COTTONWOOD FALLS — Mayor Mike Swartz took a moment during the city council’s regular meeting Monday night to try to dispel rumors that the council was preparing to sell the municipal building and take up offices with the school.
More than 20 people were at the meeting, and several were there out of concern for the municipal building, which has housed city hall for as long as many Chase County residents can remember.
“We have made no decisions on this building one way or another,” Swartz said.
There were fears among some residents that business was being conducted during the council’s executive sessions, which would violate the state’s open meeting laws.
Swartz said the council had only discussed the municipal building during one executive session, and that was a discussion to look into the possibility of selling the building.
“We were accused of making a final decision during an executive session, and that is entirely false,” Swartz said. “What we’re doing at this point is we’re only exploring the idea to see if there’s any interest in that building that could bring jobs and retail and things like that and getting a value for that building if we did decide to sell it, which we have not.”
The council will continue to explore the option, and Swartz stressed that the council members will welcome input from the community.
“There will be no decisions made until the community has had a chance to respond,” he said. “That’s my promise to you. No matter what you’ve heard, that’s my promise.”
One audience member asked what purpose it would serve to sell the municipal building only to have to rent another one for offices.
Swartz said it was in the city’s best interest to make sure the building was being used in the best way possible for it, and the council was merely looking into whether or not Cottonwood Falls would be better served if the building had a different use. The only reason the council is looking into sharing a building with the school, he said, would be because the school building is not on the tax rolls.
“Whether the school even wants to do that or not, we don’t know,” Swartz said. “They’re just one of two or three we’re going to talk with so that when we start making decisions, we have our ducks in a row.”
Another audience member said the municipal building had been the location of city hall since she was a child.
“I just can’t see any reason to sell it,” she said.
create (anonymous) says...
Aha, crack, another idea upon which we agree. Good term too, "crippling attitude."
Yes, it's time to move on. It's a good thing the pioneers didn't have such ideas as keeping the status quo. They'd still be back east or living in soddy houses out on the prairie.
I remember dealing with that same "it's always been that way" defense in Education when long-time educators kept dragging their feet about Quality Performance Accreditation and new state standards and benchmarks and having to adjust their lesson plans. Many even retired early as a result of their disagreements. But that left room for innovators, thank goodness.
Let the future begin!
August 19, 2009 at 9:54 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )
Flint_Hills_Sage (anonymous) says...
Let's hope the CWF city council realizes the potential of their municipal building. With one hotel across the street and another just two blocks to the north, the place could easily host small conferences, day conventions, corporate staff meetings, and even occasional social events like weddings and dances.
With the community having a great reputation for folk, country, and bluegrass music.... some of those events would blossom within a remodeled and attractive facility.
GO CWF! It's worth the effort. It's okay for city officials to aggressive. Their role should be to govern which doesn't always equate to saving money and reducing taxes.
Enough said...let's see what happens.
August 19, 2009 at 10:51 a.m. ( permalink | suggest removal )