First and Walnut U-turn legal — again
City councilman Tom Schmidt noted at the council meeting Monday night that the hot topic in Peabody "is not the 1.5 million dollar water project, the 1.2 million dollar sewer project, the loss of $32,000 in revenue this year, or even the $72,000 back hoe. The hot topic is a minor traffic inconvenience and we have spent too much time on it."
After 45 minutes of discussion, which included rescinded motions to create an island between First Street and the railroad tracks and to conduct a study of traffic flow at each U-turn area, the council voted 4-1 to allow U-turns at First and Walnut, but not farther south in front of the Santa Fe Railroad tracks. Jon Gard voted against the motion which had been made by Schmidt and seconded by Randy Dallke.
Mayor Kevin Ensminger reminded the council that when it voted in July to accept the "Standard Traffic Ordinance" regulations from the state, the vote meant it agreed to back the recommendations of the chief of police.
"Chief Pohlman has repeatedly stated that he would support a U-turn at one place or the other, but not both. It is time to make a decision on this, leave it alone, and move on," Ensminger said.
The "No U-turn" signs will be moved back to the area in front of Marshall's auction warehouse.
The council heard a report that the DeForest family is ready to proceed with the new shelter house at the city park. Family donations and memorial money donated in the name of John DeForest will pay for $18,100 of the $23,000 cost of the structure. The completion date is tentatively set for May.
In other business the council:
— approved a seasonal part-time position for Bob Kyle, not to exceed 500 hours.
— heard a report that a sewer break between Vine and Olive in the 600 block required a two block clean out, will be watched for additional problems, and may need to be replaced.
— heard that Alltel is aggressively pursuing the search for a site for a tower in Peabody to facilitate better cell phone reception.
— signed the contract for the Community Capacity Grant from the Kansas Department of Commerce and Housing.
— accepted the resignation of Cindy Harms as the city's health and safety officer.
— gave official approval to the Main Street organization to auction off the right to name the sports complex and the circle drive at the city park.
— heard an update on the sewer project from Al Reiss and looked at plans for potential routing of the sewer lines.
Items tabled until another meeting include moving the fire hydrant at 512 Poplar, determining how the contingency funds from the water project will be spent, and discussion concerning the need for a city superintendent.
The next council meeting will be held at 7 p.m. Feb. 24.
