ELLY GRIMM
• Leader & Times
The Liberal City Commission made rather quick work of its agenda at its most recent meeting Tuesday evening.
Up first for the commission was discussion of the formal acceptance of a donation to the Mid-America Air Museum (MAAM).
“Per the agenda, we are requesting formal acceptance of a donated 1971 Grumman Ag Cat spray plane from Jim Floyd,” MAAM Director Bob Immell said. “This project started almost five years ago when we were discussing the donation of the plane, and then the plane arrived at the museum in April 2024, at which time an appraisal was requested. The plane is a huge improvement to the museum because it is a very important part of our agricultural community, and it’s a very good example of that type of aircraft. There were some delays in getting all the information for the appraisal, and we received that appraisal in November 2024. The appraised value of the aircraft came in at $36,000, and Mr. Floyd recently completed the necessary paperwork and accepted that price this past January.”
“Do you guys have this plane on display out there yet?” Commissioner Jeff Parsons asked.
“Yes, it’s currently in the spot where we had the Bob’s Diner display,” Immell said. “We were able to move Bob’s Diner outside the building a couple weeks ago, and very soon, it will make its final trip to the Coronado Museum grounds. We’re ready to start making the backdrops for this exhibit, and this donation will make 109 planes in the museum.”
Ultimately, the commission gave formal approval of the donation of a 1971 Grumman Ag Cat Spray Plane from Jim Floyd with an appraised value of $36,000 by a margin of 4-0, with Mayor Jose Lara absent.
Up next for the commission was the revisiting of discussion of the addition of a waiver for the $10 Wastewater Improvement Fee for the city’s housing programs.
“As you all are aware, the Wastewater System Improvement Fee Waiver Program has been established to assist the utility account holders of Liberal who meet all of the following criteria: 1) They must be the occupant of their home located within the city limits and produce a water/sewer bill showing the account is in their name; 2) They must have a combined household income that does not exceed 125 percent of the median income; and 3) They must be at least 60 years of age or older on the day of the application, or they must be disabled or have a disabled family member,” Liberal City Manager Scarlette Diseker said. “This is what was approved in January when Keith [Bridentstine] and his crew came and presented the housing grants. These are the same guidelines that were set forth in the Water System Improvement Fee Waiver Program in 2016. We wanted to be consistent with the original fee waiver, and the primary goal is to assist senior and disabled citizens who are on fixed incomes or in financial situations where additional flat fees would cause hardships. This program is budgeted from a line item within the 1-cent sales tax Housing and Community Development Fund, which has sufficient budgetary authority. All existing Water System Waiver recipients will be grandfathered into the accounting system, so there should be no issues there. The Water Waiver Program has always been focused on senior and disabled citizens, and for this reason, we recommend keeping the same guidelines in place for wastewater. While we understand there may be many households that would benefit from a fee waiver, it is the citizens of Liberal as a whole who will assist in repayment of the Wastewater Plant debt, and we have to be mindful to not diminish the revenue generation to a point where it isn't serving its purpose in order to reduce the debt service by 2037. As was discussed at previous commission meetings, the Wastewater Treatment Plant should be operating as an independent utility where essential services are provided to the public in return for payment. Over the years, we have refrained from charging additional sewer fees to keep prices low, but due to the inflationary environment of the past five years, it is vital that we make solid financial corrections and decisions to set the city on a solid path forward.”
Ultimately, the commission voted to approve a motion to grandfather currently waived customers and continue the process to waive the $10 Wastewater Improvement Fee for future qualifying customers by a margin of 4-0.
Concluding the meeting’s new business was discussion of a 1-cent Sales Tax transfer to the Wastewater Construction Fund.
“As you all know, in April 2022, the commission approved Change Order No. 9 for the Wastewater Treatment Facility. In this change order, there was a funding request of $221,646 for the clearing and grading of Can Ditch on that property,” Diseker said. “In my conversations with Brad [Beer], he did feel this initially needed to come from the 1-cent sales tax, but because it was included in the project, the expense hit the 301 Construction Fund, and is therefore increasing the negative balance. Current leadership feels this expense should have been covered by the 1-cent Sales Tax Fund 260 for Streets, Drainage, and Other Capital Improvements. Therefore, I’m requesting permission to transfer $221,646 from Fund 260 to Fund 301 in order to cover this expense and reduce the deficit in the Wastewater Construction line. There will still be a need to amend the loan with the Kansas Department of Health and Environment (KDHE) for the remaining negative balance, but we feel this transfer is justifiable, as Fund 260 primarily exists to assist drainage issues, street repairs, and large capital projects. Fund 260 currently has a cash balance of more than $7 million, with about 50 percent of that earmarked primarily for housing and development projects within the city, so we feel there are sufficient funds to move this amount. That’s the healthiest balance we’ve had in that fund in a long time, and I feel comfortable with this transfer, but I’m treating it like a project transfer we would have at the end of the year that would typically be seen in December.”
Ultimately, the commission approved the transfer of $221,646 from Fund 260 (1% Sales Tax Streets, Drainage, and Other Capital Improvements) to Fund 301 (Construction in Progress) to credit the Wastewater Plant Project by a margin of 4-0.
