Community Newsletter Week of March 5-9, 2018 A publication of the City of Dodge City Public Information Office 1. City Commission update from the March 5, 2018 meeting: ORDINANCES & RESOLUTIONS Commission approved Ordinance No. 3680 which annexed to the City of Dodge City the property at 2401 East Trail Street. Commission approved Ordinance No. 3681 which annexed to the City of Dodge City the property at 2800 N. Avenue A. NEW BUSINESS The Commission approved the bid from Hays Fire Equipment in the amount of $934,995 for a Rosenbauer 100 Aerial Fire Truck for Fire Department and directed staff to proceed with getting bids for financing of this purchase. The Commission approved the quote from Victory Electric in the amount of $58,250 to install 6 LED Street Lights along the new 6th Avenue Extension. The Commissioner approved the Architect Agreement and Contract with Conant Construction in the amount of $149,950 for construction and remodel in the lower level of the Dodge City Public Library. The City has budgeted $50,000 for this project and is a party along with the Library who will fund the remainder. The Commissioners approved the bid from Dick Construction in the amount of $673,605.09 pending approval of Sutherlands GMP for the paving extension of Soule Street, along with water, sanitary sewer, and storm water improvements associated with Soule Street Development. (Sutherlands Home Improvement Store). The Commission moved to direct staff to discontinue the appeal to FEMA for requested amounts that were not reimbursed to the City from the Ice Storm of January, 2017. 2. The City of Dodge City, Dodge City Area Chamber of Commerce, Dodge City Community College, Dodge City Convention and Visitors Bureau, Dodge City/Ford County Development Corporation, Ford County, USD #443 and Boot Hill Museum, along with support from local legislators Senator Bud Estes and Representative Brad Ralph, held Dodge City Night in Topeka on Monday evening. This event is held every year to thank the Kansas Legislature and their staff for their support on projects and issues in Dodge City, as well as a chance to let our Senators and Representatives know what is going on in our community and the issues we face that need their support. Boot Hill Marshal Brent Harris was the emcee and the Depot Theater Company provided the entertainment. Additional sponsors that are vital to this event include Cargill Meat Solutions and Puffy s Steak and Ice House. Complimentary samples of craft spirits and beer were provided by Boot Hill Distillery and Dodge City Brewing Company.
3. Staff took advantage of the trip to Topeka this week to also attend various meetings. This included meetings with the Kansas State Historical Society, Department of Commerce, City of Topeka and City of Lawrence to discuss ongoing projects with the historic downtown and public art policy. 4. The City of Dodge City is excited to share the news that New Mexico legislators announced approval of a $16 million grant to repair the line that serves Amtrak s Southwest Chief in NM. This grant is under the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) program, and will fund critical repair work in New Mexico, Kansas, and Colorado. This is the third TIGER grant that has been awarded for critical repairs and improvements on this line and the Kansas Department of Transportation along with Dodge City, Garden City, Hutchison and Newton has made significant financial contributions to all three TIGER grants that have been awarded. The complete release from the New Mexico Legislators along with more information on the history of the TIGER grants and how they pertain to Dodge City is attached below. 5. The Main Street Design Committee met this last week for their monthly meeting. During this meeting, they discussed details on the Eisenhower Park Project as well as plans for improvements in downtown. They also discussed ideas for historic preservation activities and projects during the month of May. A Historic Presentation about the Santa Fe Trail by Anthony Lyons will take place on May 10th at 6:30, location TBD. If you are interested in being involved with Main Street Dodge City, please contact the Main Street Office at (620) 227-9501. 6. Road Construction starting March 12, 2018: The asphalt roadway approaches of 14th Ave. and 6th Ave. to US 50 will receive a 2 mill and inlay starting Monday, March 12th, Klotz Sand Co., Inc., will be doing the work. Klotz Sand will start the milling operations at 14th Ave. Monday morning March 12th and then proceed to 6th Ave. once work at 14th Ave. has been completed. It is anticipated to take two days to mill both intersections. After milling and until the new asphalt surface is in place there will be a small drop-off as you travel on 14th Ave. and 6th Ave. at the US 50 intersections. No work will be done to US 50. Klotz Sand plans to place the asphalt surface course starting Wednesday, March 14th on 14th Ave. and on Thursday, March 15th on 6th Ave. Placement of pavement markings will take place Thursday and Friday, March 15th and 16th. As part of the project, pavement markings will be installed on the east leg of Soule St. at the 14th Ave. intersection, the 14th Ave. and 6th Ave. approaches to US 50, and the north approach of Central Ave. to US 50. Traffic will be narrowed to one lane in each direction on the roadways when work is taking place. There may be some minor delays on US 50 at 14th Ave. & 6th Ave. as work is taking place. Please be aware of the construction zone, workers, and obey all traffic control signs. With your cooperation, the contractor should move through the project quickly. Work should not be taking place at both intersections at the same time; so if possible use the intersection where work is not being done.
CALENDAR City: Mon., March 19-7:00 pm City Commission Meeting, Commission Chambers Tues., March 13-3:00 pm Tourism Coalition Meeting, Santa Fe Depot Dining Room Dodge City Public Library: Sat., March 24 2:00 pm Easter Egg Hunt Thurs., April 5 6:00 pm Trivia night @ I Don t Care Family Restaurant United Wireless Arena: Sun., March 18 12:00 pm Bridal & Women s Day Expo Fri., April 6 7:00 pm Jeff Dunham: Passively Aggressive Sat., April 7 6:00 pm Gaither Band Fri., April 13 7:00 pm Skillet + KING & COUNTRY Wed., April 25 8:00 pm Rain: A tribute to the Beatles Community: Fri., March 9 Sun. March 11 Depot Theater Company Presents: Proof For tickets call 225-1001 or reserve online at DepotTheaterCo.com Unable to attend the City Commission meetings? You can still keep up with what decisions are voted on by tuning in to Channel 8 or going online to http://www.dodgecity.org/civicmedia. Commission videos are added to our website and Channel 8 by 5:00 pm the Wednesday following the meetings. If you can make it to the meetings, be in the audience by 7:00 pm every 1st and 3rd Monday.
NEWS FROM U.S. SENATOR TOM UDALL U.S. SENATOR MARTIN HEINRICH U.S. REPRESENTATIVE BEN RAY LUJÁN U.S. REPRESENTATIVE MICHELLE LUJAN GRISHAM New Mexico Democrats Announce $16 Million Grant to Repair Southwest Chief Line in NM Key upgrades will ensure rail continues to connect rural communities, enhance tourism in NM WASHINGTON Today, U.S. Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich and U.S. Representatives Ben Ray Luján and Michelle Lujan Grisham announced that the Department of Transportation (DOT) has awarded New Mexico s Colfax County a $16 million grant to replace segments of aging rail line on which Amtrak s Southwest Chief operates. The grant, which was awarded under the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) program, will fund critical repair work in New Mexico, Kansas, and Colorado. The Southwest Chief runs from Chicago to Los Angeles, and stops in several New Mexico communities, including Raton, Las Vegas, Lamy, Albuquerque, and Gallup. The members of the New Mexico delegation, along with lawmakers from Colorado and Kansas, wrote to U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao in support of this TIGER grant application in October 2017. Initial estimates indicated that over $100 million was needed to upgrade the portions of the line operating in New Mexico, Kansas, and Colorado to meet passenger train standers. Two former TIGER grants enabled large sections of the Southwest Chief s rail line to be repaired. This final TIGER grant will provide the funding needed to repair and rehabilitate this last rail line section, based primarily in New Mexico, with the same updates installed on the rest of the line. The Southwest Chief is an engine of economic growth in New Mexico that connects rural communities from Raton to Gallup, Udall said. This critical grant will fund badly-needed improvements to ensure a strong and stable future for the Southwest Chief in New Mexico. As a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, I ll keep fighting for investments in rural infrastructure that benefit the economy and link communities across our state." Investments in our rural transportation infrastructure are critical to spurring economic development, said Heinrich. The Southwest Chief isn't just a railroad route in New Mexico, it connects communities like Gallup and Las Vegas to the rest of the nation and boosts the local economy. Every summer, the Southwest Chief transports thousands of Boy Scouts from across the country to Philmont Scout Ranch near Cimarron, generating economic activity for businesses in these rural areas along the way. This grant will ensure much-needed repairs and improvements to rail line are made to keep the Southwest Chief on track to continue service of this route. Amtrak s Southwest Chief has long been an economic driver for New Mexico and the improvements funded by this grant will ensure its continued vitality in our state, said Luján. This grant provides the kind of infrastructure investment New Mexico needs and that I will continue to fight for in Congress. "I m proud to announce this new investment to provide much needed infrastructure improvements to New Mexico s rail service, said Lujan Grisham. "Safe and efficient transportation networks support New Mexico s economy through the movement of goods and services while also benefiting communities by improving access to work, school, and health facilities." The project will build on previous awards made under TIGER 6 and TIGER 7 by replacing 60-year old bolted rail, associated turnouts and crossings for a net gain of 42 miles of Class 4 rail in the La Junta subdivision between Hutchinson, Kan., and Las Animas, Colo. The project will also replace older rail ties in a 200-mile section of rail between Lamy, N.M., and Trinidad, Colo. Finally, the project will construct a series of improvements to the NMRX commuter rail route in New Mexico including the replacement of the signaling system, replacement of a damaged culvert, replacement of a half-mile of track along the Devil s Throne curve, and installation of a rock slide fence and warning signal at the Devil s Throne Curve. ### Contacts: Jennifer Talhelm (Udall) 202.228.6870 / Whitney Potter (Heinrich) 202.228.1578 / Joe Shoemaker (Luján) 202.225.6190 / Natalie Armijo 202.225.6316 (Lujan Grisham)
TIGER Grant History As the BNSF line serving the Southwest Chief is not a major freight route, the conditions of the rail were deteriorating which led to BNSF to reduce the speed limit on the route from 79 to 60 mph and it was highly probable that the speed limit could be further reduced to 30 mph. This caused concerns with Amtrak, due to the ability to complete the Chicago to Los Angeles run in 24 hours. Major improvements were needed to restore the overall speed and reliability of the line as well as the ride quality experienced by Amtrak s passengers. There were also rumors regarding BNSF having an interest in divesting of their route through western Kansas. In January 2010, BNSF offered to reroute the Southwest Chief to other freight routes, thereby eliminating the Southwest Chief between Newton KS and Lamy NM. At that time, Amtrak chose to maintain the current service and pay the additional maintenance costs. In 2011, BNSF estimated that the 10-year capital investment needed for Amtrak to preserve the entire 636 miles of the Southwest Chief from Newton, KS to Lamy, NM was $300 million. Garden City officials met with BNSF officials, Kansas Senate President Steve Morris and KDOT officials on January 25, 2012, regarding future intentions along the La Junta subdivision. BNSF stated that this line will stay in their ownership. From that early 2012 meeting, the Southwest Chief Rural Rail Partnership was born and a phased approach to rehabilitation of the route was conceived. The Partnership includes municipal governments, county governments and other interested passenger rail organizations. The four participating cities in Kansas are Newton, Hutchinson, Dodge City and Garden City. In 2012, Garden City and Dodge City (TIGER applications have to be from a governmental unit) were unsuccessful co-applicants for $15 million in TIGER IV funding. A second attempt with Garden City as the applicant was made in 2013 for TIGER V funding, which was also unsuccessful. Finally, the 2014 TIGER VI application submitted by Garden City was approved. This was the first year the BNSF participated in funding. The local match was $9.3 million against a Federal award of $12.5 million. That initial replaced 40 miles of track between Pierceville and Las Animas. In 2015, the City of La Junta CO was the applicant for a successful TIGER VII grant. They matched $9.2 million against $15.2 million in Federal funds. The project replaced an additional 38 miles of track in Kansas and Colorado and replaced 18.5 miles of ties and ballast in New Mexico. The City of Lamar CO submitted an unsuccessful TIGER VIII application in 2016. The grant was not awarded. It requested $31 million with a match of $10.1 million to complete the remaining 60 miles of track replacement in Kansas and Colorado and tie replacement and other upgrades New Mexico. Colfax County NM (Raton) submitted the 2017 TIGER IX application. The project includes 29 miles of track replacement in Colorado. In New Mexico, the project includes some centralized traffic control around Lamy, a new switch and drainage improvements on the Lamy siding, track replacement and a rock slide fence at Devil s Throne, and replacement of ties between Lamy and Trinidad. The local match is $9.16 million against the $16 million grant. With completion of TIGER IX, there will only be 27 miles still needing replacement between Hutchinson & La Junta, between Pierceville and Howell. The four western Kansas cities served by Amtrak, Newton, Hutchinson, Dodge City and Garden City, contributed to all three TIGER grant matches. The Kansas Department of Transportation participated in all three TIGER Grants, with $3 million on TIGER VI and $1 million each for TIGERS VII and IX.
A L Z H E I M E R S A S S O C I A T I O N P R E S E N T S Basics of Alzheimer's B O O T H I L L C A S I N O 4 0 0 0 C O M M A N C H E S T D O D G E C I T Y, K S F R I D A Y, A P R I L 1 3 S T A R T I N G 6 : 3 0 P M Please RSVP to Denise Vann-dvann@alz.org or Sarah McNay-smcnay@alz.org or 1-800-272-3900
HOMEBUYER EDUCATION Classes FREE Topics Include: Understanding your credit score Financing requirements Closing cost Loan types What you can afford Home Inspections Radon and Radon Mitigation Home Insurance Role of Realtors Sponsors Date: Saturday, March 24, 2018 - English Class Saturday, March 31, 2018 - Spanish Class Time: 10:00 AM to 1:00 PM Location: DC/FC Development Corporation 101 E. Wyatt Earp, 2nd floor Dodge City, KS 67801 Speakers: Joe Demuth, Landmark National Bank Patty Dunkle, Centera Bank Leticia Navarro, Landmark National Bank Casey Rynerson, Rynerson Home Inspections, LLC Chris Boys, American Family Insurance Anjela Lopez, Coldwell Banker Hancocks Joseph Nuci, Real Estate Professionals Angelica Villanueva, Real Estate Professionals register today Space is limited to 20 people. Free lunch provided. Call 620-371-3869 or email housing@dodgedev.org to sign up.
VOLUNTEERS NEEDED Are you looking to make a difference in your community? Main Street Dodge City is searching for energetic volunteers who want to help the downtown prosper. Volunteers are needed to help with the many different events & activities that Main Street organizes through-out the year. If you would like more information on becoming a volunteer with Main Street Dodge City, please contact Krissy Lampe at (620) 227-9501 or krissy@dodgedev.org