Here’s a quick look at what happened at the Ellinwood City Council meeting Tuesday night:
• The council approved a building permit for Rachel Ringering to place an off-site built structure on the lot north of and adjacent to Minnis Funeral Home.
• Heard a proposal from Rosie Joiner, representing the Ellinwood Rotary Club, concerning a covered shelter to be built next to the Splash Pad. The council approved the request, and Joiner indicated the project could be completed prior to the 2018 opening of the Splash Pad.
• A patron, Courtney Eggers, addressed the council concerning unsafe structures in the city. He requested a timeline for when they would be demolished. The council indicated they are in the process of sending letters to owners, and are planning to condemn three in the coming months.
• A patron, Dean Sateern, commented on the condition of a community garden on South Main. He expressed concern it has become an eye sore and that it is a haven for vermin.
• Mark Chesney of the Kansas Power Pool provided an update on recent legislative decisions concerning regulation by the Kansas Corporation Commission.
• Council designated City Attorney Bob Peter as the voting delegate to the KMU conference happening the first week of May. They designated City Manager Chris Komarek as the alternate.
• Council approved the annual Independence Day fireworks display to happen at dusk on July 4, at the same location as last year. They approved a $5,000 contribution from the City for the show.
• Council approved a water tower maintenance agreement with Maguire Iron Services for five inspections of each tower over a multi-year period.
• Komarek reported street improvements at the intersection of 1st and Kennedy will additional work. The new bid price from Suchy Construction Inc., Great Bend, is $25,422. The council approved the expenditure.
• An executive session was held for the discussion of acquisition of property related to the flood control project. No action was taken.
• Two permanent 60-foot easement agreements for maintenance of ditches along the city’s flood control area were approved. One is with Corey Long, and the other with John Sutherland.
• A service award was presented to Carl Isern. Isern has been an employee of the Ellinwood Fire Department for 20 years.
ELLINWOOD — Soon, Ellinwood’s Main Street will feature an new structure that may just be the wave of the future. Rachel Ringering, Ellinwood stylist, attended the March city council meeting with her contractor, Colter Dent to request a building permit for the salon she hoped to open this year in Ellinwood. The council request she return in April with updated imagery and additional details. They passed out the updated proposal to council members at the start of Tuesday night’s meeting, prepared to answer questions.
Dent addressed the council, admitting he had not been prepared for the line of questioning he received in March. Following that meeting, he asked Ringering to put together a list of the clients she’s seen since the beginning of the year, and where they are from. While he knew it would be a long list, he admitted he was surprised. He listed over 20 central Kansas communities, from as far as McPherson and Wichita to Hays and Sylvan.
“I was pretty impressed by that,” he said. “She is currently bringing all these people to your town, and they probably aren’t just getting their hair done.”
Dent inquired if the proposed building met the requirements of the current zoning, something that was in question at the March meeting. The city is currently in the final stages of drafting an updated zoning requirements. But, event taking those into account, City Manager Chris Komarek and City Attorney Bob Peter agreed the building would qualify.
Dent also clarified that the building, while being built off site, is of wood frame construction. This fact, he felt, might have been lost at the last meeting because of his description of how it would be transported to the site. The building is transported on steel rails for stabilization, but when it is placed on the foundation, it will essentially be like a manufactured home, common in the area.
Colter Dent Construction Inc.’s primary business is building high-end residential structures, Dent told the Tribune in a phone call.
Council members, including Ken Lebbin, who was most vocal in his questioning of the project in March, were positive in their assessment of the proposal. Lebbin stated he was pleased with the new representation, and Councilman Kirk Clawson reiterated his March comments.
“I really like it,” he said. “It will be great. He’s talked with a wide range of ages in town, and they concurred that they like it.”
Councilman James McCormick summed it up.
“A small town should never turn away a business,” he said. He moved to approve the application, provided the land owner and the building owner are jointly on the building permit. The council approved the permit unanimously.
