City Administrator Glenn Rodden told the Beloit City Council at their meeting Tuesday evening the Kansas Gas Service Company has for the first time put a meter on the plant just recently to limit the gas pressure they can use in the plant. Due to this they can no longer run all of their generators at once. They now have only nine-mega watts running on natural gas. They can run the generators on diesel gas but it is more expensive to do so, Rodden told the council.
The only alternative to this situation would be to run a main line into the plant at a cost of $700,000. Rodden said he is not sure what the cities next option is. Even if they run a main line and pay for it the gas company would still own it and other people would be able to use it too. Rodden said the amount of natural gas being used in the city of Beloit is growing larger all the time.
Councilman Bob Richards asked Rodden if there is nothing in the Kansas Gas Service Company's franchise that requires them to furnish the amount of gas we need to run the power plant. Rodden said he is going to look into that. Councilman Matt Otte asked how long it would take to pay off putting in a main line off at the present amount the city is making on this usage.
Administrator Rodden said there are so many unknowns it would be hard to say. If there was to be a hot summer that would make a difference but it would still be hard to do the averages. They have to also take into account that they don't run the generators every day like they used to so it would be hard to predict right now. He feels it would take a long time to pay that large amount off. As he said, they can run the generators by diesel gal but it would be a lot more expensive. It is something the council will have to discuss and come to a decision what it would be best to do.
Rodden said Mike Cooper presented the plat map for his Silver Fox Development Area on the North Campus to the Planning Commission last week. They will look the map over and bring their recommendations to the City Council for their consideration in the near future. Rodden also said he was going to bring Facilitator John Devine back at the next meeting to discuss some projects the council talked about at their strategic planning meeting.
Councilman Bob Petterson asked for a change in the minutes of the last meeting to reflect the correct reading of the motion he made to terminate Police Chief Brenon Odle to read "A motion was made by Councilor Petterson and seconded by Councilor Richard to terminate Police Chief Brenon Odel effective immediately without further compensation." The council voted to correct this error.
A 10 minute closed session to discuss non-elected personnel was held with the governing body, Administrator Rodden, City Attorney Katie Cheney and Interim Police Chief Dave Elam present. No decisions were made during this session.
The Council approved the appointment of Dr. Craig Concannon to be on the Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee as requested by that committee. There will be a meeting of the full Comprehensive Planning Committee on November 14.
The council approved the contract amendment with Olsson Associates. This company will coordinate certifications testing of the catalytic equipment with the Kansas Department of Health and Enjoinment and perform the testing necessary to certify the equipment to comply with the requirement necessary for this equipment. The cost for this service will be $34,000. Funding will come from the city's revenue bond issuance for the Power Plant.
The council approved the Hanger Bill of Sale agreement between the City of Beloit and Travis Lattin for the construction of a new hangar at the Moritz Airport. The city will incur the cost of buying the hanger for $100. They also approved an agreement between the City of Beloit and Travis Lattin for the construction of a new metal hangar at the Moritz Airport and outlined the lease agreement as agreed upon by the two entities by a vote of 8 to 0.
The council approved the real estate contract addendum with Schroeder Building and Supply LLC giving Mayor Tom Naasz the authority to sign the contract of behalf of the City of Beloit. The revised contract on the sale of land on north campus was changed from the original contract by eliminating the option to purchase land.
Administrator Rodden recommended the council approve the real estate contract with Justin and Heidi Rexroat giving Mayor Tom Naasz the authority to sing contract for the City of Beloit. The Rexroats would like to purchase lot 7 block 8 in the north campus addition for the appraised value of $6,048. Mike Blass currently held an option on this property but was willing to sell his option to the Rexroats. The council approved this action. 8 to 0.
The council went into a work session where the following items were on the agenda for discussion. Economic Development Director, Heather Hartman, addressed the council about the workforce survey that was completed recently. Hartman said this survey would allow the city to look at what we already have and decide what else is needed. She met with the Department of Housing as part of the process of applying for the $400,000 grant for housing demolition. She has had sixty applications from people interested in participating in this project if the funds are received from this grant. They will know in January, Hartman said. They also plan to do a work force survey to ask if a person lives in Beloit, is interested in moving to Beloit and if not why and what type of housing they would be looking for if they moved here.
The second discussion item was Concealed Carry with City Attorney Cheney addressing the council about their on-going efforts to address the new Concealed Carry Law. "We as a city have to attempt to come into compliance with this law and the council has to make these decisions by January 1." Buildings discussed as falling under this law included the Municipal Building and the Library. Ways to provide security were discussed and how this could be set up to best protect the public. They discussed rewriting the schools contract for the use of the gymnasium. A decision has to be made by. When asked about this situation Interim Police Chief Dave Elam said realistically you can't stop a determined guy because he is going to figure out a way to do this someway." Administrator will meet with the Library Board at their next meeting. Attorney Cheney said, "This law is very convoluted and very contradictive so it is hard to made a decision what to do.
The Third discussion item was the city's Residency Policy. Administrator Rodden asked the council to consider reviewing the residency policy for department directors. The present policy states that department heads and employees in general must reside within the city limits or be able to reach the city limits, staying within the legal speed limits, within fifteen minutes of travel time. This will be placed on the next meeting agenda.
Councilor Lloyd Littrell added there are a lot of things in the policy manual that need to be changed or updated. Councilor Pat Struble said every new council member used to be provided with a policy manual. Amanda Lomax, City Clerk, agreed to order some manuals by the next meeting for members who need them.