City Commission - Regular Meeting

Okay, it is four o'clock. I will call the September 14th, 2026 Linus City Commission meeting to order. First, I look to staff for confirmation of the Kansas Open Meeting Act required notice has been properly provided.

Before we do the Pledge of Allegiance, there's something I'd like to share with everyone. Last Friday, it was an honor for me to be a part of the 25th 9-11 Remembrance Ceremony last Friday at the new Fire Station No. 4. September 11, 2001, showed us both the depths and tragedy. and the strength that can be found within community. There's a quote I saw while reading about September 11th, and I'd like to share that at this time, and it reads, the best way to honor those lost on 9-11 is to be the people we were on 9-12. During our moment of silence, let us remember the victims of 9-11 and give th

I have a couple of comments, but no questions.

Does he have the oath administered as part of this, or is it different for appointments?

Commissioner Rupp. I was just gonna mention that we as a group, we as a commission should, we know that we had 33 people had or filled out expressions of interest. That should kind of tell us something right there. And out of the 33 people, Gary Norris was one of the nominees, and I think Gary would make a fine commissioner. But I do have to mention, and I think everybody in the room knows, that when it came time to make that selection out of 33, it took exactly 11 seconds. And that was just surprising, but that's my comments, and that's it. Okay, do I have a motion? I'll make a motion. I'll m

Second. We have a motion and a second to approve resolution number 26-8369, appointing Gary Norris to the vacancy of the city commission. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Okay, with that, I will turn it over to Nikki.

In and for the city of Salina, Kansas. So help me God. So help me God. All right.

I'll start to my right here. Any questions, comments? If the light's on, it's working. Thank you.

Is the porch light on? Yeah. I'm a data geek, and I did some analysis on my own. using AI and other sources it's hard not to be able to garner a lot of data these days but I was interested in the city mill levy itself and of course we pay taxes to all the entities but I just wanted to track the city mill levy for a while and compare it to other municipalities and I looked at the top 20 cities and in the state and compared an average home in each of those cities and the average home according to this one analysis I did was 230,000 could be a drop high I'm not sure but it had the average home of

One quick, how does this set us with our

We do have a little wiggle room for the unexpected occurrences. Yes. other than a river getting log jammed up again or something huge. Correct, correct. Okay, on the left.

Starting out with, well, I think either one of you could answer the question. And again, well, I guess I'm not the newbie anymore, but second to the newbie. Commissioner Norris might know the answer to this question. I do not. Jacob or Debbie, total levy, does that include the county and airport and library and that's the whole enchilada? Yes. Okay. And Debbie, for you, Sales tax revenue, do we have June, July, or August by chance? Probably not August.

Okay, and do you know off the top of your head perhaps July and August, kind of where they were? And what I'm getting at, and I know I talked, Jacob about this earlier. I know these storms, while they created a lot of hardship, they also create a lot of economic activity for our community. And all those people are staying, they're eating, they're drinking, they're doing a lot of things in our community besides working. And I gotta believe in that. And shoot, out south, Where they sell automobiles, I gotta believe they're having a record year with all the hail inventory they had to get rid of a

So do we have any? Any idea what July or August were up over the previous year?

Okay, thank you. Another question, and kind of maybe the elephant in the room that would come up later, but Jacob, last budget I saw, we were like, We had a sure fall of, I believe, roughly three quarters of a million. 700,000 and change, maybe? Was that correct? Last... On the budget, on the initial budget, I remember.

That's correct. Well, where I was going with the elephant in the room is the, apparently we have five million extra lying around last year that we moved to the river renewal project. That was extra money a year ago. Things have changed. There's no consideration for bringing any of that back. I'm not against what was, I think, billed as a scaled down river project, but anything I've seen doesn't point in that direction. I don't... I have friends that are friends of the river, but I also want to be friends with the taxpayers.

Okay well I think The community as a whole has a different opinion on tightening the belt versus the city's tightening the belt. I mean, we're still putting Cheryl's on roads as far as I've seen where the new firehouse has a very fancy reader board, electronic reader board with the monument sign. And I just see opportunities where I think we could save hundreds. But we have, I guess we have to, I know we have to look long term, but these are tough times. I was talking with a taxpayer a couple weeks back, and she was worried about her elderly mother being able to stay in their home because of p

Well, yes and no. Okay. I mean, overall it makes sense, but I'll be done.

And you have to keep a certain fund balance to help your bond rating, too. I mean, you always got to remember about your bond rating. So we're always, you know, being... aware of that plus I think you know we do they still have some fund balance and I don't know what that's going to do over the next year or two but you know we have some we have quite a few projects to do whether it's the East Magnolia Road or the the Schilling and Ohio intersection we may be able to use some again fund balances to help lower the amount of debt which saves us money over the long term one of the documents and I

Well, one of the other things we did that was advantageous is we did the RFP for banking services, and we took our interest income from $300,000 to, I'm going to use the $3 million. So that's quite a few mills if we're looking at property tax. So that helped us to keep our mill levy down. So, again, when we compare to other areas, and people always want to talk about McPherson, and I did my analysis too, Our mill rate is 53.238. Ours is going to be 29. So there's kind of like what Commissioner Norris was saying. People say, well, we'll move somewhere where taxes are less. Well, I can give you

Could you could you face us so they can hear?

Do you have any comments about the budget? Yes, I'm getting there.

We have no, do we have a- It's a chamber of commerce program. It's chamber of commerce.

No, Norm, we're talking about our budget. This isn't about, what you're saying is not dealing with our budget. You're spending money. Yeah, but what you're talking about is not our budget. If you want to handle that, that'd be under Citizens Forum. Okay.

Okay, if there's no one else, I'll bring it back to the commission for action. I guess, first of all, I'll close. Oh, okay.

Okay, if there's no other comments, I will close the public hearing and bring it back to the Commission for action. We have three items.

I'd just like to make a comment. You know, there's a reference to us continuing to raise taxes. We've only raised them once in five years. Well, you talk about your expenses going up. When that windstorm came through, the city's expense just went. You think our insurance premium's not going up next year? You think that we're not going to have to take money from somewhere to pay the deductible on all the damage that the wind caused? This is a house or a business as well, and its income is tax money. Everyone involved is a taxpayer. We pay taxes as well, and I've never met a taxpayer who Woke up

Okay, please can respect Commissioner Davis until I'm finished.

And a lot of projects that... down their own respective roads become, wow, how could we have made it without these? We're not universally accepted at the inception phase. And at some point, what that means is what didn't seem like a good idea early on turned out to be great. I don't know what I don't know. All right. So sometimes you have to put a little faith. And you either believe that the river project is going to be good for our future or you don't. I happen to believe that it's going to be the basis of a lot more development, private and public. But you have to decide that you're going t

Well, it's like not going to your savings account and taking out your last $5,000 for that vacation. When things go wrong for a city, they don't go wrong at a $5,000 clip. They go wrong at a one point something million dollar clip to open up a river. We don't know what the final tab is for the windstorm damage. So you have to have, could you please stop interrupting me? So we don't know what, every year something comes up that we don't expect. That's the reason you have a rainy day fund, for those things. that are unexpected. And our unexpected expenses are huge when they show up. So having a

With that, I will accept a motion. I move that the resolution number 27-8367.

Ask you to make a motion we consider and approve resolution number 268370 to levy property taxes exceeding the revenue neutral rate.

Second. We have a motion and a second to approve resolution number 26-8370, levying a property tax rate which exceeds the revenue neutral rate. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? May. That item passes 4-1. lead us to the next one.

I move approving ordinance number 27-11296, appropriating the 2027 annual budget. We have a motion and a second to approve ordinance number 27-11296, adopting and appropriation the 2027 annual budget.

Aye. That item passes 4-1. That will lead us to the final one.

And I move approval of resolution number 27-8367, adopting the 2027 comprehensive fee schedule for the city of Salina, Kansas.

We have a motion and a second to approve resolution number 27-8367, adopting the 2027 comprehensive fee schedule for the city of Salina. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? That item passes 5-0. Okay, that will bring us to the consent agenda.

Do we have an item the commissioner would like to pull from the consent agenda? Are there any comments from the public on the consent agenda? If not, I will bring it back for a motion.

Second. We have a motion and second to approve consent agenda items 4.1 and 4.2. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? That passes 5-0. That will bring us to administration.

I have one. Debbie, as I read this, I'm looking at the hospital slash mill district. Maximum fee per business. The way I read that, if I had a clinic that's not related, this line of regional, and I have 12 employees, I have an $852 fee per business. as part of that district. If I'm Salina Regional and I have, I don't know, 750 employees, my fee is roughly $440 more. I don't know. Should we look at that? I mean, I know it was brought up earlier, all the tax-exempt property through the city that... Thelina Regional, got friends at Thelina Regional too. But I know property taxes being such an is

I would certainly ask them to do that. If I had that clinic of, say again, a dozen people, a smaller operation, and I have what is a giant in the medical field in the community, Percentage-wise, it is a dramatic difference.

Leslie, do you want to answer that in any way?

If I could piggyback a question for Ms. Bishop when she comes up. Is there a reason... that the, I was going to call them yellow and green, that the employment and hospital districts don't have a linear foot basis to their or why the other ones do.

Yeah. You might pull that ordinance at some point because I don't remember either. Okay.

Any other questions or comments? Are there any comments from the public on this? Okay, with that, I bring it back to the Commission for action.

Mayor, move to be postponed consideration of Ordinance 26-11300 to two months from now, or six weeks. I look to the City Manager for an estimate. I guess I'd ask.

So we could get some more background and even it may if it only takes two weeks to get the background if there's no change.

So until the second meeting in October? It's October 20. I don't have a calendar.

So that would early November be? Well, that would give you five weeks.

November 9th? To the November 9th meeting to get history on the reason for the difference in determination of Fees, particularly in the employment hospital, middle districts, with the example being given, were disparate. Fee for just a much smaller number of employees seems to exist. I think we got it. Got it, okay.

Do we have a second? That we have a motion in a second to postpone consideration of ordinance number 26-11300 till November 9th and ask staff and SDI Director for additional information as to the hospital slash mill districts for further consideration Okay, I guess that's an ordinance. Do we need to do a roll call since it's postponing?

Okay, all those in favor? Aye. Opposed? Okay, that item passes 5-0. Okay, that will bring us to item 5.2.

Have we gotten approval from the state of Kansas? Have we what? Gotten approval from the state of Kansas to do this third amendment? Yes. Okay, thank you.

Thank you. Quick question. So here this afternoon, if we don't approve this amendment, That money, that grant money or however you want to view it from the state grant money would be lost. Yes. It'd be gone, never to be seen here again anyway.

Thank you. Anyone else? Any comments from the public?

I don't have it in front of me. Sean, do you know?

I will bring it back to the commission for action.

Mr. Mayor, I move we approve the Third Amendment to the Phase II Development Agreement with Salina Destination Development.

Second. We have a motion and a second to approve the Third Amendment to the Phase II Development Agreement with Salina Destination Development. All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? That item passes 5-0. That will bring us to item 6.1.

Questions or comments? Does the applicant wish to address the commission?

Any questions for applicant? Any comments from the public? Okay, if not, I will bring it back to the Commission for action.

We have a motion and a second, approving ordinance number 26-11298, annexing the subject property into the City of Salina. May we have a roll call, please?

Aye. That item passes 5-0. Okay, that will bring us to other business. Is there an item a commissioner would like to bring before the group?

In my 32 years as a school superintendent, I've sat through over 1,100 public meetings. A few of them were very tough, and I vividly remember those tough ones. However, nothing that I've ever witnessed came close to the August 24th meeting right here in this room, nothing. I listened to every single comment on television and the behavior of a few individuals was simply unacceptable and undemocratic. I'm only one commissioner, but may I remind everyone that the Kansas Open Meetings Act allows wide discretion on how, when, and where, and if we hold public mic sessions. You have a legal right to

Well, I fully agree. The personal attacks and snide comments just don't have a place in an adult forum. Now, I personally welcome, if you have a better argument than me, bring it. I challenge you to convince me to change my mind. And you don't know how many times that I have changed my mind on things because of comments I've received from citizens. We don't claim to know everything. We are not a hands-on city commission. We don't go. Well, there are too many facilities. We could not go check every brick, every roof, every building, every pipe. And if we went looking at them, I probably wouldn'

I address this on social media and I know some of my fellow commissioners have, maybe are less than enthusiastic about me participating on social media. I'm just trying to be transparent to the community, which I think there has been, maybe the information has been out there. But I think people really have to look for it a lot of times, and I'm just trying to kind of give them the meat of the meetings via social media. And I did address that to the people who watch what I post. At the same time, I do need to mention that I think most of us have probably heard the saying that there comes a time

So I guess your question was whether we wanted to review our current policy. And I guess I don't think that's a bad idea. to review and familiarize ourselves with it and perhaps familiarize the public with it. The thing that bothers me about some of the things I've seen here recently is what the people on the outside see for our community. Our community is better than that and we need to do better. I know we sit up here and we try to be respectful and we would like to see that work both ways. So

The second thing, I wanted to thank Commissioner Rimp for just talking about communication. I tend to agree. In the past four to six months, there have been constant calls for more transparency and open communication. And I'm talking about in everything you read out in the public. And I don't disagree with that. Now, my way of going about it may be different than some of you think, but I've been doing this for a number of years, and I think I have a possible idea that might work. Without an effective communication plan, it's very difficult to know what's going on in any organization or any bus

Yeah, and I think, again, I think there is a void there. We've tried some things, and so... I would concur that we have the city manager work on how that would look. And if he needs to work with you, Commissioner Norris, that'd be fine with me to help do that. Because information is knowledge. And I think that's part of our problem right now.

So OK. Thank you. While we're giving you homework, three things that we are probably needing to schedule. Probably the one which you probably have already scheduled would be new commissioner orientation. Probably be a good idea for some of the longer-sitting commissioners to attend and review our knowledge as well. We are probably well overdue for our strategic planning session. This is probably a good time in the flow of things for us to... The budget's behind us, and we can do some long-range planning now, which will influence next year's budget. And I'm thinking somewhere along the line...

Thank you, Mayor. I, kind of piggybacking on that just a little bit, it was about a month and a half ago we had a very emotional, emotionally charged meeting regarding water in our community. We had, well, I think probably everybody in the room was here. Emotions ran high from that meeting. We established kind of on the fly program to provide relief to households or perhaps block neighborhoods that their water wasn't meeting the standard, whatever that standard might be. And since that time, as I understand it, up to the moment, nobody has met the criteria for any sort of water relief. And I d

I just had one comment before we get to citizens forum is, Mr. Davis talked a little bit about growth, and we had individuals who worked on our housing study in here, gosh, I don't know how long ago, and stated that they felt like the, and I think we've talked about this before, that the last census wasn't a valid census, and based on their information they had while reviewing what's going on in the community, they felt like our population is actually increasing, and working towards that 50 000 number so I guess I'll I'll say that I don't agree that we're shrinking or even staying the same I d

You would give the package to the city clerk, and then she'll get it to us and to the city manager?

I'm going to email some... Gary at Gary Norris. Oh, no, this is my time.

Before anybody else comes up, I meant to do this under other business. Have you addressed the RFP and all that with Prairie Paws?

Lucille, just FYI, when we were going through our budgeting process, we moved that roundabout back into 2030.

Okay, it looks like we have an executive session. Do we want to take a five-minute break prior to that? How long do we need?

Yeah, I'm ready. Move we request into executive session for acquisition of real estate matters.

Hold on just a second. Could we have... Please have a little, even if you're leaving the room, a little quiet so we can read this. Thank you.

I move the City Commission recess into executive session for 20 minutes beginning after a five-minute break to discuss the potential acquisition of specific real estate, the identification of which would be contrary to the public interest based upon the need for the preliminary discussion of the acquisition of real property pursuant to KSA 75-4319-B6. The open meeting will resume in this room at 7.20.

Do we have a second? Second. We have a motion and a second to recess into executive session for 20 minutes following a five-minute break to discuss the potential acquisition of specific real estate, the identification of which would be contrary to the public interest based upon the need for a preliminary discussion of the acquisition of real estate pursuant to KSA 75-4319-B6. The open meeting will resume in this room at 7.20. Who will be attending?

All those in favor? Aye. Opposed? We'll be back here at 7.20.

Well, as soon as they come back on, there we go. Okay, we have no further business. Second. We have a motion to say all in favor? Aye. Opposed? See everyone in a couple weeks.