LAHARPE — LaHarpe’s new library is open for business.
City Council members were told Wednesday that three volunteers will run the “drop box” library at City Hall three days a week.
Mary Clay will be at the library from 9 to 11 a.m. Mondays, Cheryl Manbeck from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. Wednesdays and Ron Beasley Sr. from 5 to 8 p.m. Thursdays. Wednesday was the library’s opening day.
The library features several crates that open to reveal hundreds of books provided by the Southeast Kansas Library System.
The crates will be changed periodically to allow residents access to a larger selection of reading materials. Current books will rotate out Oct. 15.
Additional volunteers are being sought for the library, Mayor Cynthia Carr said. “We can stay open longer if we have more volunteers,” she said.
THE CITY council has another vacancy.
Ron Knavel Sr. announced his resignation in a letter to other councilmen Wednesday, citing a new job that puts more demands on his time.
Council members in July appointed Mike Peres to fill Carr’s spot on the council. Carr ascended to mayor in June after Lloyd Wayne Turner resigned from that position.
In a related matter, council members voted 3-1, Gerald Clay opposed, to change how existing council members are paid.
Members will be paid $50 a month. Up to now, each council member was paid $50 for each monthly meeting, plus $25 for any special meetings.
Clay also cast the lone dissenting vote in a motion to spend $200 for a banner that will be placed on a Diebolt Lumber sign near the intersection of Main Street and U.S. 54, touting several free lots the city will give to anybody looking to build in LaHarpe.
The city will offer the land free of charge, as well as waive the cost to hook into the utilities, provided the landowner meets the city’s other building incentive requirements.
COUNCIL members directed City Superintendent Carol Buzbee to help draft a letter to Westar in an effort to find out the cause of periodic power outages.
Clay and fellow councilmen Harry Lee Jr. noted that the city lost electricity for about 30 minutes Wednesday morning, a common occurrence in recent weeks.
Buzbee said the issue is not believed to be on the city’s grid, but rather somewhere along Westar lines near LaHarpe.
