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BELOIT CITY COUNCIL – Wednesday, April 2, 2025

By Terry Bailey

The Beloit City Council conducted their business meeting at City Hall on Wednesday evening, April 2. All Councilors were present with the exception of Lee McMillan. Also in attendance were Halley Roberson, City Manager; Katie Schroeder, City Attorney; Amanda Lomax, City Clerk; and Chad Lackey, Chief of Police.
The Councilors wanted to remind the motorists of the City that with the nicer weather upon us, kids will be out of doors enjoying the sunshine and fresh air. Additionally, kids are not as mindful of traffic as they should be and it is good for drivers to be aware of possible hazards.
City Administrator Halley Roberson told the Councilors the work on the RAW water line is underway. She said a study of electrical usage at the wastewater treatment plant is taking place. The new Bike Trail is nearing completion. Roberson called attention to the renovation work for the balcony at the municipal gym. She reported that it is a noticeable improvement. April 29th is the deadline for bid submission for the new Water Treatment Plant.
The issue of loading pads from the chemical application spray planes at the Moritz airport was once again revisited. Concrete loading pads are not required law in Kansas. Common sense might suggest they be used but the law does not require them. The state of Nebraska mandates the use of loading pads to address the spillage of chemicals while loading the spray planes.
Chief Lackey is working hard to locate vendors who will outfit squad cars for service. Currently, a dealer in Holcomb, Kansas, is doing work to prepare the lights, sirens and such for the new squad cars. The Holcomb dealer does good work but Holcomb is just west to Garden City. Lackey believes there is a business in Junction City that might provide suitable service to prepare the new vehicles for service. He will investigate and report.
Lackey is investigating the adoption on a new style of uniforms for on-duty officers. This new style uniform might make a life and death difference for officers. They are reported to be able to stop a .308 slug. The price tag for a total uniform is $1,600 per officer. Lackey is investigating grants as a possible funding source.
A new police officer has been hired, giving the city a full complement of officers. He will soon be starting the 12-week program of study at the Kansas Law Enforcement Academy in Hutchinson.
Emily Benedick announced that a new Chamber of Commerce director has been hired. Morgan Bailey, originally from Norton, is starting right away.
Resolution 2025-17 authorizing the rental of farm property to Thiessen Farms was approved.
The council approved Resolution 2025-18 declaring the property located at 423 East Court to be an unfit structure.
Resolution 2025-19 declaring an unfit structure at 1008 North Hersey was approved.
A transformer bid of $28,839 was approved. This was the lowest of seven bids submitted with the highest bid being $86,750.
The design for two Welcome to Beloit signs was approved. One will be the east side of the road by Carrico's. The other will be on Highway 14 just north of the stop sign by the Pizza Hut.
A mower bid for a John Deere riding lawn mower in the amount of $15,800 was approved.
An insurance bid from EMC for the city insurance was approved. The bid for the upcoming year was $495,636.
After a 15-minute executive session the Council voted to extend a raise of two and one half percent to the City Manager.
The business meeting was adjourned and the work session was called to order.
Two representatives from USD #273 were present to request assistance from the City to improve the Trojan football field and track surface. A very generous pledge from the Harry Matteus Family Foundation of $1 million has been received. However, matching funds must be raised within one year. If the money is not raised, the Matteus pledge will no longer be valid.
The USD is asking for a pledge from the City of Beloit of $25,000 per year for three years to help with the funding.
One Councilor made a rhetorical observation, "Hasn't the public voted twice on this issue already?"

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Beloit, KS 67420, USA