Goessel Council hears of fireworks for the public on Aug. 4

The Goessel city council met on July 23 and heard from Mayor Dave Schrag that brothers Dallas, Jeff and Mike Boese had purchased a large amount of fireworks and would like to share them with the community on the Saturday evening of Threshing Days, Aug. 4. Everyone is invited free of charge, and there is no cost to the city. The fireworks show will begin at sundown at the Goessel baseball diamonds.

The council had previously approved the discharge of fireworks for Saturday, Aug. 4, from noon to 11 p.m. That approval was granted at the June council meeting. The council wished to thank the Boese brothers for generously sharing their fireworks with the whole community.

The council discussed other items related to Threshing Days and noted that Main Street traffic will need to stop at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, Aug. 4, for the Threshing Days parade.

Turning their attention to another matter, the council once again discussed the need to raise sewer rates in order to receive grant money for sewer system upgrades. Goessel’s sewer rates are too low; the city will not qualify for the grant if the rates are not raised to an appropriate amount.

City clerk Jennifer Whitehead reminded the council that the city currently charges $36.95 per month. It is possible that the city might need to raise the rates to $48.98 per month. However, the council decided to make several raises instead of one larger one. Therefore, the council proposed an incremental raise of $5 at this time, with additional raises in the future. The $5 rate increase will be presented to the council in an ordinance at next month’s meeting. The rate increase will not take effect until after the ordinance has been approved.

In other business, the council:

n noted that the city is still under a “water watch,” which means residents should adhere to an odd/even watering schedule that limits when they are allowed to water. Residents with odd house numbers are allowed to water once a day on odd days of the month. Residents with even house numbers are allowed to water once a day on even days of the month. Even though there have been recent rains, the rainfall amount has not been plentiful, and the water situation is still considered a drought condition. Dalke said conditions had been so dry that the city pump had been running 22 hours a day before the rainfall.

◼ approved the sale of a lot in the Harvest Meadows addition to Tony Clark for a dollar. Clark is a contractor and has permission to build a house on the lot. He plans to sell the house.

◼ heard public works director Karen Dalke’s report that she had sprayed weeds and trimmed trees.

◼ heard that Dalke had also graded streets, mowed, fogged for mosquitoes, and burned the brush at the burnsite.

◼ heard that light bulbs had been replaced in the city building and new filters had been installed.

◼ heard that the city’s bridges had been painted.

◼ heard that a part had been replaced on the backhoe.

◼ expressed appreciation for Tony Girard’s work. He is helping out part-time as needed with mowing and other public works projects.

◼ heard the police report from Anthony Voth. A child had been attacked by a dog for the second time. The dog was impounded. It has been declared vicious and is not allowed back in city limits.

◼ heard that a warning ticket had been issued for speeding.

◼ discussed options for a new city sign by Kansas Highway 15. The council noted that the current sign was donated by the Lions Club years ago. Schrag expressed appreciation to the Lions Club for that generous donation that has served the city for so many years.

The sign has faded through the years, and it is falling apart. Portions of it have fallen down from time to time. The council acknowledged that it needs to be replaced. Various options were presented to the council. No decision was made about a sign at this time.

◼ talked about a request for a privacy fence on residential property. The council discussed easements and determined that the fence request falls within the required easement restrictions. The residents will need to pay the $10 fence building permit before they begin construction of their fence.

◼ passed the Standard Traffic Ordinance, which is the yearly update. The section that addresses fines states that the fine for speeding “shall not be less than $10 nor more than $500.” Fines for other infractions and offenses are also noted.

◼ also approved the Uniform Public Offense Code, which is published by the Kansas League of Municipalities.

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