July 2, 2026

The Jetmore City Council met in regular session on July 2nd, 2026. Mayor Bill Goebel called the meeting to order and led the group in the Pledge of Allegiance. Roll call was answered by Councilmen Jeff Channell, Kenton Ubelaker & John Neeley. Also attending were City Administrator Michael Ort, City Clerk Casey Dansel, City Attorney Clayton Kerbs, Sheriff Jared Walker, Rachel Thooft & Kevin Sherrill.

Councilman Channell made a motion to approve the consent agenda containing the June minutes & Appropriation Ordinance #2026-06. Councilman Ubelaker seconded the motion; vote unanimous.

CITIZENS COMMENTS:

Kevin Sherrill addressed the council with concerns on the drainage issues adjacent to his property on Kenyon Street.

SHERIFF’S REPORT:

Sheriff Walker presented the council with his monthly report.

AUDIT REPORT:

City auditor Rachel Thooft of Medill & Thooft presented the council with the audit report. Councilman Channell made a motion to accept and file the audit report and have the auditors submit it to the state. Councilman Neeley seconded the motion; vote unanimous.

BUSINESS ITEMS:

Rose Mary Saunders presented the council with information regarding updating our water conservation plan & presented options to the council. Matt Smith with Playa Lakes Joint Venture presented info to the council regarding playas and water conservation. Council and staff agreed to several of the options to meet the requirements for updating the plan. A final draft will be presented next month for final passage.

Mr. Ort provided the council with an update regarding the parking on the 400 block of Main Street. KDOT would have to approve any changes made to parking to determine if the street is wide enough.

Mr. Ort presented the council with his proposal for Economic Development. Council would like to table the discussion until a full council is in attendance.

Mr. Ort explained to the council that we only received the one bid for the airport runway project, which came in above the amount estimated by engineers. Since the state will not provide additional funds for the project it has been recommended that we do the project in stages with the first step being crack sealing and repair, with the full-depth repairs in places where the most significant cracks exist, and simple crack sealing elsewhere. Councilman Ubelaker made a motion to proceed with the updated plan and award the project as suggested. Councilman Channell seconded the motion; vote unanimous.

Mr. Ort presented the council with his hiring decision and recommendation of Carson Jones for the Public Works position. Councilman Ubelaker made a motion to approve the hiring of Carson Jones for the Public Works position. Councilman Neeley seconded the motion; vote unanimous.

CITY ADMINISTRATOR REPORT:

*2027 Budget Progress-Good progress has been made on the budget, and it is anticipated to be available for review later this month.

*Main St. Project Update-A few more steps in the process for planning and preparation were completed recently via email. Our engineer, Chad Lawson, sent forms to the city to be reviewed and signed, then submitted

to KDOT. One correction was requested by KDOT, and Michael was required to take an online training class, and pass a final exam, on the process of acquiring right-of-way. No right-of-way of real property acquisition will be necessary for this project, but it is required of all local participants to have at least one staff member who

has received that training.

*Water Well Project-Mr. Ort informed the council that sampling and testing continues on Well 13, aimed at determining the feasibility of it as an additional water source for the city. Some results have been disappointing (combined radium levels wise), while others have been more encouraging. When that is complete, Ned and KDHE staff will work together to make a judgment on whether or not there is a path forward to using that well in the public water supply.

*Trash Service Complaint-Michael told the council of a recent complaint received by the KDHE Southwest office in Dodge, against the trash hauler in the last month or two by a resident of Jetmore. The complaint was regarding a narrow stream of an oily/watery mixture that extended from a dumpster behind the south bar, into the alley to the south and a concern for public health/safety. KDHE ultimately reached out to the trash hauler, after speaking with the complainant, city staff, and other relevant local parties, and learned that there had been a lack of closing certain plugs in the trash compartment of the truck. The hauler made a commitment to make sure that was done in the future, after which Michael was notified by phone and email, and the complainant was followed up with. The issue is now considered resolved and the file closed by KDHE.

*Lead Service Line Inventory Project-Staff continues to work with JEO Consultants staff on this project. A second round of letters will soon go out to residents. Social media posts have been refreshed, a post and link to the survey will be placed on the city website, and radio ads will soon go out to several area radio stations. There were a little over 50 responses already received, after the first wave of advertisements/mailers, so it was a good start. Michael also attended a status meeting with JEO personnel via Teams last Wednesday. The next one is scheduled for July 29.

*City Lake/Blue-Green Algae-The council was made aware of the fact that the city lake had been diagnosed by KDHE as having a blue-green algae issue. The determination was for a Warning, which is the second tier alert.

The threshold for this tier is greater than 250,000 cells/mL (of the algae) or 8.0 micrograms of toxins. The results received indicated 586,354 cells/mL, but less than .3 micrograms of the toxins, which is the element that will lead to illness in pets and humans. Retesting will happen regularly until the warning is lifted. Signage has been placed at the lake making people aware of the dangers and the recommendations should they come into direct contact with the water. Fishing and other activities can continue to take place, with recommended precautions.

Councilman Neeley made a motion to adjourn. Councilman Channell seconded the motion; vote unanimous.

Meeting adjourned at 9:07 p.m.