On Wednesday, the Kahola Homeowners Association formally exercised its option to buy the lake from the city for $1.75 million. The city agreed to the purchase unanimously.
The sale has been pretty much a done deal since last spring, when the association submitted the only bid for the lake and the city accepted it. Since then, a boundary survey and environmental study have been completed and the proof of title has been secured. An inspection of the dam is currently underway.
Commissioners also approved a conditional use permit for a salvage yard that’s been in the works since July.
Galamba Metals, which recycles metal from automobiles, appliances and other sources, will put a salvage yard at 302 Graham St. According to Jerold Fletcher, the company’s executive director for ferrous operations, Galamba has 11 regional centers and processes about 600,000 tons of scrap metal a year.
Commissioners gave the company a conditional use permit but required it to put up an 8-foot fence around the property. The permit will be reviewed in one year.
The company has been trying to get a permit since July. It came before the city commission in August but was bounced back to the planning commission after an official realized a salvage yard had to be at least 300 feet from a residential site instead of 200 feet. That also required a stamp of approval from the Board of Zoning Appeals.
In other business, commissioners agreed to annex 20 acres near Industrial Park III, but a neighbor asked commissioners to think carefully before rezoning the property.
The land, located in the 1800 block of East Logan Avenue, is being sold to Emporia Enterprises by Roger and Janice Wilch. Emporia Enterprises hopes to get the land rezoned for industrial use.
Another 20-acre parcel next door has been rezoned industrial, but with the condition that Emporia Enterprises work with a professional designer to develop a plan and review the buffer zone that shields the property from neighbors.
Janet Haag, who lives nearby, asked the commission how enforceable those conditions were.
“This is a big part of whether I would approve or not approve of the annexation,” she said. “I’d like to know how the city commission will enforce it.”
The rezoning of the Wilch property is set to come up at the Oct. 18 meeting, which starts at 7 p.m. The Metropolitan Area Planning Commission last month recommended against it by a 4-3 vote, with one planning commissioner saying he wasn’t sure conditions could be attached to a rezoning.
In other business, commissioners were told that representatives from consulting firm Waters-Oldani will visit Emporia in two weeks to help the city decide what it wants in a city manager.
On Oct. 18 and 19, company representative Chuck Anderson will interview city officials and community leaders to create a profile of Emporia’s ideal city manager. That in turn will be used to help select candidates.
The interviews will include the commission, city department heads and individuals from the community. The community members have not yet been selected but Mayor Jim Kessler said they may be chosen by next Wednesday’s study session.
“We’re still new to this,” he said with a chuckle.
The commission may nail down some of the details with Waters-Oldani at the study session.
“It’s ultimately our responsibility to establish the profile, with input from others,” City Commissioner Julie Johnson said.
“We need their input, but I agree,” Commissioner Bobbie Agler said. “The buck stops here.”
Mark McAnarney is the current interim city manager. The previous city manager, Steve Commons, held the position for 20 years.
In other action:
• Parker/Hunter of Pennsylvania put in the low bid for the city’s 2006 temporary notes at 4.0865 percent interest. The bid covers $4,820,000 in temporary notes.
• Commissioners voted to let the police department spend $22,079 on equipment from the E-911 fund, paid for by a 25-cent fee on cell phones.
• The commissioners approved a $377.50 per month lease for the Federal Aviation Administration office at the Emporia Municipal Airport.
• Commissioners approved a $547,391 bid from Star Construction to pave 30th Avenue from West Lake Drive to the Holiday Resort driveway in concrete. APAC-KS Shears Division had submitted a bid for asphalt work that was roughly $7,500 lower, but the commission decided that it preferred concrete if the prices were that close.
• Commissioners agreed to close part of the Seventh Avenue and Merchant Street parking lot on Oct. 13 for Emporia Main Street’s “Freaky Friday” dance.
• The commission proclaimed Oct. 8 through Oct. 14 as “Fire Prevention Week,” Oct. 13 through Oct. 15 as “Helping People With Intellectual Disabilities Days,” Oct. 15 through Oct. 21 as “Older Worker Week” and Oct. 18 as “Disability Mentoring Day.”