A $3 per month charge will be added to the City of Ellsworth utility bills in August to pay for stormwater drainage costs. First payments will be due in September.

At Monday’s meeting of the Ellsworth City Council, members approved Ordinance 3119, which created the monthly charge

According to the ordinance, the monthly $3 charge will be used to create, improve and maintain stormwater drainage systems, affected sidewalks and streets within Ellsworth.

City attorney Patrick Hoffman said the ordinance would need to be revoked and replaced if the council ever decides to change the stormwater fee.

Mayor Mark Kennedy asked about the benefit of the ordinance to residents who don’t have curb and guttering, such as on the western side of town.

“That’s something we need to think about,” he said.

City administrator Rusty Varnado said there is leeway in the way the ordinance is worded to allow the city to work on curbs and gutters, sidewalks and streets to help with flooding.

In other business:

• Approval was given to sign the Kansas Department of Transportation Form 1302 required by the state. The form is necessary so the city can accept the $600,000 in funding it was awarded to mill and overlay on Douglas Avenue from the Smoky Hill Bridge to the intersection of K-140 and K-14 Highways. Funding is based on a five percent match by the city, which amounts to $30,000.

According to Varnado, the funds cover the cost of construction and engineering fees; however, the city is still responsible for the cost of the preliminary engineering.

• Approval was given to the Kansas Gas franchise agreement as presented.

Varnado said Kansas Gas has consented to an addition to the agreement regarding use of a permitting system. Under the addition, Kansas Gas shall not make any improvements or construction within the city’s right-of-way or anywhere in the city without first requesting and receiving a building permit.

Varnado said this is something the city wants to use for all utilities — not just Kansas Gas — to give city officials a more accurate map of the existing infrastructure.

• Approval was given to the realignment supplemental agreement with Kirkham Michael and Associates for the multi-use path. Varnado said because of the inability to come to an agreement with a property owner to acquire right-of-way in the original plan, the multi-use walking path has to be redesigned. That require an additional service agreement with Kirkham Michael in the amount of $21,500.

The new route will follow along the west side of south Douglas Ave. (K-14 Highway) from just north of Sycamore Street north to west Douglas Ave. The pathway will extend westward along the south side of the east entrance to the old armory building.