The Holden Image

Several options for repairing the leaky roof atop city hall were discussed at the regular meeting of the Holden City Council, Tuesday night. Bids were received from Daryl Ward of Cooltop Roofing and Marcus Lacey of Craftsman Construction.

Ward’s proposal, which would include replacement of only a small portion of the roofing structures and recovering of the rest of the surfaces, would come with a price tag of $29,950. Ward explained the products used on the roof would come with a 10-year, non pro-rated warranty. He was unable to give an exact date the project could be started and completed by, but did say he would like to be completed before late fall, relating to the need for sunshine to dry the structures.

Lacey proposed the replacement of all underlying roof structures, stating that much of the current roof is unsalvageable. Lacey explained that much of the roof pitch and drainage system is inadequate, which has led to problems with water not running off the roof properly. Lacey provides a five-year warranty on all labor and said he is unsure, but would research the warranty on the roofing products he would use. He gave the council a time frame of three weeks from start to finish on the project. The total cost for Lacey to provide the roofing work would be $29,351.04.

The council agreed some time would be needed to research and discuss the options presented to them. The council decided the building committee will review the proposals and make a recommendation for action at the October meeting of the city council.

In other business, Holden Water Board member, Earl Peacock, spoke to the council regarding a new subdivision scheduled for construction south of the Holden city limits. According to Peacock, the contractors for the project have approached the water board, asking for council approval to pipeline the sewage from the housing division to sewage pipes for the city. According to Peacock, the home owners' association for the sub-division would pay for and maintain their own pumping system which would simply empty itself into the general sewage system maintained by the city.

“I thought maybe it would help offset the cost of the sewer system for the city,” Peacock explained. He said the typical charge to a subdivision for this type of service is one and one-half times the usual sewer charges.

“We would need to make sure this pipeline is of sufficient quality,” Councilman Jim Nipko said. “We don’t want to get into some of the problems we’ve had in the past with rainwater getting into the system.” Peacock assured Nipko and the rest of the council the quality of the pipeline is unlikely to be a problem related to Department of Natural Resources’ regulations.

“With not only our requirements, but the new DNR requirements, that shouldn’t be a problem,” Peacock explained. “It would all have to be inspected by DNR, of course.”

Councilman Mark Todd expressed concern that the sub-division may place unnecessary stress on an already overloaded city sewer system.

According to Peacock, the housing division isn’t expected to be completed until after the city’s new lagoon sewage system is complete. “The amount of sewage expected to come out of that subdivision is not significant to the new system,” Peacock said. “That lagoon should be able to handle approximately twice as much sewage as the City of Holden now produces... We should be well-prepared for this.”

The council decided to await official plans from the contractors before proceeding with a vote.

In other business, an ordinance that is expected to help alleviate some of the loitering and trash in the downtown area is expected to be drafted prior to the October meeting of the Holden City Council. Mayor Terry Hedglin explained to the council that a complaint from one of the businesses along Second Street has been received. The business owner complained that there has been a large number of people sitting and standing in groups in front of their building at night, as well as trash left strewn about.

Councilman Dwight Anstine suggested an ordinance may need to be drafted in order to give the police a guideline to take action on the matter.

City Attorney Audara Charlton advised the council to proceed with caution, related to a possible violation of the First Amendment rights of those loitering. She explained unless the loitering persons are in the act of keeping someone else from conducting their business, it is a violation of their First Amendment rights to ask them to leave an area of town.

Charlton said she had reviewed loitering ordinances in place for both Clinton and Warrensburg, and the only appropriate ordinance she found deals with not loitering within a certain number of feet of an ATM. “Loitering around ATM’s is a valid concern, in light of the potential for crime,” Charlton said.

Hedglin asked Charlton whether or not anything could be done about loitering on the actual stoops of local businesses. “Yes... That’s private property,” Charlton answered. “In the event of that, the merchants would just need to file a complaint.”

Councilman Jim Nipko made a motion to draft an ordinance, using the ordinances from Clinton and Warrensburg as guidelines, to forbid loitering within a certain number of feet of an ATM. The motion received unanimous approval. The ordinance will be placed on the agenda for the regular council meeting in October.

Councilman Dwight Anstine reported to the council that several concerned citizens in his ward have requested 15-mile-per-hour speed limit signs be posted in the area around the new intermediate school. According to Anstine, the signs currently posted around the old intermediate school are no longer needed, while 20th Street has become a direct route to the new intermediate building and does not have a posted school zone speed limit. The council agreed the signs need to be moved to the new area. An ordinance is to be drafted, reflecting the change for approval at the next council meeting.

In mayor’s communications, the council agreed to participate in a joint tree-trimming project for the downtown area with the Holden Chamber of Commerce. According to Mayor Terry Hedglin, the chamber will pay half of the cost, with the city paying the rest.

The council approved a contract with Johnson County for central dispatch services. “The cost is around $20,000,” Hedglin said. “We had only budgeted around $18,000... I’ve voiced my concerns to the county commissioner... We basically don’t have a choice... It’s either pay the $20,000 or we won’t have 9-1-1 service.” The contract received unanimous approval, with the exception of Karl Timmerman, who abstained from the vote.
Councilman Brent Brown asked the council for guidance regarding the sewage land application and location of new sewage lagoon. According to Brown, the current land application practices are in violation of the city’s nuisance ordinance, which prohibits activities that produce an offensive smell. “Because of the ordinance, we will still be in violation when the new lagoon is done,” Brown said. “So, we may need to amend the ordinance.” Official amendment of the ordinance will be on the agenda for October’s meeting of the Holden City Council.

The council agreed to research a local alley to see that it is open for public use at the request of local citizen, Elaine Koehn. Koehn stated that she, along with neighbors would like to use the alley, but had been informed by others in the neighborhood that the alley is no longer considered an open, public alley way. Koehn also reported to the council that the alley is currently overgrown with trees and brush. Hedglin suggested to Koehn that once the council has researched the issue, the city may possibly be able to help with cleanup efforts. Councilman Jim Nipko suggested to the council that, while researching the alley in question, a list should be made of all alleys in town to use as a resource for future inquiries.

Area photographer, Roger McKinney presented the council with some historical photos of Holden. He asked whether or not the council would be interested in purchasing the photos which he would frame for display at city hall. The council agreed that, while the photos would be nice to have for the city, the extra money just isn’t available at this time.

By Christi Stowe
News Editor

According to Mayor Terry Hedglin, the citizens of Holden can breathe a sigh of relief in regards to their taxes this year. Reportedly, a clerical error had been made in the city’s debt service on financial reports, causing what could have been an estimated $14,000 in excess tax payments for Holden citizens.

“When the levy is set, the city sends the city’s financial information to a state agency, who then tells us what our tax levy will be,” Hedglin explained. “We then have a public hearing in August of each year to approve that amount.”

That process was no different this year, with the exception of an apparent clerical error that left a few citizens upset about tax figures that showed the levy had nearly doubled.

“Shortly after the levy proposal passed, we started getting calls at city hall from concerned citizens wanting to know why we’d raised taxes,” Hedglin said. “We had recently passed a ‘no tax increase’ bond issue to purchase the fire truck... I think a lot of people thought it had raised their taxes, but that isn’t the case.”

Prompted by the influx of calls, Hedglin and the council began to investigate the issue and discovered a clerical error in the debt service portion of the city’s budget. “I contacted County Clerk Gilbert Powers,” Hedglin said. “He told me we still had time to correct the error.”

The council met in a special session on Friday night and approved the corrected tax levy, which leaves Holden’s tax rate unchanged from last year.

By Christi Stowe
News Editor

A Holden creek is nearly back to normal thanks to the cooperation of O&M Enterprises and the City of Holden with the Department of Natural Resources.

According to Mayor Terry Hedglin, the condition of Pin Oak Creek, located behind the Holden Sewage Treatment Plant, first became a concern during the attempted cleanup of a local molasses spill a little over two weeks ago.

Apparently, on September 7, a tank holding molasses at a local business in Holden ruptured, causing molasses to spill onto the ground. Cleanup efforts then caused the molasses to make its way into a nearby creek bed. Officials at the business followed appropriate procedure, notifying the Holden Fire Department for assistance in cleanup efforts.

According to Hedglin, fire department personnel were unable to clean up the molasses. Representatives of the fire department notified Tony Lerda, of O&M Enterprises for help. Lerda possessed the appropriate equipment to accomplish the cleanup, but had to deal with the added problem of where to put all the molasses once it had been removed from the creek bed.

Lerda attempted to process the molasses through the wastewater treatment plant, in the hopes of disposing of the molasses without further incident or environmental threat. Unfortunately, the sugar and water in the molasses were too much for the plant to process well, and the solution of diluted molasses upset the treatment plant. This resulted in the molasses exiting the plant and making its way into Pin Oak Creek, located behind the plant.

According to officials with the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, the reason molasses is a potentially harmful substance to a body of water is that micro-organisms in the water feed on the molasses, using all the available oxygen in the stream. Without oxygen, fish and plant life cannot thrive.

Under the direction of DNR, Learda monitored the creek for ill-effects on plant and fish life. He had monitored the creek for a couple of days, before noticing a few dead minnows, downstream from the molasses spill. Lerda contacted DNR officials, who advised him to clean up the molasses, using a pump to remove it from the water.

Lerda and employees of O&M Enterprises spent an exhausting number of hours Saturday, Sunday and Monday, September 11, 12, and 13, working to clean up the creek. By Monday, oxygen levels in the creek were beginning to show marked improvement.

According to James Helgason, an environmental manager with the Missouri Department of Natural Resources, as of Tuesday evening, when he addressed the Holden City Council, definite improvement was noted in the condition of the creek.

“Normal standards of oxygen measurement are five parts oxygen/million,” Helgason said. “We measured the oxygen in the creek this morning, which should be the lowest amount of oxygen in water for the whole day... It measured 4.7 parts oxygen/million.” Helgason continued by saying the creek is considered unclassified, which means it does not have a continuous flow related to the placement of the wastewater treatment plant.

According to Hedglin, because of the dead minnows, a monetary fine is a possibility. “The maximum fine that can be assessed is $10,000 a day,” Hedglin said. “In the event that a fine is charged, O&M has agreed to pay it, in addition to the costs they’ve already incurred related to the cleanup... It won’t cost the city any money at all.” Hedglin said he didn’t anticipate the maximum fine being charged. “Everyone cooperated and did exactly as instructed by DNR,” he said. “I’m happy everyone was able to cooperate and get the best outcome from a bad situation.”

By Christi Stowe
News Editor

According to Steve Flick of Flick Seed Company in Kingsville, Western Johnson County’s lack of full-time local medical care may soon be a problem of the past.

Flick presented plans for the creation of Western Johnson County Medical Clinic at the regular meeting of the Holden Chamber of Commerce on September 16.

Flick said visions for the medical clinic first began to take shape in June 2003. “I wanted to be reasonable,” Flick said. “I wanted it to be located where it would be best for the community.” Thus, the Equipment Locators building on West 58 Highway in Kingsville was purchased with the hopes of situating the medical clinic there.

“We also needed to make sure the clinic could be an on-going business where a physician could make a living,” Flick said. The help of Aquila, electrical service provider for Johnson County was consulted for facts and figures regarding the number of people in the area. Aquila soon told Flick, in their opinion, the venture was a feasible one.

Flick said, although the building and location seemed appropriate, the lack of parking space was a foreseeable problem. “I contacted Bob Mickey at Farmers and Commercial Bank, and he was very instrumental in getting the issue resolved,” Flick said. “Much of the credit for this clinic goes to Bob Mickey.”

According to Flick, the high feasibility of this clinic is due to simple architecture and overhead costs much lower than that of the typical medical office. “We knew we’d have to function without the high costs the Holden Clinic had,” Flick explained. “In order to be feasible, we would have to do without all the bells and whistles.”

Flick was able to find an architect who donated half of his time in order to help turn the 2,400 square foot building into a medical clinic the community could be proud of, while keeping costs at a minimum. Flick also said area contractors have donated over $40,000 worth of work to make the project a success. “I wanted to make sure those who built the clinic could also be proud of the clinic,” Flick said. According to Flick, local company, R&C Construction is heading up the project.

A medical office is not without expensive equipment to purchase and special measures for the protection of patients and staff. Flick said one of the biggest hurdles was the purchase of an X-Ray machine, which can run in excess of $60,000. Flick had spoken with the chamber of commerce and asked for assistance and ideas for how to finance the purchase. His “ship came in,” when Dr. Karen Beathem, an area physician who is no longer able to practice due to a debilitating illness, donated an X-Ray machine to the cause. “It was really a wonderful thing she did,” Flick said. “I mean, the machine is worth $60,000.”

A physicist radiologist was then hired to help design the X-Ray area. The walls are required to be of a certain thickness and dimensions in order to protect patients and staff from being exposed to any unnecessary radiation.

Initially, it is planned that the clinic will be open three days per week. “We hope to be open five days a week after January 1,” Flick said. To begin, the clinic will have one physician, a receptionist and a nurse on staff. “We hope, in the future, to be able to add another full time doctor and/or a nurse practitioner,” Flick said.

Flick stressed to the chamber that he wants the clinic to play an important role in the community. “I want it to be a place where the people of Holden and Kingsville can be very comfortable and have a good relationship with the doctor,” he said. “It should be a very community oriented place.” Flick also revealed plans for CPR and other community related classes to be held there in the future.

Much of the equipment costs are expected to be handled through donations. Flick provided the chamber of commerce with a list of needed items, which includes everything from as small and simple as bandaids to furniture for the office. Anyone interested in donating supplies and equipment to the Western Johnson County Medical Clinic may do so by contacting Flick Seed Company at (816) 597-3822 and speaking to Kathy Ryan.

By Christi Stowe
News Editor