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| Condolences to the family of Jim Garnett |
A brief moment of silence in honor of Jim Garnett was held prior to the beginning the session. Likewise, throughout the evening condolences were offered by council members and attendees as well.
Guest Kermit Kauffman appeared before the council to move forward on renewing the contract between the city and the fair board regarding use of the fairground property, which the city owns. Kauffman also noted that construction of the new facilities at the fairgrounds should begin next week, starting with laying the groundwork for power and water connections.
Alvin Griffin also appeared before the council with a plea to extend the city's operation of the taxi service (which was set to expire on March 1st) for two months as Griffin and others are in the process of setting up an stand alone company that will take over operation of the service. During his presentation is was noted that the company will be fully independent, operating as a 501C3, not for profit and fully insured. Plans include keeping dispatch and general operations at the senior center with the car to be donated (or purchased for a nominal amount) from the city. Long term plans for the taxi service may include the purchase of a wheelchair capable van and some other necessary items. At present the daily average of the senior taxi is around 35 trips a day, making the need for the service more than ever. The council voted unanimously to extend the service for 60 days to give time for Griffin and his team to finalize plans and paperwork.
The council approved Morris Internet LLC to move forward on putting antennas on the downtown water tower in order to provide a wireless internet option for those in Butler. Also approved was the sale of the spec building at 900 Enterprise road to LFP LLC. LFP will be growing medical marijuana and plans to employ 12 to 15 people.
Also discussed was a 75/25 USDA grant that is available. In round numbers, the city could get just over $500,000.00 but would only have to kick in around $127,000.000 which could be used for new equipment such as a fire truck and police cars. The money to cover the city's portion would come from the capital improvement fund and the fire department sales tax. More discussions on this are coming soon.
Electric City Downtown is also looking at a grant for improvement around the square. It's a process of baby steps that begin with artist's renderings of what certain buildings could look like with a little makeover...these renderings will be done around the end of this month and will be available for public viewing on April 1st. Exact time and more details are forthcoming.
At least two more meetings will be required before passage of the upcoming budget. There are a lot of questions, and literally every expense is being looked at very closely.
The Butler City Wide garage sales are set for May 2nd. The city wide clean up will be held for those north of Fort Scott street May 4th through 8th. It will be May 11th through 15th for those south of Fort Scott.
Hopefully you can schedule that front end alignment soon- pothole repair is ongoing and is expected to be done in short order.
Fire Chief Bennett reported that Butler's participation in the statewide tornado drill went off without a hitch. All city sirens are in good working order.
Trent Diehl said cleanup along the Butler strip is continuing, either a stump grinder will be purchased or someone will be contracted to do it, whichever is cheaper.
Remember the Butler City Council meets on the first and third Tuesdays, 7 pm at city hall.
