The Goessel City Council commended public works director Karen Dalke at its Jan. 20 meeting for her snow removal work during the recent snow?and authorized the purchase of a self-propelled snow blower for the next wintry event.
Councilor Dean Snelling commented about the good work Dalke and city employee Cindy Gaddis had done. Mayor Dave Schrag added, ?We do appreciate it.?
The council discussed the need for a snow blower for use on city property after Dalke said snow drifts were as high as 2 or 3 feet by the city building.
Dalke found a self-propelled Craftsman snow blower on sale for $663, which is $236 cheaper than the regular $899 price.
?I think it would be a good investment for the city,? Schrag said.
City Clerk Anita Goertzen said money is available in the equipment reserve fund.
Dalke said she was able to grade the streets to make them smoother because of the recent moisture. Before the streets could be graded, however, Dalke and Gaddis needed to fix the articulator arm on the grader.
Turning its attention to another matter, the council set Saturday, June 7, as the date for a city-wide garage sale. The city-wide cleanup day will follow on Saturday, June 14.
Goertzen said this is a change from previous years; the garage sale day has been the second Saturday in June other years, with the clean-up day on the following Saturday.
Other business
In other business, the council:
? agreed to hire Wild Cat Shredding for a future shredding event for residents. Goertzen said some residents had been asking her about that.
Wild Cat?s cost was $49.10, which included locked boxes that were available to the public during office hours. Papers to be shredded were placed in the boxes. Wild Cat picked up the boxes later in the week and shredded the papers.
Goertzen said the city had previously used the shredding service of Cintas. That service cost the city $525 and was available for two hours. Papers were shredded immediately.
By consensus, the council agreed to hire Wild Cat again since the cost is significantly lower
? received the monthly police report stating the police had issued four verbal warnings for speed, investigated a break-in and made five contacts. Officers initiated an outreach program and had a pizza lunch with some youth of the community.
? appointed Cindy Gaddis to the Goessel Housing Authority board. She replaces Mark Knowles, who resigned.
? agreed to purchase ramps for a skateboard park at the city park, pending approval by the city?s insurance carrier.
Councilor Larry Schmidt said one kind of skateboard ramp would cost $429 plus $76 for shipping and a different kind for $349.99 plus $75 for shipping.
Schmidt said these ramps are made of wood and steel plates. Goertzen said they would be bolted down. The ramps will raise the city?s insurance by $300 per year, she added.
? discussed picnic tables for the city park, but made no decision. Vandalism has been a problem at the park, and the council is looking for picnic tables that could not be damaged easily.
The council discussed various options presented by Schmidt.
? discussed rock for the city park parking lot and pea gravel for the play area.
? noted that it would be nice to have a dog park and discussed the need for a sign instructing dog owners to pick up their dog?s waste.
? discussed a snow hill. Councilor Dean Snelling said some residents had asked him about a hill that children could play on. The council discussed a hill they had seen in other towns but made no decisions.
? approved the required reserve fund resolutions for the park fund.
? heard that Cox Cable will not provide service to Goessel because Goessel?s population is not big enough. Some residents had asked Goertzen about the possibility of having Cox service extended to Goessel.
? heard that a water leak had occurred by the school on a day when school was not in session.
? heard from Goertzen that the deadline for a Kansas Department of Health and Environment loan for a well is approaching. Schrag and Councilor Jim Wiens will obtain water samples at various possible well sites for testing. After the city obtains the results of those tests, the council will discuss how to proceed.
? agreed to check with other cities to see if they have an ordinance about chickens in town.
? heard that the resident whose building was razed recently requested copies of the letters and documents that had been sent to him through the years. Goertzen said the city had given him numerous opportunities to comply over the past 15 years. Letters had been sent by registered mail and had been signed upon receipt.
? changed the February meeting date to the third Tuesday of the month instead of the third Monday of the month because of President?s Day, which is a legal holiday. City offices will be closed that day. The next council meeting will be Feb. 18.
