HOISINGTON — The Monday meeting of the Hoisington City Council began with swearing in two councilmembers and honoring an outgoing one.
New councilmembers Carrol Nather (Ward 1) and Keith Kennon (Ward 2) took the oath of office after being appointed at the previous council meeting. Next, former Council Member Karen VanBrimmer was honored for her 16 accumulated years of service to the City.
In public comments, City Manager Jonathan Mitchell replied to a question that the City wants to do more in-depth research on how Hoisington electrical rates compare to other communities but that will take considerably more time and expertise.
A second question concerning adult swim time at the pool was discussed along with the report about the pool.
Mitchell reported that managers and lifeguards have been hired. The splash pad is being readied to open May 15 and the pool is to open the Saturday of Memorial Weekend. The City Office is working to finish building the database of pool passes.
The Council were in consensus to allow anyone living out-of-town to purchase a seasonal pool pass as either an individual ($50) or a family ($100). Those who are interested are encouraged to contact the City Office at 620-653-4125. After some discussion, adult swim time will share water aerobics 5-6:30 p.m. time slot.
Water aerobics will start in July, exercising three days a week. The other times are available for adults to enjoy the pool.
A more formal presentation was made by power plant employees Darren Delzeit and Shane Andereck. Using a PowerPoint presentation, they described the old and new engines and how the process will change to bring up the plant when called upon.
The new engine will not need a warmup time period as in the past so, when the need arises, the city will be generating with a push of a button.
The power plant, built in the early 1900s, started with two generators and workforce of eight. Today, it houses four generators and has a workforce of two. They are helped when necessary by the city lineman.
The EMD, the newest engine, came from Apollo Electric in Houston, Texas. It is a 5,000 hp 4,000 kw generator set that has a 20 cylinder diesel engine. When the install is complete, it will be an electronically-controlled engine that starts with a single push of a button. It is also a tier 2 emissions engine so no catalytic converters are needed to meet emission standards.
Being a tier 2 also eliminates mandatory emission checks and limits on run times. The majority of the installation has been performed in-house allowing the two mechanics a great deal of knowledge about the engine.
The four generators can comfortably meet all power needs of Hoisington and sell back power which earn credits to reduce electrical costs for residents. This occurred a couple of years ago during the ice storm. Using the home plant roughly saved Hoisington $1 million and earned credits by selling electricity back to the supplier.
The benefits for having a municipal power plant include quicker power restoration, the ability to product electricity at cheaper rate during a national power shortage such as occurred in 2021, and it is a bargaining tool to negotiate cheaper electrical rates from the normal supplier. Other benefits are due to the employees themselves. They help the other city crews such dealing with water leaks, pour concrete for projects, man the water department, mow, and manufacture repair parts for city equipment. They also renovated the city Christmas lights, made new posts for the Metal art and made the toys for the dog park.
Other Updates:
A new Trolley has been ordered for Hoisington. It will be a full-sized transit-style van and paid through Commission on Aging funds. The timeline for delivery is most likely January 2024.
Shawn Elmore, Journeyman Lineman, has been hired to replace Clif Strickland who is retiring this month.
The new Storm/Fire Sirens had unplanned test Saturday night when 911 sent the fire page out to the sirens as well as the firemen. The regular Tornado tests are scheduled for Tuesdays at noon.
Proclamations were passed to recognize EMS week and Police Week.
The asbestos has been removed from the Windgate Apartment buildings. The City is waiting for the Kansas Department of Health and Education to certify the completion then Barton County Fire District No. 2 will do some smoke training in the buildings. The buildings will not be on fire but equipment will create smoke for the training exercise.
Enhancements of the property at 1229 N. Center were noted with another review scheduled for Aug. 8.
