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BELOIT CITY COUNCIL – Wednesday, June 5, 2024

By Terry Bailey

The Beloit City Council held their bi-weekly meeting at City Hall Wednesday evening, June 5. All Councilors were present as well as the Mayor Tom Naasz, City Manager Halley Roberson, City Attorney Katie Schroeder, and City Clerk Mandy Lomax. The major topic of discussion of the evening was related to GIS Mapping. Pete Buckingham, representing SAM - Managed Geospatial Services, discussed the current and future needs of Beloit regarding GIS applications.
Should the City of Beloit choose to contract with SAM for GIS mapping, Buckingham said if the contract was signed within the next two months, the work should be completed by the end of the year. He said there company would send three work crews of approximately two workers per crew to do the work.
Councilor Lee McMillan pointed out that there has already been three "go-rounds" with GIS mapping. He asked, "Why do we need a fourth?"
City Manager Roberson replied that the previous efforts have been less that top quality efforts. The work completed had many holes and inconsistencies in the final product. The SAM company would provide a first class, state-of-the-art GIS outcome.
The total cost for GIS Mapping for the City of Beloit totaled $186,950.
Councilor Andrew Grabon made a motion to enter into a contract with SAM for GIS Mapping in the amount of $186,950. Grabon's motion was seconded by Gretchen Staples. The vote was 4-1 with Grabon, Staples, Tony Gengler and Todd Adolph voting for the motion and Lee McMillan voting against.
Councilor Lee McMillan reported several constituents had contacted him regarding the deadline for shooting off fireworks. Folks have pointed out to him that with the Fourth of July falling on a Wednesday, people were anticipating family members returning home for the weekend of July 6-7. They have requested that the City extend the dates for fireworks to include July 5-7. The Council viewed this as a reasonable request and City Attorney Schroeder will craft the wording to make this possible.
Schroeder also told the Council that the change over to Code Enforcement was being done without a Code Enforcement Officer. She said the transition had worked out well so far with everyone pitching in to get the job done.
City Manager Roberson reported that a recent meeting with the EPA had went well. She said efforts to close the turf runway at the Airport have been successful to this point. She praised the City Staff for their efforts to give Beloit a first-class appearance for the Memorial Day Weekend. She said plans to sign a contract with the Eilert's for a Flood Diversion Pond on the east side of town has ran into a bureaucratic snag. She discovered that applications to get water rights to create the project current takes at least 12 months to complete. She also told the Council that the Chautauqua Swimming Pool opening went well and they are fully staffed.
Chief of Police Chad Lackey reported that the city law enforcement officers worked the Kids Café on May 23. They served 252 meals. Lackey said over the past months the Department has gained ownership of abandoned bikes and one that were in poor repair. They have fixed those up and gave them away to kids during their lunch time. Lackey said they used this opportunity to remind kids of the importance of following all the laws regarding riding a bike.
In the Work Session, the Council discussed ways to create economic incentives to attract residents and business to Beloit. One method was to modify electrical rates for new or old businesses improving on their level of service. They will continue to explore ways to attract folks to Beloit and to keep current residents right here at home.

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Beloit, KS 67420, USA