By Jennifer Stultz
Tri-County Tribune Editor
jstultz@cherryroad.com
The Greensburg City Council met March 03, 2025 at City Hall, called to order by Mayor Matt Christenson who led the Pledge of Allegiance. Top items of discussion included a connecting sidewalks project, a nepotism hiring policy, and the SW Kansas highway expansion project.
Council present at the meeting included Mark Trummel, Nathan Charlton, Haley Kern, Pam Reves, and Wayne Keeton. Administrator Stacy Barnes, Tourism Director Heather Bailey, and City Clerk Christy Gibson were also present.
In the citizen comments section of the meeting, Tourism Director Heather Bailey introduced artist David Loewenstein. Earlier in the day, Loewenstein conducted community engagement at the Kiowa County Senior Center and with the senior class at Kiowa County High School regarding a community-based mural and potential sites.
Getting down to business, council members reviewed engineering firm RFQ responses in regards to the KDOT Transportation Alternatives Connecting Sidewalks grant project continued from the last meeting.
Council had been provided with 3 RFQs to consider, as well as a score sheet to rate the responses. Firms responding included Schwab Eaton, PEC, and BG Consultants. Barnes had provided an average of the score sheets that were returned to her but updated that data prior to meeting with one additional submittal. PEC did receive the highest score.
Kern said that any of the three firms would have been good to work with and were qualified but noted the city’s good work history with PEC. She said she was comfortable moving forward with PEC.
The next step, after selecting a firm, would be to negotiate a contract. Barnes has received the grant agreement with KDOT. Trummel asked if engineering fees are included in the grant. That is the case. The only potential cost to the city would be any easement or right-of-way fees that could arise. Trummel said that it would be a good idea to educate residents on the project before the process gets much further. He feels that some may not understand the city has a grant and will wonder how much it may cost the tax payer. ”People whose properties may be affected should be contacted,” he said.
Barnes said that areas designated for sidewalks in the grant application process are just proposed locations at this point. Part of the work to be discussed and done with the engineering firm will determine the exact locations. Kern agreed to additional public education but also wants to keep the project moving forward. It was noted that funds are not available until fiscal year 2026.
Trummel made a motion to select PEC as the engineering firm for this project, based on the scoring process. Keeton seconded. The motion passed 5-0.
Barnes brought the city’s nepotism policy up for discussion and asked the council to consider amending the city’s current rules, mentioning a couple examples over the last several years where this policy has come up when trying to hire part-time and summer staff at the Big Well Museum and the swimming pool. Barnes said that having a smaller talent pool than in a large city has meant that staff had to decline potential employees who would have been good to hire.
“I would like to know if the council had any appetite to amend the policy and add supervisory oversight from Administration in those situations,” Barnes said.
Reves asked if candidates could be considered on a case-by-case basis. Kern concurred that, being a small community,these scenarios are almost unavoidable in some situations. She agreed that reviewing each situation independently, to see if the applicant would be a good fit for the position, was not a bad idea.
Mayor Christenson said he favored the option of additional administrative oversight in these cases, creating checks and balances.
Kern asked if Barnes could reword the policy and bring it back for council consideration. A resolution to bring it back at the next meeting was the agreement.
Concerning SW Kansas Highway Expansions, Barnes reported to the council that she participated virtually in a SW KS highway expansion advisory group meeting. She was asked by Rep. Shannon Francis from Liberal, chair of the House Transportation Committee. Barnes said it was a good kick off meeting with representatives from cities, counties, and economic development across counties west of Wichita and south of I-70. Later in March, listening sessions will be held across the region to gather more input. Barnes said she would share that information once it is available.
