Click Here to Listen LIVE to

BELOIT CITY COUNCIL – Wednesday, August 7, 2024

By Terry Bailey

Improving traffic flow at the Beloit Elementary School to ensure children's safety was a major topic of concern at Wednesday night's City Council meeting. Traffic congestion in and around the school created less than ideal safety concerns for the children disembarking from their parent's vehicles during the spring semester of the 2023-24 school year. One of the biggest issues was when the children had to cross a busy street to get to the school building.
Staff members of USD #273 and the City of Beloit collaborated on the best possible fix to this situation. Because school children are, at times, less than vigilant as they make their way to and from school, a very dangerous situation was apparent.
The main idea to the "fix" was to create a traffic flow so that kids do not have to cross a street to get to school or back to their parents vehicles.
The following changes will be put into effect when the school year starts:
• Traffic on Lincoln Avenue will be restricted to one way traffic, south to north, from the north entrance to Beloit Medical Center to 13th Street.
• Traffic on 13th Street will be restricted to one way traffic, west to east, from Lincoln Avenue to Bell Street.
• Traffic on Bell Street will be restricted to one way traffic, north to south, from 13th Street to 10th Street.
• Additionally, no parking will be allowed on the West side of Lincoln Avenue from Beloit Medical Center to 13th Street.
• No parking will be allowed on the east side of Bell Street from 13th Street to 10th Street.
PLEASE NOTE - THESE ONE-WAY DRIVING AND PARKING RESTRICTIONS WILL ONLY BE IN EFFECT ON THE DAYS THAT SCHOOL IS IN SESSION FROM 7:30 a.m. TO 8:30 a.m. AND FROM 3:00 P.M. TO 4:00 P.M.
Beloit Police Chief Chad Lackey said his department will be conducting educational activities to alert the public regarding these new restrictions. Additionally, he said officers will be on duty when school starts to help parents navigate this new driving pattern.
The Council held public hearing to start the process of declaring certain properties as unfit structures and to notify the owners that action needs to be taken to fix up the buildings or to have them demolished. The Council passed Resolutions 2024-15, 2024-16, 2024-17, 2024-28, and 2024-19 declaring the structures at 520 Elliot St., 110 S. Washington St., 305 North Kansas, 108 N. Logan, and 709 W. 3rd as unfit structures.
The owners of the property at 520 Elliot St., Fred Hale and Sharon Morrison, were present to discuss their property. They requested an extension of time to decide how best to dispose of the property. The Council gave them to September 18th to finalize their plans.
City attorney Katie Schroder presented the Council with Ordinance 2353, clarifying the Noise Abatement statute. This ordinance is available at the City office for review by anyone wishing to do so.
The Council approved the expenditure of $28,945 to C&B Equipment for the rebuilding of the Raw Water Pump at the Water Plant.
The Council established August 27th as the date for the discussion of the upcoming City Budget. The meeting will be held at the Council chambers at the Municipal Building and will start at 7:00 p.m. Any and all citizens are invited to attend and take part in the consideration of the budget.
GRDA is one of the chief providers of electricity to Beloit. They are phasing out the production of electricity by coal completely by 2026. It has became necessary to consider how to replace that energy source. This will mean a 50% reduction in electricity provided by GRDA.
The Council approved the construction of a 2 MW addition to the existing solar farm. The 2 MW addition should compensate for the loss of electricity provided by GRDA.
The work session time was devoted to answer the question "What do we do with the proposed apartment complex at the North Campus?"
Housing is very scarce in Beloit, particularly for new, young employees beginning their work careers. Many do not need or cannot afford a house at this point in their lives. Having an apartment available to establish their residency in Beloit would be a good drawing card.
The City has committed funds to pay for the renovation of the old Administration Building at the North Campus. Initial estimates set cost of this renovation at $500,000. Currently the City has provided $108,961 in meters and in-kind labor. A Hanson grant will provide $150,000 toward the project. Total funds committed at this point is $258,961. This leaves a deficit of $241,000 yet to be raised.
The investor has requested additional investment by the City. This is typical because investors would rather spend other people's money.
Because the completion of this additional housing is a high priority item and because the City has already made considerable investment in making it become a reality, the Council voted to expend another $150,000 toward the completion of this needed housing project. The Council requested that the investor be informed that this would be their final financial contribution to the project.

Other News

Beloit, KS 67420, USA