Other items Mitchell shared in his report included:
* Representatives from the Regional Planning Commission will meet with the city on Jan. 4. This is later than Mitchell wanted in order to utilize college students for survey work, as they will return to school the following week. Those survey jobs now will need to go to individuals in the community wanting extra work.
* The city has hired a new lineman, Shaun Ellmore. He has previous line experience and will be a great addition, Mitchell said.
* Habitat for Humanity reports they are taking a brief winter break on the East 6th Street property, but will resume work sometime in January. Mitchell shared that the city has a group that can dedicate a day to help them get started again, something that the group was excited to learn about. They plan to begin work on the Railroad Ave. property in April.
* The city was approved for a grant for downpayment assistance for new construction for four lots at the McKenna Meadows subdivision. The award for $100,000 will provide four grants of $25,000 each, but the applicants must use Housing Opportunities Inc. as the general contractor. This requirement will be in place until November, 2017. Mitchell said interest has been expressed by a person who has a family member who is a contractor. They would like to use their family member, but will not be able to while the restriction is in place.
* A power outage over Christmas weekend was caused by the wind knocking loose a transformer. New reclosure devices installed earlier helped keep all but a portion of the city from losing power, and the area affected was only down 20 minutes. Prior to the new devices being installed, it could have taken 45 minutes to make the necessary repairs.
* The city continues to market the Office Tavern property on Main Street. Any leads will be appreciated.
* The Hoisington Chamber of Commerce Annual Banquet will be held on Jan. 14. Mitchell asked council members and department heads to attend. Council member Karen Van Brimmer said it is also where the Citizen of the Year will be recognized.
* The City of Hoisington offices will be closed Monday, Jan. 2, in observance of the New Year.
HOISINGTON - In a brief meeting Tuesday night, Hoisington City Manager Jonathan Mitchell provided an end of the year update to council members. Mitchell thanked the council for their willingness to hold the meeting on Tuesday.
“We are all grateful to the governing body for allowing us to have all day Friday and Monday off for Christmas Eve and Christmas,” he said.
While there were no petitions from visitors, Mayor Clayton Williamson requested a representative from the Public Works Department to look into fixing an area on 6th Street where potholes are becoming increasingly hazardous following a months-long detour that routed traffic around the intersection of Main Street and K-4 in order to complete a much needed highway project. The representative, who seemed unaware of the problem, promised to look into it the next day.
Mitchell reported that improvements around the city’s Municipal complex were moving forward at a steady pace. They include handrails near the entrance, signage, and other cosmetic improvements. The new HVAC system is nearly complete, and some new wiring was installed above the gymnasium. When workers move to the police department, the city is anticipating needing to relocate the department temporarily, which Mitchell said will be an inconvenience. It may require work be completed in phases, with half the department being completed at a time. The final step will be the removal of the more than 50-year-old boiler system.
Work on the EMS lodging area in the lower level is progressing and should be done soon.
Several pieces of city-owned equipment will soon be listed on Purple Wave, Mitchell said. They will include the old jet vac truck, a snowblower and tractor, the police blazer, among others. A representative will meet with the city staff in the next few weeks.
Rotomix has received its Environmental Use Control verification. However, because of the way the contract with the city is written, the railroad must pay the fee for the EUC, about $10,000, before the deal is completed. Mitchell said this is something that the railroad has agreed to do already. Only one more step is needed. To transfer the deed, the city will need to do one more survey of the property. The company has identified one more area they would like to acquire for expansion. That will be part of the survey. When completed, the property under the EUC will go to Rotomix as soon as the deed is recorded. The other portion, they will lease long-term from the city and begin the EUC process again in order to acquire it down the road. The cost of this will be split between the city and Rotomix. This also provides the city with time to evaluate how it will use parts of the land near the property that will not be conveyed, particularly the creek and waterways.
