City council gets good economic news
Cope announces sale of nursing home
Florence City Council received good news Monday night in a report from economic development chairman Sarah Cope. Cope announced the sale at auction July 7 of the former Florence Health Care nursing home.
Cope said the building was purchased by Quality Contractors LLC of Topeka and plans are to re-open the facility as a nursing home.
Closing is scheduled to take place Aug. 6. Cope said an architect already has looked at the structure and is preparing plans for renovation. New owners hope to take possession and begin work within 45 days of closing.
Council also was brought up to date on expansion and improvements to the local veterinarian clinic. Brendan Kraus purchased the Main Street business from Mike Moore last month.
In appreciation for building and holding area upgrades Kraus has made, council agreed unanimously to forgo billing for trash removal associated with the cleanup.
Council member Bryan Harper reported on communication with J&N Construction and Straub Eaton engineers about the clear well deck. The firms agreed to pay for a 45mm flexible sheeting material to be installed over the deck. Harper said Wray Roofing of Newton advised the product has "a 10-year warranty, but was likely to last for 20."
Harper said if Florence, J&N Construction, and Straub Eaton could come to an agreement, work could begin within three days.
Council members were encouraged by the plan, but decided to forego agreement pending approval by Kansas Department of Health and Environment. City superintendent Ken Hoffman will contact KDHE.
Harper also had been in touch with Burlington-Northern railroad officials in Kansas about the railroad crossing at Main Street. Harper was told the crossing carries enough trains traveling at a high rate of speed to meet two criteria for crossing arms. However, a third requirement is the amount of vehicle traffic at the crossing. State officials will have to conduct on-site traffic counts to see if Florence meets this final prerequisite.
Harper said he got some assurance that officials would be in the area next month to look over the crossing and visit with city officials.
Council member Randy Mills encouraged council to set a date for a budget meeting and public hearing in order to have the budget published on time.
Council will hold a special budget meeting at 4 p.m. Thursday at the city building to discuss issues. Budget publication will be Aug. 5, announcing an Aug. 12 budget hearing.
In other business, the council:
— gave permission to Marion County Special Education Cooperative to use Florence pool after the start of the 2004-05 school year. The co-op will pay the salary of a lifeguard and pay a stipend for each day of pool use.
— heard that preparation of warrants was not complete so there would be no vote to pay them.
— accepted a resolution to create salary range proposals for all hourly-wage employees. A sitting council will have the right to re-evaluate and change minimum and maximum salary levels.
— accepted Ordinance 766, created to establish salary range figures for salaried employees. It establishes minimum and maximum salary options for non-hourly personnel.
— accepted Ordinance 767 to create more specific guidelines for duties and responsibilities between city and library board regarding the library building.
— requested city clerk Darla Gore contact Federal Emergency Management Agency about the log jam at Fifth Street bridge. Hoffman reported the west bank of Cottonwood River is developing serious erosion and wash-out created by the log jam and resulting irregular water flow.
— tabled a decision on street signs, flags for downtown, closing streets at the request of the Labor Day committee, a contribution for portable toilets on Labor Day, updated version of the city's employee manual, and finalizing city's work structure proposal.
— heard the police chief screening committee will interview one more candidate this week and make a recommendation at city council's next meeting. A unanimous vote is required of committee members before a candidate advances to be interviewed by the whole council. If the committee cannot agree, the position will be re-advertised and the search process will begin again.
— heard the water plant is still awaiting installation of lightning arresters by U.S. Filter Company.
— heard from ambulance director Scott Zogelman that a July 7 state inspection has put Ambulance #2 out of commission for the time being because the air conditioning unit does not work and the radio system is not compatible with the new county system.
He told council members the ambulance crew will meet and decide whether to repair the ambulance or look for a new one.
— heard from fire chief Tony Leeds the department will have a shotgun raffle on Labor Day, had its radios reprogrammed Friday to accommodate county changes, and will sell three radios unable to integrate with the county system.
— heard from Hoffman that gophers have taken up residence in the dike and will need to be removed, city crews are getting ready for Labor Day, cleanup and tree trimming is continuing at city springs, and the city's annual consumer confidence report on city water will need to be sent to all Florence residents.
— reviewed a list of park improvements and agreed to have city employees address several items.
