HOISINGTON -- Dolores Kipper, the city’s code enforcement officer, Monday night provided an update to the city council on her efforts to encourage property owners to take advantage of the city’s needs-based grant program to help spruce up the exteriors of some houses suffering from deferred maintenance.
During her March update, she had provided a list of 15 homes in the city that were in violation of city ordinances requiring the exteriors to be maintained to a specific standard, either by painting or siding application. At that time, the council agreed to change the requirements for participation in the participation. Instead of qualifying by income only, now participants can qualify if the value of their home is within a certain range.
Since March, Kipper said, she has issued 15 letters of invitation to take part in the program, and has heard back from several of these property owners with positive comments. Two have already taken advantage of the program. One house has already been painted. The other was a house that had been prepped for siding for over a year. That house has now been sided. City Manager Jonathan Mitchell also noted that a porch addition that had been started earlier on the house but halted because it did not fall within the city ordinance could now be completed. That’s because city ordinance has changed, and now will permit the style and construction that the homeowner had begun.
Other property owners have informed Kipper that they will move forward on their painting projects when summer arrives and the weather is warmer.
“As long as people stay in communication with me, I’m willing to work with them and remain patient,” she said. “We want them to do a good job and not feel rushed, so if it takes a few more weeks than anticipated, that is something we can accommodate.”
She also provided an update about one property that had been scheduled for a Show Cause hearing that night. The hearing was postponed, she said, because ownership had changed recently, and the new owners of the property at 610 E. 7th St. had already begun demolition of a fire-damaged garage, with plans to remove a dilapidated shed and repair the roof of the house. Progress on that property and others, however had stopped due to last week’s rains, but was expected to begin again later this week.

Animal Control
Kipper also provided an animal control update. She reported 370 city pet tags were issued in 2015, 509 in 2016, and 460 tags issued in 2017. She also reported that while there had been two dog bites reported, the news that she had been able to verify that each of the dogs had been vaccinated, so did not require quarantine, and the victims did not need to endure rabies protocols.
Councilman Michael Aylward pressed for more details about the dog bites, and Kipper attempted to be diplomatic, until finally Council members Karen Van Brimmer and Jim Morris came forward to admit the dogs had been theirs, and shared the details.
Van Brimmer’s dog had bit her, leaving a small puncture wound that became infected several days later. She had not reported it, thinking it a minor incident. But she was informed by her doctor that he had to report it, and did so.
Morris stated his dog had bit a child visiting his home. The child had approached the dog, and the dog reacted. Kipper pointed out that many dog bites occur because people, often children, have not been educated in appropriate ways to approach a strange dog.
“It’s important to let children know that they should always ask permission to pet a dog they do not know, regardless of how soft and furry it may appear,” she said.
Kipper also reported that the feral cat population has decreased considerably, but noted that it is now “kitten season.” She asks that the public let her know if they see kittens around so they can be monitored and go through the Tag, Neuter, Release (TNR) program.
All monies levied for veterinary to the City of Hoisington on relinquished animals over the past year have been recouped through citations, she reported. This, she said, is because she is admittedly very brutal about giving citations to those who do not pay. Council members commended her for her approach, and instructed her to continue the good work.

Other items of discussion and actions taken included:

• Approval of the consent agenda, including the designation of the city’s official depositories, First Kansas And Landmark National, and Wilson State banks. The Hoisington Dispatch was designated as official newspaper of the city, and a Cereal Malt Beverage permit was approved for an upcoming reunion at Bicentennial Park.
• Heard the City Manager’s Update, including recent action taken by the Land Bank Board, an update on the Rotomix property transfer, and ongoing projects of the city.
• A Hoisington resident, Kathleen Bruce, commented on her dissatisfaction with the performance of a Hoisington Police Officer. City Manager Jonathan Mitchell stated that he had been made aware of the incident, and that he and the Chief of Police had addressed the matter with the officer. Councilman Michael Aylward thanked Bruce for bringing the incident to the council’s attention.

The next meeting of the Hoisington City Council will be at 7 p.m., Monday, June 12, at the Hoisington Municipal Complex.