Commission elects new leaders
By Joey Berlin
Originally published 01:04 p.m., April 17, 2008
Updated 01:04 p.m., April 17, 2008
As Julie Johnson left her seat at the center of the city commission dais to switch places with newly elected Mayor Bob Agler, she was asked if she had ever sat in Agler’s spot on the end. Johnson said she had not.
“I’m gonna be on the far right — it’ll be a first in my life,” she cracked, drawing laughter from the commission and city staff.
Johnson concluded her year as mayor Wednesday night after the commission officially voted to install Agler, who earned this year’s mayor spot as the top vote-getter in last year’s city commission elections. Commissioner Jeff Longbine, who garnered last year’s second-most votes, was formally elected vice-mayor.
After taking Johnson’s seat, Agler paid tribute to her work.
“Well Julie, you’ve done a fantastic job in this last year,” he said. “You have had some real burdens to guide us through, and I think Matt (Zimmerman)’s the one that commented a couple of weeks ago that I have some very big shoes to fill. And I think that’s probably very true.”
Johnson concluded the first portion of Wednesday night’s meeting by reflecting on her year leading the commission.
“The last year has been a very interesting and challenging one for all of us,” she said. “I’ve been honored to serve as the mayor and represent the city of Emporia for the past year. It’s been a wonderful experience.”
In addition to electing its new leadership, commissioners reappointed Phil Dillon to the Human Relations Commission; two HRC spots, those of Mary Sutton and William Cogswell, will expire on May 1. Sutton had served two three-year terms and couldn’t be reappointed, while Cogswell was eligible for another term but elected not to serve one. Johnson encouraged members of the community interested in serving on the Human Relations Commission to apply either online on the city Web site or to pick up an application at the city manager’s office.
The city also reappointed Commissioner Kevin Nelson as its representative on the Emporia Recreation Commission and reappointed Commissioner Jim Kessler as its participant in the activities of the Joint Economic Development Advisory Council.
In City Manager Matt Zimmerman’s report on city activities, he told the commission that a meeting with Sen. Jim Barnett and Rep. Don Hill had been scheduled for 8 a.m. Saturday in the city conference room to discuss the machinery and equipment slider payment the city will receive from the state. The payment was supposed to be intended to offset value loss from the exemption of personal property, Zimmerman said, but the city isn’t set to receive the size of payment it was expecting.
“Well, we figure since most of the personal property in Lyon County is in Emporia, we figure that was supposed to be coming back to those areas that were losing that value,” he said. “We’re not quite sure that’s what happened, so we want to talk about that.”
In other activity Wednesday, the commission:
• Approved the purchase of a new recording system for the police dispatch center from American Telecom Solutions and CDW-G for $70,800.50, which would be paid out of the city’s wireless 911 money. The state will reimburse $32,436 of that money.
• Approved a change order on the city’s contract with Hastco Construction for the municipal airport’s new hangar. The change order increases the amount of the contract for the project by $19,886. The city is responsible for $6,319 of that.
• Authorized Johnson to sign proclamations declaring April 25 as Arbor Day in Emporia; May 11-17 as Nursing Home Week; and April 21-25 as Earth Week, with April 22 being designated as Earth Day.
• Presented Community Area Recycling Excellence (CARE) and Master Recycler Awards for the Recycling Advisory Board. Master Recycler awards were presented to Menu Foods, Hopkins Manufacturing, Village School (with individual awards to students Keenan Pierce and Jose Rodriguez and paraeducators Denise Ziegler and Karen Pendlay), Hetlinger Developmental Services, Flint Hills National Wildlife Refuge and Kay Carl’s and Theresa Smithhisler’s fifth-grade classes at Lowther South Elementary School. CARE awards were given to Linda Glaser for the individual category and to Johnson Handwoven for the business category.
• Authorized restricted parking in the municipal parking lot in the 700 block of Merchant Street for the Emporia Community Market. The market will run each Saturday from May 3 through Oct. 25 from 7 a.m. to about 1 p.m., and Wednesdays from June 18 to Oct. 29, from 4 p.m. to about 6 p.m.
• Approved a resolution of support for the new Multi-Use Path Planning Board’s application for a Safe Routes to School grant. The federally funded Safe Routes to School program provides reimbursements, through the Kansas Department of Transportation, for programs and improvements that encourage and help children to walk or bicycle to school more safely. With the initial Phase I grant, the MUPP board will target safe routes to Walnut, Logan Avenue and William Allen White schools with up to $15,000 provided by the city, which will then be reimbursed by KDOT.
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