Reps from Butler County provide insight

Representatives from the cities throughout Butler County, as well as the county, gathered in El Dorado Thursday evening for the 65th Annual Butler County Mayors Dinner, hosted by El Dorado Mayor Tom McKibban.

After a social time of talking and sharing ideas, those attending gathered in the dining room at Prairie Trails Golf for dinner.

A representative from each community shared what was going on in their community during the meal.

A lot is going on in Andover. City Manager Sasha Stiles gave an update of their projects.

Andover is currently in the process of completing the Highway 54 corridor study, which she said has been extremely helpful.

"It's got some really exciting results," she said.

There also is construction underway on 21st Street, of which they are about 3/4 of the way through. This project will make 21st Street into a boulevard style four-lane street.

"Also at the southeast corner of Andover Road and 21st Street there are multi-family units going in," Stiles said.

In all, they had approximately 50 new starts in 2011 for building permits.

"We just finished the envisioning Andover process," she continued. "Things are stable in Andover. Sales tax collection has slightly increased over the years."

Leon Mayor Gerald Schuetz began by sharing about his community. The main project for them is the sewer project, of which they are about 2/3 of the way into. They received a Community Development Block Grant to help cover some of the cost.

Next, Augusta Mayor Kristey Williams talked about what they had going on. She began with the lake, which she said is almost dry, but did provide a lot of good fishing while it was being drained. That project is expected to be finished by May 1 or sooner. She said she is asked a lot if it involves any dredging of the lake, which it does not. It only involves the dam and spillway. Once the lake is refilled, the city will restock it with fish.

Another project for Augusta is the levy project, which hasn't been started yet because one of the contractors who had a high bid on the project is protesting the decision on who to award the bid to. It is currently being held up in Washington, D.C.

Other projects include the airport, partnering with Andover and the possibility of a new Walmart.

The main focus for Potwin currently is rebuilding its financial integrity. Mayor Dean Schmidt said their previous city clerk didn't turn in a lot of information and payments to the state that were required and they were fined $9,000. 

They now have a new city clerk who is getting things back on track. 

"It's been a difficult year for me," he said. 

There also is a whole new council in Potwin that is made up of a lot of young people, he said. 

"We will rebuild and be better than before," Schmidt said.

The next big project for them also will be sewer work.

In Douglass, they are working on a renovation and remodeling project for their water tower. 

They also paid off a large street project bond so they are now looking at the next phase of that project.

In addition, they applied for and received a grant for tornado sirens and warning systems in the community.

"We're making progress," said Douglass City Administrator KaLyn Nethercot.

The work in Andover, especially on 21st Street, has been a benefit to another city in the county, Benton.

Because of that work, they moved their pump station, something they had needed to do for a while. With this, they also put in an emergency water hookup with Rural Water District No. 5. 

Benton Mayor Ken Gile said Stearman Field has been important to their city.

"That's really our shining star out there and that's where all our growth is with hangars and homes," he said. "We will pursue on."

Looking at the county as a whole, County Commissioner Bruce Harris gave an update on some of their ongoing issues.

He updated the group on the sales tax collections for the new communication system, saying it ought to be paid off in 8 1/2 years, instead of 10 years.

Keystone Pipeline is another ongoing issue for them. They are looking at appealing the tax abatement for Keystone and negotiating to get Keystone to agree to repair two roads in the county, although Harris said that doesn't look good.

In addition, County Administrator Will Johnson gave an update on a couple of bills in the state legislature which has caused them to be making trips to Topeka to talk with representatives. These bills would change how industrial property is valued, affecting the assessed valuation for the county because of HollyFrontier.

"It would have a 6.6 percent hit on the county evaluation," Johnson said. "The impact statewide could be in the billion dollar range to local governments."

To conclude the presentations, McKibban talked about what was going on in El Dorado.

"We seem to be doing OK this year," he said. 

Among some of the projects, Barton Solvents has completed their new facility here, and BG Products is well ahead of schedule on their project.

The new sports complex is expected to be completed by Sept. 1 and the Hope VI grant is providing money for the revitalization of two downtown buildings. 

"We continue to work on our water," McKibban said.

Through a study by Black and Veatch, they found out they have a lot of water available to sell.

"We're looking forward to hopefully being able to market that," he said. 

"Herb's staff is doing a good job," McKibban continued. 

The city also has two new schools in the works and a wind turbine for the waste water plant moving ahead.

The biggest challenge for the city is a couple of road projects, one being Towanda Avenue and the other the road to the new middle school. 

On a broader scope, there also is a county issue important to the city.

"One of the county issues is putting community college funding through the state instead of the county," he said. "I really think we need to work with the county and get that on a state funding issue and not county funding."

Following the presentations, the group continued their meal and visiting to conclude the evening.