×
×
homepage logo

City council briefs

By Staff | Dec 19, 2001

City won’t pay for gym visits

It took three motions Monday night for Tonganoxie City Council members to decide to stop paying for staff members’ use of a local health club.

“I don’t mind that we keep the contract, but I don’t want the city to pay,” said Janet Angell, council president.

The city pays $22 a month for each employee who uses the Midwest Athletic Club. That fee is paid, even if an employee uses the club only once during a month.

“And that has happened,” Angell said.

However, Pat Albert, council member, argued on behalf of retaining the status quo.

“It is something that is a benefit to our city,” he said.

Angell made a motion to discontinue the city’s payment of the benefit. It died for lack of a second. Albert made a motion to continue the payment by the city. It, too, died for a lack of a second.

Steve Gumm, the only other council member at the meeting, asked to see city records on who uses the health club. After reviewing the records for March and April, Gumm turned to Angell and said, “Make a motion.”

She reiterated her earlier motion, and it was approved, 2-1, with Albert voting against it.

So far this year, the city has paid $1,958 for employees’ use of the health club.

City OKs delay in road striping

City council members gave Overland Park developer Steve Kelly until July to stripe lane markings on Woodfield Drive in his commercial-industrial subdivision.

Kelly is developing the tract, which is near the water tower on U.S. Highway 24-40.

In design specifications for the road, the striping work was not included. The city engineer, when making a final inspection of the street, said that work was necessary before the city accepts the infrastructure work in the development.

But council members, who said they recognize this is not the time of year to stripe the road, gave Kelly until July to complete the work and they accepted the infrastructure improvements that Kelly has done to the site.

Council to repeal annexation

Council members on Monday repealed an ordinance they had passed last January.

That measure had annexed right of way along U.S. Highway 24-40 into the city. But apparently, the city went too far and annexed right of way that was not adjacent to land already in the city. That created “fingers” of right of way, which is not legal. In addition, city limits signs must be moved closer to town to reflect the correction.

In other business Monday, council members:

Approved Mayor John Franiuk’s appointment of Cindy Larison to the Tonganoxie Library Board.

Agreed to extend the Elder family’s farming lease on land the city owns west of Linwood along the Kansas River. The city plans to drill water wells on the land in the next year.

Agreed to extend, on a month-by-month basis, the city inspector’s contract with the city. Tim Pinnick’s pay will remain at 40 percent of the building permit fees charged by the city, not to exceed $35,000 annually. So far this year, Pinnick has been paid $24,230.

Decided to proceed with vacation of the alley between Casey’s and the Mills property. The vacation will be considered Jan. 14.