Tuesday March 17th Beloit City Council Meeting

 

Beloit City Council

 

Tuesday, March 17, 2020

 

By Terry Bailey

 


 

The Beloit City Council met Tuesday evening at City Hall. All Councilors were present. Also in attendance were Mayor Tom Naasz, City Manager Jason Rabe, City Attorney Katie Schroeder, and City Clerk Amanda Lomax.

 

Rabe announced that long-standing negotiations with the Mitchell County Fair Association regarding land north of the Fairgrounds and south of the high school parking lot had finally been concluded. After much give and take between the two entities, a selling price for the land was established at $250,000. The first payment by the City will be $50,000 on April first of this year. Payments of $50,000 each year will be made on April 1st of each year until the balance is paid off. The purchase of the land will allow the City to move forward with plans for an improved youth sports complex.

 

City Attorney Schroeder told the Council that she was making good progress with finalizing easements for the next stage of the Safe Route to School program. She is also working on easements for the walking trail east of the City along the Solomon River.

 

Rabe reviewed with the Council his actions regarding the coronavirus health concern. He is hoping to establish safety procedures for City employees. He told the Council his two biggest concerns were to have adequate employees on the job to get the job done and to make sure everybody stays safe. He acknowledge the situation is in constant flux and changes will happen often.

 

Rabe said that the City will act in accordance with Governor Kelly’s prohibition on utility disconnects until May 1st.

 

The details of the solar energy project is almost ready to be released for Request For Proposals.

 

Heather Hartman reviewed her recent activity to the Council. Currently many meetings and activities have been cancelled and most activity will need to switch to digital methods.

 

The Council approved Ordinance 2270 establishing the regular meeting dates and time to be the first and third Wednesdays at 7:00 pm.

 

The Council approved Ordinance 2271 establishing a loan with the Kansas Department on Health and Environment for the Construction of the water pipeline and water treatment facility. The dollar amount on the loan was executed at eleven point 4 million dollars. The amount could be adjusted depending up the final details.

 

Rabe discussed the administrative office upgrades. Currently the office staff are “out in the open” with no provisions for their safety. Modifications will make the office more user-friendly and provide security for the secretaries. The cost is expected to be approximately $20,000.

 

Rabe reviewed the work done by last summer’s interns on entrance signs for the City and for wayfinding signs within the city. Rabe has been working with Finn-Cool staff to determine types of metal and stone that would be best for the entrance signs and the base of the signs. The exact location for sign placement is yet to be determined, but the locations of the Gable farm at the junction of Highways 24 and 14, south entrance to the City near Farm Bureau building, in the area of Carrico Implement and at the Highway 9 and Highway 24 junction. The entrance signs are expected to cost $27, 00 and the interior wayfaring signs would cost $23,000.

 

Rabe said he was working on a way to improve the overall cost effectiveness of the City’s health insurance. He said Beloit is a mid-sized employee group. He believes that by contracting with a broker, the City would have an advocate for them in negotiating with Blue Cross. The Council gave approval to Rabe to secure the expertise of a broker.