeting: The Newton/North Newton Area Planning Commission is scheduled to meet on Monday, Oct. 3 at 6 p.m. Items of business include the much-anticipated preliminary plat for Fox Ridge Addition, the former golf course; a variance for 420 Columbus Ave., a rezoning for 400 E. 8th, a rezoning for 1010 S. Kansas Ave., and review of the new zoning regs Article 1. Click here to view the agenda packet.

Taste of Newton: We hope you will join us in downtown Newton on Oct. 6 for the 35th annual Taste of Newton celebration! Hosted by the Newton Chamber, the event draws thousands to downtown Newton to enjoy the many flavors that our community has to offer. The first Taste of Newton was held in 1987 and was hosted by Bethel College to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the college. The event was such a huge success, it became an annual staple of the community and was eventually handed off to the Newton Chamber. The event still coincides with Bethel College Fall Fest, which celebrates education, diversity, cultural traditions, special foods, fine arts, crafts, and more.

City Commission/BOE Joint Work Session: The Newton City Commission and USD 373 Board of Education will hold a joint work session on Monday, Oct. 10 at Meridian Center. At 5:30 p.m. the School Board will convene a regular meeting of their board for several essential items of business. At approximately 5:45 the meeting will adjourn, and the joint work session will begin. Both governing bodies have expressed a desire to meet and discuss joint visioning and growth of the community; however, it was delayed due to the pandemic. This meeting is open to the public.

City Commission Work Session: On Oct. 11 at 5 p.m. the City Commission will hold a work session to discuss forms of local government, including the idea of an independently elected Mayor. The work session will be conducted by former Derby City Manager Kathy Sexton and KU Professor Emeritus (and former Lawrence City Commissioner and Mayor) John Nalbandian, and is open to the public.

Newton Lions Club Halloween Walk: The 28th annual Newton Lions Club Halloween Walk is scheduled for 5:30-7 p.m. on Monday, Oct. 31 on Main Street. The event hosts Newton’s children to trick-or-treat in a safe and trusted environment. Participation is free; participants and vendors just need to provide your own candy to pass out. The event typically draws more than 1,000 children and families, so please plan accordingly. If your business is not located on Main Street, Lions Club will assign a location to you. Email Lions Club to sign up!

Public Wholesale Water Supply District #17 Joint Meeting: This meeting will take place at 7 p.m. Nov. 3 at Fire/EMS Station #3. It is a joint meeting of the governing bodies of Newton, North Newton, Halstead, and Sedgwick, as well as the PWWSD #17 Board. The meeting is to approve a post-perfection agreement regarding water rights and usage for the District.

• 5:30 pm Oct. 10 – City Commission/School Board work session
• 5 pm Oct. 11 – City Commission work session
• 7 pm Oct. 11 – City Commission meeting