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Record of Proceedings

October 13, 2026 Manhattan City Commission Meeting

City Commission — Tuesday, October 13, 2026
BodyManhattan, Kansas
SessionCity Commission
DateTuesday, October 13, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 1:22:44

Original source
Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

Speaker numbers apply only to this recording.

Speaker 1

2:38

Good evening.

2:40

We will now open the October thirteenth, twenty twenty six meeting of

Unassigned speaker

2:45

the

Speaker 1

2:45

Manhattan City Commission.

2:47

Jared, will you please take the role?

Speaker 2

2:50

Mayor Adams.

2:51

I'm here.

2:52

Commissioner McCullough.

Speaker 1

2:53

Yes.

Speaker 2

2:54

Commissioner Fox.

2:55

Here.

2:55

Commissioner Morrison.

2:56

Here.

2:56

Commissioner Von Leno.

Speaker 1

2:58

Here.

Speaker 2

2:58

Mayor, we have five commissioners present.

3:00

The quorum of three is met.

Speaker 1

3:02

Thank you.

3:03

Will you please rise and say the Pledge of Allegiance with me?

Unassigned speaker

3:06

I

Speaker 3

3:07

pledge to the flag of the United States of America.

3:11

And to

Speaker 1

3:12

the Republic for the Japanese one nation under liberty and justice for all.

Unassigned speaker

5:00

So we thought maybe we need to do a little background and see if we could help them out a little bit.

Speaker 4

5:03

So during that process, we found out that part of the BRAC or the base relocation and closure system points are awarded for cooperation between bases and municipalities.

5:14

So not only could we save them some money and we could generate a little bit of revenue for the city.

5:19

We also could add points to our BRAC numbers, which is a big deal, as you know, Fort Riley is a huge uh economic driver in the city.

Unassigned speaker

5:28

So

Speaker 4

5:28

we looked into it a little bit, uh came up with an agreement, signed it in 2015, went really well, and then we decided to do a 10-year extension.

5:37

For that, the city does charge a 3% handling fee for the contract, so we do actually make a little bit of money off of

Unassigned speaker

5:42

it.

Unassigned speaker

5:43

So

Speaker 4

5:43

a 10-year agreement is signed.

5:45

I think we're in about year three or four of that 10 year, it runs out into the 2030s.

5:50

Uh the city solicits bids for combined tonnage to be delivered.

5:54

Uh we do a

Unassigned speaker

6:02

sorry.

Speaker 4

6:03

That's okay, thank you.

6:04

Uh we do an open bid uh state statute open bids.

6:10

So we uh typically get three or four bidders for it.

6:12

Uh salt is either delivered to the city or to Fort Riley.

6:15

We don't even handle it, it goes directly to Fort Riley, so we have no costs in it whatsoever.

6:21

And then once it's done, then we built Fort Riley for their administrative fee.

6:26

Uh we have also looked at this as maybe a way to save somebody with the county and KSU.

6:32

Uh there's their costs and our costs are almost identical, so I don't think there's any savings to be had there, but we have reached out to them also.

6:41

Any questions on the Fort Riley

Unassigned speaker

6:43

one?

Speaker 3

6:44

We do share with the county various roads.

Speaker 4

6:48

Yes.

6:49

We do uh a cooperative, so they plow roads that they are next to, say Scenic.

6:55

They actually plow Scenic, we plow Marlat because we're already on Denison.

6:58

So we do have we also do that with Pot County also.

7:02

So we do have some, uh they're called co-ops.

7:05

They are on our snow and ice map.

7:07

I was just looking at it this afternoon.

7:10

Okay, so for our salt storage facilities, the storage facility at Denison has to be relocated by the end of 2027.

7:17

So we've been looking at some different locations where we can move that to.

Unassigned speaker

7:21

Uh,

Speaker 4

7:21

the storm event in June also did significant damage to the structure, uh forcing us to move all of our salt out of that facility and over to joint maintenance.

7:30

Currently, all of our storage is at JMF, which increases travel time to reload salt, pre-treat vehicles.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Engineering And Infrastructure█████████████████████████████████████████████60%
Transportation Safety███████████14%
Procurement And Contracting████████11%
Public Safety█████7%
Public Engagement██3%
Procedural██2%
Veteran Affairs██2%
Zoning█1%
Summary of Proceedings

October 13, 2026 Manhattan City Commission Meeting

The Manhattan City Commission met on October 13, 2026, to discuss the relocation of city salt storage facilities, receive an operational overview of snow removal, consider a new lane closure permitting policy, and review the Engineer on Call policy for professional design services.

Fort Riley Salt Agreement & Salt Dome Relocation

  • City staff (Brian) provided an update on the salt supply agreement with Fort Riley, initiated in 2015 to foster BRAC cooperation and generate city revenue (3% handling fee). The current 10-year extension runs into the 2030s.
  • The city's salt dome at Denison must be relocated by the end of 2027 due to lease requirements. A June 2026 windstorm forced the immediate relocation of all salt storage to the Joint Maintenance Facility (JMF), increasing travel times and reliance on a single point of storage.
  • Staff proposed building two smaller satellite facilities, budgeted at $500,000 in the 2027 CIP. Three potential areas were identified: an Evergy site near Eisenhower School, K-State land along Marlatt/College Avenue, and land near West Anderson Avenue/Blueville.
  • Commissioner Fox questioned the need to acquire new land, suggesting the city use already-owned property (e.g., the Amherst fire station site). Staff explained the limited utility of some city-owned sites due to access constraints (Amherst) and higher and better redevelopment value (Plaza West). A debate occurred regarding the per-inch cost of snow removal ($10,000), the opportunity cost of plow travel time, and the total cost of new facilities ($250,000 per dome).
  • Staff agreed to return with a site-ranking matrix that evaluates costs, distances, and feasibility for further deliberation.

Snow Operations Presentation

  • Dan Tyson (Street Fleet Stormwater Superintendent) presented an overview of the city's snow and ice operations, covering equipment, treatment chemicals (salt brine), safety protocols, and the standard three-step treatment process.
  • The city's snow removal program costs approximately $10,000 per inch of snowfall. Manhattan averages roughly 20 inches of snow per year. The presentation underscored the operational efficiency benefits of satellite salt storage locations.

Lane Closure Permitting Policy

  • Staff presented a draft policy aimed at regulating private lane, sidewalk, and parking stall closures. Proposed fees included a $50 application fee, $50/day for parking stalls or sidewalk closures, and $150/day for lane closures. Enforcement was proposed through permit revocation and stop-work orders.
  • Blade Majors (Executive Director, Wareham Hall development) spoke in public comment against the proposed fee structure. He argued the policy should emphasize collaboration and community engagement (as his project did) rather than a purely punitive fee system, noting the proposed fees could have added $280,000 to his development's costs. He urged the commission to consider fee waivers for projects that successfully coordinate with local stakeholders (HOAs, DMI).
  • Commissioners discussed the cost impact on development, enforcement challenges (municipal court vs. administrative stop-work orders), and the distinction between project types (development agreement projects vs. unknown private projects). Commissioner Fox raised concerns about the $50/day parking stall fee and the general cost burden on developers. Commissioner Morrison requested clarity on legal enforcement mechanisms.
  • Staff was directed to refine the fee structure (specifically parking stall rates), reinforce the role of development agreements in fee negotiation, and solidify enforcement language before bringing a revised policy back for adoption.

Engineer on Call Policy Renewal

  • Staff requested renewal of the Engineer on Call policy, which allows the city to pre-select a pool of engineering consultants for smaller infrastructure projects (construction budget under $3 million). The goal is to significantly reduce the project start time compared to the standard 20-week RFQ process.
  • Commissioner Fox inquired about the transparency of the pre-selected firm list, access for local businesses, and the risk of creating an "exclusive dealers" system. Staff confirmed that a local preference would violate federal law but noted that over 90% of recent contracts have been awarded to local firms. Staff committed to regularly publishing the list of pre-selected firms.
  • The commission generally supported continuation of the policy. Staff will proceed with issuing an RFQ for the service categories (water, sewer, stormwater, transportation, inspection, etc.) and return for approval of the firm selections and subsequent project scope and fees.

Key Outcomes

  • Salt Dome Relocation: Staff to present a site-ranking matrix to the commission on November 10, 2026, as part of the final 2027 Capital Improvement Plan discussion.
  • Lane Closure Policy: Staff will revise the draft policy based on commissioner feedback on fees and enforcement, returning for formal adoption at a future meeting.
  • Engineer on Call Policy: The commission endorsed the continuation of the policy. Staff will bring forward an RFQ for on-call service categories for commission selection.
  • The meeting was adjourned unanimously.

Meeting Transcript

Good evening. We will now open the October thirteenth, twenty twenty six meeting of the Manhattan City Commission. Jared, will you please take the role? Mayor Adams. I'm here. Commissioner McCullough. Yes. Commissioner Fox. Here. Commissioner Morrison. Here. Commissioner Von Leno. Here. Mayor, we have five commissioners present. The quorum of three is met. Thank you. Will you please rise and say the Pledge of Allegiance with me? I pledge to the flag of the United States of America. And to the Republic for the Japanese one nation under liberty and justice for all. So we thought maybe we need to do a little background and see if we could help them out a little bit. So during that process, we found out that part of the BRAC or the base relocation and closure system points are awarded for cooperation between bases and municipalities. So not only could we save them some money and we could generate a little bit of revenue for the city. We also could add points to our BRAC numbers, which is a big deal, as you know, Fort Riley is a huge uh economic driver in the city. So we looked into it a little bit, uh came up with an agreement, signed it in 2015, went really well, and then we decided to do a 10-year extension. For that, the city does charge a 3% handling fee for the contract, so we do actually make a little bit of money off of it. So a 10-year agreement is signed. I think we're in about year three or four of that 10 year, it runs out into the 2030s. Uh the city solicits bids for combined tonnage to be delivered. Uh we do a sorry. That's okay, thank you. Uh we do an open bid uh state statute open bids. So we uh typically get three or four bidders for it. Uh salt is either delivered to the city or to Fort Riley. We don't even handle it, it goes directly to Fort Riley, so we have no costs in it whatsoever. And then once it's done, then we built Fort Riley for their administrative fee. Uh we have also looked at this as maybe a way to save somebody with the county and KSU. Uh there's their costs and our costs are almost identical, so I don't think there's any savings to be had there, but we have reached out to them also. Any questions on the Fort Riley one? We do share with the county various roads. Yes. We do uh a cooperative, so they plow roads that they are next to, say Scenic.

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