By Rich Wicks | Times Vedette
The April 22 Panora City Council meeting included a public hearing for citizens wishing to ask questions or make comments about the proposed budget for the upcoming fiscal year. No citizens were on hand to comment, and the city had received no comments in writing, so the hearing was promptly closed. The council then approved the budget as proposed.
Ismael Galvan (Public Works) addressed the council regarding outdated equipment and outlined his recommendations. He explained that the city’s 1997 Ford street sweeper is essentially obsolete, since the cost of expected repairs is prohibitive. He suggested posting the street sweeper for sale on the gov.deals website. He also suggested trying to trade in the city’s 1995 Bobcat skid loader toward the purchase of a new skid loader. If an acceptable trade-in allowance isn’t offered, Galvan suggested also selling the skid loader on gov.deals.
Galvan stated that the city’s street-sweeping needs could more cost effective by using attachments on a skid loader. He showed information on an attachment from John Deere.
“It’s a sweeper with a gutter brush on it. I think that’s kind of the direction we’d like to go, because it could be used for multiple things,” Galvan said.
The council approved the recommendations.
City Administrator Lisa Grossman informed the council that she received the RFP from the Guthrie County Board of Supervisors regarding EMS services.
“They are giving us until June 14 to send a reply, so we’re going through it…and we’ll probably meet together some time to talk through that,” Grossman said.
Grossman also updated the council on progress toward finishing up the Jackson Street project.
“They’ve begun repairs. They’re working through driveways and various things,” Grossman said. “I think over this week and part of next week, their goal is to get those wrapped up.”
Grossman said the city is looking into the issue of large storage containers that some citizens have brought into the city. She said the Planning and Zoning Board will discuss the topic and make recommendations.
The city council’s next regular meeting will be May 13 at 5:30 p.m. The public is welcome.