Wamego’s Boat Ramp is becoming an attraction. At Tuesday’s City Commission meeting, City Manager Merl Page introduced Kansas Department of Wildlife and Parks Roger Wolf, who presented new signage to the new boat ramp. According to Wolf, the Wildlife and Parks Department wants to promote activities along the Kansas River after receiving national recognition last year as a National Water Trail. He said there are 19 access points along the River between Junction City and Kansas City, and wants to promote usage of the river.
In addition to the signage, Wolf said the Department would like to provide standard 3-panal kiosk’s at Wamego’s access point that will provide visitors with River history and maps, with Westar Energy providing the kiosk’s structure. He said Wildlife and Parks has spent over 1-million dollars in the last 10 years to promote the access points along the Kansas River. Brochures will be available in the next few weeks for public distribution that will map the different access points to the River.
Also at Tuesday’s City Commission meeting, Mayor Bob Morse wanted to thank all the many volunteers it took to pull off another “heck of a show”. With Wamego’s Fireworks Display voted the Best Show in Kansas, officials estimated there were over 20-thousand attending the event. All of the Commissioner’s agreed it was a ‘fantastic show’.
However, Ottaway Amusements has provided the carnival activities in downtown Wamego for the past 32-years, but will not be returning next year. City Manager Merl Page said they plan to seek a different destination next year. He said he has been in contact with another carnival provider, Evans-Midland Empire Shows, Inc. of Smithville, Missouri, and plans to attend one of their shows next week. He asked the Commission for permission to negotiate an agreement for next year. They approved.
The commission encountered a different situation when trying to make a major equipment purchase. City Manager Merl Page said ‘request for proposals’ went out for a new bucket truck, which included the minimum specifications, but 10-days after bid closing, a stock truck became available with more extension, and cost less than the bids. He asked the Commission to reject all bids, allow him work out an agreement to purchase the stock truck, and tack on this action onto the upcoming special meeting on July 22nd. Approval was given.
In other business, approval was given to participate in the Flint Hills Leadership Conference at the same level as last year with a sponsorship of 5-hundred dollars. The Governing Body accepted the resignation of Charlyn Clauson from the Planning Commission, who has served over 10 years on the board. Page said he received a dividend check for over 69-hundred dollars from Employer’s Mutual Insurance. The calculation for the dividend is based on the City’s loss ratio. Also, he said he received notification that the Baker House at 609 Elm is now listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
