The Linn Valley City Council held its bi-monthly meeting at 7:00 PM on Monday, October 23, 2023, with Mayor Cindy Smith presiding and all council members present.   

Following approval of the October 9th and October 14th meeting minutes, Mayor Smith opened the floor for citizen participation, however, there were no citizens seeking to make comments or to share information with the Council.   

City Clerk Karen Siffring presented the Council with the final draft of Ordinance No. 252 which amends Section 12 of the Zoning Ordinance of the City of Linn Valley, Kan.  Key elements of the ordinance are two sections with proposed language dealing with the parking or storage of recreational vehicles and camping trailers at permanent residences within city limits.

The Ordinance had been adopted at the previous meeting contingent upon the correction of the wording as follows:

Item No. 4 in Section 6.1 of the city’s Zoning Ordinance which deals with R-1 Lots now reads as follows: 

“No recreational vehicle or camping trailer may be stored or parked on a lot such that it can be seen from any point off site at ground level, but a recreational vehicle or camping trailer may be parked outside of an enclosed structure on that lot between May 1 and September 30.”  

Likewise, Item No. 6 in Section 7.1 of the city’s Zoning Ordinance dealing with R-2 Lots now reads as follows: 

“If a permanent residence is on a lot, no recreational vehicle or camping trailer may be stored or parked on that lot such that it can be seen from any point off site at ground level.  Lots that do not have an existing primary family residence may host a maximum of (1) recreational vehicle used as a permanent or temporary dwelling, on the lot with no time limit.”  

There were other changes to the zoning regulations including the addition of definitions, clarification on the maximum size of accessory structures, regulations on child daycare and short-term rentals.  The ordinance was approved by the Council with these and other changes. 

Siffring noted that the city’s mowing contract is up for renewal.   Based on her recommendation, the council approved a motion by Council Member Robert Suppenbach to renew the current contract with Mike Van Vlack at the current cost of $150 per mowing.  

Council President Lew Donelson passionately addressed the council about disagreements between council members.  He stressed that council members and/or the mayor may not agree on every issue, but they must endeavor to work together for the benefit of the community.  Donelson also commented about the ongoing chatter on social media which seems to cause much of the ongoing turmoil within the community, noting that the gossip and backbiting needs to stop so that the residents can come together as a community.  

Donelson also raised the issue of past employees who left employment with the city, but whose resignations were never formerly accepted by the council.  He specifically mentioned Dan Donham, former Director of Planning and Development, who played a key role in earlier stages of the water and wastewater projects, but left employment with the city in July 2022 for reasons still unknown to Donelson.  

Based on Donelson’s request, the council voted to subsequently accept the resignations of the following four city employees:  

Carol Powers, Municipal Court Clerk

Don Hastings, Building Inspector

Dustin Stuteville, Police Officer

Dan Donham, Director of Planning & Development

Smith announced that the city’s 25th Anniversary Jubilee will be celebrated from 4:00 – 6 p.m. at City Hall on Monday, Nov.13th.  Past council members and mayors will be in attendance and will be recognized, and the burial of a time capsule has been planned as part of the event.

MEETINGS

LINN COUNTY COMMISSIONERS - Monday, October 23, 2023

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The Linn County Commissioners met in regular session on Monday, Oct. 23, and began their weekly meeting with the approval of the minutes of the last meeting followed by the approval of claims in the amount of $272,818.97. Linn County Rural Fire Chief Randy Hegwald presented... [More]

LA CYGNE CITY COUNCIL - Wednesday, October 18, 2023

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Among actions at the regular La Cygne council meeting last Wednesday, Oct. 18, was a split vote in which the city accepts a draft agreement for title search and warranty deed preparation of seven lots at 402 S. Broadway in exchange for absorbing a $16,400 house demolition bill.... [More]

USD 362 SCHOOL BOARD - Tuesday, October 17, 2023

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In addition to voicing approval for a four-day week survey and preparing for open enrollment policy/daycare grant application decisions next month, two reports located elsewhere in this issue, the Prairie View Unified School District 362 board of education acted on personnel... [More]

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NEWS

SPECIAL: Mound City resident killed in Allen County crash

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On Sept. 9, just after 5:30 p.m., emergency personnel were called to the scene of a two-car collision on U.S. Highway 169 just south of Humboldt, Kan., in Allen County. According to reports filed by the Kansas Highway Patrol, Morgan Wakefield of Mound City, was driving... [More]

Property taxes and how they work

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In Kansas, there is a definitive process for determining what the property taxes are on any given piece of property. Did you know that according to SmartAsset.com Linn County has the second lowest property tax average in the entire state? According to information available... [More]

Pleasanton Fire Department personnel hiring questioned

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What started out as a department update from Pleasanton Fire Chief Jeff Wisdom, turned into a showdown between councilmembers and the mayor in who was hired as volunteer firefighters in Pleasanton. Wisdom informed the council he was beginning training for new firefighters September... [More]

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SPORTS

Alvarez leads Pleasanton cross country

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The Pleasanton cross country team traveled to Garnett for their first meet of the year on Sept. 4 at the Annual Jerry Howarter Invitational. The Jays had runners in both the junior high and high school races.  Dominic Alvarez led the Hawks as he earned a medal and placed... [More]

Jayhawk football starts season with shutout over Central Heights

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The Jayhawk Linn football team traveled to Fort Scott on Sept. 5 to host the Central Heights Vikings for their first game of the season. This was supposed to be a home game for the Hawks but had to be played at Fort Scott because the field was not ready. The game began with... [More]

Spradling era kicks off with oohhs and 'Oz'

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Jason Spradling's head coaching era at Prairie View debuted with plenty of oohhs and 'Oz' Friday night. The oohhs came from an offensive running attack that amassed 612 rushing yards, all but 99 in the first half, and saw Buffalo four-year starters Parker Schwarz gain 287 yards... [More]

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