Alva Review-Courier -

The Kiowa City Council held their monthly meeting Sept. 9. All members were present as Mayor Bill Watson opened the meeting with the Flag Salute and had Councilmember R.L. Simpson give a prayer. Present were councilmembers Russ Molz, Brent Shaffer, Brian Hill and Tom Wells. Also seated at the council table were City Clerk Trish Brewer and City Attorney Brandon Ritcha. The city administrator position is still vacant.

Larry Kleeman with Ranson Financial Group LLC attended the meeting and brought five bids for the council to consider for financing the Kiowa City Hall improvements. The projected cost of the project is $395,000, which will be financed with GO (General Obligation) Bonds.

Kleeman said the best bid was from Commerce Bank who offered 2.69% interest on the 20 year bonds. He also said the amount can be lowered from $395,000 to $385,000 the way the bond purchase works.

Kleeman told the council about three items they needed to approve that evening to set this in motion. By a vote of 5-0, the council approved that the best bid is from Commerce Bank. Next they approved Bond Ordinance 19-461, which authorizes the issuance of the bonds. Finally the council approved Resolution 19-299, which describes the formal details of the bonds.

Once all is completed, the money will be wired to the city Sept. 25, Kleeman said. April 1, 2020, is the city's first payment due date for the bonds.

The council also directed Mayor Watson to sign contract documents contingent on liability limits, etc. On the renovation project the council said no on any of the alternatives.

City's 2020 Budget Must Be Republished Due to Typo

City Clerk Trish Brewer said she received word the day of this meeting that the city's 2020 budget had a typo in it (the date of the hearing). Due to a state statute, the budget must be republished. Therefore, the council approved republishing the budget with the corrected date. So the council scheduled a special meeting on Sept. 26 at 7 a.m. to hold another budget hearing.

Mayor Watson said the state told him all the budgetary figures look good.

More City of Kiowa Business Items

It was brought to the council's attention that the Corner Stop has been charged for two dumpsters ever since the new owners have had it although they just have one. The previous owner had two dumpsters. The council approved giving them credit until it's even.

Mayor Watson said he picked up Retro Bill, the motivational speaker who came to address school students and the public for the second year, at the airport in Wichita. Watson said he heard part of his presentation and described him as “very good,” adding “money well-spent.” Watson said Retro Bill planned to talk with high school students about suicide prevention, which is so timely and important.

Microsoft in the city office needs to be updated. The cost is $250/user (they have three users). Watson said Microsoft has an offer of $750 for a 10 year license for each user. The council approved that.

City Superintendent John Duvall asked to purchase a bagger attachment for the mower. The cost is $6,400, which they approved. Duvall also told the council he received a call about fluoride certification in the city water system. The council discussed it a while. Watson said it costs the city about $600/year to inject fluoride into the city water. They'll gather some information before deciding at the next meeting.

Duvall said they believe a lightning strike hit the soundboard at the community building.

During council items, Wells said grass clippings are causing a mess and clogging up storm drains. Hill asked how often the city crews are running the grass and tree limb route.

Molz said curb and guttering was approved a long time ago and it needs to be done.

Simpson said he's had inquiries from someone in Cherokee about if they could work together on recycling. Hill said only if it will be profitable for Kiowa.

Mayor Watson said over a week ago Brewer witnessed a “jay back out” in the early morning. An oncoming vehicle had to slam on their brakes to avoid an accident, he said. The mayor said after receiving a warning ticket for a jay-turn, violators will be issued a citation.