Goessel considers community foundation

The Goessel City Council listened at its Aug. 17 meeting to Councilor Larry Schmidt explain plans for a car show in conjunction with the Harvest Festival on Saturday, Sept. 26.

Exhibitors will pay a $10 entry fee and receive a dash plaque. A ?best of show? award will be given, as well as first- and second place awards. Those winners would each receive a wall plaque. T-shirts will be available for purchase.

Plans are to hold the car show from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the city building parking lot.

Mayor Peggy Jay commended the planning for the car show, saying, ?It helps bring people to the community.?

Schmidt said 14 booths are already pre-registered for the craft show, which will be from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the elementary school the same day as the car show.

A fun run/walk is planned for the morning of festival, as is a golf tournament at Pine Edge Golf Course. A street dance is planned for the evening, with the band Justus playing. A square dance is also scheduled.

More Harvest Festival information will be published as plans are finalized.

Community foundation

On another matter, the council listened to a presentation by Sandi Fruit and Marnette Hatchett of the Central Kansas Community Foundation, which serves Marion, McPherson and Harvey counties.

Fruit said the purpose of the foundation is to ?identify and capture the wealth in the community? by setting up endowed funds to invest in the community.

?You have a lot of things going on for a community your size,? she said. She noted that the hardest part of setting up a foundation is getting started. The foundation will need six to eight board members.

Fruit said a study had shown that Marion County has $2.46 billion in wealth and suggested that $16,000 of that could be ?captured? by 2020. She said people might think they don’t have that kind of wealth in this community.

?You do,? she said, adding that the community needs to talk to those people. ?If you?re not talking to them, other people are talking to them.

Fruit said community foundations seem to be popular with donors, primarily because it is so simple to give to one. She mentioned stewardship counseling and nationally known charitable estate planning, which do not charge donors for the planning help.

Fruit and Jay suggested possibilities for foundation money, such as city beautification, a scholarship, economic development projects, and water play park.

?It?s kind of like planting a tree,? Fruit said. ?It can?t do anything but help your community. We want you to be successful. The best time is now.?

Hatchett said the foundation would need the city council?s endorsement, and volunteers would spearhead the fund-raising.

Other business

In other business, the council:

n heard Police Chief Joe Base report that the department issued multiple equipment warnings, one notice to appear for no proof of insurance, one warning for speed, and one warning for exhibition of speed.

The department also picked up three dogs running at-large and investigated three trespassing reports, one criminal damage to property, one theft report, and three juvenile cases.

Officers assisted the Emergency Medical Service on a call. They attended training on interoperable communication with county radios.

Base also explained repair work that had been done on police vehicles.

n decided to advertise the Crown Victoria police car for $2,500?or $2,000 without the police equipment. The city will keep the Intrepid car, which was recently purchased.

n discussed hail damage on the city building roof. The city will solicit bids for fixing the damage. The council noted that the building was built in 1999.

n heard that public works director Karen Dickerson had checked into stone for the Goessel entrance sign along Kansas Highway 5.

n heard city clerk Anita Goertzen report that the Garden Club called and offered to plant native plantings by the entrancesign. The plants would need water the first year, but probably not after that.

Louann Soukup, told the council, ?If it?s kept in the ground, it has a better chance.?

She cautioned against raising the plants too high, although it was noted that the plants have to be high enough so people can see them from the highway.

The Garden Club will meet Sept. 24 and discuss the matter.

n heard that Dickerson and Base had attended a water-detection and water-loss class.

n heard from Councilor Dallas Boese about plans for a new well. ?Has the city ever looked at drilling at a different location?? he asked.

The council discussed the merits of drilling close to the existing wells versus drilling at a different location.

n heard from Dickerson that 24 new water meters had been installed in the past few weeks, and more meters have been ordered. ?Hopefully, it will help with our water loss,? she said.

n heard that Dickerson had ordered mosquito spray and weed killer.

n voted to authorize Laura Dailey up to 15 hours to update the city?s Web site.

n approved the 2010 budget, allowing for $761,280 in expenditures following a budget hearing prior to the regular council meeting. The city?s assessed valuation is $2,035,820. Therefore, the mill levy is 44.247; Goertzen explained that each mill is worth $2,035. The proposed ad valorem amount for 2010 is $90,078.

More from Hillsboro Free Press
Fifteen Tabor teams are scholar-teams
Fifteen of 18 Tabor College athletic teams have earned recognition as NAIA?scholar-teams....
Read More