information for leavenworth’s residents and businesses fall 2014

First City ConnectionFirst City Connection

INSIDE:• Fall2014LeafprogrambeginsNov.3• UpdateonLeavenworthhotels

• Ongoingstreetconstructionprojects• FireDepartmentgoesdoor-to-doortopromotesafety• MeetthenewCityPlanner,CVBManager

The Leavenworth City Commission, City staff and local volunteers celebrated the opening of the new Leavenworth Animal Control Center July 21. The new building is 7,800 square feet and allows for a 10 percent increase in space for animals. The $2.3 million facility was constructed on higher ground than the previous facility at 1720 S. 2nd Street. The new building was constructed with not only cost-efficiency in mind, but also the environment. The kennels have exposure to natural light, both as a tool to help improve the health of the animals and to reduce dependency on electric light. Motion censors shut off lights when they are not needed. Improved insulation from the previous building will help with the City’s cooling and heating costs.The new address for the facility is 2019 S. Third Street, behind Price Chopper at Fourth and Marion streets.Flooding had previously been a major issue with the old facility. In 2011, flood-

ing of the Missouri River forced the City to move animals to an alternate location for several months. The old facility had flooded three times in the past six years.

In an effort to improve animal health, the new facility has separate heating, cool-ing and ventillation systems to prevent air from being transferred from the areas where sick animals are kept. The new building also has separate rooms for immediate intake, quarrantine/sick animals, isolation or potentially danger-ous animals, and adoptable animals for both dogs and cats. There’s a new exam room for visiting veterinarians to perform

surgeries, a community room for pet education programs and a viewing area for community members who would like to adopt a pet. Hours will continue at the new facility 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday and every second Saturday, 10 a.m. - 2 p.m. To find adoptable pets, contact the facility at 913-682-0268 or visit www.petfinder.com.

Leavenworth Animal Control Center opens to the public

FactsaboutthenewAnimalControlCenter• Heating, cooling and ventillation system prevents animals from getting sick.• Built on higher ground that has not flooded in recent history including the

1993 flood.• Features such as natural lighting and motion sensor lights make the building

more ecologically and economically friendly.• A safe place to adopt dogs and cats and support your local Animal Control.

Leavenworth’snewAnimalControlCenterislocatedbehindPriceChopper,FourthandMarionstreets.TheLeavenworthCityCommissionbrokegroundin2013andconstructionwascompletedinoneyear.

City Manager’s OfficeCity Hall, 100 N. Fifth St.913-680-2604

City Clerk’s OfficeCity Hall, 100 N. Fifth St.913-682-9201

Economic Development City Hall, 100 N. Fifth St.913-680-2660

Fire Department(Administration calls only)3600 S. 20th Street Trafficway913-682-3346For Burn Permits:913-758-2980

Human ResourcesCity Hall, 100 N. Fifth St.913-680-2637

InspectionsCity Hall, 100 N. Fifth St.913-684-0378

Leavenworth Public Library417 Spruce St.913-682-5666

Municipal CourtJustice Center, 601 S. Third St.913-758-2900

Parks and RecreationRiverfront Community Center123 S. Esplanade St.913-651-2203

Planning/Community DevelopmentCity Hall, 100 N. Fifth St.913-680-2626

Police (Admin calls only)Justice Center, 601 S. Third St.913-651-2260

Public HousingPlanters II, 200 Shawnee St.913-682-2200

Public Information OfficeCity Hall, 100 N. Fifth St.913-680-2610

Public Works/EngineeringCity Hall, 100 N. Fifth St.913-684-0375

Service Center (Street and Refuse)790 Thornton St.913-682-0650

Sewer Emergencies (24 Hours)913-682-1090

Water Pollution Control1800 S Second St.913-682-1090

CITY PHONE NUMBERS

Mark PreisingerMayor

913-775-2822 mpreisinger@firstcity.org

Davis MouldenCommissioner913-651-4979

dtm@lvnworth.com

Larry DedekeCommissioner 913-651-3322

ldedeke@aol.com

Lisa WeakleyMayor Pro-Tem913-682-6297

lweakley@firstcity.org

Laura Janas GasbarreCommissioner 913-758-1834

lgasbarre@firstcity.org

LeavenworthCity Commission

Meets 7 p.m. Tuesdays at City Hall. Each 2nd and 4th weeks are regular sessions, 1st and 3rd weeks are study sessions. Visit www.lvks.org for copies of the agendas and minutes. The City of Leavenworth will offer curbside leaf pick-up

service to residents from Spruce Street to Eisenhower Street beginning Nov. 4. Crews will work from South to North. This program is weather-dependent. Only two passes through the City are planned at this time. Residents from Metropolitan Avenue to Spruce Street not on the collection route can bag their leaves for regular Refuse Collection or the Brush Site at 1803 S. Second St. for free disposal of leaves.How do I know when leaf pick-up crews will be in my neighborhood?The City will utilize its website, www.lvks.org, Channel 2, Facebook and Twitter to publicize where crews will be working.Tips to placing leaves for pick-up:n Residents should place the leaves as close to the street as possible, without covering the sidewalk. The piles must be free of materials such as branches. Please do not rake leaves into the street. Please do not block your mailbox (or your neighbor’s mailbox).n To provide the leaf collection equipment better access to the streets, residents are encouraged to rake leaves away from vehicles.n Leaves will not be collected if they are placed in plastic bags or boxes. Residents choosing to bag their leaves need to have the bags on the curb no more than 24 hours before their scheduled refuse pick-up day. The bags of leaves will then be picked up with their trash by the Refuse workers as part of their normal weekly service. Can I take leaves somewhere other than the curbside program?Disposal of leaves and grass is available to residents free of charge at the Brush Disposal site, 1803 S. 2nd St. The site is open Tuesday through Saturday, 8:30 a.m. to 3:45 p.m. until the last day of November. Clippings at the Brush site are used for making compost. The compost is available to residents free of charge at the brush site.

Free curbside leaf program begins Nov. 3 for residentssouth of Spruce Street

Trash Bag Delivery is Sept. 27Fall cleanup means bagging leaves. The City has trash bags delivered directly to residents twice a year, in March and September. A roll of trash bags contains 50 heavy-duty bags. Additional bags may be purchased at the City Clerk’s Office, Leavenworth City Hall 100 N. 5th Street for $6 per roll. NOTE: FALL TRASH BAG DELIVERY WILL BE SEPT. 27.

A major construction project is un-derway at Second Avenue and Limit Street. The road is being realigned, an overhead rail bridge has been removed (with the stone bridge left in place) and the road bridge will removed. Workers are now building the roadbed for a new road bridge. The new road will have improved drainage and new sidewalks and gutters in addition to a new asphalt driving surface. This project is one of the major projects funded in part through the Leavenworth Countywide Sales Tax initiative. The Countywide Sales Tax charges a one percent sales tax at the register anytime shoppers buy goods in Leavenworth County. The One Percent Countywide Sales Tax has been in place for two decades in Leavenworth, providing funds for efforts throughout the County, such as the Leavenworth County Justice Center. In 2015, Leavenworth County will again

ask voters to renew the Leavenworth Countywide Sales Tax. Look for more information on Channel 2 and the City and County websites about how to cast

your vote in the 2015 Spring Election.

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Three new hotels: 1 completed, 1 under construction, 1 in negotiationsThree new hotels are underway in the City of Leaven-worth. Two are scheduled to be completed by this time next year. Fairfield Inn & Suites at Fourth and Metro-politan streets plans to open in the fall of 2014. A hotel along Choctaw Street and Fourth Street just south of downtown began construction and is scheduled to be completed in 2015. Additionally, the City of Leav-enworth has entered into an agreement with Equis

Hospital-ity Manage-ment for an extended-stay hotel at

Third and Delaware streets, the site of a former Rama-da Inn in downtown Leavenworth. The City of Leaven-worth will benefit not only from having nicer hotels for our friends, relatives and guests, but also from having guests stay overnight in Leavenworth. Tourists can then spend money at Leavenworth businesses and pay sales tax and transient guest taxes to Leavenworth instead of Kansas City. Transient guest tax dollars go toward the Leavenworth Convention and Visitor’s Bureau, which provides marketing and information to encourage outside tourism to Leavenworth. Develop-ers have assured the City Commission all new hotels will be quality products backed by national brands.

ALMOSTDONE(ABOVE)TheFourthandMetro-politanstreetintersectionisthesiteofanewFairfieldInnandSuitesscheduledtoopenthisfall.ThehotelhashiredanewmanagerandisintheprocessofpreparingtoopeninOctober,weatherpermitting.

UNDERWAY(LEFT)AprivatedeveloperpurchasedthissiteatFourthandChoctawstreets.ThedevelopersubmittedbuildingpermitstotheCityofLeavenworthforaHampton-HiltonInnhotelatthissite.Workisongoing.

INNEGOTIATION(Right)In2014,theCityofLeavenworthtoredowntheoldRamadaInnatThirdandDelawarestreets.TheCityhas

enteredintoanagreementwithadeveloperwithexperienceservingthemilitary,whoplans

tobuildanextended-stayhotel.

Countywide Sales Tax helps to fund 2nd and Limit improvement

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Pavement Management Program for 2014The following streets received new asphalt during the summer 2014:- Osage Street from 13th Street to 17th Street- 20th Street from Ottawa to Shawnee streets- Oak Street from Fifth to Seventh streets- Choctaw Street from Fourth to Fifth streetAdditionally, 20th Street Trafficway between Spruce

Street and 19th Terrace received epoxy patching and curb replacement.KLINK Repaving of StreetsThe City participates in Kansas Connecting Link (KLINK) projects with Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT). These projects cost share in paving projects on most state highways inside the city limits. Kansas Connecting Link provides 50/50 cost-sharing for funds to cities for pavement maintenance on state high-ways inside the City limits. Projects for 2014 include:- Fourth Street between Walnut and Shawnee streets- Fourth Street between Pottawatomie and Cheyenne streets- Spruce Street between Sixth Avenue and Central.Sidewalk Improvements 2014The Sidewalk Committee recommends that the 2014 Projects include:•Additionalrepairworkon10thAvenuefromOhioStreetnorth to Spruce Street.•AdditionalrepairworkonSpruceStreetfromWestInter-mediate School to Sixth Avenue.•Repairworkon20thStreetTrafficWayKLINK, Sidewalk ramps KDOT requires the use of KLINK funds be accompanied by improvements related to accessibility, such as miss-ing sidewalk sections and poor handicapped accessible ramps. These accessibility requirements are entirely the responsibility of the City.KLINK-eligible locations include Spruce Street from Sixth Avenue to Central, Fourth Street from Walnut Street to Cherokee Street and Fourth Street from Pottawatomie to Cheyenne street.These recommendations are based on citizen contact, Leavenworth Public Schools input on school walking patterns, coordination with other infrastructure projects, direction from the City Commission and committee dis-cussions including rating and inspection.

Work is underway for for Ottawa Street, a streets improvement project partially funded by the Leavenworth Countywide One Percent Sales Tax. The old roadbed was completely torn out and new material was added to stabilize the roadbed before new asphalt was added. The project in-cluded widening the street, adding storm drain-age inlets and piping, gutters and sidewalks. This section of Ottawa Street previously had no curbs or gutters, and no sidewalks for children walking to nearby David Brewer Elementary School.

OttawaStreetUpdate:Inthisphoto,contractcrewsworkingonOttawaStreethaveremovedoldasphaltandareinstallingaspecializedgridwork

underneathtostabilizetheroadbed.

Leavenworth Public Works improved roads, sidewalks during 2014

Ottawa Street improvements scheduled for fall completion

JULY STORM CLEANUP

A storm July 7 brought winds of up to 61 mph, damaging Leavenworth trees. To assist residents with cleanup, city crews collected brush left at the curbside, which was then taken to the Leavenworth Brush Site.

On July 24, the City of Leavenworth welcomed two new employees to its ranks -- a new City Planner and a new Leavenworth Conven-tion and Visitor’s Bureau Manager. The City of Leavenworth recently changed its agreement with the Leavenworth Lansing Area Chamber of Commerce, which had been providing the CVB position to the City. The new

agreement will make the CVB manager a City employee with support from the Chamber. Tammie Ferguson is the new CVB manager, taking over from Connie Hachen-berg who retired in July. Ferguson comes to the City of Leavenworth from the Heartland Habitat for Humanity. Her role with the City will be to encourage outside tourism and tourism spending

to come to Leavenworth.Julie Hurley also began her new position as City Planner July 24. She comes to Leavenworth from the City of Shawnee, where she was a neighbor-hood planner. Hurley’s new role will be to assist with historic preservation, code compliance and helping residents and businesses understand land use regula-tions.

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Licensing & Miscellaneous Services• Trash bags may be purchased

through the City Clerk’s Office at $6 per roll.

• Garage sale permits are required at a cost of $5.

• All restaurants are required to have a Health Permit at a cost of $100. per year.

• All Employees working at any Food Establishment must attend a Food Handler Class. Fee for the

class is $10.• Massage Establishments - New

Business $350. and Renewals $175.

• Cereal Malt Beverage license renewals effective January 1, 2015 need to be submitted by December 3, 2014 for processing and approval

• To distribute flyers door to door requires a permit.

• Door to door solicitors are required to purchase a license with the City.

• If you encounter individuals soliciting at your home, ask to see

a copy of the city license.• Tree trimmers are required to

obtain a yearly license.• Before hiring someone to trim or

cut your trees down, ask to see the tree trimmer’s license.

• Rental Registration requirements apply to all rental dwellings, including rented single-family and multi-family dwellings and rented dwelling units in owner-occupied dwellings – There is a one-time registration fee of $20.00. Staff available Monday through Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Call 913-682-9201.

Dog Tags required in CityAll dogs residing in the City must have a dog license. Puppies under 3 months old do not need to be registered, however puppies/dogs 4 months and older do need to be registered. When registering your dog for a license, you must have proof of rabies vaccination and proof of spaying or neutering. The annual fees are $10.00 for spayed or neutered dogs or $20.00 if unaltered. Dog licenses may be obtained from any of these locations:

• City Hall, 100 N. Fifth St.• Leavenworth Animal Control,

2019 S. 3rd St.• Dog & Cat Clinic, 1101 N. 5th St.• Pioneer Veterinary Hospital,

3525 S. 4th St.• Broadway Veterinary Clinic, 1116

N. Broadway St.• Kansas Country Store/Hope

Clinic, 728 Cherokee St.• Lowemont Veterinary Clinic,

33511 Santa Fe Trail. (Easton)

Fire Safety Education goes door-to-door

MembersoftheLeavenworthFireDepartmentandtheKansasCityRegionoftheAmericanRedCrosswentdoortodoortoinstallsmokedetectorsandsharefiresafetyinformationJuly12inaLeavenworthneighborhoodaffectedbyafiredeath.Firefightersreportedtherewerenofunctioningsmokedetectorsinthehomeinwhichtheincidentoccurred.TheLeavenworthFireDepartmentconductsin-homevisitsanytimetohelpresidentsproperlyinstallsmokedetectors.Call913-682-3346toscheduleanappointment.

TammieFerguson

City employs women to fill two key positions

JulieHurley

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Yard Maintenance All drainage ditches on the property must be kept clear of all trash, brush and leaves. Snow removal is the responsibility of the property owners/occupants and all sidewalks -- including the public sidewalk -- must be kept free of all snow and ice.

Garbage and Trash Refuse, rubbish, garbage and household trash cannot be left in the yard and must be disposed of properly. This includes auto parts, appliances, furniture, building materials, tires, cardboard, plastics or any other collected materials. Tree trimming and fallen limbs must be disposed of within a week.

Junk on Private PropertyCity ordinance states: It shall be unlawful to park, store, leave or permit the parking, storing or leaving of any vehicle, machinery, appliances, implements or equipment, including abandoned, discarded or unused objects or equipment such as automobiles, furniture, stoves, refrigerators, freezers, cans or containers, lumber, junk, trash or other debris, which is in a wrecked, junked, partially dismantled, inoperative, unsafe or abandoned condition on private property in the City, so located upon the premises as to be visible from any public place or any surrounding private property, unless it is in con-

nection with a business enterprise properly operated in the appropriate business zone pursuant to the zoning laws and other ordinances of the City.

Vehicles•Allvehiclesmustbeoperableandlegallylicensedorstoredin an enclosed structure. All cars not enclosed must be parked in an approved driveway or parking area. Vehicles may not be parked on any lawn/ yard area. All vehicle park-ing spaces shall be paved. Gravel is only allowed off an alley and as a parking pad and must have a border around all four sides to contain the gravel.•RV’s,boats,andcampersmaybeparkedfornomorethan72 hours per month in the front or side yards, but may be parked in the back yard on a paved or aggregate block sur-face indefinitely. •Nocommercialvehiclesortrailers(12,000GrossVehicleWeight), including but not limited to panel trucks, large equipment trailers, semi-trailers, etc., can be parked over-night in a residential area. •Smallutilitytrailersmaybeparkedontheproperty(lessthan 12,000 Gross Vehicle Weight), including small trailers for hauling, leaves, wood or other yard debris.

Know The Code Planning and Code EnforcementCall 913-680-2626 to report a violation or visit www.lvks.org.

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Stay informed: News and Events from the City of LeavenworthDon’t miss out on all the great things going on in your First City! Here’s how to stay in touch:

TELEVISIONTWC Channel 2 in Leavenworth: City Commission meetings air at noon and 7 p.m. daily, Planning

Commission meetings air 2 p.m. daily, Leavenworth school board meetings, informational slides and events. - VIDEOS of City Commission meetings available on the Internet on YouTube for those without Time Warner Cable:

www.youtube.com/leavenworthkansas

ON OUR WEBSITE, www.lvks.org.• Check out “In the News” on the homepage• Upcoming Events calendar. • Subscribe to E-news updates to get the latest news items, job postings and other information straight to your e-mail inbox.• Report a Code Violation and Report a Pothole on “Citizen Response Form” on the bottom of our homepage.

SOCIAL MEDIA- Follow Social Media sites for quick updates:Facebook “City of Leavenworth-Government,” Facebook“City of Leavenworth Parks & Recreation Department” Facebook “Leavenworth Police”Twitter “Leavenworth KS”Twitter “Leavenworth PD”

IN PRINTFirst City Connection newsletter and First City Activity Guide distributed to residents three times a year: Winter/Spring, Summer and Fall. It is mailed to City of Leavenworth residents. Additional copies available on our website (receive through E-news subscription) or:

Leavenworth Public Library417 Spruce Street

Leavenworth, KS 66048

Riverfront Community Center123 S. Esplanade

Leavenworth, KS 66048