By ANNE JACKSON | June 15, 2022

The meeting of the Prescott City Council on June 13 opened with the pledge of allegiance.

All council members were present. A motion was made and passed to accept the minutes of the last ordinary meeting. A second motion was later made and passed to accept the minutes of the special meeting held Monday, May 16th.

A special motion was made and passed to accept and pay all the bills except the bill for the road repairs. Mayor Kevin Wood said he wanted to discuss that bill later.

Karen Springer gave the food pantry report. They continue to have new families sign up to receive help.

Prescott City resident David Troth reported a number of people of the Clear Creek Corn Hole are interested in setting up to play every Sunday evening at 6pm. Their plan is to do a blind draw this coming Sunday and the next Sunday, then they will set up a league. Anyone who wants to may come and play, watch, or cheer! He wanted to know if there was a place at city hall where they could store their equipment during the week. City Clerk Kathy Wood thought a back closet with a lock on it would work for them. She will make sure they have keys. Council Member Fritz Norbury mentioned that if they wanted to use a shadier spot than the ball field, they should consider using the park area south of his home.

Mayor Wood led a short discussion on the problem of the bills for repairing the roads. No motions were made, but the general agreement was that even though the charges were less than originally projected, they should not be paid until the road workers return and the city sees what the corrective measures will be to get the roads being decent roads.

Norbury brought up his suggestion to have a procedure to let citizens of Prescott complain anonymously about untidy properties. (See related article)

Mayor Wood and Gillis went to the county commissioner meeting this morning. They reported the KCPL money and the money from the pipelines are no longer being given to the cities. The City of Prescott was given $15,000 which was used on the roads, but it won't be given again.

Mayor Wood and Gillis went to the county commissioner meeting this morning. They reported the KCPL money and the money from the pipelines are no longer being given to the cities. The City of Prescott was given $15,000 which was used on the roads, but it won't be given again. (See related article)

They brought up the problem that the intersection of 239 and Ungerhour Road holds water. A couple men from the county are willing to get that fixed by re-digging the whole ditch. This encouraged Gillis to make a motion that if the county re-digs the ditch, and if it is necessary, the city should put in a pipe and new gravel for the house there. Council Member John Maloney seconded this motion and it passed unanimously. With care, the pipe should come out whole and not need replacing.

From the state point of view, it is true that only the road inside the two white fog lines belongs to the state, so Prescott is welcome to clean the ditches on either side of the road within city limits to make the city more attractive to passing motorists.

Gillis said it is possible to apply for a KLINK (pronounced Kay link) grant that will pay 95 percent of the cost of the work.

Mayor Wood would like to get bids for doing the work on an hourly basis.

Gillis said the place to start is to set up a laser to 'shoot' through pipes to see which ones drain. He could get some equipment from work, give the city a bid and refrain from voting on himself when the time came. Knowing exact elevations will not be necessary. The only information needed is that water drains downhill.

Jesse Willard said unfortunately an email letter from Lamont Cook of the management group he has helping him get the nursing home up and running as a "home plus" came too late for him to copy out and give to council members. Mayor Wood and Gillis warned him that from their experience today with the County, any propositions given to them will need to be carefully detailed, even including contingency plans in case something goes differently than planned.

City Clerk Wood said the deadline to order the hard Christmas candy is June 24th, so Gillis made a motion that Maloney seconded that she should order the candy. This passed unanimously.

A motion was made and passed to have an executive session for fifteen minutes.

When the meeting was re-opened, a motion was made and unanimously passed to hire James Smith as the substitute for the trash compactor. He would work full time or part time whenever needed.

Wood continued with a tale of a home with a water leak of 68,000 gallons of water before it was discovered. Standard help in such circumstances is to drop the sewer charges; however the water itself still needs to be paid for. Maloney and Norbury made and seconded a motion to waive all late fees until the bill could be paid. This also passed unanimously.

The dog pound inspection was fine. City Treasurer Kathy Wood said they have some ARPA (America Rescue Plan Act) funds, parks and recreation funds, and a $200 gift from the Walrod family to help with the playground.

Attorney Harding said he'd sent a letter to the property owner with the trashy yard, but admitted he'd gotten no response. The property had not been cleaned up. He verified the council wanted him to send a "clean up or pay a fine" citation.