Goessel City Council listened at its March 20 meeting to USD 411 school superintendent John Fast tell of upcoming community meetings that the school would be hosting on March 24 and 25 in the high school cafeteria.
Council members were invited to attend.
According to Fast, the purpose of the meetings would be to ?help identify the strengths of our school and community, to help educate our parents and community? regarding education funding cuts and how that affects the local community, and to give the community an opportunity to share their hopes for the future of the school district.
Child care was provided for the March 24 meeting for up to 30 children, ages 4 to 11. No child care was provided March 25.
Main Street repair
The council discussed street conditions, especially Main Street. The council discussed whether to patch Main Street now, considering their plans to re-do it in the near future.
When Councilor Larry Schmidt asked how much it would cost to patch the street, Karen Dalke, public works employee, said bulk material costs $15 a bag.
She will need to dig out the loose debris and then fill in the holes. She estimated it would take at least a day to get the work done.
Mayor Peggy Jay reminded the council, ?Look at what kind of winter we had.?
Dalke added, ?Once the water starts creeping in, it just really deteriorates fast.?
Councilor Dallas Boese said, ?In the last five years, the (Main Street) has been pretty good. I?d like to keep it that way.?
The council authorized Dalke to purchase material and patch the holes on Main Street, even though the city plans to resurface it.
City Clerk Anita Goertzen explained a revolving fund that would be available for resurfacing Main Street at a 4 percent interest rate.
The city had received a bid of $124,700 for that work.
Other business
In other business, the council:
? listened to a report from Jay about a community foundation. ?We signed papers,? she said.
? heard Eric Reed report the police had issued no parking tickets in the past month, but five contacts had been made, and three cases had been worked, but there were no arrests.
One loud music complaint had been received. One suspicious person had been reported, and one registered offender had been reported to Harvey County.
?He has now vacated our city,? Reed said.
? listened to Dalke describe a nine-hole disc golf course that she would like to create at the city park. She said she had talked to the Goessel Recreation Commission about the possibility of paying half of the cost.
She had also talked to the school about building a bridge over the ditch at the park.
Dalke said the golf baskets cost $219 each, and she would like to have the project done before the Harvest Festival.
?I think it?s a great idea,? Boese said.
The council is in favor of getting the disc golf work done. Jay wondered how the disc golf area would relate to a possible water-play park.
Dalke said the disc golf course can be moved if it needs to be.
? discussed complaints about the lights at the city park. Dalke said the lights are on a timer and will go off automatically an hour after they are turned on. However, she said she would look into getting a timer for a half-hour instead.
? heard that Goertzen had ordered a volleyball net for the park.
? discussed new flooring for the civic center building hall, kitchen and conference room. The council discussed the bids that had already been received but made no decision at this meeting. One bid would include work to seal the concrete so water would not come up and affect the flooring.
Goertzen said the carpet is still the original carpet that was installed when the building was built in 1999.
? looked at a map of the city as they discussed water lines and water valves. Dalke pointed out where the 6-inch line switches to 4-inch. The council granted Dalke permission to purchase and replace six valves. She plans to get three now and three later. She had already obtained bids for the work.
Will Kaufman of Kaufman Trenching and Excavating in Moundridge will do the work.
? heard about an ?incident command system? training event that Goertzen plans to attend in Salina. The training session is provided at no charge by the Kansas Rural Water Association. Therefore, there is no cost to the city.
Kansas Division of Emer?gency Management staff will conduct the sessions.
