Representing the Eureka Pro Rodeo at the April 8 Eureka City Council meeting, Jamie Nelson provided an overview of the previous year’s event and shared details regarding the 2024 rodeo. This will be the 13th annual Pro Rodeo held in Eureka and will feature a new announcer, West Huggins. The funny man from Louisiana will be returning to Eureka and the rodeo lineup is anticipated to be good. Nelson noted that the goal for the event is to be bigger and better. The event will once again take place at the Greenwood County Community Center (GCCC/Eureka Downs). Returning this season, sponsors who contribute $250 and up are able to access the upper floor of the facility. This had previously moved to $1,000 and up sponsors due to high volume of spectators in the upper floor the inaugural year the event was hosted at the Eureka Downs. The 2024 Eureka Pro Rodeo will be held August 16 and 17. After noting that the community had come together to make the event being hosted at the Eureka Downs happen, Nelson voiced appreciation for the support, both monetary and otherwise, the City of Eureka has contributed. His donation request for the rodeo and other guest tax requests will be reviewed by the council finance committee.
In council committee reports, Councilwoman Cinda Beals shared that the safety committee (herself and councilman Jason Brandt) had reviewed current code enforcement operations. Consensus from this review was that Code Enforcement Officer Steve French is active in the role and is following a grid system. The subject of extensions in relation to code violations was briefly dis cussed. It was noted during conversation, that after two extensions are received, the item is to then be brought to the council. As concerns in regards to previous patterns/ lack of visible progress were noted by councilman Jeff Marks, Mayor Stephen Coulter noted that there has been a lot of turnover in city employees and encouraged Marks to speak with the new code enforcement officer if he had specific concerns. Beals added that there has been vast improvement in this area.
City Administrator Joel Laws reported that he had received and was reviewing the initial draft of JEO Consulting Group’s Pavement Plan. A follow-up meeting was scheduled for April 11. City auction items were reported as live on Johnson Realty’s website. This was slated to conclude April 12. Work to address the condition of the storm sewer at Third and School Streets was completed. Laws shared that the storm sewer located at Second and Adams Streets was in a very similar situation to what this had been in. Ramsey Concrete has been contacted and this will be addressed as well. Laws shared that the city is working towards submission for a CDBG Housing Grant. He noted that a meeting in relation to this would be held at memorial hall Tuesday, April 16 at 6 p.m. Representatives from Cheney Door did an assessment of the hanger door at the Lt. William M. Milliken Airport. Receipt of a price estimate was still pending as of last Monday evening. Fiber internet installation has begun along 7th Street. IdeaTek is working to install the main branch of fiber. In discussion of upcoming conferences/ meetings, Laws recommended that newer council members attend the Kansas Municipal League’s annual conference, which will be held in Wichita in October. He asked that those interested in attending contact him for registration. Work with the Durapatch machine on Washington Street was reviewed. Associate Director of Public Works Joey Caylor shared that the machine seems to be working well and crew members are continuing to learn with use. It was noted, at this time that, that oil is currently not as expensive as had previously been anticipated. The mixing grounds tornado debris pile has officially been cleaned up/burned.
Community Enrichment Manager Staci Crumrine discussed a few items on her written report of operations. Crumrine attended the WeKan conference and explained that this was pertaining to the Main Street program. According to Crumrine, this was an educational opportunity for Main Street Directors from across the State of Kansas and she not only learned a lot from the experience, but also gained ideas. Crumrine is reworking the GCCC (Eureka Downs) rental agreement. She noted that the turf room upstairs had not been included in rental information on its own. The board had now determined an amount and she will be adding this to reservation information. Crum- rine identified a small busi ness grant and is working with a local business owner on this.
Community member Peggy Hawthorne was provided the opportunity to pose questions to city officials last week. Hawthorne asked about work needing to be done to Memorial Hall. She questioned why funds were being put into the concourse building when these dollars could be put into Memorial Hall. Coulter explained that, in addition to windows, a warped floor and the need for larger restrooms to support larger events, Memorial Hall lacks a good heating and cooling system. He noted that something the Eureka Downs building did have was an air-conditioned room for reservation.
Hawthorne told officials she was not in agreement, noting that it seems like the city gets started on a project and then moves on to others. While present, Hawthorne also asked for clarification in regards to use of the highway fund. Coulter noted that some money remains in the highway fund because the entire balance was not utilized in the project completed. As Hawthorne expressed concerns about previous street work through a given party, city officials explained that all scheduled projects through this company were completed and the city had since put out a Request for Bids. Currently, the city has begun working with JEO Consulting Group. When Hawthorne questioned if funds were budgeted for street work, Coulter shared that dollars have been saved for this and the city, in conjunction with JEO, is looking at developing a plan to take those dollars further. Current road conditions were noted as an inherited issue; in years past, plans for proper maintenance and future work had not been implemented. Councilman Marks added that this is something that had previously been overlooked and they were looking to change this. As heavy weighted trucks and their impact on the streets were discussed, Coulter told Hawthorne that all these pieces were things they are thinking about and noted that he hoped she felt better after having asked questions. When conversation turned back to the Eureka Downs, Coulter clarified that while some dollars had been allocated, the city had not invested a lot towards the building to-date. He continued to note that an interim space was needed for community use. Coulter told Hawthorne that Laws has been asked to create a comprehensive plan for the city. The previous plan was written in 1998 and Coulter noted that he does not want this one to be something that is only referenced/ used when grants are being applied for. After Hawthorne noted the historic value of the Eureka Downs, she asked if taking the sign down was something they felt should have been run by the community first. Coulter clarified that only a couple of members of the Eureka City Council sit on the board that manages the facility. When further questions were posed about the Eureka Downs building, City officials not ed that they were unable to answer questions in regards to specifics for the building's future, noting that the return of horse racing had not been anticipated.
Hay bids for city property were presented and reviewed. Council members approved to proceed with high bids submitted for each property, which were as follows: Eureka Lake, Brennan Lowe/Aubry Thompson $6,760; Lt. William M. Milliken Airport, Nutsch Feeders Inc $5,220; Mixing Grounds, Braden Lowe $200 and Greenwood Cemetery, Braden Lowe $285.
Mayor Coulter officially reappointed Robin Endress to serve another term on the Board for Eureka Public Library.
Council committee appointments were made and stand as follows: Transportation: Richard Drake, Chairman and Jeff Marks member; Quality of Life: Dan Campbell Chairman and Kevin Lawrence member; Utilities: Marks Chairman and Drake member; Safety: Beals Chair and Brandt member; Finance: Brandt Chairman and Beals member and Development: Lawrence Chairman and Campbell member.
Council members revisited discussion of building rentals and Greenwood County. During a previous council meeting, the County had approached the City Council to clarify that they were no longer waiving the fee on city buildings (in relation to Phillips Cabin and Memorial Hall). Due to cost for upkeep and utilities, the city had opted to discontinue waiving fees for use of structures. This was revisited last Monday evening, as Mayor Coulter spoke in favor of the two entities working together. He then noted that a blanket decision had been made on this item, without consideration being paid to this. Council members discussed amending this so that other taxing entities are not charged. Following the dis- cussion, Eureka City officials opted not to the charge the county for venue rental. This was approved in a unanimous vote. An executive session for discussion of legal matters was held for 15 minutes with Clerk Renee Burk, Laws and attorney James Watson also attending. After returning to regular session, an additional 15 minutes were taken for the same subject with the same people remaining. No action was taken following the return to open session.
Members of the council approved the consent agenda. This included the following items: Minutes of the March 25 meeting, scheduled claims list for expenses due through April 8 for the amount of $77,293.97, Purchase Order 729325 to Brenntag for the amount of $5,227.31-water plant supplies and Purchase Order 729458 to JEO Consulting Group for the amount of $7,738.80-street improvements assessment.
The next meeting of the Eureka City Council will be held on Monday, April 22 at 7 p.m.
