The Chanute City Commission Monday adopted resolutions authorizing a Wastewater Treatment Plant project, and issuance of the first part of the bond financing for it. The nearly $30 million project will be funded through three separate issues over the next three years in order to make the bonds “bank qualified”, which will enable the city to get more favorable interest rates from Kansas banks.
The phased approach to selling the bonds is identical to what was done for a recent water plant project. This is a revenue bond project, which will be paid for through sewer fees. As of now, the project is scheduled to be bid in May.
The Commission approved a staff recommendation to demolish the Katy Ballfield and Stadium. This field has not been used since 2020, when the Chanute Recreation Commission moved all of its baseball and softball teams to Santa Fe Park. The stadium is in extremely poor condition and has seen a lot of vandalism and other issues over the past few years.
Demolition of the stadium will be done by city crews, and that is expected to take place in the fall, and the Commission expressed interest in possibly making some of the bricks and stones available for the public. It would be noted Code Enforcement Office Vance Carter Issued a notice of violation last week on the Stadium.
The commission also adopted eight nuisance abatement resolutions during the meeting. City Manager Todd Newman discussed what other communities have been doing regarding dilapidated structures and noted over the past six months the city of Parsons has demolished 64 structures.
Chanute has a significant backlog of dilapidated structures, and the main thing affecting how fast the city is able to proceed is availability of contractors. Newman noted agreements have been entered into for voluntary demolitions at eight properties.
Commissioners approved a request from Main Street Chanute for temporary closure of six parking spaces on Main Street south of the Main Street Pavilion Tuesday evenings between 4 and 6:30 PM during the market season to provide additional vendor spaces for their weekly Farmers Market, and use of Katy Park Saturday June 13th by the Mirza SEKCATS for their car show. In past years they have begun setup for the show the afternoon before. It also approved a closing of Allen Avenue for Tuesday evening’s Chanute Early Learning Center’s Touch a Truck event.
The Commission approved a request from the Foundation of Neosho Memorial Regional Medical Center for a fireworks display April 24th as part of their annual Gala Event, which marks their 75th Anniversary.
