Iola City Council members will decide soon whether to change their meeting nights each month.
The discussion to move their regular meetings to the first and third Monday of each month — they currently meet the second and fourth Monday — was spurred by comments from Iolan Larry Walden.
Walden noted the Council’s meeting nights fall on the same night as the USD 257 Board of Education, making it impossible for patrons to attend both.
“I’d be in favor of changing the dates,” Councilman Aaron Franklin responded. “I would like to be involved with school board meetings, but obviously I can’t.”
Council members directed City Administrator Sid Fleming to study the ramifications, such as when bills and invoices are provided to the Council for approval, and facility availability.
IN AN unrelated matter, Iola Municipal Court sessions have been pushed up from 5 p.m. to 3 p.m. Wednesdays.
The Council members approved an ordinance setting the earlier start time.
Fleming said Municipal Court Judge Patti Boyd has been working with Police Chief Jared Warner to “streamline” the court scheduling process. Steps also are being taken to ensure Iola police officers do not have added overtime pay because of the earlier court sessions, Fleming said.
COUNCIL members will spend $108,105 — including trade-in — to Foley Equipment, Chanute, for a Caterpillar 918M front-end loader.
The loader replaces a 1996 Caterpillar 928F loader, which is used almost daily by the city’s Street and Alley and other departments. The city’s machine has accumulated more than 12,600 hours of use, Fleming said.
Three vendors submitted bids for its replacement.
The Foley bid was about $4,000 higher than the low bid from Murphy Tractor & Equipment, Wichita, for a John Deere 444K loader.
The Council voted, 6-2, for the Foley bid, citing Foley’s proximity to Iola (about 20 miles) compared to Murphy’s (about 100) making it easier to get repair technicians on site when needed.
In addition, Council members said the Caterpillar is more apt to have a higher trade-in value than would the John Deere.
Aaron Franklin and Nancy Ford opposed the Foley bid.
A BUDGET hearing has been scheduled for 6 p.m. Dec. 12 for the city to discuss year-end budget transfers.
Fleming said general fund expenditures are slightly below anticipated spending levels. As of Monday, the city has spent 78 percent of its general fund for the year.
The budget amendments would include increasing utility transfers from the city’s gas and wastewater funds by a combined $350,000, while reducing transfers by the same amounts from its electric and water funds at year’s end.
THE COUNCIL accepted the resignation of Jeromy Troester from the Iola Police Department.
