City approves demo program application

An demolition program application, appointments to the Frank Carlson Library and a request to exchange federal funds were among the items approved by the Concordia city commission during its regular meeting on Wednesday.
The commission accepted the application from Steven Reedy to have the house at 403 East Fifth Street placed into the city's demolition program, and authorized city manager Amy Lange to sign the contract with the owner based on the lowest bid for the demolition of $8,5000 from Jenson Ag Services. The reimbursement amount to the owner is $3,850.
The house had been damaged by a fire in March 2017, was condemned by the city in July 2018 and has changed ownership, and Reedy is looking to remove it and preserve the property for future development.
At the request of Frank Carlson Library director Denise de Rochefort-Reynolds, the commission approved reappointing Sue Gustafson to a second four-year term on the library board, and appointing Lindsay Metcalf to a four-year term.
The terms for both will begin May 1, 2019 and expire April 30, 2023.
Scot Henderson will complete his second term on the board on April 30, and is not eligible for reappointment.
Ron Copple, director of Public Works, presented the commission with a request to exchange federal funds in the amount of $61,412.68 and to apply for a 90 percent reimbursement from the Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) of $55,271.40.
The funds will be used for the mill and overlay project on State Street from 18th Street to the south side of the cemetery and Campus Drive from State Street to Republican Street. The project was completed last summer.
The Federal Fund Exchange program is a voluntary program that allows a local public agency to trade all or a portion of its federal fund allocations in a specific fiscal year with KDOT in exchange for state transportation dollars. The exchange rate is $0.90 of state funds for every $1 of local federal obligation authority exchanged.
The commission authorized Mayor Mark Matthew in signing the request of federal funds.
Cloud County Community College president Dr. Adrian Douglas met with the commission and discussed things taking place at the college.
Douglas talked about the fabrication lab, Cloud Maker, that is being established at the college; the Cloud Coding Academy; and Cloud-Frastructure, an effort to explore ways to bring scalable optical broadband infrastructure to Concordia.
Two proclamations were presented to the commission during the meeting.
The commission proclaimed April as Alcohol Awareness Month.
The proclamation calls upon all citizens, parents,  governmental agencies, public and private institutions, businesses, hospitals, and schools and colleges in Concordia to support efforts that will provide early education about alcoholism and addiction, and increase support for individuals and families coping with alcohol.
The commission also proclaimed April as Donate Life month.
As part of Donate Life Month, there will be a flag raising ceremony at Cloud County Health Center on April 11 at 9:30 a.m in celebration of the generosity of organ donors and their families and to honor transplant recipients.