All present except Douty and Alkire for the March 21, 2023 session
Watch the meeting in it's entirety here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rdW-7GZ_x5k&t=1268s
The city’s relationship with the Kaysinger Basin Regional Planning Commission appears to be on the rocks as plans have fallen apart regarding putting together a comprehensive plan; while the council remains in favor of continuing the relationship with them the council has currently put all plans with Kaysinger, who is having personnel issues “under review” until further notice.
The push to open an RV park on Fran Avenue in Butler has been renewed as the landowner has again approached the planning commission for permission to move ahead and that will now move to the council for debate during the upcoming April 18 meeting. This will be the second attempt by the landowner to open an RV park in that location.
In other council news, the 2023-24 budget is cast in stone and the city of Butler is set for another year of operation as the budget was adopted following a formal public hearing.
Miller Engineering will be providing detailed requirements regarding installation of a new roof and other work to be done on the Butler fire station. This will serve as a clear guideline as the city prepares to take bids for the project in the near future.
The new radio console and other related equipment is fully installed and operational at the Butler police station. A field engineer who worked on the project said it’s a top notch system and “will undoubtedly provide many years of reliable operation”. This dovetails into a conversation regarding a $40,000 matching grant that would also upgrade all mobile units as well. According to City Administrator Mike West, this upgrade is quite necessary as firefighters in particular, face uncertainty with radio communications when fighting interior fires in certain types of structures. More on the status of the grant is expected soon.
A decision was made to purchase a truck for use by animal control. Max Motors made the city a deal that included a price break, which is almost unheard of during current supply chain issues. The council agreed to purchase the new Dodge pickup unanimously per recommendation by police chief Jarrett Wheatley.
Remember the Butler city council meets on the first and third Tuesdays, 7 pm, upstairs at city hall. For those who can’t make it, a video recording of the meetings are can be found on the Mid America Live YouTube channel.
