Fort Scott commission approves alley vacation, reappoints zoning members and directs staff on grants and card fees

FORT SCOTT, Kan. — The Fort Scott City Commission on March 4 approved a set of routine and programmatic measures and gave staff direction on several capital and administrative matters, including grant applications, utility payment processing fees and appointments to the Board of Zoning Appeals.

The commission voted 4-1 to vacate the alley between 1418 and 1416 Wall, after city staff told commissioners public works can access water lines and other infrastructure from easements behind the properties. Commissioner Matthew Wells voted no, saying he had a “long standing issue with giving away city properties.” The commission reappointed Robert Nelson and Brian Rhodes to the Board of Zoning Appeals and filled three other vacancies by appointing Denise Doherty (planning commission-eligible seat), Josh Jones (county representative) and a remaining seat filled by Michael Witt (last name reported as “Witt” in the meeting). Commissioners also agreed to re-advertise one remaining vacancy and consider additional applicants at the March 18 meeting.

Why it matters: The Memorial Hall building and several street projects discussed at the meeting involve grant funding that could require substantial local matches. Grant choices and street project priorities will shape capital spending and maintenance plans in Fort Scott over coming years.

Commission direction on grants and street projects

Mary Wyatt, presenting options for Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) and Kansas Department of Transportation (KDOT) cost-share projects, recommended continuing to pursue a CDBG for Memorial Hall. Commissioners agreed that Memorial Hall should be the priority CDBG application rather than pursuing a bond at this time. Wyatt said the new CDBG rules allow rolling monthly cycles and multiple project sizes; she explained smaller projects may require a 10% local match (often cited at roughly $200,000–$250,000 caps) while larger projects can run substantially higher. Wyatt told commissioners that a recent award for an East National project covered 0.67 miles and totaled about $2.9 million, requiring roughly $1.9 million in local matching funds.

On KDOT projects, commissioners directed staff to pursue a cost-share application for Third Street from the bypass (Highway) to National Street, including alleyway work where appropriate. Commissioners discussed alternate KDOT candidates — Sixth Street or sections of Broadway/Main Street — and talked through truck-route and signage benefits tied to completing a traffic study and tape counts. City engineer Jason said he will work with Mary Wyatt on exhibits and cost estimates required for KDOT and CDBG applications.

Infrastructure project updates

City engineering staff reported progress and weather-related delays on several projects. Horton Street grinding and final profile work were pending as of the meeting and the city’s one-year warranty after project acceptance was reiterated: the contractor must repair failures occurring within 12 months of acceptance at no cost. The city engineer also said work on the Fox Hill project and water meter moves were underway as weather allows. Staff reported two municipal parking-lot concrete projects scheduled to begin, one south of Hometown (to be striped and curbed) and another behind the downtown apartments; both aimed to be completed before April 4’s pavilion concert season opening if weather permits.

Credit-card convenience fees and utility payments

Devon Talley briefed the commission on two options from Tyler Technologies for utility and other municipal payment processing. The first option would charge customers 2.95% when the city processes a card transaction (would require new merchant IDs and about six months to implement). The second would add a convenience fee that spreads charges differently across payment types. Talley gave sample rates cited by staff: some court payments at 3.95%, golf-course charges at roughly 2.93%, and a Buck Run fee listed near 3.0% in staff materials.

Commissioners gave staff direction — not a formal ordinance vote — that customers paying by credit card should bear the card-processing fee while cash and check payers should not be charged. Commissioners asked staff to implement the approach so the convenience or processing cost is incurred by the card user rather than absorbed by general revenues.

Zoning board appointments and process

The commission moved to reappoint Robert Nelson and Brian Rhodes to the Board of Zoning Appeals; the motion passed unanimously. Commissioners then appointed Denise Doherty to the seat that may be held by a planning-commission member, named Josh Jones as the county representative, and selected Michael Witt for a remaining city seat. One seat lacked letters of interest and the commission directed the city clerk to re-post the vacancy and return the item March 18.

Other business and administration

City Manager Brad briefed commissioners on starting a review of food-truck licensing; Fort Scott currently has no specific food-truck ordinance and staff noted the city’s existing chapter 5.2 (solicitors, canvassers, and peddlers) has not been consistently enforced. Staff were asked to return options for licensing, fees and enforcement.

Commissioners also discussed downtown striping and parking enforcement, a proposed schedule for street-sweeper days to improve downtown curb appeal, and concerns about golf-course operations. Commissioners said they will convene staff and the golf-course manager to consider tee-time procedures, placards or other low-cost controls to reduce unregulated play and ensure revenue collection.

Votes at a glance

- Alley vacation — Motion to approve vacation of alley between 1418 Wall and 1416 Wall; mover/second not specified; vote: yes (Catherine Salisbury, Tim Van Hooky, Dylan Olsen, Tracy Dancer) 4; no (Matthew Wells) 1; outcome: approved. Note: staff said public works can access water lines from alternate easements.

- Reappointments to Board of Zoning Appeals — Motion to reappoint Robert Nelson and Brian Rhodes; mover/second not specified; vote: unanimous; outcome: approved.

- Appointments to Board of Zoning Appeals — Motion(s) to appoint Denise Doherty (planning-commission-eligible seat), Josh Jones (county representative) and Michael Witt to remaining seats; mover/second not specified; votes: unanimous for each appointment; outcomes: approved.

- Tabling/relocating vacancy item — Motion to move the remaining appointment item (item B under new business) to the March 18 meeting to allow additional recruitment and clerk posting; vote: unanimous; outcome: tabled to March 18.

- Consent agenda and agenda approvals — Routine motions to approve the consent agenda and amend the agenda to add an executive session before adjournment passed by recorded aye votes; outcomes: approved.

What remained unresolved

Commissioners provided direction — not formal policy changes — on credit-card convenience fees and asked staff to prepare ordinance options and implementation steps for food-truck licensing. KDOT and CDBG applications must still be completed with exhibits and cost estimates and may require commission approval of any local match amounts before submission.

Ending: The commission recessed into an executive session for a personnel discussion under KSA 75-4319(b)(1) and later adjourned. The clerk will post further agendas and updates, and several items are scheduled for the March 18 meeting for follow-up.