By Allen Dinkel, City Manager
This has been an interesting weather week. On Tuesday afternoon, the City of Westmorland was hit by what has been classified as an F-3 tornado. Unfortunately, for the first time since 2012 a Kansas resident was a victim of the storm.
I assume many of you remember the Chapman tornado of 2008 and the damage that occurred. 23 years ago, I served as manager in Hoisington, Kansas on April 21, 2001, when that community was stuck by a tornado. The path of that storm was 3/8th of a mile wide and dissected the community from West to East destroying 12 businesses and 200 homes, including the one we owned.
Yes, I know that Junction City has never been hit by a tornado and I am with everyone on the legend of a tornado will not strike where two rivers meet. I have managed in another two river City, and they as well have never been hit by a tornado. So, let’s stick with that.
However, when a tornado strikes any community, you do have to sit back and think about how the City could get through a disaster such as a tornado. First of all, a City organization needs to be in sound financial condition. Nine years ago, there would have been major financial issues if this City would have had to deal with a major natural disaster. The City was just in the early stages of recovering from a major financial disaster and there were little or no reserve funds. We have worked at building reserve balance in all funds as there may be that day when that reserve is needed.
In Kansas, most cities have mutual aid agreements with other cities and units of government in the event of a disaster. This allows for others to come to a community’s aid and provides a method for FEMA reimbursement if a disaster is declared. I am sure the City of Chapman benefited by the help from other cities in 2008 and I know the City I managed had over 50 cities and counties that brought equipment and manpower to assist.
As with any property owner, the City has buildings and assets insured in case something ever happens. I am not an insurance expert, but the insurance game is changing. We have received notice at the City Office that the deductible amounts have increased.
Many cities in Kansas, including Junction City, have an insurance proceeds fund and program. By State Statute the governing body of any city is authorized to establish, by ordinance which has to be approved by the State Insurance Commissioner, a procedure for the payment of not to exceed 15% of the proceeds of any insurance policy based upon a covered claim payment made for damage or loss to a building or other structure, caused by or arising out of any fire, explosion or windstorm. The ordinance shall apply only to a covered claim payment which is in excess of 75% of the face value of the property.
For example, if a building has a value of $200,000 and is completely destroyed by wind, fire, or explosion, the insurance company will remit $30,000 in this case to the City. These funds are then deposited into an interest-bearing account and are held by the City until the damaged structure is repaired or removed. When the actions are completed by the property owner the $30K along with all interest that was earned is returned. If nothing is done by the property owner, the City then takes the proper action to remove the building and uses these funds to pay for the costs. If funds are remaining, those are returned to the owner. The purpose of this policy is to encourage the property owner to take care of their property and not rely on the City and the taxpayers to pay to do so. I know this can be controversial, but cities who had this program in place when a tornado struck their community, had a quicker cleanup of damaged structures and rebuilt faster. In 2007, the City of Greensburg did not use this ordinance and a year after the tornado they were dealing with those that just left their damaged home and had to use City funds to deal with the issue.
Recently, a check was sent to a property owner who had their home damaged by a fire. In their case they were able to save their home and they were paid the amount of the insurance proceeds that had been held, plus interest. The damage has been addressed, the adjacent property owners do not have an unsightly building in their neighborhood, and the tax payers of the City did not have to fund what an individual property owner should do.
In a couple of weeks, City water and waste water customers will be receiving a campaign letter from HomeServe USA. This company provides plans to protect the property owner for repair of the water or sewer lines that go from their property to the City main. This program was approved by the City Commission a few years ago and is endorsed by the League of Kansas Municipalities and the National League of Cities. We get complaints when these letters are sent by the company, but it is an optional program and there are those in Junction City that do subscribe to this coverage.