On Tuesday, August 13th the Liberal City Commission addressed the following items during their regularly scheduled meeting:
Consent Agenda items (airport leases) were approved by the Commission.
The Commission voted to approve Resolution No. 2417 which authorizes the sale of General Obligation Temporary Notes for a maximum of three years. The funds will be used to cover construction costs and reimburse the 1-cent sales tax fund for expenses related to the City’s solar energy project approved in February 2024. When the IRS Direct Pay reimbursement incentive for the project is received in 2025, the incentive will be used to pay down the Temporary Note, with the remaining balance being bonded.
Resolution No. 2418 was also approved to set a public hearing date for the establishment of a Rural Housing Incentive District (RHID) for Larry and Hickory Streets. The hearing is scheduled for 5:30 p.m on September 24, 2024 in the City Commission Chambers. The proposed development plans for these Doll Addition and Holiday Estates Addition parcels in Southeast Liberal include the planned construction of 65 single-family homes.
The Commission received a floodplain presentation update from Benesch regarding changes to Liberal’s floodplain maps. The revised floodplains show more accurate flood risk information. Once approved and made effective by FEMA, the updated maps will clear the way for future residential and commercial land development and allow some property owners to adjust their flood insurance coverage. The Commission gave consensus to have these changes incorporated into a countywide study and the current project timeline anticipates new maps made effective in late 2026.
Commissioners voted to approve the purchase of two scoreboards for the Liberal Recreation Center gym to be funded through donated funds. The scoreboards will replace malfunctioning equipment.
The Commission next received a project presentation from Apex Clean Energy, which is seeking to partner with the City of Liberal on an agreement to purchase treated wastewater to establish a green hydrogen facility in Liberal. The proposed project would be the first of its kind in Kansas. The facility would use on-site wind and solar energy generation to electrolyze treated wastewater to produce clean hydrogen fuel for use in agricultural, transportation, and heavy industrial manufacturing applications. City staff said if an agreement to sell water is approved, the adjusted flow of effluent water to Arkalon Park would keep two main fishing ponds filled. Staff will bring a wastewater purchase agreement to present for approval at the Commission’s next regular meeting on August 27, 2024.
Commissioners heard a request for the creation of a Community Improvement District (CID) agreement from Damien Denmark, representing DQ LBK, LLC. Denmark expressed interest in seeing a reformatted business CID incentive program created to help fund new business startups. Following discussion, the Commission gave consensus for staff to explore ideas for new CID program parameters.
Finally, the Commission discussed a proposal to commit $30,000 of funds from the community development portion of the 1-cent sales tax to support a reduction of visitor lab testing fees at the 2024 Community Health Fair hosted by Southwest Medical Center on October 5th. The Commission voted 4-0 to approve the expense, with Commissioner Janeth Vazquez abstaining from the vote.
The next regularly scheduled Liberal City Commission meeting will take place August 27th at 5:30 p.m.