By LESLIE EIKLEBERRY
Salina Post

Approval of the City of Salina submitting an application for funds to be used toward the Smoky Hill River Renewal project was among the business before the Salina City Commission during its regular meeting Monday afternoon.

The commission approved the request for the application to be submitted to the Kansas Department of Transportation for use of Transportation Alternative Funds to be used for the Smoky Hill River Renewal Greenway Trail Shared-Use Path project.

Commissioners also heard from several citizens during the citizens forum portion near the beginning of the meeting.

Salinan Lori Trow asked commissioners Mike Hoppock, Trent Davis, and Joe Hay, and Mayor Karl Ryan whether they remembered for whom they were supposed to be working.

“It seems to me that you do not,” Trow said. “You were elected to work for the betterment of the City of Salina and all of our citizens!! You do not just work for the deep money pockets that paid to get you elected so they can get special perks!”

Trow continued, “In the last nine months that I have been both appalled by and ashamed of the four of you! The actions that have been made by you, the words that have come from your mouths and the decisions that you have made prove to me over and over that you care nothing for the City of Salina as a whole and the majority of the people you were elected to represent!”

Trow gave the commissioners a list of qualities she believed all city commissioners should have:

• Listens to all viewpoints of all citizens
• Studies and researches each item that comes before you.
• Makes decisions that are fair to all citizens.
• Puts their personal beliefs and feelings aside when serving as a city commissioner.

Salinan Bruce Moore also spoke. Moore, a regular volunteer at the Salina Animal Shelter, chided commissioners for letting the Vanessa Cowie matter get to the point that it is.

Cowie is the much-beloved manager of Salina Animal Services who was put on paid administrative leave August 15 for reasons that are officially unknown to the public. Her hearing with interim City Manager Mike Schrage has been rescheduled for September 19. City officials have referred to the matter as a personnel issue and have declined to comment on specifics of the case.

Moore noted that when Dion Louthan, the former head of Salina Parks and Recreation, hired Cowie to lead Salina Animal Services, he did so because she knew what she needed to do. Moore said that Louthan told Cowie to make Salina Animal Services better and she did. He said that the only thing that has changed between then and now is the person supervising Cowie.

“The quality of supervision is what needs to be reviewed,” Moore said. “Under the las two supervisors, Vanessa and the shelter have soared. Under the current supervisor, the shelter is going to tank.”

The Salina Animal Shelter is under the Salina Parks and Recreation, which is led by Chris Cotten.

Former Salina Mayor Jon Blanchard spoke, accusing the commissioners of discussing the Fullen animal cruelty case and Cowie’s role in it during a lengthy executive session in June. He noted that in her ruling Friday denying Beverly and Matthew Fullen’s motions, District Judge Rene Young indicated that Cowie has done what she was supposed to do in giving advice to Saline County Sheriff’s deputies concerning a number of animals that were found on the Fullen property.

Salinan Nicole Krob, who had spoken during the citizens forum of recent meetings, told the commissioners that she wanted Cowie re-instated and that the staff and the animals were suffering without Cowie’s leadership. Krob said that Cotten provided no leadership to Salina Animal Services and that he needed to go.

Blanchard later got into a heated discussion with Ryan when Ryan announced that for personal reasons, he was not going to reappoint Mike Trow to the Board of Zoning Appeals. Appointments to the board were scheduled to be approved at the August 27 commission meeting, however, commissioners voted to postpone the vote because of concerns about Hoppock’s son, Austin, being one of the appointees. The concern was that there might be a conflict if persons on the board were related to sitting city commissioners.

At Monday’s meeting, Ryan announced that Austin Hoppock had withdrawn his application to be on the Board of Zoning Appeals. He also announced that for personal reasons, he was not planning to reappoint Salinan Mike Trow to the board. Ryan provided no further details.

Mike Trow spoke during the comment part of the consideration of appointments to the Board of Zoning Appeals. He said he enjoyed his time on the board and didn’t understand why he was not being reappointed. He said he wished Ryan would make his reasons known because saying nothing more than “personal reasons” might cause people to think that Mike Trow had done something wrong. He said he wanted the public to know that he had done nothing wrong.

Blanchard urged the other commissioners to overrule Ryan’s decision. Commissioner Melissa Rose Hodges moved to amend the Board of Zoning Appeals appointments to include Mike Trow. The motion was defeated.

Another motion was made to postpone the vote on the appointments to the Board of Zoning Appeals until the next week’s meeting. That motion was approved 4-1, with Hodges voting nay.

The commission also conducted the following business.

• Accepted an offered public utility easement dedication from HMH of Salina, LLC in the Highland Meadows Hamlet Woodlands Addition.
• Approved Ordinance No. 18-10969 amending Chapter 38, Article III of the Salina Code by amending Sections 38-59 and 38-62 pertaining to contracts for vehicle towing and storage services.
• Approved Ordinance No. 18-10966 amending Section 35-40.2 of the City Code that would allow movable signs and outdoor furniture to be placed in public alleyways in addition to front sidewalks, plazas, and arcades and that would allow for staff review and approval of movable sign and outdoor furniture permit applications in the C-4 (Central Business) District.
• Approved Resolution No. 18-7603 authorizing the Interim City Manager to exceed his $19,999 purchasing authority, in advance, to continue legal services provided by Fischer Patterson Sayler & Smith for a confidential personnel matter.
• Approved rejecting bids for the replacement of four rooftop units for Heritage Hall, located on top of the Tony’s Pizza Events Center.
• Approved Resolution No. 18-7602 authorizing the Interim City Manager to execute a letter of engagement with Development Strategies for analysis of sales tax data relating to the STAR Bond District.
• Approved Resolution No. 18-7601 adopting the revisions to the City Manager position description.
• Discussed and approved the City Manager profile and brochure with suggested changes.
• Approved an application Z18-17, (filed by Ken Wasserman on behalf of Norton Wasserman,
  Jones and Kelly), requesting approval of an amendment to Section 42-59(d)(2)c.7 of the Temporary Use Regulations in Article IV of the Zoning Ordinance to increase the allowable size of an onsite inventory storage unit located at a consumer fireworks facility and consider companion request to amend Section 14-56.1(f) of the Fire Code to increase the allowable size of an onsite inventory storage unit in the Fireworks Ordinance.