Alltel cellular tower is operational
At the Peabody city council meeting Monday night, Mayor Randy Dallke dialed the phone number of the city office from the council room using his cellular phone.
The ringing of the telephone in the front office brought forth a brief round of applause from council members as they realized that the Alltel cellular tower was finally in service.
Dallke said the city was notified at 4 p.m. Monday that the work crew was finished and the tower was operational.
"It's taken quite awhile to get this project finished," said Dallke. "But we're finally to the place where people don't have to drive to the highway or two or three miles out of town to get a signal."
In other matters, the council heard the quarterly Main Street report from Joanna Brazil.
She updated the group on the Nov. 30 Christmas parade and lighting ceremony as well as the shopping promotion. The council agreed to the city's participation in the promotion.
Brazil also reviewed the visit to Peabody Thursday by Kansas Historical Society representative, Christy Davis. Brazil said Davis had outlined some of the many grants and tax savings available to the city through state and federal programs.
In a related matter, the condition of the city shop and the possibility of receiving Heritage Trust funds for repairs were discussed. The council agreed to get more information on the application process for the funds.
Brazil presented a proposal from Rick Burcky of Florence for management of the Peabody web site. The council will meet with Burcky at the Dec. 29 meeting.
In other business, the council:
— agreed to remove two clumps of asphalt from the parking lot at Coneburg Inn. The asphalt was spilled when Inland Paving was doing street repair in Peabody this past summer.
— approved the payment of one half of the fire department's dues to the Kansas State Firefighters Association.
— tabled until the next meeting a decision on setting guidelines for residents wishing to tap into the new sewer after the project is completed.
— reviewed employee work orders for the past three months. In a related matter, the council agreed to have the city workers do a final mowing of city property and right of ways.
— heard the directional signs the city intended to put back at the east and west ends of Ninth Street were damaged and replacements had to be ordered.
