City commission deals with funding issues, hears from citizens

By LESLIE EIKLEBERRY
Salina Post

After more than four hours, the Salina City Commission worked its way through an amended agenda that included three proclamations, reallocation of funds, two executive sessions, discussion of a letter from the Kansas Attorney General, and numerous comments from the public.

The commissioners approved a request from Salina Fire Chief Kevin Royse to reallocate $40,000 in already approved 2018 Sub CIP funds from enlarging and improving the parking lot at Station No. 3 to purchasing a replacement vehicle for unit 432 and covering the cost of emergency repairs at Station No.1 and Station No. 3. The parking lot project for Station No. 3 was scrapped, Royse said, because existing ordinances did not allow for increased parking capacity.

After multiple starts at previous meetings, the commissioners finally appointed people to the Board of Zoning Appeals. In the latest attempt, Mayor Karl Ryan proposed appointing Brian Bennet and Cale Sharp to the board.

Commissioner Trent Davis expressed concern about the appointment of Sharp. He said that although he thinks highly of Sharp, he didn’t believe that Sharp had the experience necessary to serve on a quasi-legal board such as the Board of Zoning Appeals. Davis said he didn’t believe the Board of Zoning Appeals was the place for people “to cut their teeth on” if they were new to that sort of board/committee work.

Ryan said he disagreed. When the vote was taken, Bennet and Sharp were appointed on a 3-2 vote, with Davis and Commissioner Melissa Rose Hodges voting nay.

During the Citizens Forum portion of the meeting, several people got up to speak in support of embattled Animal Services Manager Vanessa Cowie, who was placed on paid administrative leave August 15 for reasons that are officially unknown to the public. Her hearing with interim City Manager Mike Schrage is scheduled for Wednesday morning. City officials have referred to the matter as a personnel issue and have declined to comment on specifics of the case.

Animal shelter volunteer Bruce Moore started by thanking on behalf of Cowie, the shelter, and the animals it serves the estate of Thelda Jean Smedley, which last week donated more than $100,000 to the shelter. The money was restricted to care of the shelter animals, Moore said. He said that because Cowie currently is not working at the shelter, the staff was instructed to not deposit the check into the city account. Instead, Salina Parks and Recreation’s Scott Garrie retrieved the check, Moore said.

Moore expressed concern that Parks and Recreation personnel might not honor the restrictions on the gift. Later in the meeting, Hodges asked Interim City Manager Mike Schrage to find out what had happened to the check. Schrage said he had received a copy of the paperwork associated with the check and was aware of the restrictions on the gift.

Moore also talked about Cowie’s passion for her work and for making the animal shelter a much better place.

Anita Specht said she didn’t know Cowie, rather she was offering the opinion of a casual bystander. Specht said she was impressed with how clean and well-run the animal shelter is and how nice the staff is. She attributed all of that to Cowie. Specht said that from her point of view, a good, decent, competent woman was being attacked.

As she has the past few meetings, Nicole Krob demanded that Cowie be reinstated and that her supervisor, Chris Cotten, be fired. Krob also told the commissioners that the girls’ gymnastics program through Salina Parks and Recreation was about to fold because Cotten had not found a place for the group to meet. The program currently meets in Memorial Hall, a place that Krob said should be condemned.

The commissioners approved three proclamations:

Proclaiming the month of September 15 through October 15, 2018, as “Hispanic Heritage Month” in the city of Salina.
Proclaiming the week of September 17-24, 2018, as “Up With People Week” in the city of Salina.
Proclaiming the day of September 22, 2018, as “Salina Day for Kansas Wesleyan Football” in the city of Salina.

The commission also conducted the following business.

Awarded the contract for the Major Concrete Rehabilitation, Project No. 80007, to Pavers, Inc. of Salina in the amount of $297,150.40 with a $27,849.60 construction contingency.
Approved on second reading Ordinance No. 18-10971 amending Section 42-59(d)(2) of the Zoning Ordinance to increase the allowable size of an on-site secure storage unit for consumer fireworks inventory at a consumer fireworks stand from 120 square feet to 424 square feet.
Approved on second reading Ordinance No. 18-10972 amending Section 42-57.6(c) of the Fire Code to increase the allowable size of an on-site storage unit for consumer fireworks inventory at a consumer fireworks stand from 120 square feet to 424 square feet.
Approved on first and second readings Ordinance No. 18-10977 extending the effective date of the downtown STAR Bond District from October 1, 2018, to December 1, 2018.
Approved on first and second readings Ordinance No. 18-10978 extending the effective date of the downtown Tax Increment Financing District from October 1, 2018, to October 1, 2019.
Approved Resolution No. 18-7604 authorizing the offering for public sale of General Obligation Temporary Notes and Bonds, Series 2018-1.
Approved on first reading Ordinance No. 18-10965 authorizing the issuance and delivery of General Obligation Internal Improvement Bonds, Series 2018-A.
Heard a report on receipt of a letter from the office of the Kansas Attorney General relating to the Kansas Open Records Act (KORA) and Kansas Open Meetings Act (KOMA) complaints by former Mayor Jon Blanchard and direction to staff based upon the direction of the office of the Attorney General. Per the Kansas Attorney General’s Office directive, the commission authorized the release to Blanchard of November 18, 2014, correspondence from the Salina Board of Commissioners to the Salina Area Chamber of Commerce. Additionally, the commission, at Hodges’ request, instructed city staff to pull together information concerning sanctions imposed on Blanchard for releasing information about the city/chamber issue while he was a sitting commissioner. Hodges contends that the attorney general’s ruling negates the sanctions against Blanchard. Ryan disagreed, saying that Blanchard violated the commission’s executive session and should still be held accountable. Blanchard said he did not violate the executive session. The commission voted 4-1, with Ryan voting nay, to look into the matter and asked city staff to have information compiled for the October 15 meeting.
Approved Resolution No. 18-7606 authorizing the interim city manager to suspend, pursuant to Salina Code Section 1-8, the enforcement of Salina Code Section 42508 as it relates to the number of political signs on private property or the unpaved right-of-way for city streets during the 2018 general election season.
Considered the next steps in the search for a new city manager.
Went into two separate executive sessions to discuss personnel matters.