With the Emporia City Manager position now filled, city commissioners will next be looking to fill a soon-to-be-vacant commissioner’s seat a bit sooner than most expected.
At the top of the meeting, commissioner Jon Geitz, who announced earlier this year he would not be seeking re-election, submitted his official resignation from the commission. Geitz says while it may have come as some surprise, Wednesday’s announcement was not a spur-of-the-moment decision.
Getiz’s final day will be Nov. 17, just over two weeks after the Nov. 2 general election. According to City Attorney Christina Montgomery, there is a possibility the individual who is elected to fill the seat during the Nov. 2 general election could take over the seat on an interim basis until they are sworn in on the first Wednesday of January.
However; she says there a 15-day window is now open for any and all citizens interested in the interim position to submit an application to the city clerk. Following that 15 day window, commissioners will then vote to seat the interim candidate who, if all goes according to plan, maybe seated by the first week of December.
In other business Wednesday, commissioners approved an ordinance, following a brief public hearing, to establish the state of Kansas’ first upper story Rural Housing Incentive District at 714, 716 and 718 Commercial Street also known as the Town Company Two Project. Special Projects Coordinator Jim Witt says plans are to construct 10 residential units in the upper portion of each building with the bottom half to serve as commercial property.
Witt says the commercial property spaces are completely separate from the RHID program.
He says the new RHID brings a raft of benefits to the community including additional housing and revenue.
Witt tells KVOE News basic work on the project has already begun.
Separately, commissioners approved the submission of an application for a Kansas Department of Transportation grant to the KDOT Aviation Division for a 51-foot runway extension in fiscal year 2023. The grant, if approved, would provide 90 percent of the funding needed to extend the Emporia Municipal Airport’s runway 51 feet.
If the grant were approved, the city’s share of the cost would be roughly $52,500.
Commissioner Danny Giefer was very excited about the possibility, saying it is a great solution to what has been a major talking point for several years now.
Word is pending on when the city will have an answer on the application’s status.
The above items were just a few of several for what was a lengthy agenda before commissioners Wednesday.
The following items also saw unanimous approval by commissioners Wednesday evening:
*Industrial revenue bond package approved in 2015 that benefits Smoots Enterprises II LLC as Fanestil Meats prepares to expand its operations at 4700 West US Highway 50 and cease operations at 1542 Kansas Highway 99. This involves a second supplemental lease involving Security Bank of Kansas City.
*Finalization of a $750,000 application to the Kansas Small Cities Community Development Block Grant program to fund half the expected costs for improvements to Highland Street between 12th and 16th.
*Issuance of general obligation bonds to help fund a $1.4 million project to improve the low-water intake structure and the low water dam on the Neosho River, as well as a contract for the work.
*The appointment of members to the Convention and Visitor Advisory Board and Natural Resources Advisory Board
*Purchase of a self-contained breathing apparatus (SCBA) for the Emporia Fire Department
*An expenditure from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds
The Emporia City Commission will reconvene at 11 am next Wednesday for a study session inside the Municipal Courtroom at White Auditorium.
