Discussion was heated at the Eureka City Council meeting on Monday, Dec. 23, after a bid was brought to the table for renting the airport hangar.
To begin the conversation, Mayor Stephen Coulter referenced a recent meeting where it was noted no sealed bids were received and the council opted to move forward without leasing the facility until construction at the airport was completed. Coulter was not in attendance of that meeting and later reached out to George Turner with Flint Hills Aviation LLC to see if he was still interested in leasing the hanger. “I didn’t realize at that time that the city council wasn’t going that direction; I apologize,” stated Coulter. “Regardless, I think we should consider this bid,” he continued.
When the city originally put out for bids, it was noted that they had a minimum bid of $875, for the monthly lease. Coulter noted that he reached out to Turner to see if he was interested and shared that Turner didn’t submit a bid as he didn’t want to offend the council with a low bid. Discussion was held regarding the hangar not being able to have access to the apron; however, it was shared that the hangar north of the city’s, utilized by Heinen Brothers, isn’t able to use the apron either due to wing span and items in the path to the apron and uses a grass runway.
City councilmembers Cinda Beals and Richard Drake both noted that they were in favor of waiting for the construction to be complete before leasing the hangar. Mayor Coulter asked when that would be, as the council hadn’t yet hired a company to do the work.
Councilmember Jason Brandt noted that if there is someone interested in leasing the facility, knowing that construction was pending, it could be a win-win situation. Mayor Coulter then stated, “We invested a lot of money into this hangar. I don’t agree with letting it sit idle when we need airplanes at our airport and this guy works on airplanes and could potentially get more out there.” He further noted that the bid sheet shouldn’t include a minimum bid amount.
Councilmember Drake asked, “Why go around us?” To which Coulter noted that was not his intent. Coulter later stated “I think you guys think I was trying to shove this through, and that actually isn’t the case at all. I wanted to bring you the information so that you could see that there was interest in this.”
Beals had questions regarding the bid received and referenced the code book provided to council members, “No official or employee shall grant any special consideration, treatment or advantage, to any citizen beyond that is available to any other citizen.” She referenced the bid process being open to all and that the bid wasn’t submitted using an official bid sheet or submitted in the standard manner.
“The mayor has certain privileges. He has certain things that he can do. He’s elected,” stated council member Dan Campbell.
“He can circulate out in the community and talk to citizens that have needs, wants, desires. And, that’s the political side of the job. As a council, the mayor gets to lead the council. The council does not have to agree or approve of anything that he puts in front of the council. The council can act and turn down a certain action. And as a mayor, and setting the agenda, he can make us look at it again, and that is kind of what is happening here,” stated Campbell.
Campbell went on to state, “I was in agreeance of not leasing it out. Now that I have had the chance to think about it and evaluate it, and get legal opinion on it, I have changed my mind, and if Steve wants us to consider it again, that is his prerogative. I think that should add a little bit of perspective on the council’s authority and the mayor’s authority as I see it.”
Councilmember Drake then stated, “I would like to see our mayor and our administrator begin to work together rather than pull against each other.”
At this point, City Administrator Joel Laws asked the council, “tell me where I went wrong on this.” Which was answered with, “Nothing. You did your job.” Councilmember Campbell responded with, “We actually agreed with you. Now, today I don’t. But, you did your job.”
Councilmember Jeff Marks stated, “When we bid that price (originally), we are looking to protect and pay for our investment. Basically, what it boils down to is that if everybody is interested they vote on how they want to do it. To me, if we are going to do it, we need to put it out for everyone to bid and if they changed their mind, that is their God-given right.”
“My point of sending a copy of everything was to be transparent,” stated Coulter. “I wanted to discuss it. This is all I wanted. I wanted to show that there is interest in leasing the property, even though it wasn’t at what we were looking to make,” stated Coulter.
Coulter continued by referencing a meeting he had with City Administrator Laws, where Coulter stated he told Laws that he was not in agreeance of the decision to not lease the hangar, as he was opposed to letting the hangar sit idle. Laws then responded, “That’s a lie. That never happened.”
Coulter responded, “Don’t, Do not call me a liar, again.”
The council quickly interjected and redirected the conversation back to the topic at hand. A motion was then made and passed to solicit sealed bids, again, without a minimum bid. Those wishing to submit a bid should contact the City of Eureka for additional details, and/or watch for an advertisement in a future edition of The Eureka Herald.
Payroll Ordinance
With the change of the deductible amount to $1,000 for the health insurance plan, the council approved updating the payroll ordinance to include the change in section 3. The council approved Ordinance 4335, which will replace Ordinance 4317.
Purchase Of Rock For Eureka Lake and Greenwood Cemetery City Administrator Laws noted that the city has reached out to Wells Trucking, Inc. to deliver 375 tons of rock to Greenwood Cemetery and 425 tons for roads at the lake. Although an invoice hadn’t been received as of the meeting time, Laws asked for the council to approve up to $15,000 ($8,000 for the lake and $7,000 for the cemetery), which would allow for the payment to be made upon receipt.
Animal Shelter
On Nov. 12, an unannounced inspection resulted in an unsatisfactory inspection and the city was issued fines totaling $3,000.
A special appeal hearing is slated for Jan 6., at 1 p.m. The city is hopeful to mitigate the potential fines into funds that can be utilized to make needed improvements at the facility. The majority of the repairs will be indoor repairs. The septic tank for the building will also need to be analyzed and potentially replaced. It was noted that there was $157,500 in funds previously allocated for capital improvement plans within the general fund that have since been made available (through the sale of the tractor) and could be used for the animal shelter. The council asked Dog Catcher and Airport Facility Manager Jerry Rushmore to gather quotes to get the shelter within compliance.
Other Business
The council held five executive sessions, totaling 80 minutes for personnel matters. The first four (60 minutes) were with Laws and the council, with the last session being with Clerk Renee Burk, Code Enforcement Officer Steve French, Associate Director of Public Works Loren Wools, Dog Catcher and Airport Facility Manager Rushmore and Laws. No action was taken following any of the sessions.
The council approved Resolution 24-20 for a dangerous and unfit structure at 222 S. State Street, in Eureka.
Regarding trash removal rates, the council approved Ordinance #4334, which notes the 2% increase allotted in the contract by Waste Connections each year. Council member Campbell asked others if the city would be interested in offering their own trash service. Start-up costs and ongoing expenses were noted; however, discussion was held about looking into the service in the future. The contract with Waste Connections will be up for bid in 2026. The council approved Ordinance #4334, as presented.
Regarding the housing grant, it was shared that a pre-application meeting was held on Dec. 2. City Administrator Laws noted that the city should have a response on if the grant was received by mid-January. Laws also noted that he hadn’t yet heard back on the additional grant for the windows at Memorial Hall.
A lake lot transfer was approved for Lot #56 from Bruce Hawthorne to the Bruce Hawthorne Trust.
The council approved a cereal malt beverage license for Pizza Hut of Eureka.
There were no council committee reports.
Council member Kevin Lawrence was absent.
The consent agenda was approved as presented.
The council’s next meeting is slated for Monday, Jan. 13, at 7 p.m., at the Eureka Public Library.
