Butler City Council News

Courtesy FM 92.1 The Bullet

In Butler City Council news, our listeners will be pleased to know that the Butler Fire Department helped, following the Joplin tornado. Fire Chief Jim Henry, Assistant Fire Chief Jason Bennett, along with firemen Doug Wix, Jason Wix, Jim Lewis, Dan Robinson and Jeff Hall responded with a pumper truck and a support vehicle. Several other groups and individuals also help after the tornado.
In other Butler City Council news, the solar farm project is in its next stage, waiting on negotiations for the purchase power agreement. Butler buys power through MOPEP, which will be buying power from the solar farm. A tax abatement is also part of the plan. These items should be set by next council meeting.

Work on a county nine-one-one plan is continuing. The County is waiting for an OK on its application for a loan to finance it, and Butler will pay its share over a five-year period.
For those not familiar with countywide 9-1-1, every location in the county gets a number, and when an emergency call comes in, the number shows exactly where it's located, meaning that help is on the way immediately. A very good move for our county. More on that as it develops.
The mold problem at the Butler Police station is getting attention as more problems are cropping up. A study by Steve Hubbard indicates that water penetration needs to be stopped and there are roof problems, as well as termites that need attention from a company that can handle this.
And Steve said he didn't see how the building can be used while this work is taken care of. We'll watch developments on this.

And it's a dog's life. The rules and regulations on the dog situation runs nine pages of fine print, because it covers such things as the annual license, kennel permit, vicious dogs, penalty for violation, conditions declared nuisances, molesting, injuring and interfering with dogs of the police department, number of animals allowed per residence, animals at large, impoundment, and destruction of viscous dogs. There’ll be more study of this.

Additional time will be allowed at the pool for swimming lessons, at a charge of $55 dollars per person. also, life guards providing the lessons will be considered city employees and will be paid their hourly wage while giving lessons.

Also, Park Superintendent Scott Bitner said the new computer system used for daily receipts and checking in swimmers is working well.

A change at the bulk water load station west of the Butler power plant. Some persons or businesses loading water have been inserting the hose into their tanks, leaving unsafe chemical or substance residue on the hose. From now on, users will have to provide their own fill hose, to avoid contamination for other users. This will also help eliminate any liability on the part of the city for someone who receives contaminated water.

The only bid for hay cutting on city property was accepted, at $25 dollars per acre. This is on ten acres west of Oak Hill Cemetery, and ten acres at Butler City Lake.
The sealing of the taxiway and installing a trench drain in front of Spencer’s hanger at the Butler Memorial Airport will be finished now. Work was curtailed last fall, and is now being taken care of.
Highway 71 should be part of the nation’s interstate system by the end of the year. And as we’ve mentioned earlier, Bates County has been re-assigned to the Kansas City MoDot district office, as a money-saver.

That’s the Butler City Council news up to now. You’re welcome to attend any and all meetings, the 1st and 3rd Tuesdays of each month, upstairs at Butler City Hall, at seven p.m. But be on time, as the downstairs door is locked, one the meetings start. And if you want to speak to the Council about a matter, let City Hall know ahead of time.