The Goessel City Council passed a budget for 2016 of $1,073,959 at its Aug. 17 meeting.
City Clerk Jennifer White?head said the city?s assessed valuation went up; therefore, taxes did not need to increase. The ad valorem tax is $135,208, which is 58.714 mills. Each mill is worth $2,303.
Turning its attention to another matter, the council accepted the resignation of longtime council member Larry Schmidt, who will be moving to California Aug. 28.
Schmidt had been on the council for 22 years. He was instrumental in overseeing the city?s recycling program. The city park was also one of his council assignments. He spent time cleaning up at the park, dealing with vandalism, and making improvements.
Mayor Dave Schrag commended Schmidt for his work with recycling, and Public Works Director Karen Dalke thanked home for his work in the city park. She said it would be hard to replace him. Schmidt commended Dalke for her work for the city.
Councilor Rollin Schmidt said, ?It?s been a pleasure to work with you on the council. I?ll miss you.?
The council and mayor will appoint a replacement to fill Schmidt?s unexpired term.
Jim Wiens, also a longtime council member, recently vacated his seat after many terms of service to the city. He worked with wastewater and offered advice and assistance in many areas of city maintenance.
It was pointed out that the city building was built in 1999. Both Schmidt and Wiens were on the council prior to that time.
Other business
In other business, the council:
? heard that members of the Alexander?wohl Menno?nite Church offered to spend a day helping with community service projects in Goessel. The council expressed appreciation to the church and will be in communication about possible projects.
? talked about options for getting rid of bees at a vacant house. Following the advice of City Attorney Marilyn Wilder, the city will schedule another hearing with the owner because he has not followed through in hia promise to take care of the property. The city is in the process of scheduling an inspection for the house.
? discussed the possibility of high-speed Internet service. Schrag, Whitehead and Larry Schmidt had met with representatives of IdeaTech about using fiber optic cable for high-speed Internet and land-line phone service. Schrag also plans to check into the possibility of Cox service since the fiber optic line goes all the way to Wichita. It was mentioned that high-speed DSL would need a separate phone line.
? heard that Dalke had fixed a water leak and replaced a culvert.
? noted the community room needs a new light switch.
? discussed the possibility of drilling a test well at the baseball diamonds. Schrag mentioned checking with the state about water rights.
? approved the annual ?Standard Traffic Ordi?nance,? which is published in book form by the League of Kansas Municipalities. The ordinance states that the charge for a traffic infraction ?shall not be less than $10 nor more than $300, except for speeding which shall not be less than $10 nor more than $500.?
The ordinance also states that a person convicted for a traffic violation ?for which a fine has not been established … shall pay a fine and may be subject to jail time or imprisonment as provided and established in Article 20 of the Standard Traffic Ordi?nance for Kansas Cities.?
? also approved the ?Uni?form Public Offense Code,? which was prepared and published by LKM to regulate public offenses within city limits.
? noted that the city police had made two ?contacts? during the past month.
