Leavenworth City Commission approves street contracts, festival manager, equipment purchases and multiple rezonings

The Leavenworth City Commission on Feb. 10 approved a package of infrastructure contracts, equipment purchases and land-use actions, including a $1.38 million contract for the 2025 mill-and-overlay work, a $470,903 granite-seal contract, a final change order of $430,742 on the Fourth Street reconstruction, a $73,000 contract to manage the 2025 Camp Leavenworth Festival, and multiple rezoning and special-use approvals for two-family dwellings.

The actions package affects street preservation, downtown reconstruction closeout, the city’s festival programming and the short-term housing stock by clearing rezonings and special-use permits for several addresses. Staff and contractors said the work is budgeted in the city’s 2025 capital improvement program or covered by existing departmental budgets.

The commission voted without extended debate on most items. Staff described the pavement program bids, engineer estimates and recommended awards; project managers and contractors answered technical questions about schedule, warranty and expected timelines. Public comment included two residents who raised unrelated concerns about city ordinance enforcement and transparency. Resident Ray Hillbrand said, “The city is in violation of its own ordinance,” during his three-minute public comment; commissioners did not take action on those remarks during the meeting.

Votes at a glance: the commission recorded roll-call or recorded votes on all listed items; all passed. - Ordinance No. 82-56 (rezone 711 Ottawa Street to high-density single-family residential): adopted, vote 5–0. - Ordinance No. 82-57 (rezone 701 Potawatomi Street to high-density single-family residential): adopted, vote 5–0. - Ordinance No. 82-58 (special-use permit to allow a two‑family dwelling at 711 Ottawa Street): approved, vote 5–0. - Ordinance No. 82-59 (special-use permit to allow a two‑family dwelling at 701 Potawatomi Street): approved, vote 5–0. - Ordinance No. 82-60 (special-use permit to allow a two‑family dwelling at 724 Osage Street): approved, vote 5–0. - Ordinance No. 82-61 (special-use permit to allow a two‑family dwelling at 724 Potawatomi Street): approved, vote 5–0. - Transient merchant permit waiver for Dark River artifact show at the Riverfront Community Center (April 2025): approved, vote recorded; staff noted all facility fees and permits still apply. - Contract: O'Neil Events and Management — Camp Leavenworth Festival 2025 management, $73,000 (to be funded from transient guest tax): approved, vote recorded. - Contract: McEnany Paving — 2025 pavement management program (mill & overlay), base bid plus alternates $1,384,543.27; commission authorized contract signature and an additional 5% contingency (approx. $69,000) for a not-to-exceed project authorization of $1,453,770.27: approved, vote recorded. - Contract: Vance Brothers — 2025 pavement management program, granite-seal portion, $470,903.14: approved, vote recorded. - Final change order and project acceptance: Fourth Street reconstruction (Choctaw to Seneca) — final change order not to exceed $430,742.07; revised project total reported as $3,608,747.83; commission approved the change order and acceptance of the project (retainage to be withheld during a 30‑day signal “burn-in” period): approved, vote recorded. - Equipment: Foley Equipment — 2025 front-end rubber-tire loader, $213,155 (budgeted in 2025 CIP): approved, vote recorded. - Equipment: Foley Equipment — 2025 compact track loader, $89,617 (budgeted in 2025 CIP; staff plans to sell the old unit on an auction site): approved, vote recorded. - Consent items: claims for 01/10/2025–01/23/2025, $1,681,526.87, and payroll (effective 01/10/2025) $436,778.21: approved.

Pavement program and granite-seal awards: staff said streets were selected using on-site observations and the city’s pavement condition index (PCI). Bids opened Jan. 16 produced a low responsive bid from McEnany Paving for the mill-and-overlay base and alternates totaling $1,384,543.27; staff recommended, and the commission authorized, an additional 5% contingency to address unforeseen field conditions. For the granite-seal package the city received a single responsive bid from Vance Brothers at $470,903.14; staff noted the program keeps “good roads good” and the combined pavement program remains under the 2025 pavement-management budget of $2.1 million.

Fourth Street final change order and project acceptance: commissioners reviewed a history of the Fourth Street project, including an earlier decision to redesign after higher-than-expected KDOT bids. Construction began in July and the street reopened Nov. 15; signals began operating Dec. 23 and staff reported final timing adjustments were made at the time of the meeting. Staff said the original purchase order was $3,145,630, change orders and unforeseen conditions produced net increases and decreases, and the revised total is $3,608,747.83 (a net 14.7% increase over the original bid). The commission approved a final change order not to exceed $430,742.07 to allow final payment processing; staff will withhold retainage until signals complete a 30‑day operational period.

Festival contract and transient merchant waiver: the commission approved a $73,000 contract with O'Neil Events and Management to manage the Camp Leavenworth Festival on Sept. 26–27, 2025; staff said that amount is included in the adopted 2025 budget and will be paid from transient guest tax funds. The commission also granted a waiver to allow the Dark River artifacts-and-fossils show to sell artifact-related items on city property in April 2025; staff noted facility fees and permits still apply.

Equipment purchases and procurement: the commission approved two equipment purchases using cooperative purchasing: a front-end rubber-tire loader ($213,155) and a compact track loader ($89,617), both from Foley Equipment of Kansas City. Staff confirmed warranties and noted the 2025 CIP includes funding for both buys and that the city plans to retain or auction older units as described at the meeting.

What’s next: staff indicated O'Neil Events will attend the CVB advisory meeting ahead of festival planning; pavement and sealing work is expected to begin in March and carry 90‑day completion windows; the city will process final Fourth Street pay applications after the 30‑day signal monitoring period. Public-comment concerns about ordinance enforcement were received but not acted on at the meeting.

This report is based on the Leavenworth City Commission meeting recorded Feb. 10, 2025.