Sunday liquor sales issue runs dry again

In a matter of minutes, the issue of Sunday liquor sales in Tonganoxie went from possibly being on election ballots to once again becoming a moot point.

The city council revisited the measure Monday after receiving a letter earlier this month from Casey’s General Stores, which urged the city to legalize Sunday sales for retail establishments.

Council member Jim Truesdell suggested the measure go to a citywide vote.

“This has come up three times and we know that if we pass it there’s going to be a petition,” Truesdell said. “I don’t see why we make them go through all that trouble again.”

Council member Velda Roberts said retail opinions should be heard as well.

“This is a business,” Roberts said. “These people have the right to pursue this.”

Roberts discussed whether the item should be on a special-election ballot, but the council didn’t make a motion on the item, and the issue died.

The city’s last special election was held in 2001, according to assistant City Administrator Kathy Bard. In an interview with The Mirror on Tuesday, she said the election, at that time, cost $1,856.

Casey’s, which has a site on the northwest corner of U.S. Highway 24-40 and Kansas Highway 16, is building a larger store a block north on 24-40.

Corky Krouse, owner of Krouse Liquor, has been the most vocal business owner pushing for the city to legalize Sunday sales.

In 2003, the previous council approved a charter ordinance allowing the city to sell liquor on Sundays. A protest petition, however, blocked the measure later that year.

State law now gives cities in Kansas the option of allowing liquor stores to open on Sundays.

Tonganoxie, however, still is not a city that allows Sunday sales.

Council to reimburse

for address change

Residents in Eagle Valley who have to change their addresses because of a previous mistake in house numbering will be compensated by the city.

When the city’s planner, Bucher, Willis and Ratliff, was assigning house numbers in new subdivisions, address problems were discovered in Eagle Valley. The situation affects 23 homeowners and 12 lots that either have not been built or are unoccupied.

Properties with incorrect “hundred block” addresses are located along the portions of these streets that are south of 12th Street Terrace: Red Cedar and Bury streets and Raintree and Glenwood drives.

At Monday night’s city council meeting, residents affected by the address changes told the council about the expenses that come with changing an address.

After much discussion, the city council voted to compensate each homeowner a maximum of $250 for address-change costs. Residents were instructed to bring documentation of their expenses to City Hall for reimbursement.

Wastewater plant

reaches completion

The city’s new wastewater treatment facility is fully operational, but the project required a loan amendment increase.

Pat Cox of BG Consultants, Tonganoxie’s engineering firm, urged the city to increase its Kansas Department of Health and Environment state revolving loan by more than $84,000 to cover additional items, such as entrance surfacing, a mower, power washer, laptop computer and office equipment. The council approved the increase, moving the total loan to nearly $3.9 million. The project had a final cost of more than $4.2 million, but the city received a community development block grant worth $400,000.

Cox said an open house was in the works, but a date still hasn’t been set.

Council members

to attend seminar

The entire city council plans to attend the Leavenworth Riverfront Community Forum next Wednesday at the Riverfront Community Center in Leavenworth. The event will feature recruitment developers and brokers who will be discussing how to attract community development.

The council did not schedule a special meeting for the event. Special meetings are not required if members are attending a seminar, as long as they do not discuss city business.

After extensive discussions on items such as the post office site and address changes in Eagle Valley, the council approved these agenda items:

• Purchase, for $4,338, a gate for the wastewater treatment facility.
• Culvert replacement at Seventh and Shawnee streets, in an amount not to exceed $73,080.
• Final plats for Urban Hess 3, Stone Creek Phase 5 and the new middle school. The middle school plat is contingent upon planning and engineering recommendations being met. The council also approved the replat of Fall Creek Villas. Willis Park subdivision was approved as well.
• Purchase of new rescue equipment for extricating victims from vehicles. The council approved new equipment for $19,526. Fire Chief Dave Bennett suggested eliminating the purchase of a training car ($20,000) included in the 2005 fiscal budget to make room for the rescue equipment.
• Purchase of a snow plow for $11,108.
• Pay for a server upgrade at City Hall for $2,945.