Arkansas City Commission selects Chad Beeson as mayor, names Tad Stover vice mayor and approves 4.88% raise for city manager

Chad Beeson was selected as mayor and Tad Stover as vice mayor during a regularly scheduled Arkansas City Commission meeting. The commission also approved a consent agenda that included a resolution authorizing attendance at an upcoming land bank meeting and, following two executive sessions on non‑elected personnel, approved a 4.88% pay increase for City Manager Randy Frasier.

The reorganization vote and the raise came during the open session that followed two recesses into executive session to discuss non‑elected personnel under KSA 75‑4319(b)(1). A motion to give City Manager Randy Frasier a 4.88% increase for the 2025 year was moved and seconded; the commission voted in favor (recorded as “Aye”) and the motion carried.

The consent agenda approved the Dec. 17, 2024 meeting minutes and a resolution authorizing a governing‑body public meeting to attend a land bank trustees meeting at 5 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 20, 2025, in the commission room at City Hall, 118 West Central. The commission approved the consent items by voice vote; the chair called “Aye” and the motion carried.

City Manager Randy Frasier delivered department updates and an events calendar. He said a meeting on the Struthersville sanitary sewer relocation project is scheduled for Jan. 9 with PEC staff and Struthersville representatives; as part of the realignment of U.S. 77 in the Struthersville area, a lift station must be relocated and the local wastewater treatment plant will be mothballed, with piping to connect Patterson Park to Arkansas City’s wastewater system.

Frasier said the city will hold a town‑hall meeting about a CDBG housing rehabilitation grant on Jan. 14 at 5:30 p.m. to solicit pre‑applications and to identify a target area; he said the target area may shift depending on applicant interest. The commission’s planning retreat is set for Jan. 17 from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the water treatment facility classroom. Frasier noted Local Government Day hosted by the League of Kansas Municipalities (LKM) is Jan. 22 in Topeka and said he had a meeting scheduled with state Sen. Ali; he said arrangements with Rep. Riley were pending.

Other items on the calendar Frasier mentioned included the chamber banquet on Feb. 1 and the SEK Health Foundation gala on March 1. He also summarized department reports about a recent winter storm, praising staff and noting that the city produces its own de‑icing brine, which saves “thousands of dollars.” Tony, a public works staff member, described the brine process: “We use water softener salt and I also buy liquidized stuff that they use for air strips and attic.” An environmental services report for December was delayed because the assistant environmental superintendent had a baby and leadership staff were managing coverage, Frasier said.

The meeting included two motions to recess into executive session to discuss personnel matters for non‑elected employees pursuant to KSA 75‑4319(b)(1); the open meeting times were announced before each recess. No public speakers were listed for comment, and the meeting concluded after a brief closing and a motion to adjourn.

Votes at a glance

- Approve agenda as written —…