Welcome

Welcome to the City of Lake Lotawana’s official website. Its purpose is to provide accurate information regarding the city’s services for the benefit of all residents, homeowners and local businesses. We hope you will use this site for information on the city’s history and boundaries, governmental procedures, how to obtain proper permits and the calendar of events.

I also invite you to "sign up today" for our electronic email newsletter service as offered by clicking on the button below. The city will use this service to update you on issues, meetings and events as they occur.

Please participate in your city government. As always, your questions and suggestions are welcome via email or by calling 816-578-4215.

Thank you,

Mayor Ed Stratemeier
City of Lake Lotawana

We have received permission from the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) to begin to lower the level of water in the lagoon by mixing lagoon water with the effluent from the treatment plant.  The resulting mix can be discharged into the creek provided that it continues to meet the water quality standards in our permit.  This is the first step in beginning to get our sewer system into compliance.  Once the level of water in the lagoon is lowered, we can begin to use the lagoon as an equalization basin.

Based on some rough numbers from our engineers, it appears that a one inch rain results in about 1.5 million gallons of inflow and infiltration (I&I) coming into the system.  That is about 5 times the capacity of the plant.  Using the lagoon as an equalization basin will allow us to store that water and put it through the plant over the week or so following the rain.  This should work reasonably well during the drier months, but during the wet months we will still have trouble treating all the water.

The next step in fixing the sewer system will be to find out where all that I&I is coming into the system and begin to make repairs.  We recently had a team of inspectors check every manhole to determine whether there was an excessive flow.  They did locate one or two places where there seemed to be more flow than expected, and we have set about making repairs.  However, these areas do not account for the enormous volume we see following heavy rain. 

The engineers will be making a plan to locate and repair the I&I problem.  It is likely that fixing every leak would be far too costly to undertake.  Therefore we will be looking for the major sources of I&I and dealing with those.

We have begun the process of budgeting for 2009.  Revenues in the general fund will be about $100,000 less than we budgeted for 2008. The principal reason for this is that we overestimated the amount of revenue coming from taxes.  When we created the 2008 budget, we had only a few months of actual experience with the sales tax and it appears that we based our estimate for the full year on a few months of higher than the average sale taxes. 

The shortfall will not create a problem for the 2008 budget because we received nearly $100,000 from unanticipated sources.  One source is telecommunications.  Cities charge most utilities a franchise fee for providing services within the city.  The telecommunications industry has been challenging these taxes for several years.  The state legislature recently passed a law establishing a 5% tax rate as the maximum that can be charged and the companies agreed to settle the lawsuit on that basis.  During the challenge, the companies were withholding any payments.  Now that the litigation has been settled, the companies are paying the taxes due from the past few years. Another unexpected source of income has been forfeited bonds which were posted for traffic and other violations.

Within the next few weeks, the City will be publishing the financial report for the first six months.  We will also publish the budget for 2009.  Before the end of July, we will schedule a town hall meeting to make a detailed report on the financial report and budget, and we will answer all of your questions.  I strongly encourage you to attend the town hall meeting.
 
Mayor Ed Stratemeier

Abnormal Water Usage
Addressed by New Ordinances

The Lake Lotawana Aldermen passed two ordinances that are designed to protect residents from unexpectedly large sewer bills.

Sewer bills are based on two criteria. Eighty percent ($78.12 per month per resident) is based on a rate that covers capital needs, debt service, and sewer system operating costs that has an annual budget of $1.4 million.  Twenty percent is based on the volume of water used by each household ($6.37 per 1,000 gallons).  If a sewer bill reflects excessive water usage, the two new ordinances provide procedures for an adjustment to the portion of the bill based on water usage.

Ordinance #863 was passed to provide for an adjustment for water usage (25% or more over normal) when the loss of water (for residents only) was due to a break or failure in the plumbing of which the user has no knowledge. This procedure and policy applies to residents in Water Districts 13, 14 and 15. To report this kind of water loss, residents must file with the appropriate Water District showing the amount of the leak and other criteria designed to explain and establish a case.  The new ordinance establishes guidelines for an equitable adjustment (made once a year, not monthly) to cover the unexpected water usage.  The Water District will then notify the city so that an adjustment can be made to the sewer bill.

Ordinance #871 establishes a 6,000 gallon cap each resident could be charged on their sewer bill as a portion of the 20% for unexpected usage as listed above or for usage such as swimming pools or lawn irrigation.  The limit was based on the premise that excessive water usage had minimal impact on the wastewater treatment.

These two ordinances are important to all residents, full time and part-time, because the conditions for excessive or unexpected water usage can easily happen.  It pays to read your sewer and water bills each month to ensure the amount of water you have used is normal and within your expectations.

Bill Kostar
City Administrator
 

                          Animal Control News

Change is not always a bad thing.  There are a few changes that have been made in the world of animal control that you need to be aware of; Animal Licensing, new city ordinances regarding animal waste, assistance from Blue Springs Animal Control, and new animal shelter.

Animal license is required for all your dogs and cats. Yes, cats!!  With the large number of feral cats around the lake creating a nuisance, the city’s Aldermen have decided to amend the dog license ordinance to include cats.  This will help identify the cats that have an owner from the wild or feral cats.

Now dogs and cats must have a collar with their current rabies vaccination tag and their city animal license tag displayed on the collar.  The city’s animal license must be renewed every year in January.  The cost is only $3.00 per animal.  Remember the city only allows 3 dogs or 3 cats, no more than 4 total dogs and cats per house hold.

There have been numerous complaints on dogs pooping in peoples yards.  Our city’s Aldermen have made an ordinance that says you must clean up after your pet. This ordinance went into effect back in 2006.  Even though this ordinance is 2 years old I think the word hasn’t really gotten out.  When you walk your dogs please remember to bring a sack to pick up after them.  Help get the word out, tell your neighbors and your friends who have dogs and ask them to pass the word too.  Together we can make a difference.
 
With me being the only animal control officer for our city, we have learned over time that I am not always available.  To help me when I can’t be here (i.e. on vacation or out sick) the city has contracted with Blue Springs to assist us with animal calls that cannot wait for my return.  The contract simply states a mutual aid agreement between the two cities to assist us when I’m unavailable and in return I can assist them on the southern portion of their city when they are unavailable or just need a second pair of hands.  I believe this is a great thing for all of us.

Lee’s Summit Animal Shelter is where all our stray animals go when they get picked up.  They have moved to their new building at 1991 SE Hamblen Road, Lee’s Summit.  If you take 7 Hwy to 50 Hwy west to Lee’s Summit get off on 291 and go south to Hamblen Rd.  It’s near the Lee’s Summit Dump. 

The new facility is more than twice the size of its old building and it holds about twice the number of animals.  They have a meet-and-greet room were people who are looking to adopt at pet can go and get to know the dog or cat in more of a private setting.  It’s a great place to visit.  Their hours are Monday-Friday 8 am to 5pm and Saturday and Sunday 10 am to 2 pm.

CSO Mark Jeffrey
 

                      Spraying For Mosquitoes

The Public Works Department will be spraying for mosquitoes in low-lying areas three times during the summer months.The dates are June 26, July 31 and August 31 2008 after 5:00 PM.

If you have any questions about this please email our new Public Works Director Keith Herzberg .

City of Lake Lotawana Announces New Department Heads

On May 20th the Lake Lotawana Aldermen approved Mayor Ed Stratemeier’s recommendation to hire Steven J. (Jeff) Rogers as the new Chief of Police. 

Rogers was formerly the Chief of Police in Seymour MO.  He has previously served with the Grandview Police as Juvenile Officer, the Blue Springs Police as Officer, Detective, and Lieutenant /Patrol Division.  In Seymour, he developed policies and provided guidance for a department that formerly had none.  Experienced in all phases of police agency operations, Rogers has completed courses with the FBI National Academy in Quantico, VA, the National Crime Prevention Institute at University of Louisville, Ky, and the Missouri National Guard Police NCO Academy. Also active in the community, he has served as a volunteer firefighter in Jackson County, as an alderman and mayor of Lake Tapawingo, Mo, and many positions with the Blue Elk District of Boy Scouts of America.  Rogers is well acquainted with many administrative officers of the area’s public safety agencies and looks forward to maintaining a constructive working relationship with them and with members of our community.

Keith Herzberg was hired as the new Public Works Utility Director.  His career in public works includes positions with the City of Smithville, Mo as Water Superintendent, an account manager with Pristine Water Solutions and Aqualogix Inc. and as Chief Operator for safe drinking water and preventive maintenance for the City of Plattsburg, MO.   He is licensed with the State of Missouri in Class A Drinking Water and Wastewater Treatment and in Class III Water Distribution.

The city also announced the hiring of a new City Attorney, Michael Gallagher.

Please note that Patrick Pendergist has taken disability leave from his position as Director of Public Works and has given this community many years of service. 

 

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