Includes the approved minutes and articles
Citizen's Comments, Concerns or Questions are welcome
in the Council's Corner and the Mayor's Outlook and Current Issues
Email your Comments to v_mcculloch@sbcglobal.net
Includes the approved minutes and articles
Citizen's Comments, Concerns or Questions are welcome
in the Council's Corner and the Mayor's Outlook and Current Issues
Email your Comments to v_mcculloch@sbcglobal.net
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At the last City Council meeting, a request was made for a person interested in opening a liquor store in Meade. A motion was made to rescind Ordinance #796, which prohibited liquor sales. The motion passed 4-1, with my vote being the only vote against. Another ordinance specifically allowing liquor sales will be presented at the next meeting on Monday, October 12, 2009 . I feel it is my duty as a councilman to let the public know of this proposed ordinance, so you, as citizens, may make your wishes known. I personally would feel more comfortable making major changes like this after a public vote, which is binding according to state law. Lance DeLissa |
For information on the 2000 CENSUS, click on the link 2000 CENSUS We need to set plans for developing downtown, new offices, retail stores, restaurants and upgrades along main street with landscaping and even street furniture. Create a town “heart” interesting streetscapes, an inviting pedestrian environment and controlled development will create a place to call it the center of town and not just the geographic center. Towns need gathering places, typically at the “heart” of the city. Such places serve functional needs while creating a visual center that establishes a recognizable image for the town. People enjoy walking between destinations when the walk is convenient, pleasant and interesting. Keep the city clean and attractive. Promote activities that help to build a sense of community. Development starts with a vision that brings together public and private interest to accomplish long-term goals for improving the city. Look at our down town area. Do you think it attracts people to stop and shop. I don’t think so. We have old buildings that haven’t been maintained for years and are falling apart. Most of these buildings are used for storage. We have buildings with boarded up windows, buildings that need painting, roofs falling in, needs repairs, etc. We’ve had people looking for a place to start a business in the down town area. Because of the condition of the building, the cost to purchase the building and the cost to repair, they aren’t interested. It would be cheaper for them to build. The problem is there’s no property available on 54 for building. For Meade to survive and stay alive, we need to start making plans to change the look of the down town area. Make property available at a fair price so people wanting to start a business can afford to buy the building and fix it up. We have a group of citizens that believe this community is worth saving. This group of people think positive not negative. You’ve seen several new businesses come to town in the last two years. You’ll see more businesses and more people moving to our community if you support these effects of the different groups trying to make a difference. This effort isn’t just for the cities of Fowler, Meade and Plains, it for our county, we are the community. You are a part of this community, get involved, support it, think positively, we need your support. |
Why do some cities thrive while others slowly go down hill? The answer is “simple”. The cities that thrive work together for the same purpose, taking pride in their city, doing everything in their power to keep small businesses going, and promoting new businesses to fill vacated buildings. I’ve been stopping at a lot of small towns in Kansas to see what they’ve done to keep their town thriving. The answer I get from business owners is “service”. Greet everyone with a smile, ask if you can be of any assistance to them, be friendly and interested. Care about the citizens who live in their community and those that visit your community. We ( the business owners ) are part of the community, and set an example. We work together for the same purpose, a better quality of life. We encourage new business to come to town, and work with them any way we can. We maintain business property and take pride in how our city looks. We try to keep our residential areas clean and attractive for those looking for a place to live. We have city ordinances that help us accomplish some of these items, but mostly our citizens are doing their part. It’s neighbors helping neighbor and businesses helping businesses. We are the city, and pulling together you get things done, and you’ll see good results and success. As a citizen of Meade, I’m concerned about it’s future. I can remember back in the 70’s, the first time I really took a good look at Meade. This town was alive, cars parked all over the down town area. People shopping down town, businesses everywhere. Buildings and residential areas were well kept. It made you want to stop and look around and shop. Now take a good look at the down town area. What happened? Why did we allow the down town area to get so run down. I can’t answer that, but I do know we need to start doing something now. When I got involved in city government as a councilman I took an oath, like the other councilmen did, to obey the laws of the city, county, and state. I also made a commitment to citizens that I would listen to them, bring up things I thought were important to them and myself, then do what was the best for the citizens and the city. When I became mayor, I took the same oath and made the same promise. Your governing body realizes how important it is to have growth in the city, both business and residential. We encourage new business. We want people to move into not out of Meade. We have one of the best school systems in Kansas, a new hospital, a beautiful park, and an outstanding city airport. But that’s not enough. We need to make our city appealing to those that drive through. We should want people to say good things about Meade. People looking for a place to live and /or start a business, look first at the appearance of the town. Have you taken the time to look at the appearance of the city? I’m thankful that we do have a number of people that take pride in their homes and businesses, but the down town area really looks bad. Buildings haven’t been maintained. You see walls of building coming apart and buildings that haven’t been painted in years, windows broken out of buildings and just boarded up, this isn’t attractive to anyone. Your city’s government is looking at every way it can to promote the city of Meade, for those that are looking for a place to live and / or start a business and for our current citizens and businesses. We’ve checked on grants and so far Meade doesn’t qualify. So we are looking for other ways. We are checking out every angle we can to improve the city. Going over the city’s code book, ordinances, and the zoning book I’ve found the city has some restrictions on buildings in our commercial areas, C-1 and C2. This is our largest business district. I haven’t found anything in any of the ordinances that states, that buildings in the C-1 or C-2 zoning district can be used for storage, other than storage (retail or service) for the businesses doing business at that location. A lot of the downtown buildings are currently being used for nothing but personal storage. This is in violation to the city and zoning ordinances. We have people interested in starting a business in the down town area but nothing is available that’s in good condition, and doesn’t need costly repairs. I don’t understand why owners don’t realize how important it is to keep buildings repaired and maintained. If you don’t, they fall apart and have no value. Some of these structures are becoming a breeding ground for flies, mosquitoes, rats and other insects and rodents. It constitutes a blighting influence, and a safety hazard. It devalues all the property in that area. The end result is that the building will fall down or have to be torn down. Your City Councils past and present made ordinances to protect the welfare of the city. Once an ordinance is passed by the city council it becomes law. The city uses these ordinances to enforce that law. We have a number of ordinances that were passed years ago and for some reason these ordinances were violated and those violations overlooked. If those violations would not have occurred we wouldn’t have nearly the problem we have now. The Governing Body doesn’t like using these ordinances to get things done, but, when citizens neglect their responsibilities, we don’t have a choice. One of the first things this council wanted to do was to repair and replace curbs and gutters. As you know a couple of years ago the city started a fund for curb and gutter repairs. This was an area that past governing bodies overlooked that makes a big impression on people living here or are interested in moving here. We are going to do as much as we can each year. We are limited in what we can get done each year but we will continue doing those repairs to improve the condition of the City of Meade. I hope the citizens of Meade realize we need to start doing something now. For Meade to survive it has to have growth. Bud Doerflinger, |
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February 22, 2010 Meade, KS City Council Meeting Minutes The meeting was called to order in the Council Meeting Room by Mayor Bud Doerflinger at 7:00 P.M. Council members present were: Richard Knott, Lance DeLissa, Edward Dye, Chris Hartnett and Cliff Hailey. Also present were City Administrator Dean Cordes and City Clerk Tiffany Neel. Visitors were: Mike Gillen, Russell Ohnick, Jeff Mather, Karen Crum, Tom Kuhns, Loren Borger, Kirk Thompson, Barbara Manis, Heather Moore, Jana Orth and Les Evans. First on the agenda 3 people were given an extension on their utilities. Police Chief Loren Borger presented the police report for January. Les Evans with KEPCO and Kirk Thompson with CMS were present to talk to the Council about smart metering at the power plant. Thompson said Southwest Power Pool is requiring any business that generates power to have a smart metering system installed for real time metering. The deadline for the installation on the meter will be June 1st, 2010. Cordes has a meter quote from Mid States in the amount of $41,425. Cordes is to get more quotes. The February 8th, 2010 minutes were approved as written. Cordes has spoken to Bob Vincent with Ground Water Associates about helping the City through the process of drilling a new well. Vincent charges $120 an hour or $660 a day. DeLissa made a motion to have Bob Vincent consult the City with the water well issues, seconded by Hailey with all in favor. Mayor brought up the situation with the water line at the cemetery. The Council would like Cordes to write a letter to the Cemetery Board about what the City is proposing to do with the line. Mayor asked the Council if they had any questions about the downtown beautification ordinance. DeLissa said he would rather the city talk to the store owners to see if they would cooperate before we pass an ordinance. Dye said they need to take pride in their property. Hartnett said the ordinance seems like too much. Knott said we should know in a couple of months if talking to the owners have helped or not. This matter is tabled until August. Cordes presented an estimate from Gary Knott for the repairs on the bathrooms at the Park. The estimate is for the amount of $4,630. Cordes also presented an estimate for a new shelter house to be built with white slump blocks and will be screened in. The estimate for the shelter house was in the amount of $24,610. DeLissa made a motion to approve the repairs on the park bathroom by Gary Knott, seconded by Dye with 4 in favor, Knott abstained. Cordes talked to the City Attorney about selling the mini park to a prospective buyer. The Attorney said he would like to get more information to Cordes about the steps the City will have to take to proceed. Cordes said he has had another inquiry purchasing the park. The owner of the building next to the mini park would like to tear down their building but they will need access through the mini park to make that happen. DeLissa asked if the City could grant them an easement. Cordes is to get more information. DeLissa asked if the airport lights are working. Cordes said the bids for the regulators have not been approved by the FAA. The low bid is from Manairco in the amount of $8,975. DeLissa made a motion to approve the bid from Manairco subject to FAA approval, seconded by Hartnett with all in favor. Cordes has spoken with the City Attorney about condemning the house on Cedar and Belle Meade. Cordes is to write the citizen a letter and give them 60 days to fix the foundation or the City will condemn the house. New Business: Cordes informed the Council that the Library has a leaking roof and the West third of the Library needs replaced. Knott asked Cordes to find out if insurance will cover it. Neel asked the Council to approve the cereal malt beverage license for The Snappy Stop as of March 1st, 2010. Dye made a motion to approve the cereal malt beverage license for The Snappy Stop seconded by Hailey with all in favor. With no further business to come before the Council, Hailey made a motion to adjourn seconded by DeLissa with all in favor. ___________________________
ATTEST:
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January 12, 2009 |
January 26, 2009 |
January 11, 2010 |
January 25, 2010 |
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February 9, 2009 | February 23, 2009 | February 8, 2010 | February 22, 2010 |
March 9, 2009 | March 23, 2009 | March 8, 2010 | March 22, 2010 |
April 13, 2009 | April 27, 2009 | April 12, 2010 | April 26, 2010 |
May 11, 2009 | May 26, 2009 | May 10, 2010 | May 24, 2010 |
June 8, 2009 | June 22, 2009 | June 14, 2010 | June 28, 2010 |
July 13, 2009 | July 27, 2009 | July 12, 2010 | July 26, 2010 |
August 10, 2009 | August 24, 2009 | August 9, 2010 | August 23, 2010 |
September 14, 2009 | September 28, 2009 | September 13, 2010 | September 27, 2010 |
October 12, 2009 | October 26, 2009 | October 11, 2010 | October 25, 2010 |
November 9, 2009 | November 23, 2009 | November 8, 2010 | November 22, 2010 |
December 14, 2009 | December 29, 2009 | December 13, 2010 | December 27, 2010 |
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