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BELOIT CITY COUNCIL – Wednesday, July 3, 2024

By Terry Bailey

The Beloit City Council met Wednesday evening, July 3, to conduct the business of the City. All Councilors were present except for Todd Adolph. Also in attendance were City Manager Halley Roberson, City Attorney Katie Schroeder and City Clerk Mandy Lomax.
The Councilors took time to encourage residents to use caution in their use of celebratory fireworks. Each year firework accidents cause severe injuries to people intending on having fun.
Gretchin Staples, on behalf of the Council, presented the City Clerk Amanda Lomax with a beautiful bouquet of flowers to express their appreciation for all her extra work during the transition of City Managers.
Mayor Tom Naasz, when asked by the press to comment on the story about the high-powered electric in last Thursday's Beloit Call responded, "This is an example of how it pays to having zoning in our county. Without zoning we have no ability to stop it."
City Manager Roberston reported:
• The boring for the RAW waterline under the railroad track seems to be set to take place. Railroad personnel will be on hand when the boring takes place.
• The North Walnut plans are out, and bids are due at the end of the month. At that time the City will have a better idea of the cost expectation.
• There appears to be significant traffic concerns related to the areas around and leading to the elementary school. Severe concerns have been raised regarding the safety of the children going to and coming from school.
Police Chief Chad Lackey alerted the Council that a significant increase in traffic to and from the lake for the fireworks can be expected. He said after the fireworks display is over, a line of traffic over two and a half miles leaving the area can be expected. He urged folks to have patience and to not get in a hurry.
A public hearing was conducted to discuss assessment to property owners on the part of Country Club Drive that is not hard surfaced. The Council approved Ordinance #2351 authorizing the levying to taxes to landowners to pay for hard surfacing of the part of Country Club Drive not currently hard surfaced.
The Council discussed the status of four residences that were candidates to be named as unfit structures. This is the first step in getting these residences brought up to code or demolished. This allows City Attorney Schroeder authorization to start the process of notifying the land owners.
The Council voted to name the residences located at:
110 North Washington, 305 North Kansas, 108 North Logan, and 709 West Third as unfit structures and for the City Attorney to initiate the process of notifying the property owners.
The Council named Manny Milburs as the Beloit representative to the KMGA Board.
The Council approved the renewal of the health insurance plan with Blue Cross. City Clerk Amanda Lomax said the increase in premiums was 1.2%.
City Attorney Schroeder told the Council that it recently came to attention that the City owns a small sliver of land created by a section line. This is located between the Solomon River and land owned by Amanda Lomax. It is only accessible through land owned by Lomax. The Council voted to sell the land to Lomax for the cost of the land survey.
A street closure request by Andrew Niewald generated considerable discussion. Niewald requested the closure of 5th Street between Hersey and Mill Streets completely for four consecutive days. This closure would be for a 24-hour period for each day from the morning of July 3 to the evening of July 7.
The Council decided to not approve the request because this is not a suitable time to close a street for four consecutive days. Emergency vehicles would have trouble using the street should an emergency occur.
The business meeting was adjourned, and the work session was called to order.
City Manager Roberson told the Council that Verizon has plans to construct a tower just outside of the city limits near the property once owned by Jerry Hake on the far south end of Independence Street. Roberson told the Council that the City has little recourse to the building of the tower because there is no zoning ordinance restricting the height of any structure.
City Attorney Schroeder led a discussion concerning excessive noise within the city limits. Several Councilors have reported complaints from citizens about loud and ongoing excessive noise. One source of the noise is from go-karts and the other source of noise is loud music at all hours of the day and night.
Schroeder said the current ordinance addressing this issue is somewhat vague and does not address the problem specifically. The Council asked her to draft an ordinance that addresses this specific problem and to bring it back at the next meeting.

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Beloit, KS 67420, USA