City Commission - Regular Meeting

Um, go ahead and Well, I guess you clear and I I see everybody and Okay. Um, afternoon, gentlemen. Okay. It is 4:00. We have a uh or 3:00, excuse me. We have a study session from 3 to 3:45 for the Boys and Girls Club of Salina, followed by a Lower Smoky Hill Water Supply District meeting at 3:45. So, with that, we'll go ahead and I'll turn it over to city manager to get us started.

Okay. Uh, mayor and commissioners, uh, we had a study session uh, several months ago about the Boys and Girls Club. They had, uh, um, had some discussions with city staff about, uh, trying to locate a facility in one of our parks. Um, if if you have the presentation, can you throw that up? And I'll just I've got a kind of a quick overview of what we've done. Um, so we did have a discussion. At that discussion, city commission expressed interest in moving forward with the Boys and Girls Club, but they asked us to do a public meeting. So, we hosted a public meeting and um at that point, uh we had quite a few people from the baseball community come out um in opposition for us removing this field for a couple of reasons. First, we had the Mexican-American baseball uh league that uses that field, and it's actually quite quite a bit of use. They had several hundred people there every Sunday for 12 or 15 weeks during the fall. Um, and then there was just general concern about not having that field um in in the neighborhood where kids could just go and play uh you know, pick up games whenever they want, not have to schedule anything. Um, so at that point, uh, staff started working with the Boys and Girls Club to try and see if there was a new location uh that we could take a look at. We offered up several different locations and parks across the community and really landed um on the the location that we're going to show you here today. Um, and so that location is actually just to the north of Bondi Field. Are you

So, um, if you know where Bondi Field was located in Sunset Park or where the old tennis courts were, uh, the location that we're looking at now, um, is just across the street to the north of Bondi where Bondie Field is and where the tennis courts were located. Um, so we do have some maps. We'll throw those up as soon as we as soon as we can so we can show you kind of a a high level layout the work that Charles Ren has done to lay it out in the area. Um, and then uh the kind of the view or what it looks like it really stays pretty similar to what they had proposed before. So kind of a we going to get it going. There we go. Uh, if you want to go just go down keep going. So this is the location and this is kind of a zoomed out viewpoint. So this is all of you can see all of Sunset Park there. Bondi Fields are to the south and the yellow highlighted area is the area that we're talking about. If you want to go down to the next slide. And so this is just a a zoomed in view kind of where the tennis courts were at. This would be the location where we would uh foresee the the facility going. If you go to the next slide. Um this is a kind of a zoomed out view of of the layout. You can see there's some additional parking. uh you to to the west of the building and some additional parking to the south which would be just north of Bondi Field. You can go to the next slide. It'll zoom in a little bit more. That's so this is just a zoomed in viewpoint of a kind of a preliminary layout. If you don't just scroll through the next couple of slides, it just shows the pictures of the the renderings that we had before. I mean, they haven't really changed that much. They do kind of still anticipate it to be kind of a rustic cabin view uh which we think fits very nicely into the park. actually actually kind of maybe fits better um in that location. So here's just some some renderings and drawings of that uh facility. And then um these are the things that were requested uh by Boys

and Girls Club. Uh so you can see their attached letter, but establishment of a long-term lease for for a portion of our park. Um then uh platting and reszoning of the property. So we would work on that extension of the water and sewer lines. So at the last discussion that we had, the city commission said that they were interested in in going ahead and paying for that. at I think I believe it was $40 to $60,000 for water and sewer extension. Um we also talked about grounds maintenance and snow removal. And then um one of the newest things that uh is is an is an additional uh request that has to do with the parking and road improvements that would be adjacent to the facility and then uh kind of a formal um agreement with the organization. So at this point what I really need from the city commission is if this is if you're okay moving forward. I mean, I think uh we had tentatively said we were okay with Boys and Girls Club being located in one of our parks. Um and we were just trying to hammer out what the location would look like. So, at this point, if the if the city commission uh has some feedback or input about this location, whether you're okay with it, um really what what I need what staff needs is is kind of a consensus for the commission to say, "Hey, we're interested in this area. We want staff to continue to work on it. We'll put together a lease agreement that will highlight uh kind of all of these things." Um, in terms of ground maintenance and snow removal, kind of what we had talked about at the last go round, which I think kind of sticks today is that the city would uh remove snow, but we're not going to it's not going to be, you know, at the highest priority level. It'll just be in when we do regular snow removal in the park, we'll just take care of that. Um, ground maintenance, we basically said we're not going to take care of the the the landscaping at a super high level, but anything that we're mowing today, there's no reason why we can't just get in there with the mowers that we have. Uh so if they have expectations about uh landscaping that would be higher than what our normal maintenance is in the area, they would be responsible for that. But we could, you know, mow while we're there. Um road and road and parking improvements is a new one. And that's if you'll go back to the slide

that shows the layout uh of the parking. I think the reason this came up as a as a request from the city is if you look at the parking on the south, that's really going to be uh kind of a co-use space. the Bondi Fields will use those those parking spaces when people are there. The facility will use it, you know, in the evenings or daytime when they have people, but you know, on the weekends when they're not there, certainly that parking would get used by Bondie Field. Um, and I will say just as our as a matter of course, that's something that we've talked about in the parks department over the last number of years about, you know, where that would be. We've done quite a few concrete improvements in the parks with ADA parking and sidewalks and that sort of thing. Um, so I do think that's something that in the future we were looking at kind of anyway. So we'd have to figure out what kind of a cost share that would be. We have no costs for that at this point. We don't have any estimates. So that would be something we would come back to the city commission and say, "Hey, this is what we think we could, you know, we'd determine what budget we have in the parks department and how much we could uh take on in if the city commission's moving uh interested in moving forward with us uh participating um in that aspect. Other than that, really the same deal. I think that we discussed in the past. Um, Boys and Girls Club folks are all here. If they if you have want to speak at any point, but if you have questions for staff or questions for them, uh, really what I need today is just, uh, your kind of direction and guidance if you want me to move forward and start drafting a lease, then we can go through that process and kind of get it done. So, Lance is here and the rest of the group is here as well. So, Lance, feel free if I didn't.

Well, I'm Lance Patterson. I'm the CEO of the Boys and Girls Club. Um, give you a quick update. We have started serving kids uh here in Salena, which is is great news. We're serving kids right now at Oakdale uh elementary school and we're up to about 30 kids a day that we're serving. And so uh things are progressing well. We're we're moving right along. And so we're really excited about this this opportunity and the opportunity to get a facility so we can increase that capacity by quite a bit and serve kids not only during the school year, but also then during the summers. So any questions you might have, I'd be happy to answer. Just curious, how many uh kids do you serve in Hutcherson?

Oh, we serve we serve we have about 900 that are registered members and then we serve close to 2,000 through our outreach and registered members in outreach. And we do programs through uh you know partnership with the school district. Um, we also run a work-based learning program that serves some kids, especially during the summers. Um, we do do quite a bit of uh various things outside of just our everyday after school. Cool. What's your time frame on Well, we depending on lots of things, I guess. [laughter]

That's kind of a [clears throat] kind of a big question. Um I think for our first our first thing that needs to get get done is this this site and then um we will uh you know really sit down and start to look at the the site plan decide you know what what the building's going to look like and then um we would like to be able to apply for some grant funding through the maybe Foundation and and look for some things there. We have about half of the money raised for this building right now. So, we're we're ready to go. Um, so I would hope that by, you know, if we can get things approved and and move move forward that by uh this summer we would be, you know, really looking at some groundbreaking and kind of moving forward there.

I don't really have any questions because this is not the first time this has been presented. So, a lot of the thought processing has already been done, and I don't see anything here that's out of line with what we've done to help other projects, uh, or certainly out of line for the benefit from the program. Appreciate that. I don't really have anything to add other than I mean, the more I research this organization, the more enthusiastic I am about it and appreciate the work that you do. And thanks, Yeah, look forward to seeing it in our community.

Yeah, the Salina community has been incredibly supportive. We're excited about uh the opportunities that exist here and and so just with you know, we opened in in January uh at Oakdale and we're already at at 30, which we've we've put a cap on that. And so until we hire more more staff or we call them vision leaders, until we hire more vision leaders, we won't add more more kids, but we already have some on a wait list. And so I think it's going to continue to grow as more and more people hear about it and and we get get more involved. So it's been great. Yeah. I think my questions are more for staff than they are for you guys. Well, I appreciate your time. Yeah. Thank you.

One I'll wait for Mr. Apple. [laughter] I'm Roy Apple and I've been involved with this since it got started. I said one thing I thought we might add that I don't think we talked about before was that we might uh or we we plan to have some community space in the building too where we can have some uh we uh where the people can please you know rent it or something and use it for family things and stuff which I think it'll be there isn't any space like that in Sunset and I think they'd be a a real asset especially. Yeah. Anyway, I just wanted to mention that.

Yeah, that's that's nice because that is a I I did read that because I know we have the friendship center and some other places around, but we there's nothing in this area. So, appreciate you taking that into consideration. So, as far as traffic, this would be you'd be able to access this building without having to go through the pardon. The traffic flow has been worked out. You can you could access it from outside the park. You don't have to go through Sunset Park to get to it. That's correct. And the and I forget the name of that street that ends up trying there, but not that there's going to be a thousand cars coming in and out of Yeah. We don't we don't see any issues with the traffic. Okay.

Yeah. The uh so like on the south side, it looks like the entry to the park would then be through parking lot. Yeah. I think it's going to feel more like a street than a parking lot. So, it's kind of kind of be like just not parallel, uh, you know, head-end parking on a on a street. So, I don't I don't think it's going to feel like a parking lot. I think it'll feel more like a driving lane with with parking on the side. So, will that be that row of parking spots there on the west? Will that be curbed so that you can't drive over or Yeah, I pro I would anticipate it would be. Yeah.

So, and that was my question because I've been out in that area. So that building I believe is there garage doors on that east side. Well um of the building that's currently there and we have parking [laughter] there's the guy commissioners. Um right now the garage doors are only on the north side. There's there's some smaller doors that we use for like carts and stuff, but that we don't usually park on that east side. It's usually just like a small cart or a trailer goes in there. Okay. And there'll be plenty of room to still get in there with that parking that way.

Um there's also, I believe, a restroom that's currently [clears throat] an old restroom that's there. Does that come out? Yeah, most likely it would. It really is in disrepair uh anyway. Doesn't have a whole lot of use. We've got two other restrooms in the park already. So, that was a a discussion. Is there one in that building where the Where's the nearest one? So, that those individuals using the Bondi the baseball fields. Where's the nearest restroom for? Right behind the the shop on that west. Okay. I couldn't remember. There is one in the building, but that's not for public because it's locked up. But there's one right behind where uh the horseshoe pits used to be. It's right right.

Have we updated Have we upgraded that bathroom? If uh we haven't yet, it is on the list on the list. I don't remember exactly when, but we we haven't been to Sunset yet, but we will. It is on the list and it's coming up very soon. Okay. Cuz I know with the basketball courts and the and the softball or baseball fields, they do get some use. So, so Okay. [gasps] Um do you anticipate the parking, you know, along the Bondi field there, will that be concrete or will that be asphalt or is that still

I would anticipate we probably try to go with concrete. I mean that, you know, if we can do concrete, that makes more sense for long-term maintenance. Now, there hasn't really been any at this point. It's just a schematic, you know, overview. So, we haven't done any of the any of the work that needs to be done in terms of drainage and all that stuff. It is a poor drainage area and that's that's I mean that water kind of pools there. So, we'll have to look at that. But, yeah, if we can do concrete, I would anticipate that would be the the best long-term solution for us with the the less the least amount of maintenance long term. Yeah. It's funny because the parking on on both sides of that diamond are the same as they were in 1980 when I used to play on that field. They haven't they haven't spent a penny on not done much there.

So, and and that leads me to one more question that really doesn't deal with this, but the the actual Bondi field itself, I know the the diamond to the south has dirt infield and this one we've kind of let grow over with grass. Is there any thought to bringing that field back into more of a usable because it's pretty rough out there. Yeah. Um, so that actually was a choice that one of the former directors made that he wanted to make more green open space. So he we purposely we irrigated the area uh which I don't believe we still irrigate but it was at the time and then um it was put in Bermuda so that way we could it was low maintenance. But beings it's we're missing that baseball feel. Um there has been talks about at least getting like dirt where there's like a home plate pitching mound and th those things. So there is talk of that but right now we haven't lined out all uh the maintenance that would be entailed and then who would you know how to maintain it properly but yes we would like to look at make it look more

yeah I'd like to see that brought up I mean mainly with the boys and girls club going in there I I can see I can see them using it for kickball and and

yeah we fully intend to take a look at it and see if there's something that we can do to make some upgrades and actually we met with the Mexican-American baseball group folks several times through this kind of whole conversation just to see how we could accomp accommodate them and they have made an offer to come in and help do some improvements. So, we are going to have some discussions with them about, you know, if we could buy materials and they have some folks that that are on their team that are contractors and do some of that kind of work. So, they have offered to try and help spruce up the field a little bit, get it into a little bit better shape. So, I think in conjunction with all this, we will we'll work through some of those conversations with them and see what we can do to make it a nicer field. And I guess since we're really not taking this out of the parks facility, you know, as we call, so we really don't have to go through any of those hoops that we would if we were moving it from the parks. Um,

yep, that's correct. There's no petition and no uh there's no process that we have to go through. Okay. Um, and when we talk about lease, do we have any idea what we say longterm what we're looking at? Yeah, I mean, we haven't really talked about a time frame. I would anticipate the older I get, the less long. Yeah. Generally speaking, things like this, you know, 50, 75, 99 years. I I don't know. We'll we'll talk through some of those things and and figure out what the right

I mean, I Yeah, I also was curious about that. Now, I didn't know if this discussion today would kind of shed light on what people's tolerance was for that, but on this kind of project when they are doing all the fundraising for it and building the structure, um, it's appropriate to do a very long-term lease. I think I agree. And also just kind of to your prior point, not we're not only really the way this lease will be structured, we're not just take we're not only not taking it out of the park system, we're actually going to enhance the park system because we're adding some playground that the Boys and Girls Club is going to be uh open to letting the public use when they're not in use of it. And also, like they said, um it's going to have a facil some meeting rooms that will be available that aren't currently there. So really, this while we're the land is available for Boys and Girls Club, we're enhancing the park system at the same time. So that'll be part of the lease. Okay. And uh yeah, so yeah, I think longterm and the fact that it's going to be open some to the public is makes a lot of sense. Um the the last thing is um because I know we've had agreements with you know like the theater sla and some things that we're not doing any of the in inside maint we don't want to do anything more than kind of what we're doing already today. So that's where the you know snow removal we're already in the park removing snow. So while we're there, we can move it. It's not that big a deal. Mowing the grass, we have big mowers that come through there, so it's not really that big a deal. But certainly nothing on the inside. We would stay away from any any kind of building maintenance, inside maintenance. We would we would not do any of that.

Okay, perfect. Okay, any other questions or comments? Building looks nice. It'll be a enhancement to the park for sure. So, for sure. Mr. Commissioner Rimp, can you hear out loud and clear? Do you have any comments or questions for anybody?

No, I'm um it's [clears throat] my first study session. I'm I'm paying fully attention and the only thing I was wondering about the Boys and Girls Club just not being familiar and the time um would have been before. I don't know if you could I don't know if you have a picture of me if you know I could raise my hand or anything like that but I I was just you know I was kind of curious to what their maybe a sampling of the type of programs they do. I bet there's someone here that can address that. Here he comes.

Yeah. in in in the little packet of information that I I sent on to you guys, it does give a little bit of a an idea [snorts] of what it is, but um really we have [clears throat] four key areas. Academics, health and well-being, character and leadership, and life and workforce readiness. And so we we provide some activities programming uh for for those uh for kids within those areas all the way from kindergarten all the way up through high school. Um right now we're focused on third through fifth grade. When we did our our community needs assessment, what we found is that uh that was an age group that that while there's there's a lot of different resources available in the community, that was an area where there was fewer for that age. And so um we focused on that. Then we plan to grow up with the kids and then as we as we get more capacity, we'll start to serve kids as they as they uh in into the lower grades as well. Um but you know when on a daily basis after school, you can think of it like um kind of like a rec center for just kids. And um we do uh really all of those different areas where we'll have a snack time. We will have a time for them to go out and play and just uh you know play is a really really important part of a child's development. And so we want to make sure we give them a lot of opportunities to do that. um and where where they're they're leading and directing it, we're providing the ba boundaries for that so that they're doing it in a safe way. But then we also bring in things like the academic support, uh homework help, you know, reading, uh math, those types of things that uh will really help them in the school setting. Uh, one of the things that we really try to do is have a strong relationship with the schools so that we know what what the needs are,

what the school is seeing as far as uh, you know, and like like most schools, reading and math is the two areas where where the most most help is needed. But, uh, and I don't anticipate that changing anytime soon. So that's where we spend a lot lot of our time is uh focused on on how can we can support the kids uh in in what they're doing in the school day, but uh reinforce it during the after school setting. And then we do things like little cooking classes. Uh we we're we're doing a uh one of the things that that Heather is the director uh is doing um right now is uh there's a um like a movie uh where they they watch movies and and and rate them and do things like that. They're doing an art art class. Uh so we we really let the kids have a lot of say in what it is that that they get to do. They come up with the ideas and then we try to make it happen for them. But really, it's in those those four areas. Academics, health and well-being, character and leadership, and workforce readiness.

Is there everything I'm hearing is great feedback. I think certainly needed with today's youth. Having interacted, having dealt with a lot of today's youth, I applaud what you guys are trying to do. I know you have a lot of great local people involved and um I also as a kid was involved in a very similar um club or upbringing and I I like the mission. Oh, we're good. Thank you. Is is there transportation provided?

Uh there will be. So, so that is one of the things that we will uh we will do. Those, you know, cost and transportation are the two biggest barriers and those are the two things that we're going to focus on on on breaking down. So, the cost will be kept very affordable. Um and we will provide some some form of transportation. Um what exactly that looks like, whether we own the vehicles and and do that or whether we work with Durham or uh another organization to help provide that, that hasn't quite been set. might be a combination of all all those things. So, but yes. Perfect. Okay. Any other questions or comments?

So, I guess we'd direct staff to to move forward and and uh bring us back, I guess, you know, bring us back numbers as far as for the Yeah, we'll we'll start working on a lease, start work on the land use uh aspects of it and uh bring back uh something for action here. I think we can do it pretty quickly within the next, you know, 30 days probably. So, yeah. Good. Okay. Any other comments from the the group? Okay. Thanks for being here and we will be back at 3:45 for our uh lower Smoky Hills meeting. Okay. Thank you.

Beauty. Heat. Hey, Heat.

[music] Heat. Heat. Heat. Heat.

Heat. Heat. Okay, it is 3:45. I will call to order the lower Smoky Hill Water Supply Access District uh meeting um to order. I will look to staff to see if the open meeting act required notice has properly been provided.

Yes. Thank you. May we have a roll call? Mike Hopic here. Jerry Ivy here. Carl Espang. Tom Tol here. Dr. Trent Davis here. Greg Linkitz here. Doug Remp here. Okay, we have no public hearings. Um, we do need to approve the minutes from the November 10th meeting. Does anybody have any corrections or additions? I move we approve the minutes from November 10th meeting. Second. We have a motion, a second to approve the minutes from the November 10th, 2025 meeting. All those in favor? I oppose.

Okay, that passes. New business. Martha, I'm going to turn it over to you [sighs]

for new business. Uh we need to set our next meeting which will be the review of the 2027 budget and authorized publication of the 2027 budget and we'll review the 2028 budget at that time and um put a couple of dates down there for that. uh July 13th or July 27th um for the public hearing on the budget and approval. So we have a couple we have two different sets of dates to pick times for. Yeah, we need the the 2027 budget authorizations what May 11th or June

May 11th and June 1st and then for the public [snorts] hearing July 13th or July 27th. Are there any dates that do not work for any of the 1 of June doesn't work for me? Okay.

Okay. So, that would leave May 11th. Does that work for everybody else? Yeah. Yeah. Yes. What about the uh public hearing for the budget? July 13th or July 27th? Either one of those a problem for anybody for any date better than the other for you or Carl? I rather the 13th and the 27th, but I can make either work. Okay. Okay. Why don't we have two separate motions? One for the if I could have those. I move we have the uh first meeting on May 11th. I'll second that. Yeah,

we have a motion and a second to review the 2027 budget on May 11th. All those in favor? I I opposed. Okay, that passes. Um, how about the public hearing for the 2027 budget and election of officers? Oh, there's Carl. I'd move that our public hearing on the 2027 budget and approval of the budget and election of officers be held on July 13th. Second.

Okay, we have a motion and a second to approve July 13th as the date for the public hearing on the 2027 budget and approval of the 2027 budget and election of officers. All those in favor? I I opposed. Okay, that passes. Any other business? Martha, you have anything to share with us or

I might share that they're still working on the outfall line at Canopoulos Lake. The intent is to be finished in in March. Um they're trying to really rebuild that outfall. There's a lot of erosion there, putting in rip wrap and concrete uh to hold it in place. And um so that means we're still low water in the lake. We're just right at that conser two foot below conservation at 1461. So uh we're anxious for them to get done and start holding water for for the summer. Don't think I have anything more than that.

Okay. No, the only thing I have to report is is that the good news is that we've cleared all the trees out of the river and got them to Salina. So, you got [laughter] Let's hope that doesn't happen for a long time again, buddy. Yeah, I was going to kick you. [laughter] [clears throat] Okay. Anyone else have anything to add? Okay. If not, I'll accept a motion for adjournment. So moved. Second. Okay. All in favor? I I

opposed. Okay, we are adjourned. We will be back here at 4 o'clock for the regular scheduled meeting. Thank you guys. Hey,

back Heat. Heat.

Hey,

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Heat. Heat. [music] [music] [music]

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out.

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Okay, it is 4:00. I I will call the Salina City Commission meeting for uh Monday, February 23rd to order. I will look to staff for confirmation of the Kansas Open Meeting Act required notice has been properly provided. Yes. Thank you. May we have a roll call? Mayor Hopek here. Commissioner Davis here. Commissioner Ivy here. Commissioner Langitz here. Commissioner Remp here. In case you wondered, uh, Commissioner Rimp is, uh, zooming in, so you'll hear him, but you won't see him today. So, with that, with those that are able, please stand for the pledge of allegiance and a moment of silence.

I pledge algiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Thank you.

Okay, we have no hearing public hearings today. That will bring us to the consent agenda.

Item 4.1, consider approval of the February 9th, 2026 regular meeting minutes. Item 4.2, Two, consider approval of resolution number 26-8337 appointing members to citizen boards, commissions, and committees. Item 4.3, consider resolution number 268335 to declare the city-owned parking lot on the corner of Santa Fe Avenue and Ash Street as a qualified municipal facility under the city of Salina municipal facility naming guidelines. And item 4.4, consider accepting title to a building located in North Third Street rightway north of Elm Street from Matador Cattle Company for the sum of $10. Okay. Is there an item that a commissioner would like to remove from the consent agenda? If not, are there any comments from the public on the consent agenda? Okay, with that, I will bring it back to the commission for action.

I move approval of the consent agenda. Second. We have a motion and a second to approve the consent agenda as uh published. All those in favor? I I opposed. That item passes 50. That will bring us to administration. Item 5.1. Consider approval of resolution number 26-8336 advising the issuance of IRBs for a sales tax exemption on construction materials for the Kansas Municipal Energy Agency. Okay, I'll look to staff or Mitch. You got me today. Uh okay,

mayor. Um glad to be with you all today. talk about uh this uh this project with the Kansas Municipal Energy Agency. I'm get the name out a kept throwing me off a few times, but agency. Uh this is a notfor-profit organization that has provides uh services to um over 80 municipalities across the state of Kansas. Uh we've got a team here today. Uh Tyson McGreer and Sam Mills are both here today with the company. will hear from Tyson next and then Sarah Steele who is with Gilmore and Bell the city's attorney will be here and we'll be able to answer uh the technical questions that'll that'll come up from from this project. This is a little bit different. It's not the traditional full-blown uh property tax abatement. All the company is asking for is sales tax the abatement on the sales tax for the project which is estimated to be about a quart of a million dollars. That's cumulative. That's counting the state, the city, county, other taxing agencies. Uh so city probably is around the $7,000 amount uh that would be coming to the city. So the company is uh has purchased property from um basically the chamber of commerce. It's their foundation um behind uh on Progress Drive. Uh they've acquired 15 acres. They're going to build on five of those with this initial project. Uh there'll be three buildings, an office and a line shop where they'll be able to keep their vehicles. Uh have meeting space that's about 8,500 square ft. Uh they'll then there's a fab shop where they will build equipment, assemble equipment, which is 4,850 ft. And then there'll be a cold storage warehouse building that's 4,500 square ft that they'll have um on this

property. Uh they currently are employing 20 people here in Salina. Uh they acquired the former um I get my name right here. Um well I know it's before the company you all

uh midstate mid yeah midstate injury right several years ago and that's that company dates back to 1952 um here in Salina. So, uh, included on the blue sheet, uh, we outlined the number of jobs, uh, the wage levels the company pays. Uh, definitely these are nice paying positions, well above average, uh, for the, uh, the new positions that they'll be employing. And, uh, at this point, I think really you need to hear from, uh, from Tyson. He can talk more about it and then we can answer additional questions from Sarah and myself, uh, as we move forward. So, you'd come up. Mitch,

thank you. I appreciate you having us here today to talk about our project. Uh Mitch did a great job kind of outlining what the project is. Uh again, like he said, we're a nonprofit quasi municipal energy agency made up of 89 members across the state. We literally are in every corner and in between. Um our mission, our vision is to help communities not unlike yourself that own their own electric utility. Um we help them specifically this division that'll be in Salina with line work uh building substations, engineering, skater work um substations generation, that sort of stuff. So this facility will support those activities um across the state. Again, when we purchased Midstates at almost 6 years ago, they had seven or eight employees. We're up to 20 now and expect to grow that at least by a couple employees a year for the next 5 years is what we're projecting. So, uh the demand is great for for our services around the the state. Um again, like Mitch said, um we're we'll be moving from a facility north of the railroad tracks off of Santa Fe. Um expanding greatly. Um we have just ran out of space with all the employees and then the the needed equipment. Um we do hold we've got a a goodsized meeting room space. We currently hold two to three meetings around the state um because we don't have the space. Those likely will be um housed here um every month and then we've got some bigger ones quarterly and and semiannually um that that likely will be here in Salina now that we have the facility. So um that's kind of who we are. Um and Mitch kind of talked about the facility. We've got Sam Mills here as well. um if there's questions specifically about the the the facility or what each one of the spaces mean or what they do. Um but with that I would would uh open it up for questions of me

or andor Sam on the project. Okay. Any questions for Commissioner Rimp? Any questions? I [clears throat] I have comments but I think they'll be coming in a little bit later. Okay. Okay. I think I do have I know I have some questions for bond counsel probably and some things. It's where my questions would come. So, okay. If something pops up, okay,

good afternoon. How are you doing? Doing well. Could you give us your name? I know. Sarah Steel. Thank you, Sarah. With Gilmore and Bell out of Witchah. We serve as bond council to the city. Right. Could I was my m I'm not very good at math, but I couldn't come up with the quarter of a million dollars. I mean, I'm trying to figure out because it shows construction at 6.3 million. So, how did how did the 250,000? So, that's for state, county, and city. Correct. Okay. And what what's the number that's calculated off of then? Because it's anticipated construction costs, correct?

Typically, it it is about half of what the overall project cost will be because it only applies the sales tax exemption only applies to materials that are subject to sales tax. Labor on new construction is already exempt from sales tax. So it my rule of thumb and I I apologize I don't know how they came up with 6.3 but my rule of thumb is usually take 50% of the total cost and that's materials that are being acquired.

Okay said estimated construction cost of 6.3 million contributing to a total project investment of 8.5 million. I think that there's some some equipment and furnishings that are going into it that would total up to the eight and a half. Am I correct? Land as well. Land. Oh, and the cost of land. But none of the exact none of the equipment is being tax exempt. Just the construction materials. Correct.

Okay. So, I just I was trying to work into the 200 I couldn't come up with a number from the numbers that were on the report. And so then I took the if I'm right and I'm looking to staff. So if we're looking at a total tax abatement of 250,000, ours is about 135.5% of that which would be that 78,000 or whatever. That's correct. Okay. For the city, that's provided they buy all their materials in salina. Correct. No. anything they buy,

they may be subject also to a destination tax equal to the amount paid of taxes in Salina because everything would be shipped here. Okay. Yeah. So taxes are paid at the point of delivery. So anything that's delivered here will we will pay [clears throat] they'll pay that tax rate. So even when I come up again 250,000 is the total tax abatement and I think we're only like 13.5%. So that comes up to about 34,000. Yeah, that's so it would be about 30 for us, 34 35,000 for us and then another 35,000 for the county.

So that's where Okay. So and then the rest of it is state money maybe a little bit. It's a little bit higher. So county's 1 and a half% we're at 1.25%. Oh, okay. And then there's I mean there's a odd calculation of how city county sharing happens that's based on property taxes and lots of other things. So I can't give you an exact I mean so our [snorts] portion is generally anywhere from 13 to 15% of the total. It's just it's hard to it's hard to tell you exactly what that will be because it kind of it varies depending on how the the revenue sharing works for and the and the other thing from reading this is this is because of the their structure they're they're exempt from property tax. Correct. That's correct. Okay.

I was just going to add that the $250,000 number was provided to the company by Hutton. That was based on calculations they did by Hutton. Yes. Okay. That's who's their contractor. Okay. And I guess they answered a little bit of my question. So you'll be bringing individuals into the community on a on a monthly basis for meetings. Is that Sure. Um we we do we typically we've got three different segments of our um communities that do we do power supply for. We currently host most of those at the KMU facility in McFersonen, but once we have this facility, we'll start hosting those at our own um facilities. Are there like one day, two-day meetings or

Yeah, at least one day. We do some annual stuff that's a one or two day meeting. Um so yeah, we'll start all hosting those at our own facility instead of renting facilities. So I guess those were my questions. Does anybody else have any questions or comments? [clears throat] You have 20 employees now. Are these jobs and salaries listed here? Are those going to be additional employees or is that what you have now? That's what we have now. Likely the employees we hire will be in that those job titles whether it's laborers or or engineering.

Do you have any idea like how many you'll be looking to hire in the near like say 10 years? Yeah, we so we we project and of course it's all off demand at least two a year for the next five years. Um but we are extremely busy. So if we have the opportunity to add more staff and support it's all driven off our our needs of our communities. So if the needs grows, we definitely will continue to add staff. Yeah, because your report showed or our blue sheet showed four four new employees the first year to the second to the third is what they were projecting. So

yeah, we've actually just hired two people that are starting two additional and starting in March. So yeah, Commissioner Mayor Hopkins.

Yes, go ahead. I I want to say that having taken a look through all the materials and um just trying to get my mind around it, one of the things I struggle with is KMEA is a nonprofit yet they have enough income for an average salary of $110,000 for their employees. I would think it'd have to be a Salina Regional and and perhaps it's not even that great at Salina Regional for an average income of $110,000. And I came up with that number from they shared [clears throat] all the mid they shared all the ranges for their eight different positions of employee they have. And if I take a mid-range of each of those and average it out, it comes to 110,000 a year. And it was mentioned earlier by Mitch and it's mentioned by the in the materials that they tend to pay towards the higher end of the ranges. So that leads me to believe that their average pay for a um quote unquote nonprofit is north of 110,000 which is probably triple the average taxpayer in Salina what their annual income is. I I I struggle with I guess foregoing money coming into the city, money being taken out of the taxpayers's pockets when your average income is over triple what the average citizen gets.

Okay. Any other comments? Are you are you still there, Commissioner Rimp? Oh, yes. Any any other comments? No, I I again I'm just trying to get my head around that why we should forgo that income as a taxpayer in the community. Again, with with triple the average income, triple plus Go ahead. Come on. We'll let you address that.

Yeah, I can. Sorry. Um, yeah, some of that we we compete directly for employees with the utility industry. Um, not only for for high level engineering folks, but also a lot of our folks are linemen and the lineman industry um that that is an industry that continues to struggle finding qualified people. So, we do compete with them for finding folks. So, um we do pay really well. Um we take pride in that to help support our communities um with highly skilled people, not only engineering staff, but also the linemen and and uh um [snorts] those folks. So um yeah, we we do we do pay really well and we're proud of that. So

Well, I think that's great that you're proud of it, but I would think that the city could use a sales tax, too. Well, I I guess I look at it, it's a not forprofit, but you've got to look at the type of jobs, you know, that are being, you know, when you look at engineering and and linemen, those those are jobs that probably I'm guess obviously uh demand a higher salary. They command a higher rate of pay.

And I and I guess as a as a community, we always talk about we want higher paying jobs to come to the community. So I would think this would be the type of jobs we want to come to our community. So um uh we always talk about you know earning wage and so I think that you know the fact these are um above the earning w you know what the word I'm looking for is that triple above the living wage living wage. Yeah. So

the county ever choice. So, um, yeah, the the the I guess the the the point the only thing I kind of struggle with a little bit is that, uh, you know, a lot of times we do abatements and a lot of times it's on IRBs for for, um, property tax knowing that we get property tax in the future. That's the only thing here is there's no property tax to be collected in the future because of the the makeup of the of the of the corp of the company. Um, and I guess Mitch, there was it it states in here that there's not a it's by not required by law to do the economic impact analysis. You know, we've we've always had either Fort Hay State or Witchah State do a impact analysis when we do something like this. Could we address that?

This statutoily it is not required when all you're considering is a sales tax exemption. those um analysis are really geared toward a property tax exemption that goes across the board. The sales tax piece of it is very minimal. So, I'm not quite sure that it would even be possible. That's what I'm trying to figure out how you would Yeah. do right. I just It just said it was statutoily it wasn't required, but I didn't know if one was even available if you wish to have one.

Not to my knowledge. No. Um but again it's because they don't need one under the statute. That's only if you have a property tax exemption. So for example, we'll be bringing back Lee Hardware lofts to you. That's only sales tax. Um so there are a few that the city has pending that are sales tax only. Um but they're in a different category. not being a municipal agency like this is. So,

any questions or comments? that look generally um like the IRB to attract new businesses and bring people into town and um I'm struggling with that as few employees as it's bringing in and the um also the the no property tax down the road that we're going to see that usually incentivizes doing these. Um that would be my biggest thing against it right now.

Yeah. If I could address the comment about the the existing industry versus new industry. Uh the majority of the abatements we provided over the last 10 years have all been to our existing companies. Swans, Great Plains Kabota, so new operation. Um, Geor Probe, RIM, uh, Rimco. Um, I'm trying to think of some others. Um, pardon, Superior. Superior.

Superior obviously existing. The only one that was new, which uh was the seed company, Beck's hybrids seed. So, um, the majority of new jobs come from your existing industries. over 80% on average come from your existing companies and we can look at our numbers over the years and that's definitely the case here. So um in fact in our full-blown uh when we do the full-blown comparison uh to calculate that abatement amount you know we put in positives pluses for those existing companies because we feel like existing companies have been here for many years supporting local economy that we want to support that. So that's part of that. But I I appreciate your questions and concerns.

Can I just follow that line of thought? Yes, sir. With the example, I'm sorry, had that off. Uh following your line of thought with the examples you gave, I think one of the selling points in granting the abatements was there was easy to see projected increase in revenue and job growth over the years. Mhm. Uh is this the type industry that you expect to grow much? I mean just by its very nature is it you know so many employees now and wouldn't be much. I'm asking out ignorance now but it would be about the same five or 10 years from now or

that that'll be a question for them. In general, if you're looking at the electrical demand we're seeing across the country due to all sorts of AIdriven projects, you know, there is going to be a tremendous increase in electrical related positions from what we're seeing in our profession. So, I would say yes. So, but I'll let uh let Tyson

Yeah. [clears throat] Again, we're we're we're municipally owned. So cities like yourself that have electric utilities. So demand is driven by their demand. But we have seen an exponential growth since KMA has purchased Midstates. Again, when we purchased them, there was I think seven employees total. They're up to 20 and then we're expected to grow that even more. Um I guess maybe you know you know it's a great answer to my question. I think my problem is with the person asking the question to me what what what situation causes your business to increase

um not only potential growth of our communities and and we've got some communities that are members that are growing but also um we talked about um one of our the biggest growth sides of our business is linemen. um those a lot of the smaller communities have a hard time finding qualified linemen. So they're looking to us to provide those services. So that's an area that continues to expand for us and we provide those services through our communities. Not just consult, you're actually providing direct Yeah. services.

So we we kind of have two um we were really kind of born on a power supply. We helped communities develop and find power supply. Um, you know, coal plants, wind farms, all the different things. Um, since purchasing Midstates, now we're actually boots on the ground. We're building power lines, substations. Um, we've got 30 around 30 generating units going in across the state. There were we're we're facilitating those construction. So, yeah, we do we do everything from building poles to lines, switch gear, all that stuff. So, and a lot of the communities that you work for, correct me if I'm wrong, are smaller communities that just don't have access to, you know, a large population center. So, when I was a city administrator in a small town in western Kansas, we had power generation and we used KMA for these types of services. And it got to the point in that community where we could not provide the service that we really couldn't do it at all and we ended up getting out of the power game altogether. So KMEA provides that service to those communities that just wouldn't be able to do it without without having kind of centrally located people. They're able to live here in Salina and go to to go to western Kansas and work. So it it allows them to kind of get a higher quality or more people where there's population centers. So I I do think it is a it's a pretty important services for the small communities across across the commu the the state. not only is not only in in just doing the line work but also lots of training and like they even provide training that we attend as a city of Salina. So different kind of dig safe and all all that sort of stuff. So will you be doing any training here?

We probably won't. Um KA does a lot of the or uh I'm sorry KMU does a lot of the the training water wastewater that sort of stuff. We may do some depending on um you know what the demand is. Again, we're driven by the demands of our our municipal members. So, if they say, "Hey, we're really lacking in this," we'll try to put a program together. Um, but you're not the company actually generating the power, or you're more servicing. We more service. We don't actually own

You don't actually own uh generation. um our our municipal members own generation and primarily purchased electricity through PPAs, purchase power agreements um off of larger facilities. So So if I was a small community and I wanted power I make I just use their name ever you know to produce the power and where do you fit in in between the power plant producing energy and the end user?

Yep. So we we can help facilitate that agreement. um a lot of the large um generating units, coal plants, nuclear plants, wind farms, um they don't they don't want to sell a half a megawatt or a megawatt to a a small community. Our average size community is like 2,800. So we primarily are small communities all the way. Garden City is our largest by population. Um so we're primarily small communities. Um, we fit in to where we can take the the latest was a solar farm uh being built in uh Pratt County. We were able to take 36 of those members that wanted to buy a little bit of power off that solar farm where normally they couldn't just go individually purchase that. So we we end up facilitating that agreement. So and that again that's just one side of our organization. the side that will be located here in Salena is more your boots on the ground lineman um type of individuals. So

yeah, I guess Mr. Mayor, if I could Yes.

I I I think they're the services they provide are of value without question to the smaller communities around the state. Um, I'm going to go back to all the other companies that Mitch talked about though with the IRBs that all of those other one the entities he mentioned the Schwans, the Kabotas, the Remco, the all of those at at least we were able to look forward to future property tax growth once the abatement ended. And in this particular case, it doesn't end. [clears throat]

And it and in those cases um commissioner, we were giving property tax abatements too um for what 10 years. Yes. So this that that's my point that eventually the property taxes came online, right? Yeah. We we're here as more of a peer. We're we're we're really like a municipal city. Um so yeah, we're more of a peer to Salina than we are a an actual for-profit company. So just to clear up any confusion, then you currently pay property tax or you exempt?

We don't. Um we're exempt. Um now we do plan to sell the current facility um off Santa Fe. So that would be um whoever buys it likely will go back on the tax roles. So the the property you you own out off of Waterwell Road, are you developing it all or is there room for future expansion

on our actual prop? Yeah. So we're we're building on the and this might be more of a question for Sam. We're build on building on five acres of it. We purchased 10. Um our executive board did not want to get us tied down. We've had a lot of conversations about other services that may require um additional land. We're not quite there yet, but uh um as those develop or the need arises, we we could expand into that rest of that acreage. So, would this would your project proceed forward with or without the money? The the

Yeah, we're we're going to move forward. Um, you know, again, we're just asking, you know, any help just in turns is less less dollars that we I don't blame you if I ask. Yeah. All all that does is lower the amount we owe, which is less that our municipal members have to in turn pay back. So,

okay. If not, we will open it up the public for comments. Is there anyone from the public like to comment? Okay. If not, I'll bring it back to the commission for further discussion or a motion. As quiet as you guys have been a long time. Um, I this I guess no one else is going to talk. I'll talk for a minute. I guess you this is is not a a no-brainer. I think we've pointed out the pros and the cons. Um, I was concerned when I I thought the the 250,000 was the salinus portion of this. And that's why I started doing the math when I when I I look at it and and 37,500 approximately is our is the sales tax we're giving up and as a as a county we're giving up, you know, approximately 75,000 let's say maybe. Um I I do like the fact that they're bringing in good paying jobs, you know, uh and right now they're they're looking at eight is I mean which but they've already brought in several since they've made their ACU ac acquisition six years ago. So I think they've been good for the community. So um I can see both sides of it. Um,

of these I I was assuming these are already or how many how many of these jobs are actually already here? We've got it right at 20. 20 jobs is what they said. The ones listed here are already are already here then. Yeah. Yeah. Okay. Yeah. And then they're going to if you look they're planning on bringing in according to this eight more in the next three years. Yeah. Most of the new jobs will just fit in those job titles. Okay. for Mitch. How does that follow in your rubric for [snorts] I know you have a scheme formula that you plug that into.

Because of this not being the normal, we didn't go through that process of of looking at them. But in general, these would blow out the wage levels of any of the jobs we've had on any of these projects uh that we've you all have funded before. So, um, these are, you know, good quality quality jobs. It's just the size of it's a smaller project, so it wouldn't earn the category check offs that would get them to say 100% of the abatement, but that's of course we're talking sales tax versus property tax. So, it's a a big difference of what they're asking for. And with Superior Plumbing, the smaller project we've approved.

Yes, it's Yes. Uh for their their estimates, uh five jobs and in fact, we had a meeting with a potential customer that would far exceed that number that would be a tenant in that building potentially. And Superior, we didn't do a full abatement. We only did it on a portion of the building that was going to be a new build. Um, A and B machine is the most recent one that we've done. That was a probably a little bit larger than this, but not not a lot. And we did abate property taxes 100% on that one. Yes, that was 6 something million. Um, but you know, those are good paying good paying jobs as well.

I guess it's easier to feel threatened that a company won't come and you want to give the abatement before they start [laughter] or commit to the project. And that that was my earlier comment about having you know additional bonuses to existing companies because uh again we you know feel like we need to support our existing companies even more than trying to recruit somebody in I looked to Sarah it's when it comes to the bait it's all or none correct

yes that is correct you cannot pick and choose different jurisdictions or percentages on the sales tax exemption. Property tax, you have a lot more leeway, right? Okay. Thank you. And where does this position us as far as setting precedent? So, this is lowering at least one of those bars in that rubric. Does this pose problems in the future? I think Sarah had mentioned the the hotel the the um Leeloff Baze. No, what's a hotel project?

Okay. So, I I it's it's definitely a different project because of their not forprofit status. I mean, that's to me that's the big the big difference. Um I would think that we're not going to come across any other not forprofits that pay this kind of wage level. that we'd want to even bring forward. Uh this is not uh a chamber of commerce or a economic development organization or a United Way type project. This is a this is very unique but uh I and all our projects are pretty much taken one one by one when they come before our group and before we recommend you know make a recommendation to the city commission. And what do you know off the top of your head what notice the vote was five to two to move this. Do you know what the objections were?

I think it was a concern of setting a precedent to some degree. That was a concern of two of the two of the members. One one in particular I can't really say. The second one he didn't [clears throat] make any comment other than his vote. Okay. So, I guess an analogy would be if one of our larger charitable organizations wanted to buy a new building, expand, and bring a few other folks in. They could say, "Well, we're kind of an now to this project." And

that would be I I like having that type business in town, don't get me wrong. I'm just uh Well, that would be a question under state statute. Is that a qualifying company or a business that would justify that? So, there has to be that's that's a Sarah question. Okay. I didn't say last night, so I can [snorts and laughter]

there the industrial revenue bonds may be used by virtually any company. if it is a true 501c3, there's some federal tax code benefits that also could come into play. Um, but this is certainly something that you could offer if if a notfor-profit is is expanding or, you know, I'm thinking like the YMCA or something like that. um [clears throat] they can use this as a tool if uh if they so choose. They may otherwise be exempt from property taxes, but they may not be exempt from sales tax. There are a number of exceptions to the sales tax, but um unfortunately uh the Department of Revenue isn't looking at this as a a municipality. Um, for example, if you were building a building for the city of Salina, um, there is a specific exemption. Um, and they didn't look at it that way here. So, not sure why. Will they have problems with the sales tax being exempt the same department of revenue? I mean, does that cause

correct? Correct. Would that does that cause problems down the road for this agency? Right. It's it's just this project that was denied.

Okay. Well, sounds like there are enough peculiarities about this case that it might almost seem right. uh I guess the quasi municip I don't know what the adjective would be but uh quasi municipal nature um [clears throat] you know that that weighs heavily in uh in my thinking forward to this but I I'm still a little troubled in other words who do we say no to from going forward I Why would I build a building in Salena without getting my IRBs first? Um, and that single amount of money by itself is not going to break our budget, but if everything we build, we don't get any tax from. Uh, it hurts a little bit. Uh, just need somebody to talk with me out loud here. I mean,

I told you it's not it's not a slam dunk either way. So, I think if you have if you want to make emotion one way or the other, yeah, I will generally I I will say the EDO has put thought into what they've done and uh to your credit uh I can't say you've steered us wrong. If you have, I can't remember when you did, but uh so I won't say you've had a perfect record, but it's it's pretty good in my memory right now. So, I'm going to move to approve resolution 26-8336.

I'll second that. Okay, we have a motion and a second to approve resolution 268336. All those in favor say I. I. Opposed? Nay. I Okay, or nay.

That fails. two to three. And I guess the reason I voted nay is it's it seems like we're giving other municipalities a break but yet cutting oursel out of the of the loop a little bit. So, and uh so it again uh the fact that a lot of times when we approve these we're always looking at the future earnings and although I do think these are really good jobs I just think this is I think of some of the a little bit what you said commissioner what what doors are we opening in the future. So, so anyway, so

ironically, what what kind of convinced me is the big picture overall is it does help fortify the the infrastructure in rural Kansas and maybe just us being good neighbors, so to speak, but uh I guess that's not our job. As long as they keep shopping here.

Okay, we have no development business. Is there any other business individual like to bring before us the commission? I do have one. Um, again, I always like to talk about positive things going on. I did uh um look at the uh today I was out by the uh the county fairgrounds and the the egg building and and her and Kinwood Hall and all those and you know they I think finally got everything kind of done compared what year was that we were working on that agreement was that that was precoid oh yeah it's been [laughter] four five six years when we started that

but I think they've I think they've done a good job of of really cleaning up those buildings and it really looks nice and they've done a good job of blending it in with the with the Ter. Um I've been following that closely. The prior city manager asked me to basically assess that on a yearly basis. Uh I met with the assistant county administrator couple months ago um uh on this because the agreement requires an update on the progress of that. They have made very significant progress. they were finishing up a few minor details in some of the buildings. Um it's been striking to see the difference even since I started uh with some of those buildings with the new windows and the landscaping and and uh one question that that they hear a lot is you know why aren't you paving it and they can't because the horses do not like paved streets. That's the reason why that area out there is not paved. Um, however, there has been a lot of concrete work done on the sidewalks on the front, some of the entrances and otherwise, but there there are no plans to pave all of that area strictly for the reason that the horses do not like walking on those harder surfaces. But, uh, that was never called for in the original plan, but that's just a question that we get a lot. Um, the the windows on the A building and otherwise have been replaced. There's been a lot of tuck pointing going on and uh just numerous uh you know paint uh repairs to sighting uh a number of repairs and like I said as of about two months ago they were finishing up some of the last things. So I I believe they have completed all of the required steps under the agreement.

It looks that way.

I did have two things that they're fairly easy. Uh this past Saturday, the NAACP had a fundraiser at the temple. And uh when you gussy up that old building, it actually is a very classy place to have a a fairly formal uh event. Uh so if you have any extra dollars that you want to donate to a very worthy cause, uh the building does need still some hardcore structural and cosmetic uh work. Uh but you know consider it for your your social events. Uh but 100 years of wear and tear has has aged some parts of it. Uh or if you just want to volunteer there this is an unsolicited uh endorsement. Uh but it's it's it's a fun place to have an event. The second thing is the vote on the election for the uh BSL legislation officially is tomorrow, which means the ballots have to be in tomorrow

by noon. By noon. So it's too late to mail it. [clears throat] Uh so it would have to be dropped off in person before noon tomorrow. That was it. Yeah. And I um and on the the uh temple parking lot, I think there's still that's on the agenda to still pave. I know the lights look great. They really help the entryways look good. The the parking lot's still in dire need of those lights are very very bright there. They're nice. Yeah, looks good.

Okay. Anything else? If not, that will bring that will bring us to citizens forum. Uh we ask you to uh come forward and make your comments and please keep them to three minutes or less. Is there anyone from the public that would like to address us? Steve Steve and Salana and it's more of a invite our uh VFW local VFW. It's going to be 100 years chartered March 19th. We're planning on having a ceremony there. Don't exact have the exact times or anything. We'll also have a a dinner that night on that Thursday. Uh we're probably going to do karaoke and and some uh maybe some dancing, some music on Friday, but the big thing is going to be on Saturday the 21st. We've got a dinner. We've got a band coming in and we're also do a ceremony there and I'd like to invite you all out in the community out to come and celebrate 100 years of the VFW being here in Sina, Kansas. Okay.

Thank you very much.

[snorts]

Tony Johnson Salena. I just wanted to clarify a couple points uh made uh two weeks ago in relation to the credit card usage. The curtains with the redacted shipping address. I I'm she was very forthright and open about what they were and whatnot. And I have no reason to disbelieve what she told me. You know, sometimes my comments are a little my brain gets ahead of my mouth, but and the same with the parks and recck director. Uh the Airbnb, while like I said, I don't agree with all this, but the Airbnb, he said he was at a work conference, and again, I have no reason not to believe what he told me. So anyway, that's all I had. Thank you. [clears throat] Good afternoon.

Your name, please. And where? Kim Hill. Um, born and raised right here in Salena. Um, before my time starts, I've got stuff written out and I'm just going to read from it because I don't want to leave anything out if that's okay.

Yeah, that counts as your three. So, yeah, go ahead and read. Okay. Yeah, that's part of your three minutes. I was here in December of 2024 bringing to your attention the issues with our animal shelter and here I am again. During that meeting, I brought to your attention the abuse and neglect by shelter staff documented by veterinarians along with a packet that detailed um vindictive type behavior and directives given to shelter staff by Mon'nique um with the friends of the shelter. This was also presented with the animal shelter advisory board. And let's not forget the volunteer that was viciously attacked. Now, here we are with another failed state inspection that included documentation of inhumane euthanasia practices. When is enough going to be enough for you to act? This practice is disgusting. Even veterinarians and salina, try to avoid it unless the animal is sedated first. You can no longer ignore all this with the previous abuse and neglect cases that have been documented now in humane treatment. It would be really nice if you would act and do something. We've got a wonderful um organization with Prairie Paws that is wanting to come in and take over and run our shelter. I for one solely support that. Um, if any of us citizens treated these animals the way that they some have been treated by some of the staff at our animal shelter, we would already be criminally investigated and possibly facing criminal charges. And so with that, I wouldn't mind having a criminal investigation opened up into the staff at our animal shelter on the way they treat the animals. The animal shelter advisory board passed a motion at their last meeting about Prairie Paws to have Mr. Woods bring it to you in consideration for them taking over our shelter. Um, they are open 7 days a week. Their

shelters are clean. They don't smell like feces and animal urine. And they're open 7 days a week, which is completely different than our shelter. There is outrage within our community over this. Not only did media outlets who cover central and western parts of Kansas cover this story, but so did the eastern part of the state. And it is spreading like wildfire. And so is the outrage on it right now. The best way I can even compare it is when the Michael Vic situation came out. People are that mad. I for one would prefer a dog or a cat 99% of my days compared to humans. And that's the way a lot of people feel. These animals at our shelter don't have a voice, but I do. And I know there's some others that have voices, too, that are going to be speaking today. Um, we are asking you to please start taking some type of action to improve our shelter and to have those animals treated that the way they deserve because they don't deserve that at all. Um,

thank you. That's all I've got. you respond. Good job.

Good afternoon, commissioners. My name is Sue Nickel. Some things in life can be taken in stride. Others are so deeply troubling that they move you to action. For me, this is one of those matters. On February 11th, 2026, I attended the animal control advisory and appeals board meeting. after reading a letter from an anonymous witness alleging that three puppies were euthanized via intracardiac injection without dis sedation on December 16th, 2025. I understand that those puppies were euthanized due to parro virus. The presence of illness, however, does not eliminate the requirement for humane procedure. During that meeting, Miss Andy Murphy stated in response to a general question about euthanasia practices, "We will always sedate and explained that sedation was administered but not properly recorded in the system." Later, Mr. Jacob Wood stated that all drug use is logged in a separate report and that recent DEA inspections were passed without issue. If that is the case, then the documentation should exist. And if the documentation exists, it should be produced. On February 17th, I submitted a request under the Kansas Open Records Act for the DEA controlled substance logs reflecting sedatives and anesthetics administered on December 16th, 2025. I have received no response. This is not about rumor. It is not about personalities. It is about verification. If sedation was administered, the logs will confirm it. If it was not, it's a

matter of serious concern. I am a firm believer in due diligence. The truth regarding the euthanasia of these three puppies deserves to come out. I think the public has the right to know. The documentation will either confirm what was stated publicly or it will not. Either way, this commission has a responsibility to ensure the truth is known. The public's trust is not maintained through verbal asurances. It is maintained through records. If confidence in current operations cannot be restored through transparency and accountability, then it's time to seriously consider whether transferring operations to Prairie Paws is in the best interest of the animals and the citizens of Salina. The community deserves clarity. Our animals deserve humane treatment and both deserve oversight. Thank you.

Thank you, Miss Nichols. Uh Michelle Timson, Minneapolis. I [clears throat] would like to start by responding to the city manager's comment that I quote, "Most of the interactions of the animal control officers have with the people are negative." So on that side of it, on the animal control, it's a tough job. Yes, animal control can be a tough job. No one here is denying that. But it does not have to be mostly negative. For many years, this shelter and its leadership worked intentionally to build positive relationships with the community. The previous director and shelter staff understood something critical. When the public sees the shelter as welcoming, compassionate, and engaged, interactions change, trust grows, cooperation improves, and the tone shifts. This community has seen what that looks like. Under prior leadership, the shelter held events that brought families in and built connections, including a Christmas parade where the volunteers would dress up the dogs and the shelter truck would pull the decorated trailer with them on it, a decorated sleigh with Christmas photos with your pets, off-site adoptions at local businesses. The staff would visit the schools, organizations, and give educational events. Volunteers would host dog wash events at the shelter. They would have lowcost microchip chip clinics at the shelter. And perhaps most importantly, the shelter was open and welcoming. Members of the public could walk through the kennels, interact with the dogs, and there were treat cups attached to the kennels. So, vis visitors could give a dog a small treat and make a connection. That environment creates positive interactions. Community members didn't just see animal control during crisis. They saw compassion and action. Running a large animal shelter is not simply an administrative job. It is a

life and death responsibility. A person in charge is overseeing euthanasia decisions, medical protocols, disease control, behavioral assessments, and overall humane treatment of every animal that comes through those doors. Without formal training in animal welfare or shelter medicine, leadership may not recognize pain, fear, stress, behaviors, or updated humane standards. And when that knowledge is missing, animals suffer. National guidelines, including those published in the American Veterary Medical Association, are science-based and continually updated. It is not enough to rely on tradition or say, "This is how we've always done it." Humane practices evolve. Standards improve. Leadership must evolve with them. A shelter director should have documented training or education in animal welfare because these decisions are not theoretical. They affect living beings every single day. When we talk about accountability, this is what we mean. Expertise matters, education matters, and humane leadership matters most. I would also respectfully ask this commission to consider inviting Prey Paw's animal shelter to step in and take over management of our animal shelter. Please reconsider this. Thank you.

Thank you. Ben Winhold Salina. Let's start off with uh partnerships that are running city- owned entities. OVG360 runs a Tony Event Center. The amended 2025 budget has $900,000 for contractional services. I don't know how much of this is for OVGB, OVG360 because of other contractors, but it's $900,000. Salina Tennis Alliance and Kansas Westland University, they run the tennis courts. 2026 budget, $40,000. Theater Salina runs the Salina community theater. With that, they have a 50-year guarant a 50-year program with the city for maintenance and operation agreement until 207. Other part other partnerships in Salina, Sina Area Chamber of Commerce, Sina Community Economical Development Organization, Sina Airport Authority, Sina Downtown, Inc., Sina Renew Center is the newest one, Sina Baseball Enterprises, Friends of the River. That's just to name a few. The animal services budget for 2026 is $914,000 $914,934 with wages and benefits for the employees at $657,699. Prairie Paw wants to come in here. They want to take it over. They are a privatelyowned 501c3 organization, not for-profit with estimated 2600 animals under their care

in 2024. This is an important number because with this figure is needed to get grants that they can go for as a not forprofit. The more under their care, the better opportunity they get for higher grants. They're now running Ottawa, Manhattan, and Emporia. and Emporia's numbers, their fee that they're charging Emporia for 2026 is $161,64. And of course, the city has has to still be on board with all the other stuff that they main to maintain as far as costs and everything. Uh but at least with Prairie Paws, the care of the animals is much more better. And if you go this route, you free up parks and wrecks for all of the other things that they have on their plate. And one of the big things coming up is a river renewal project. So in my as as Mayor Hoppywood put it, this is a no-brainer. Prairie Paws needs to come to this town and talk to Salina about taking over the animal shelter. Thank you.

Homework. Thank you. Anyone else? Just a question of the city manager. We keep hearing that the city failed the last in fact. Has the city officially failed to be have we have received a notice from a could be failed? So we did receive a a inspection report that said that had a I had five or six complaints and then it did say it was unsatisfactory. So there will be a reinspection that happens. Generally that happens about a month later. Okay. And that would have been after December the December or before that.

Yeah. Yeah. It was it was in mid January. I don't know. Mid I don't know the date off the top of my head. Okay. And I if I if I could Yeah. Go ahead. Well, I guess I think it would be [clears throat] it'd probably be in our best interest to let the public know that we are going to have this discussion in two weeks. I don't know if Yeah, I mean we are going to we are going to have

Yes, the animal I mean the animal control advisory board did make a recommendation that we move it on to discuss with the city commission and it will be at a future meeting. Um I'm anticipating probably at the end of March um at this point. Yeah. Okay. So yeah, because that was recommended. So we will and again there's multiple things to look at. So we'll be doing that in a in a study session. So anyone else? Okay. If not, I will accept a motion to adjurnn. Move to adjurnn. Second. All those in favor? I I I Okay.