Low-income residents 65 and older and disabled veterans will be able to apply for assistance for the city portion of their property tax bill later this year after Monday’s City Commission meeting.
The property tax relief program for Eudora was inspired by a similar program that started in 2024 in De Soto. This year, qualifying residents will be able to apply for up to $500 off their bill. Applications will not start until May after the final property tax bill payment period ends.
Those eligible will be able to apply via mail or in person at City Hall. To read more about the qualifications, read our previous story here. Residents will have to meet the low-income guidelines.
The city is using the $20,000 usually dedicated to downtown/residential grants to fund this program. Mayor Tim Reazin said there have been fewer applicants for the downtown grants in recent years and no one has ever applied for the residential grant.
Since the property tax rebate is just a pilot program, it is possible the city will bring the business grants back in the future and examine different funding options for the property tax relief. Reazin said most of downtown has been updated now, but if they had more interest in the grants they have the potential to return.
Reazin said the Senior Foundation of Eudora has been made aware of the program, which was their goal. It’s hard to know how many disabled veterans are in town, though, he said.
In other business, some roads in town will see updates as part of the annual pavement management program. The commission approved two bids to move those projects forward.
This round of the program will include the next phase of mill and overlay in the Shadow Ridge neighborhood: Stratton Drive, Beaumont Street, Montrose Drive and Leander Street. It will also include chip and seal for section 5 of the management plan.
The commission approved a bid from NewCo Construction LLC for mill and overlay for an amount not to exceed $499,015. The second bid approved was from Bettis Asphalt and Construction for chip and seal in an amount of $75,767.
After the city’s policy on golf carts and ATVs was brought up at the previous meeting, city staff shared possible options if the city did want to move forward with changing its current policy to allow for these. Although some communities in the area allow them, commissioners ultimately decided it didn’t seem safe for Eudora.
Commissioner Roberta Lehmann said she has concerns about them being driven on County Road 1061 where there are many big trucks. She also said if the city did change its policy, it would be hard to ever go back to not allowing them.
Commissioner Alex Curnes said it would also bring more work for city staff. People would have to register their vehicles and police would have to enforce these new rules, he said.
This was not an official action item, but the commission made a unanimous decision to not move forward with discussing adding this policy.
In other business, the commission voted 3 to 2 to approve the consumption and sale of alcohol at a fundraising event for the All Night Prom Committee.
The event that will be in the Community Center gym will raise money for the annual All Night Prom that is targeted to keep students safe from drinking and going to parties after prom.
During the fundraiser from 7 to 9 p.m. March 8, attendees will be able to purchase beer and wine to help fund the student event.
Reazin voted against the item, citing concerns about alcohol in the gym, and Curnes voted against because he doesn’t support drinking in public places.
Ben Terwilliger, executive director of the Eudora Area Historical Society and museum, gave his biannual update to the commission.
Terwilliger said one of the most notable changes was the addition of the new core exhibit at the museum that examines Eudora’s earliest history.
The 2024 visitation was also good. Terwilliger said with 2,171 people coming to the museum, that’s about 31% of the population.
In other business, the commission had a preliminary work session to discuss hiring a full-time city planner versus the current on-call planner.
As the city continues to look at redoing its codes, having a full-time planner could make that process go faster, City Manager Kevyn Gero said.
The city uses Kyle Kobe for its planning needs on an on-call basis. Gero said sometimes a contractual rate can become more than an in-house contract. She said while the upfront cost is higher, it may be more cost-effective in the long run if the planner is working on big projects like updating codes.
A contractual person would be a part of more conversations and could handle applications and questions from residents.
Reazin said he sees the value to it and thinks it’s important as the city plans for growth. It will make it easiest on developers who are wanting to come to the city, as well, he said.
This full-time person may be included in the 2027 budget, but until then the city can still work on making code upgrades until then, Reazin said.
Zoning district fixes are something that can still happen this year, Gero said.
There was no action taken on this item.
Budget analyst Michael Gentry gave an update on the 2024 fiscal budget. He said overall it was a good year for the city’s general fund. Revenues were up 5.8% from what was originally budgeted and expenses were down 3.4% of what was originally budgeted. The final general fund balance was 28.7% higher than originally budgeted.
Human resources specialist Susie Yuran provided a staffing update. Police officer Kyle Sommer and Parks and Rec intern Abigail Green were hired. Dylan Coleman got a certification to be a first aid/CPR/AED instructor and Jacey Kost became a master patrol officer.
Reach reporter Sara Maloney at [email protected].
