CITY OF TIPTON – CITY COUNCIL MEETING – Monday February 3, 2025
The regular meeting of the Tipton City Council was held at 7:30 p.m. Monday February 3, 2025 at City Hall. Those present were Mayor Jarrod Shivers, City Clerk Brigit Gasper, City Superintendent Rod Barker and City Council members Mark Towner, Sara Dilley, Michael Ohnsat and Jessica Krier. Austin and Lexi Thomas were also present. Council Member Ben Avery was absent.
Mayor Jarrod Shivers called the meeting to order. The Pledge of Allegiance was recited.
Minutes from the January 6, 2025 meeting were reviewed and approved.
There were 6 late fees charged for utility bills, 4 letters were sent.
The sales tax receipt for January was $5346.95. The City’s January receipts were $174,420.51; disbursements were $129,173.00. A quarterly Highway Tax distribution from the State of Kansas was received in the amount of $1251.21. This was added to the street fund. The Mitchell County General Tax Distribution in the amount of $36,863.30 was received and deposited to the General Fund. Invoices were received from TREB Construction for the Concession building construction. These were submitted to the Tipton Community Foundation for review and reimbursement to the City from funds donated by the Houghton Family Foundation so the invoices can be paid.
The year-to-date expenses and receipts were reviewed in addition to the General Ledger report year to date. The General Ledger final report for 2024 was reviewed and all funds were within budgeted amounts for the year 2024.
Jessica Krier made a motion to pay the bills; Michael Ohnsat seconded. Motion carried.
Brigit reported that Jeff Roberg from NCKCN notified her that the City of Tipton website and email accounts needed updated since this had not taken place for a number of years. He will contact Brigit regarding the updates and changes to the site.
An email was received from Heather Weston, Mitchell County Clerk that some positions coming up for election in 2025 need to be certified. Brigit reported that the positions up for re-election are Mayor Jarod Shivers, and Council members Sara Dilley and Michael Ohnsat. Anyone interested in running for these positions needs to file prior to June 1, 2025 to have their name appear on the ballot and pay a $20.00 filing fee. Positions would be voted on in November and would go into effect at the December 2025 meeting.
Austin and Lexi Thomas came to the meeting to report that they are interested in purchasing the former restaurant building from Shirack Enterprises. In the contract between Shirack Enterprises and the City of Tipton for purchase of the building approved in Nov. 2024, the City had first rights to re-purchase the building. Austin and Lexi presented their ideas for their intended use of the building if they were able to purchase it directly from Shirack Enterpises. The council agreed that they could move forward with purchasing it directly from Shirack Enterprises and the City would not be interested in the property.
The Tipton Grocery closure announcement was discussed. Lack of business support and a consistent customer base are major contributors to the decision to close the store.
Brigit will be mailing the required KMIT Audit documentation off the week of February 10. The annual water report will be completed by March. She reported that the clerk position is still open and would welcome anyone interested to contact her or Jarrod Shivers.
It was reported that snow removal was done well by Rod and his crew considering the amount of snow that needed to be moved. The condition of streets in town was discussed. The cost of rock and oil for the street repair continue to go up. There may need to be an increase in street fees on the monthly city bills in the future to help with the rising cost of materials.
The growing number of stray and unhealthy cats in town was brought up. It is becoming an increasing problem in some areas of town. It was suggested to concentrate on feeding family pets.
The increasing number of regularly uninhabited homes was discussed. There is a significant percentage of homes in town that do not have people living in them, or they are only inhabited a small portion or a few days of the year. The effects of this was discussed as there is hardly any available housing if someone wishes to move to Tipton. The owners of these properties provide little or no income for businesses in Tipton. This is becoming a rapidly increasing problem and there is a need for housing when teachers or businesses need housing available in the community. The community cannot grow without housing for those wishing to be a resident and member of the Tipton community.
Rod reported that when the weather warms up, he will be planting some grass around the new concession stand building. Types of grass and watering needs were discussed.
Meeting was adjourned at 9:15 pm. The next meeting will be Monday, March 3, 2025 at 7:30 pm.
Brigit Gasper, City Clerk