Mayor Tim Reazin and Vice Mayor Ruth Hughs, along with the rest of the commission, listen to Alleigh Weems present and answer questions on the Downtown Grant Program.
The City Commission went into executive session before Monday’s general meeting to have early discussions related to acquiring property.
No further details about the session or property were discussed during the regular meeting. Prior to the meeting, Vice Mayor Ruth Hughs told The Eudora Times that she didn’t know when the information would become public.
Under Kansas open meeting law, public bodies may go into executive session for preliminary discussions relating to acquiring property. They are not allowed to take any binding action in secret sessions.
During the regular commission meeting, agreements to begin renovations on the building at 701 Main St. were unanimously approved. The building will have a new look once renovations are complete.
In December, the commission approved resolutions that authorized the city to apply for a renovation for 701 Main St. The project is estimated at $372,305, and the city received a grant of $250,000 from the Kansas Department of Commerce, after applying for a Community Development Block Grant Commercial Rehabilitation. The property owners, Paul and Kawehi Wight, will pay the additional $122,305.
The $250,000 grant will cover exterior wall restoration, window repair/replacement, ADA compliant entrance, emergency lighting/exit sign installation and other repairs, according to Secretary of Commerce David Toland’s letter to Mayor Tim Reazin.
Reazin said he appreciates the effort of everyone involved in this renovation, from the state to the property owners. He added that he looks forward to the building being a usable space.
The commission also approved several grant applications from business owners..
Barbwire Barbeque owner Jason Musick applied for $7,500 to consolidate the restaurant into a single kitchen, improve outside draining and construct a private dining area. Musick was awarded his full application request.
Stan Byrne leases 101 W. 10th St., Suites B & C and 103 W. 10th St. to Farm Bureau Financial Services, Eudora Eye Care and Eudora Dental. Byrne applied for funding to paint and repair the building’s siding and trim, for a total of $3,000, but he will be awarded a grant of $1,500.
Bee Kang of Charritos Plaza Mexican Restaurant applied for $7,500 in funding to purchase concrete for a parking lot, and was awarded $4,500.
Josh Pacheco, owner of G.O. Technologies, LLC applied for funding for two buildings to complete the second phase of a complete exterior repair and paint job, and was awarded $1,500.
Alleigh Weems, management fellow for the city, provided background information on the Downtown Grant Program.
The program’s 2022 budget is $15,000, with a maximum grant amount of $7,500 per application.
The funding will be available for the businesses once the city has received receipts for reimbursement of the expenses eligible under the grant.
In other news, Ben Terwilliger, executive director of the Eudora Area Historical Society, gave a biannual update on the society and the Eudora Community Museum.
“Perhaps the biggest highlight of the last six months or since my last presentation is that in-person field trips have returned to the museum,” Terwilliger said. “We’ve had the fourth grade and the third grade students visit us.”
Terwilliger added that since 2011, 2,283 students from Eudora schools and other groups have visited the museum for field trips.
In other news, Randy Weldon, chief operating officer of Honey Creek Disposal Service, spoke to the commission regarding a fuel surcharge fee. The presentation was merely informational on Honey Creek’s intent to exercise the fuel surcharge fee due to fuel price increases, and no action was taken.
In other news, the commission approved the purchase of 12 mobile and 13 portable Motorola radios for the Eudora Police Department, for about $116,000..
Reach reporter Abby Shepherd at [email protected]