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BELOIT CITY COUNCIL – Wednesday, July 20, 2022

By Terry Bailey

The Beloit City Council conducted their bi-weekly meeting at City Hall Wednesday evening, July 20, 2022. Those in attendance were Councilors Tony Gengler, Lee McMillian, Andrew Grabon and Gretchen Staples, Mayor Tom Naasz, City Manager Jason Rabe and City Clerk Amanda Lomax. Councilors absent were Jamie Meier and Todd Adolph.
Jason Rabe reported that the solar farm is producing electricity in good form. Rabe said, "We have had lots of good days lately for producing solar energy."
The Gill Creek bridge structures have in installed and work is progressing with the finer details of the construction. Rabe said, "We are getting pretty darned close to finishing up the project."
The hearing for the 2023 City Budget has been set for the second council meeting in August which would be August 17th.
Two "Dream Big" projects are progressing well. The Walking/Hiking trail near the Solar Farm area is making progress as well at the Downtown Green Space Park. The Park will be constructed on the empty space located at the old downtown movie theater. A mural project is underway on the side of the Mitchell County Historical Museum. Work is taking place in the early morning and late afternoon hours because of the excessive heat during the mid-day hours.
The Council adopted Ordinance 2314 for rezoning of the Gentry property back to its original agricultural designation.
Emily Benedick explained the progress on the moderate-income housing project. The goal is to encourage contractors to build two duplex housing units on City owned property at 424 East South or 411 East South or 414 North Mill. These are locations purchased by the City. The structures have been demolished with the lots being cleared. The lots have a 40' x 40' footprint for a duplex housing structure which would be constructed as rental units. According to Benedick, the units would be nice, but not excessive. The long-range goal is to have the housing units completed by March 1, 2024.
Rabe told the Council that a new emergency siren has been purchased to replace the current one that is located in the valley east of the Catholic Church. The new siren will be located in the open space at the junction of East Main and Topeka Avenue.
A bid was reviewed for ladders and grill work at the access portal at the Wastewater Treatment Plant. The current grill work and access ladder is over thirty years old and has deteriorated significantly. Workers are at peril when going up and down the ladders due to normal wear and tear. Rabe said it would only take one Worker's Comp claim to more than pay for the replacement equipment. The Council approved the bid of $27,000 to Finn-Kool to build the needed equipment pending the approval of the City Engineer.
The business meeting was adjourned, and the Work Session was called order.
City Manager Rabe gave the Councilors a handout from approximately fifteen years ago dealing with Feral Cats. Rabe said, "We have all kinds of ordinances addressing dogs, but we have nothing that speaks to cats." He continued, "We have a problem with feral cats but most cities our size have problems with feral cats."
The Councilors agreed that the size of the problem depends upon what part of the city one is looking at. Some places have a significant problems and others are problem free.
After considerable discussion the Council decided to research various solutions attempted by other cities similar in size to Beloit and to see if a satisfactory solution was possible. One fact was obvious - money would need to be spent to address the issue.

 

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Beloit, KS 67420, USA