Marion police chief asks for smoking ban in Central Park
Staff reporter
Marion Police Chief Josh Whitwell asked Marion City Council Monday to consider a smoking ban in Central Park.
Whitwell said he had received complaints from people regarding cigarette smoking during Chingawassa Days. He commented that the park has become a place for juveniles to smoke and it would make his job easier if no one smoked in the park instead of determining if a juvenile is smoking in the park.
The police chief also commented that there were other issues in the park that will be taken care of in the future. He did not elaborate on those issues.
Other issues discussed by the council regarding Central Park included public accessibility to bathrooms and a drinking fountain.
Councilman Stacey Collett said people were asking him why the bathrooms are always locked. He asked if surveillance cameras could be installed to record vandals. Whitwell said they could, for a price. He continued that vandalism typically occurs in the evenings after 6 p.m., so law enforcement has been locking the bathrooms at 6 p.m. They are opened by 8 a.m. daily.
Councilman Gene Winkler asked why there wasn't a drinking fountain on the gazebo between the bathrooms. Public works director Harvey Sanders said a new one was installed last year and was ripped off the gazebo. It was decided by city officials not to replace it.
In other business:
— City officials have determined that a drainage easement should be obtained on the east side of the street through a resident's yard in the 100 block of North Roosevelt Street to alleviate longtime drainage problems in the alley of the 100 block of North Freeborn Street.
When it rains or snows, there is a large pool of water that drains north from Casey's General Store on Main Street in the alley and remains on private property and in the alley until it evaporates.
The problem began when a house was built in the 100 block of North Roosevelt Street in the 1960s and was made worse when Casey's was constructed.
— A written proposal will be sent to Marion County Commission regarding the sale price of lots at Marion Industrial Park for a proposed jail facility.
If the county paid full price for the lots, the city would provide the street, water, and sewer. A fuel adjustment also may be considered.
Collett said he wondered if the city should just give the lots to the county and let the county pay for the infrastructure.
The proposal will be sent to the county with all items negotiable.
It was determined that at some point, the city council and county commission needed to figure out the details.
— A payment of $30,354 was approved to Hett Construction for work on the Arlie's Inc. building at the industrial park.
— The council reviewed changes to the city's building permits ordinance. No decisions were made.
— Bucks for Building applications for Josh and Clark Whitwell at 811 S. Roosevelt and Lee Dalrymple and Linda Skiles at 808 S. Roosevelt were approved.
The city awards $1,000 to the owners of new homes built in the city that meet the program's requirements.
— Zoning administrator Marty Fredrickson reported there will be public hearings Tuesday by the board of zoning appeals to review a variance, July 1 by the planning commission to review a conditional use permit with a work session following, and July 15 by the board of zoning appeals to review a zoning appeal. All meetings begin at 7 p.m. in the council room.
— Licenses for the sale of fireworks were approved for Wholesale Fireworks Enterprises of Wichita for a location at 1111 E. Main, and Mary's Enterprises of McPherson for a sales location in the east lot at 301 E. Main.
— The city office will be closed from noon to 1 p.m. Friday because employees are presenting a program at Marion Chamber of Commerce.
— A work session will be at 4 p.m. Monday to review the city's emergency electrical outages plan and the building permit ordinance.
— A 15-minute executive session was held to discuss the economic development position. In attendance at the session with the council, were Todd Heitschmidt and city administrator David Mayfield.
The session was extended another 10 minutes. When the meeting reconvened, there were no decisions.
— A 15-minute executive session was held for trade secrets with Mayfield in attendance.
The meeting reconvened with no decisions.
— A work session may be planned between the council and Peggy Blackman to discuss drainage issues.
The next regular council meeting is at 4:30 p.m. June 30 in the city building.
