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Tonganoxie City Council remembers former Mayor Mike Vestal

By Shawn Linenberger - | Mar 6, 2019

The Tonganoxie City Council had a moment of silence Monday for a former mayor.

Mayor Jason Ward led the remembrance for former Mayor Mike Vestal, who died last week in Florida. Ward remembered Vestal for his years of service on the Tonganoxie City Council, along with many years as dispatch for the Tonganoxie Police Department.

Vestal was an avid University of Kansas fan who also had several of his works published in The Mirror’s Poet’s Corner. Vestal had been living in Florida the last few years after being a lifelong Tonganoxie resident.

Notable dates coming up

Monica Gee with the Tonganoxie Business Association spoke during open agenda about dates of interest.

The TBA Business Appreciation Dinner will be 6 p.m. April 2 at Deer Ridge Estate in rural Tonganoxie.

Later in the month, there will be the vaccination and microchip clinic for pets 2-5 p.m. April 27 at the Tonganoxie City Fire Station. The city will be waiving pet registration fees for those who participate in the clinic.

And, the Back the Blue 5K run will be 9 a.m. May 11 at Free State Fitness.

In other business, the City Council:

• Approved, 4-0, with Loralee Stevens abstaining, directing staff to work on a new ordinance expanding UTV vehicle use within city limits, but not golf carts. Stevens wanted to include golf carts, as she had gotten positive feedback about that proposed inclusion from community members. She thought the carts could become an interesting trend in Tonganoxie and provide residents another way to get downtown. Council members and police Chief Greg Lawson voiced safety concerns. Stevens responded with researching showing more people are injured on average as pedestrians or bicyclists. Fellow Council Member Lori Patterson understood Stevens’ viewpoint, but said she saw a difference between bikes and golf carts because there are trails and other options that allow bikes to be used away from vehicle traffic. • Approved, 5-0, disposition of guns from the Tonganoxie Police Department to Sig Sauer. Sig Sauer provided a “trade value” bid of $4,446 for all unused Department firearms and accessories and will provide a trade credit if the department purchases 9mm handguns from the company. The department has twelve officers and requires at least one spare, so the department is purchasing 13 guns After the trade-in value, the guns will cost $2,167. In the past, officers have purchased their own guns, but the agreement with Sig Sauer allows for uniformity.

• Approved, 5-0, a 2019 Ford F-150 service truck for public works. Laird Noller of Lawrence offered the low bid of $27,344 for the vehicle.

• Approved, 5-0, purchase of water tower inspection services not to exceed $5,215 from Inland Potable.

• Approved, 5-0, purchase of a replacement pump from Environmental Process Systems for $12,500 and the rebuild of the bar screen from Huber Technology at the Wastewater Treatment Plant for $30,182.

• Approved, 5-0, an auditing services contract with Kramer and Associates Auditing services for 2018 were $9,425, services for 2019 are $9,775 and services for 2020 will be $9,900.