February 4, 2026
The Jetmore City Council met in regular session on February 4th, 2026. Mayor Bill Goebel called the meeting to order and led the group in the Pledge of Allegiance. Roll call was answered by Councilmen Cole Buffo, Jeff Channell, John Neeley, Kenton Ubelaker & Ron White. Also attending were City Administrator Michael Ort, City Clerk Casey Dansel, City Attorney Clayton Kerbs, Sheriff Jared Walker, Fire Chief Ray Seemann, Sidni Durler, Dick Sorem, Russell Durler, Brian Beil & Alan Wagner.
Councilman Channell made a motion to approve the consent agenda containing the January minutes & Appropriation Ordinance #2026-01. Councilman Buffo seconded the motion; vote unanimous.
SHERIFF’S REPORT:
Sheriff Walker provided his monthly report to the council.
CITY ATTORNEY REPORT:
Clayton reported to the council that we have received a good number of tickets the past few months.
NEW FIRE CHIEF-RAY SEEMANN
Ray Seemann informed the council he is the new fire chief for Jetmore Fire Dept. He informed the council that they are in need of a new pumper truck. Discussed possibility of splitting the cost of a truck with the county. Michael will look into possible USDA grants available as well. Ray also informed the council that the fire whistle will begin being used again for fires.
BUSINESS ITEMS:
Sidni Durler and Dick Sorem met with council to discuss the transformer that will be needed for the new addition to the O’Shea Clinic project. Councilman Channell made a motion to provide the transformer for the clinic. Councilman Buffo seconded the motion; vote unanimous. Sidni inquired about the status of the airport project. Michael informed her that project is moving forward and that it will be completed this year. He also mentioned the lighting project for which application was recently made to KDOT-Aviation.
Administrator Ort provided the council with a letter that was received from Rikene Sanchez regarding a recent water leak she had. Councilman Channell made a motion to forgive the excess water charges on Rikene’s bill. Councilman Neeley seconded the motion. Motion passed 4-1 with councilman Ubelaker voting no.
Russell Durler met with the council regarding a proposed land trade on the property he recently purchased by the golf course. The Durlers would get a 1.7 acre square to the north of their property and the city would get ½ an acre to the south that would give the city ownership of the land adjacent to the green for hole 2. Russell will have the property surveyed. Russell also asked that the city rock the road leading to his property by March 10th, so that construction can begin without tearing up the road. Councilman White made a motion to accept the proposal from the Durlers for the land trade and rock/culvert the road by March 10th, 2026. Councilman Ubelaker seconded the motion; vote unanimous.
Michael presented the council with a petition by Randy & Erin Washburn to vacate the alley adjacent to their property. Councilman Channell made a motion to set a date of March 4th for a hearing for the vacation of the alley and send notice to the newspaper. Councilman Ubelaker seconded the motion; vote unanimous.
Mr. Ort informed the council that in making the 2026 budget he had failed to fund the tourism fund. He recommended the council set a hearing date for a budget amendment to correct the error for the March 4 council meeting. Councilman Buffo made a motion to publish a notice of public hearing for a budget amendment on March 4. Councilman Ubelaker seconded the motion; vote unanimous.
Council discussed the golf membership/lake permit benefits offered to employees and council. Councilman Channell made a motion to discontinue the benefit for both employees and councilmembers. Councilman Ubelaker seconded the motion. Motion passed 4-1 with Councilman White voting no.
Mr. Ort explained to council the need to restructure the CD/Checking/Savings accounts at the Farmers State Bank. What we have determined is that we should draw down the balance of the CD and maintain a balance of $300,000 in the checking account so that there is always enough funds on hand to pay the bills that come in from month to month. Doing so will leave about $1.1 million in the CD. The remainder of the funds will be left in a checking and a money market fund, instead of checking and savings, as a money market account will earn more interest than a savings account, and operates more like a checking account. Councilman Channell made a motion for Casey & Michael to go ahead and make these changes at the bank. Councilman Ubelaker seconded the motion; vote unanimous.
Michael told the council that there are some concerns from SHPO regarding the bricks on main street. SHPO is asking that we be willing to apply for a Historic District designation for the affected area in exchange for the funding to do the project. Councilman Ubelaker made a motion to inform SHPO that we are willing to consider the Historic District Application. Councilman Buffo seconded the motion. Motion passed 4-1 with Councilman Channell voting no.
Councilman Channell made a motion the city council recess into executive session to discuss non-elected personnel pursuant to the non-elected personnel exception, K.S.A. 75-4319(b)(1). The open meeting will resume in the city council chamber at (9:10p.m.). Councilman Ubelaker seconded the motion; vote unanimous.
Councilman Buffo made a motion to return to the open meeting. Councilman Ubelaker seconded the motion; vote unanimous.
Councilman Channell made a motion to install time clocks w/cameras at the city shop and city hall. Councilman Neeley seconded the motion; vote unanimous.
CITY ADMINISTRATOR REPORT:
*Administrator Ort presented his travel and training schedule for the month.
*Red Tag Poles Project-The project kick-off meeting with Mike Schmaderer and two of his staff was held on Jan. 22nd at the city office. The project was discussed generally and plans were made for who was going to be
ordering materials for the project, etc.
*Bell Lumber-Per a request from Brian in December, a truckload of poles were ordered from Bell Lumber on Jan. 15. The total for the order is $20,350. The authority included in the 2026 budget for Poles, Wires, Transformers was $30,000.
*K-156 Project-We received information in January that there are a couple of water service lines that
will need to be lowered in the ground as a result of the widening project. Brian is working on plans to lower these water lines. In addition to the water lines, there are a few meter pits that need to be moved back and
there is one utility pole that will have to be moved.
*Airport-The application for the lighting project was submitted to KDOT-Aviation a couple of days before the end of January. Per the engineers, we should know around March/April if our project will be funded. The estimate submitted with the project was $636,000, which means the local portion will be $63,600.
*KDHE-We received notice from KDHE on Jan. 29 that the city exceeded a secondary Maximum Contaminant Level (MCL) for fluoride in Well 12. This is from testing that was completed in 2025. The MCL for fluoride is 2.0 mg./L. The letter says that the result for Well 12 was above 2 mg/L but below 4 (the result was 2.4mg/L). As a result of this finding, KDHE will require the city to send notice to all water customers via vail or hand delivery of the exceedance. This must be completed within one year of the date of the letter, January 29, 2026.
Afterward a Certificate of Delivery must be sent to KDHE verifying that the order was complied with in a timely manner. As we do not use Well 12 very often the affect is nearly nonexistent. Also, of course, Well 12 is the well that we are trying to replace with our current project.
GOVERNING BODY COMMENTS:
Councilman Channell inquired about the city paying for rock on the county road that leads to the city lake.
Mayor Goebel inquired about the new lettering for city hall. Michael informed the council the lettering arrived this week and city guys will be installing when they get a chance.
Council discussed the ongoing stray cat problem. Too many people are feeding them and the problem continues to get worse. Councilman Channell made a motion to adjourn. Councilman Ubelaker seconded the motion; vote unanimous. Meeting adjourned at 9:17 p.m.