HOISINGTON — Following their joint meeting with the Barton County Commissioners Monday, the Hoisington City Council met briefly to take up discussion of a couple “new business” agenda items.

Leading off, the council was informed about speeding on several side streets downtown. After a discussion of changing the speed limits, Hoisington Police Chief Kenton Doze said that the state sets the speed limits in residential zones at 30 miles per hour and in school zones at 20 mph, year-round. The state would make two surveys to determine if the speed limits should change. Stop signs can be added by the city to the streets, but renains in the city council’s discretion.

In his city operations update, Hoisington City Manager Jonathan Mitchell noted that the Hoisington swimming pool is still looking for lifeguards. Regarding ongoing swimming pool construction, decking and slides were planned to be installed in time for a City Council tour of the pool on May 23. Mitchell noted that the construction company is 42 days behind schedule, due to supply chain delays. The public pool opening has been pushed back to July 1. 

Light poles are a major delay, leading to the decision not to allow the scheduling of parties in the evening this summer.

The city is waiting to hear about two grants for City Connecting Link Improvement (CCLIP) funds to resurface K-4 from Susank Road to Center Street through Hoisington.

A citywide power outage on May 4 was caused by the loss of an oil-covered breaker in the substation. While an older breaker was on hand, it is a temporary fix, Mitchell noted. A replacement is soon to be ordered with a six-month lead time and a cost of approximately $25,000 to $30,000.