Small Town News

Wind Power, Campbell Bldg., Transportation Top Agenda At Kiowa City Council Meeting

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The Kiowa City Council discussed a wind energy agreement with RSI Corp., voted to opt out of a transportation agreement with the state, accepted a lease/purchase agreement for a new trash truck and agreed to move forward on condemnation of the Campbell Building at Monday night's regular monthly meeting.

All council members were present - Bill Watson, Bob Drake, Brandon Poland, Brian Hill and Mark Lambert - along with Mayor Brandon Farney and City Administrator Charley Young.

RSI Contract Discussed

Miranda Allen and Justin Myers from RSI Corp. visited about a contract to allow the company's new wind generator to hook up to the city's electric grid and be credited for the electricity it produces into the system against electricity used by the company's offices in downtown Kiowa.

Allen asked the city to promote "green energy" to help promote new business and industry in the community and set a standard for other communities to follow. Council members were all in favor of working with new energy sources, but wanted to take the time to "get it right". The city administrator noted that the electric system is owned by all the residents of Kiowa and agreements must be in place to protect the investment in the electric system that has been made over the years and will be in the future.

Council asked RSI to go over the proposed agreement and make additions or deletions where they think necessary so the council can go back over the paperwork and try to reach an agreement that is in the best interest of both the city and RSI.

May Start Own Van Service

Council next discussed a grant recently received from the state to start a community van service, but after studying all the regulations and restrictions the city administrator suggested that the community might want to purchase its own van, with the help of the school district, to use for both city and school needs. It would include a wheelchair lift.

City administrator, Charley Young, said the school superintendent has agreed to cooperate in such a project and help with the purchase costs, while volunteers have already come forward to drive.

More details would still have to be worked out, but council voted to opt out of the state grant agreement.

Campbell Bldg. Condemnation

Work has been taking place to condemn the Campbell Building (old bowling alley) at 642 Main Street since 2001, and it finally seems all the notices and paperwork have been completed for the condemnation to go forward. Council voted to accept the city administrator's recommendation and have him move forward with the condemnation process.

Trash Truck Financing

After receiving proposals from both local Kiowa banks, council voted to accept the agreement from The Peoples Bank for the lease/purchase of a $105,000 Freightliner trash truck at 3.75% interest for 60 months.

Burn Period Established

Council voted to have a burn period from November 11 through November 25. Residents are reminded not to burn in the gutters on asphalt streets and not to burn on windy days.

New Police Officer Hired

After an executive session, council voted to hire James C. Stevenson as a part-time officer for the city. The only cost would be for a uniform, health insurance beginning in July of 2010, and a nominal monetary amount to comply with laws to be determined by the city administrator.

Stevenson is retired from the Sedgwick County Sheriff's Department and currently lives in rural Barber County. He has considerable experience in forensic and narcotics investigation and has also served as a detective in the Sheriff's Department and before that worked for the Wichita Police Department.

In other action, council:

Asked Doug Swonger to draft a request to the state to restore his parking area on the east side of the Chieftain Grill for them to consider.

Heard a public comment from Doug and Michele Cheek concerning what they felt were vindictive actions by councilman Bill Watson. Watson replied that he and the Cheeks have had disputes over his dog and he was considering legal action.

Were informed that the Kiowa Fire Department has received a certificate from the City of Anthony thanking them for their help at the recent downtown fire.



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© 2010 The Kiowa News Kiowa, Kansas. All Rights Reserved. This content, including derivations, may not be stored or distributed in any manner, disseminated, published, broadcast, rewritten or reproduced without express, written consent from DAS.

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