Ellinwood City Council meeting at a glance
Here is a look at what the Ellinwood City Council did Tuesday evening:
Old Business
• After a public hearing with no questions or comments from the audience, passed an ordinance approving a proposed amendment to the 2023 budget increasing authority to expend an additional $300,000 in the sewer fund. The increase allows for an anticipated expense of $250,000 to install a lift station for the new Ellinwood District Hospital, as well as an additional $50,000 for materials related to sewer line extensions for the lift station and the city’s new housing development. Revenues were increased by these amounts through funding from the hospital and Barton County.
• Following a presentation by Shelby Zuniga, executive director of Sunflower Diversified Services in Great Bend, voted unanimously among members present to increase the city’s annual payment for recycling services from $6,000 to $8,100. The increase was to cover half of Sunflower’s anticipated fees to provide pickup services to about two dozen locations within the community.
The city contribution would reduce the fee rates charged to participating locations, based on their pickup frequency. The city’s portion would then be re-evaluated annually to allow for additions or reductions to the city’s pickup roster.
New business
• Presented a service award to city employee Jim Elsen for 10 years’ service to the Ellinwood ambulance service.
• Set a date for a work session to review the 2024 budget at 7 p.m. July 25.
• Approved notifying the Barton County Clerk’s office of intent to exceed the Revenue Neutral Rate and set a hearing date of 6 p.m. Aug. 23. City Administrator Chris Komarek advised the council that the budget has been constructed to keep tax revenue the same as last year with no increase; however, the measure is recommended to account for unanticipated variances in valuations affecting the mill levy.
• Reviewed documents relating to bids to be sent out and received by Aug. 2 for the hospital lift station. Bid opening and approval is anticipated at the Aug. 8 council meeting. Komarek noted that an application for a sewer extension permit has been filed with KDHE that could take from 30 to 60 days to approve.
• Approved written policy stating that employees with less than 10 years of service at retirement may continue on the city’s health insurance by assuming payment of premiums.
• Approved mayoral appointment of Stephanie Dunnaway as both city utility clerk and city treasurer, effective Aug. 1.
• Reappointed Komarek as board member to Kansas Municipal Gas Association for another two-year term effective Sept. 1.
• Approved mayoral appointment of Megan Anderson to the Ellinwood Recreation Commission Board of Directors.
• Heard a staff report from Komarek.
ELLINWOOD — As a show of support to local participating businesses, the City of Ellinwood agreed on Tuesday to pick up half the tab for future recycling services to the community.
At Tuesday’s meeting of the Ellinwood City Council, Shelby Zuniga, executive director of Sunflower Diversified Services in Great Bend, told council members present that their organization had experienced increased costs over the past few years, resulting in the development of a direct-pay rate structure for participating businesses in the area.
“We started to charge a fee in Great Bend in the middle of 2021,” Zuniga said. “We’ve had to increase the rates.”
Ellinwood was the exception, she said. “The city has been gracious in helping with the recycling program and there have been avid recyclers here,” Zuniga explained. “We wanted to continue doing that.”
Last month, Zuniga had provided city staff with a rate sheet listing two dozen businesses in the community, noting that most were providing “a good volume.” The changes, she said, were designed “to get everyone on an even playing field with what we are doing in Great Bend.”
Discussion of proposed changes to the recycling program was tabled until the Tuesday meeting.
The city, which currently transports a trailer load at about 800 pounds a week of recyclables to the Sunflower location, also pays an outside-agency fee of $6,000 annually to the organization for on-site pickup at 24 locations in Ellinwood.
“We haven’t had to push, but we really do need to do something to cover the cost of getting the trucks over here,” she said. “We don’t make money at recycling.”
An estimate of the cost to send one truck with one driver and employee to Ellinwood three days a week would be around $30,000 per year, she said. After that, “there’s a lot of processing that goes on once we get the trucks back to Great Bend,” she noted.
Her proposed estimate that would include fees from participating businesses would be about $16,200 for the year.
“My thought process was that whatever the city wanted to invest in recycling for the community, we would prorate that and pass the rest of the cost onto the businesses,” she said. “They would have a reduced rate but we’d still be able to generate the revenue that we have from other commercial businesses.”
In discussions, council members favored not only keeping the city’s annual figure, but increasing it to cover half the estimated cost to $8,100 per year.
“I see it as a three-tiered benefit,” noted council member Ken Lebbin. “One, it helps Sunflower; two, it reduces the cost to our businesses; and three, it means staying responsible to keeping as much out of the landfill as we can,” he said. “With those three thoughts in mind, I believe it’s worthwhile.”
The council then voted to increase the annual figure to $8,100 per year. Zuniga said that participating businesses could then be assessed at the half rate, with plans for an annual assessment of participation up or down, and with room for adjustments going forward.
