Peabody begins replacing pipes
Staff writer
New PVC pipes soon will replace Peabody’s antiquated cast-iron mains, improving water quality significantly, Darin Neufeld, vice president of EBH Engineering, told city council members Monday.
“We’ve got problems in parts of town with chlorine residual and color,” Neufeld said.
Peabody’s old pipes will be abandoned underground, Mayor Catherine Weems said.
Large patches of sidewalk were dug up on Walnut St. as the project got underway late in July.
The city decided to replace pipe under Walnut St. first because it had received a state grant for downtown sidewalk improvements and were tearing up sidewalks anyway.
“We’re calling this the ‘Walnut phase,’” Neufeld said.
The “Walnut phase” will be completed by the end of the year. The full project will take more than a year to complete.
“We’re shooting to replace about 60 blocks in total,” Neufeld said.
It will cost $3 million, of which $1 million will come from a forgivable loan from Kansas Department of Health and Environment.
“Short of other grant funding that we keep looking for and hoping to get, our portion will be $2 million,” Weems said.
EBH Engineers is applying to grants on behalf of the city.
“We’re doing it all in Peabody,” Neufeld said. “They don’t have a lot of staff.”
Neufeld said his team might be able to secure a Kansas Water Office grant of roughly $900,000.
Deadline to apply for such a grant is September 30.
“I’m confident that they’re eligible for more grants,” Neufeld said. “The whole state has a lot of water issues, so I’m not going to guarantee anything.”
Council members approved three payments relating to the project Monday: a $242,175.78 payment to Ditch Diggers Inc. for construction work, four invoices totaling $89,078.85 to EBH Engineers, and a $331,448.18 disbursement to KDHE.
Neufeld also spoke about another project council members might begin planning for: street improvements. He handed out a city map with color-coded streets based on their condition.
Two Peabody residents, Lindsey Marshall and Beth Peter, earlier noted poor road quality on Vine St. from 5th to 6th St.
Weems suggested the council add new city clerk Paul Leeker to the list of signatories for city expenditures and remove councilman Richard Baker, who has been absent at meetings since June 2024.
“I don’t see it being to our benefit to leave him on there,” Weems said of Baker. “I think it’s just leaving a loophole out there that probably needs to be closed.”
The council unanimously made the change.
Peabody’s signatories are now Weems, Leeker, treasurer Deanna Baker, and council member Linda Martinez.
Three signatures are needed to approve checks cut by the city.
Signatories are chosen based on the flexibility of their schedules and their proximity to the city building, Weems said.
“It would make sense to have a council member who’s maybe retired at home most of the time rather than working an hour away if we need somebody to sign stuff,” she said.
To end the meeting, the council moved into an executive session for 45 minutes to discuss personnel matters of non-elected personnel.
The Kansas attorney general’s office has stated to the Record that such a motion must include the topic of the meeting — who or what personnel matters are being discussed.
But Weems declined to elaborate further.
“I’m not going to get more specific than that,” she said.