Ellinwood City Council meeting at a glance
Here is a brief look at what the Ellinwood City Council did Tuesday evening:
• Recognized city employee Kevin Stansfield for five years of service in the Ellinwood Emergency Medical Service Department.
• Approved a combined USD 355/Ellinwood Recreation project to make improvements to the city’s ballfields, contingent upon completion of current unfinished projects that include cleanup of unused equipment and painting of concession stand/restroom buildings at both fields.
• Accepted the low bid of $310,031 by Middlecreek Corporation for the new sewer lift station to serve the new hospital area as recommended by city staff and EBH engineers.
• Approved ordinances implementing 2023 Uniform Public Offense and 2023 Standard Traffic Offense codes as presented by City Administrator Chris Komarek.
• Approved utility easement for vacated north Fritz Street in the Walnut Park Subdivision.
• Discussed updates to a zoning ordinance and building codes.
• Discussed the status of the Ellinwood Commission on Aging organization.
• Recessed into executive session to review confidential information regarding individual delinquent utility accounts.
• Authorized writing off individual delinquent utility accounts in the amount of $6,390.94.
• Recessed into executive session to discuss acquisition of property.
ELLINWOOD — Running a non-profit organization has its share of paperwork and it’s important to get things filed,
Especially when it’s with the Internal Revenue Service.
The Ellinwood Commission on Aging has provided vital services to the senior citizens of the community for several decades. The organization (which utilizes the Ellinwood Heritage Senior Center as a location for Friendship Meals, Meals on Wheels and transportation services) gained its non-profit status in 1993.
Apparently, however, that designation has lapsed.
City Administrator Chris Komarek brought the question of the organization’s status to the attention of the Ellinwood City Council Tuesday evening as an addition to the agenda. “This is something that we may be 18 months behind, or maybe 18 years, behind, I don’t know,” Komarek said as the topic was introduced.
Komarek noted that what prompted the council discussion was that the organization had been struggling with finances recently and wished to make a funding request from the city. “Tonight it’s just a discussion item, so we can get the ball rolling,” he said.
History of the Commission
The organization was created by city ordinance on July 9, 1991. Komarek said that it came about as the brainchild of Pat Schartz, a lifetime Ellinwood resident who served as president of the organization until his passing in December 2011.
“He was going to college, taking a class to learn how to write grants,” Komarek said.
The grant was written to obtain a bus for senior citizen transportation in the community. “He received it; it was a neat deal,” Komarek said.
Issues of ownership and maintenance then ensued, so the Commission on Aging was formed. From council minutes, Komarek recapped that the board would be approved by the council with eight members selected by mayoral appointment. “There are three original members still living,” he said.
The original vehicle, a 1993 nine-passenger mini-bus, was retired and a 2008 Chevrolet Uplander minivan was purchased as replacement in December 2012.
Colleen Bowman is the current president of the organization, taking over for Marilyn Sauber.
Council discussion
Councilman Ken Lebbin informed the council that he was a member of the commission board. “It is not to be confused with the Heritage Center, or the Heritage Club,” he stressed. “They are two distinct entities.”
The original ordinance, 91-07, Lebbin said, stipulated that there would be eight members on the board, appointed by the mayor, serving on staggered terms.
“I’m pretty sure that over the last 30 years, that hasn’t been happening,” he said. “I’m actually one of nine members, more than what the ordinance allows for. I was just asked if I would serve on it and I said ‘fine,’ and that was it.”
Lebbin said that the big question is whether the city has ever committed to funding or whether the city is required to fund it.
Reading from an original ordinance copy, Lebbin said the commission was to have “no budget or expenditure authority. The Commission shall not have the power to borrow or expend funds.”
“What that tells me, is that they are a surrogate of the city” and that any incoming revenue should have been added to the city general fund, with bills and expenses paid by the city after receiving monthly statements from the organization.
“It’s not the way business is being taken care of and it’s not the way it’s meant to be,” he said. The way it’s written, “they can’t buy gas for their van. It’s really a convoluted thing that hasn’t been followed at all.”
Currently, the commission pays its own expenses through a checking account, Lebbin said. Income received comes from fares from van riders and donations. “That’s not coming close to their expenses right now,” Lebbin noted.
At one time, there was difficulty getting a current tag for the vehicle due to a question of van ownership. The city purchased the replacement van and then donated it to the organization, Komarek said.
“The vehicle could not be titled under the city’s name,” recalled City Clerk Kim Schartz.
The organization’s non-profit status was apparently in danger of revocation by the IRS in 2013, after a succession of non-filings of the annually-required 990 form, according to the Kansas website listing non-profits in the state.
“There’s probably a lot of things that need to be cleaned up before we tackle the 501(c)3 thing,” Komarek said. “There is obviously a lot of research that needs to be done.
“We wanted to bring this up to the council that we’re going to be tackling this, to see what needs to be done and bring it back for future discussion,” Komarek said.
Schartz said that the project would not in any way impact the current operations of the commission or its services. “They are going to continue on,” she said.
