March 4, 2026
The Jetmore City Council met in regular session on March 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, Garrett & Kellan Shafer, Susan Nuss, Charles Leet, Lyla Lonnberg, Paula Younker, Samantha Parish, Pete & Kim Shewry, Mitchell & Sidni Durler & Jesse Jones.
Councilman Channell made a motion to approve the consent agenda containing the February minutes & Appropriation Ordinance #2026-03. Councilman Neeley seconded the motion; vote unanimous.
CITIZEN’S COMMENTS:
Garrett & Kellan Shafer read a letter they had prepared regarding the fire damage to their building and others on Main Street. They shared their concerns about the cleanup process. Susan Nuss addressed the council with her concerns as well and discussed possibility of applying for various grants and assistance. Pete & Kim Shewry addressed the council about their concerns of safety issues with many ways someone could gain entrance into the burned building, especially children.
SHERIFF’S REPORT:
Sheriff Walker provided his monthly report to the council.
CITY ATTORNEY REPORT:
Clayton reported to the council that we are still seeing a lot of tickets come through city court.
CITY CLERK REPORT:
Casey presented the annual Hodgeman County Fair sponsorship information to the council to see if the council wants to sponsor a night at the fair again this year.
NEW FIRE CHIEF-RAY SEEMANN
Ray Seemann gave an update on the search for a new truck. He went and looked at one in Oklahoma but it ended up not being what he wanted to replace the city truck. The council expressed agreement with a plan to allow Mr. Seeman and Mr. Ort to search for trucks up to $120,000, with the final purchase to be authorized in a public vote by the council at a later meeting.
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT:
Samantha Parish, Economic Development Board President informed the council that Isaiah Bradshaw resigned as director, due to his wife taking a new job. She presented the budget to the council. She discussed with the council different ideas on how to fill the opening for director. Samantha also discussed the idea of moving the position in house to the county or the city as a possibility.
BUDGET AMMENDMENT PUBLIC HEARING:
The budget amendment public hearing was opened. No public comment being heard the hearing was closed immediately thereafter.
ALLEY VACATION PUBLIC HEARING:
The public hearing was held regarding the vacation of alley in Cheyenne Development. Citizens Mitchell & Sidni Durler expressed their concerns about the vacation of the alley. Jesse Jones inquired about property lines and surveys due to his property being next to the alley.
BUSINESS ITEMS:
Councilman Channell made a motion to approve Ordinance #693 alley vacation. Councilman Ubelaker seconded the motion. Motion passed 3-2 with Councilman Neeley & Councilman Buffo voting no.
Councilman Channell made a motion to sponsor a night at the Hodgeman County Fair with a donation of $1000. Councilman Neeley seconded the motion; vote unanimous with Councilman Buffo abstaining.
Councilman Channell made a motion to approve the 2026 Budget Amendment. Councilman Buffo seconded the motion; vote unanimous.
Mr. Ort presented a redesign of the city seal to the council. Councilman White made a motion to adopt the new city seal design. Councilman Buffo seconded the motion; vote unanimous.
Mr. Ort discussed the need to fill the Economic Development director opening. He introduced the idea of himself taking the position on for a small pay increase. Council decided to table this issue for a month.
CITY ADMINISTRATOR REPORT:
*Mr. Ort presented his travel and training schedule for the month.
*April Meeting-Mr. Ort reminded the council that per Ordinance 689, passed by the council on May 7, 2025, the April council meeting will be on the first Thursday of the month. So the next meeting will be Thursday April, 2nd, not Wednesday April 1st. Council meetings will continue on the first Thursday of the month through the September meeting.
*HB 2745- Michael notified the council of legislation being debated in the Kansas legislature presently. HB 2745 was passed by the Kansas house last week. The bill would once again change the requirements and the process of how only cities in Kansas draft and adopt annual budgets. Mr. Ort continues to monitor this and other legislation that will affect cities and will update the council as necessary.
*House Sub for SB 244/Bathroom Bill-Mr. Ort also briefly discussed House Sub for SB 244 with the council. This bill went into effect recently and requires all public agencies in the state to restrict use of public bathrooms
based on gender at birth and imposes fines for failure to comply. The League of Kansas Municipalities is working on guidance for cities and counties on how to comply with the law. City staff will then work to put rules into place as soon as possible. At present the only bathrooms the city of Jetmore owns that this law applies to are the bathrooms at the King Center as the law specifically addresses multiple occupancy spaces.
*Time Clock-Mr. Ort informed the council that in late February he implemented a time tracking system which accomplishes all of the requirements of the directed time clock and camera, but at no cost to the city. The solution is an online tool that allows staff to clock in and out in an app on their phones. Each phone number was registered by Michael with the service, so the app is specific to each employee. Because of this, no one would be able to time in for a coworker. Also, the app uses GPS data to locate each employee as we clock in and out each day, and clocking in and out is limited to three areas of Jetmore (around the city office, shop, and clubhouse). Each employee must be within 300 feet of one of those locations to successfully clock in or out. Because Jetmore is an employer with fewer than 10 employees, the use of this app is free.
GOVERNING BODY COMMENTS:
Councilman Channell discussed his concerns about the fire damaged buildings on Main Street. Council agreed to meet again in two weeks should there be no progress being made.
Council inquired about the new signage for City Hall. City crew ran into some issues with hanging the lettering and are working to fix the issue.
Councilman Channell made a motion to adjourn. Councilman Buffo seconded the motion; vote unanimous. Meeting adjourned at 9:25 p.m.