By Terry Bailey
The Beloit City Council conducted their regularly scheduled meeting on Wednesday evening, April 19. All Councilors were present with the exception of Todd Adolph who was unable to attend.
City Manager Jason Rabe updated the Council on several ongoing projects. The water plant project has been going through Kansas Department of Health and Environment review since December of 2022 and KDHE hopes to have the review finished by the end of May. Once the review and follow up have been completed the project will be ready to go out for bid. The west drainage project has progressed in good shape with the pipe being laid and the lifts going in as planned. The airport project is nearing completion with a targeted completion date of April 28th. The Safe Routes to School project is progressing. The contractor is doing their best to throw crews at the project, however they are limited by available manpower. They will move to the south side of 8th Street shortly and look to be finished the last week of May. The Beloit Solar Farm has performed well this month. Power prices have relaxed to some degree, however long term energy prices do not look promising. Finally, Chautauqua Swimming Pool is fully staffed for the first time since 2019 and is looking forward to a great summer at the pool. Opening day is May 27th. This year the pool will be using an online platform for pool passes and recreation activities.
The council approved Ordinance 2309 granting a special event license to Abi Hager for a community event in Chautauqua Park on July 8th, 2023.
The first formal action was the acceptance of the City Manager's resignation; the last day for the City Manager will be May 19th. Staff then presented an interim action plan including interim management, transition, and new city manager recruitment process. The council approved the interim action plan. The city council reviewed and accepted the city manager recruitment proposal from Austin Peters Group, which had conducted the previous search in a professional manner.
The council approved the marketing contract with Eberle Studios whose bid was accepted for the logo and slogan development at the April 5th meeting. The council approved the list of officers for the Beloit Fire Department. The council noted and thanked the volunteer firefighters for their service to our community.
The council approved two airport ground leases for Central Valley Ag and Wells Flying Service for the upcoming aerial spraying season. The council then went into an executive session for a period of 10 minutes. No action was taken as a result of that closed session.
The business meeting was adjourned, and the work session was called to order.
The Council reviewed the first quarter treasurer's report which saw the continued improvement of the city's financial condition. It also made known areas of concern from a financial operation standpoint.
The first discussion item was a possible resolution for a Blue Cross Blue Shield grant that would allow the Beloit Land Bank to receive funds to continue the downtown lot project. This team of community members are working on an addition to our downtown.
The council reviewed a draft trail memorandum of understanding regarding maintenance and upkeep of the newly installed mountain bike trail. According to Mayor Naasz, the trail is experiencing a lot of use and has been a good addition.
The council reviewed a proposed pay structure update that is focused on simplifying the City's pay scales and modifying job descriptions to more closely align with the current operation.
Finally, the council discussed a possible land transaction for the North Campus to go towards the new senior center project that would also house the economy shop and food bank. This is a project that will be paid for through grant and state funds. It is being worked on by a team of entities and people passionate about the project. This proposed facility would be a great addition to our community.