Beloit City Council Meting Tuesday Dec 6

Beloit City Council

Tuesday, December 6, 2016

By Terry Bailey

The Beloit City Council conducted its regularly scheduled meeting at City Hall Tuesday evening, December 6^th. City Administrator Jason Rabe gave the Councilors an update on the water testing being done at the Waconda Lake. Rabe said the initial results continue to be very promising. The testing should be completed within the next two weeks. At this point keeping the water collecting lines from freezing is a concern. Summing up the water testing, Rabe said, “Waconda Lake proves to be a very good source of water for the City of Beloit. There may be other concerns but water quality and quantity would meet the needs of the City of Beloit for many years in the future.”

Beloit Chief of Police Dave Elam introduced Casey Henke and Matthew Seeman as newly hired city police officers. They will begin their training at the Kansas Law Enforcement Center in Hutchinson on January 15^th.

Mitchell County Economic Development Director Heather Hartman provided the Council with an update on the activities in her department. The Neighborhood Revitalization Grant Program in celebrating its ten year anniversary. The Neighborhood Revitalization program has contributed significantly to 316 residential, commercial and agricultural projects.

In the last ten years Mitchell County has experienced 92.8 million dollars of capital improvement growth. During that time the total valuation of Mitchell County has grown from $55 million to $79 million dollars. This is an increase of more than 40 percent.

Hartman announced that the www.mitchellcountykansas.com website is now up and running on the internet. The website promotes all of Mitchell County by city and features schools, amenities, essential businesses, tourism information and more. Hartman reminded the Council that her office has moved from the Chamber office to the Porter House. A Chamber Coffee will be hosted by the Porter House this Friday morning, December 9th from 9 A.M. until 10:30 AM.

A public hearing was held concerning the levying of assessments for the 10^th Street improvement project. This project provided curbs and street pavement on 10^th Street from Walnut to Poplar.

A citizen inquired about the approval process for this undertaking. It was explained that a petition process was used in which a simple majority of the property owners in that area needed to give their approval for the work to be done. Six of eight property owners in that area approved the petition.

The eight property owners are responsible for materials and engineering fees for the project which totaled $90,504. Each individual’s share is $11,313. This can be paid up front or can be added to their property taxes over a period of 10 years plus six percent interest. The city assumes responsibility for the labor and equipment costs associated with the improvement project

One citizen said that they would not have chosen to have the work done had they been given the option. He said he purchased the property after the petition was approved by the previous property owner. He was not aware at the time of the purchase that the work was to be done or the amount of the assessment and related costs. He said the assessment will create a hardship for him. At the conclusion of the hearing, the council voted unanimously to approve the assessments.

The council voted to approve Resolution 2016-19 which is an agreement to use REV-E3 in Beloit for the disposal of electronic waste. Additionally REV-E3 will provide data destruction services at a rate of no more the $13 per hard drive.

The contract between Hiserote Trash Service and the City was unanimously approved. The contract includes insurance requirements, weighing requirements, stipulations of pick-up times and it also contains mechanisms to allow for fuel increases and potential landfill fee changes.

At this point the regular business meeting was adjourned and the Work Session was called to order.

City Administrator Jason Rabe reported that the East Main Street project start date is unclear at this time. Two projects to move gas lines must be completed before the contractor, Pavers Inc., can begin work on the project. The deadline for completion of the East Main job is prior to the 2017 Memorial Day weekend. It is unclear if the delay in moving the gas lines will allow the project to be finished within that time frame.

City Attorney Katie Schroeder reported she had received the results of a KDOT traffic study conducted at the intersection of 8^th Street and 24 Highway. KDOT is not recommending any changes to the intersection nor changing the speed limit. Schroeder said she was disappointed with the results, but it is a moot point at this time.

Rabe addressed the issue of dog licensing. He said since 2009 dog licenses issued in Beloit ranged from about 130 to 170 annually. He believes this does not accurately reflect the number of licensable dogs within the City of Beloit. He said reducing the registration fees for dogs might result in more animals being licensed, He believes the current fee of $50 for non-spayed or unneutered dogs could be lowered resulting in greater citizen compliance. Rabe said he will present his official recommendation at the next council meeting.

Rabe said the upcoming change of his role from city administrator to city manager will cause numerous changes in his job description. One area would be the dollar limits for purchases he could approve without Council approval. Currently he can endorse purchases up to $5,000. Anything over that amount requires Council approval. He recommends that he be allowed to authorize purchases of up to $10,000 without council approval. Department heads, particularly in the electrical department, cannot sanction any expenditure over $1,500 without approval from their supervisor. Rabe believes this upper limit should be increased.

Rabe spoke about the change from a City administrator system to a City Manager system of city governance approved by voters in November. The city attorney will present suggested and necessary changes to implement the changeover for the Council to discuss and approve at the next meeting. The redrawing of wards and election procedures will be presented for approval in late February. The goal is to have all necessary policy changes officially completed by early March.

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Beloit, KS 67420, USA