By Bruce Dierking – KNDY News
The Marysville City Council met Monday. Concerns with drainage issues at the Lakeview Sports Complex brought discussion. Mayor Carla Grunde suggested holding off on construction of a sidewalk which had been approved until engineering surveys can be completed, with recommendations to correct the drainage. She spoke in favor of using a portion of proceeds from the sales tax fund, and asked council input as to a consideration of using perhaps 40% of those revenues going forward. That could generate some $217,000 annually and would allow retaining at least a majority of the $2.4 million in funds already collected, which are earmarked for the new swimming pool, and maintenance. That $3.5 million debt will not likely be paid off for at least 7-9 years. The matter of using sales tax revenue for projects other than the pool has raised questions previously.
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Wording of the public ballot initiative several years back leaves some room for interpretation, the mayor commenting “we have the budget authority, we just have to change the ordinance.” Council member Bobbi Pippia cautioned that some believed previous council intent was that funds were for the pool only. Council member Darlene Boss thought the improvements would be a good idea, that many people use the ballpark, and such an effort would address safety concerns. No action was taken at Mondays meeting.
An estimated $87,000 for improvements including milling, inch and a half asphalt overlay, and repainting the south three tennis courts in the Marysville City Park met resistance as council member Kevin Throm asked, “what does the city gain from the south three courts, eighty-seven thousand is a lot of money.” He noted that the north three may be sufficient for activities outside occasional school tournaments. Some $90,000 was spent five years ago, and ground settling issues have been a continual problem since the extension was built. After consideration, it was determined that City Administrator Austin St. John would approach USD 364 about sharing expenses. The district pays $1,950 annually for use of the facility.
The mayor brought up significant budget increases this year, noting that vehicle costs were up $700,000 year over year with purchase of five new trucks. Additionally, street improvements were up some $600,000. She reiterated a goal to maintain the current mill levy and cautioned spreading purchases out over the years. This brought comment from some council members that vehicles and equipment may then run the risk of break downs, and reduced value. A suggestion by council member Diane Schroller to consider buying used vehicles was quickly rebuffed as the City Administrator underlined the government discount available on new vehicles, and other members expressed concern that used vehicles could be buying someone else’s problem.
In a suggestion for supporting economic development, the mayor found consensus for waiving the $250 commercial water/sewer connection fee for the downtown area. She suggested that a draft be returned for consideration, that would make the incentive retroactive to the first of this year.
Council member Terry Hughes requested that a stop sign on 8th Street at Jayhawk Road be moved to the south side, on 8th Street at that intersection. After brief discussion, the matter was referred to the next council meeting where an ordinance could be presented.
The city strongly urges any households that received the income verification survey to complete and return those, as a majority percentage is required to determine if the city would qualify for federal funding for a new fire station. The data will remain confidential and would be used to confirm income levels of households.
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