Florence city council votes to build new city building
The community wrangling over whether or not to build a new city building in Florence came to a halt Monday when the city council voted 3 to 2 in favor of constructing the addition to the ambulance building.
Dave Shupe of Ranson Financial Consultants presented the council with bids from seven financial institutions which had bid on the project. Shupe's recommendation was a seven-year plan with Koch Financial Corporation with a monthly payment of $1,426.11 and an interest rate of 5.27%.
After Shupe's report, the council discussed whether or not to move forward with the project.
Barbara O'Dell said she felt the community would be much better off with a new building.
Dan Ludwig countered that he felt the consensus of the community was to remodel the current building.
Mayor Jeanie Meirowsky asked Shupe what the consequences would be if the council waited until the March 18 meeting or later to decide. Shupe said that some of the bids would not be good after March 15 and that if the council tabled the project indefinitely at this point, the city of Florence would have a hard time being taken seriously by the financial institutions in the future.
"You had seven bids on this project," Shupe said. "That is a good response. If you tell the bidders that you have changed your minds; that you are not serious about moving forward with the project, you will lose face with the bidders. They will feel that there is nothing to guarantee that you would be serious the next time you go in search of funding. Delay at this juncture will not be good for your reputation."
Bev Baldwin asked Shupe if the council could go ahead and accept one of the bids and then decide in the coming weeks which project to pursue.
Shupe told the council members that the financial institution they select will have a lien on the building. Consequently the bid is only for the project that was presented to the bidders. The council cannot now adopt another plan in place of the specified new building.
After considerable discussion, Baldwin made a motion to build the new city building as an attachment to the ambulance building. The motion was seconded by O'Dell. Ludwig stated the only plan he could approve was the remodeling of the current building. Larry Timm said that he didn't feel he could make a decision at that time between building and remodeling. Timm and Ludwig both voted against building the new city building. Baldwin and O'Dell voted in favor. Mayor Meirowsky cast a tie-breaking vote.
The bid from Koch Financial Corporation for a seven-year lease-purchase arrangement passed 4-0.
Sara Cope, newly hired economic development director, gave an extensive report to the council on the progress being made by the economic development committee.
Cope had been in contact with the Kansas Department of Transportation about selling some of the lots it owns on U.S.-77. KDOT indicated an interest in selling them at fair market value to anyone interested in opening a business along the highway. The committee will pursue some business leads for that area.
The council also heard a report about developing a plan for affordable housing in Florence and the Neighborhood Revitalization Act. The economic development group had met with Steve Waite of Community National Bank in El Dorado to learn about the projects.
The council was enthusiastic about the report and Cope's plan to have Waite address the council at its next meeting.
In other business, Bill Hendricks of Insurance Planning Center presented the renewal of the city's fire and ambulance service insurance policy, Police Chief Kahler reported on the Marion Juvenile Court mock trial, and the council approved the temporary installation of a double-wide trailer at the corner of 5th and Barker.
City superintendent Stuart Funk reported on the progress of the water treatment facility and told the council that Joseph Koehn, who did the mowing at the cemetery last year, was not interested in doing it again. The council voted to allow the position to be put out for bids.
Mayor Meirowsky signed a proclamation declaring April "Fair Housing Month" in Florence and encouraged council members and city employees to attend the county emergency preparedness meeting at Marion City Building at 6:30 p.m. March 26.
