CAPTION:Cindy Flores of the Southwest Bricktown neighborhood invites the community to the Southwest Bricktown Fiesta to celebrate National Hispanic Heritage Month after Mayor Greg Fast made a proclamation at the September 3 City Council meeting for the month from September 15 to October 15. CREDIT KATE IRELAN / THE HUTCHINSON TRIBUNE
By Kate Irelan
The Hutchinson City Council approved almost $6 million to be moved out of bonds for the Plum Creek subdivision infrastructure construction and proclaimed September to be National Hispanic Heritage Month and National Recovery Month Tuesday evening at Hutchinson City Hall.
Angela Richard, director of finance for the city, asked the council for a sale of $4,340,000 general obligation bonds and $1,615,000 general temporary notes to prepare for the Plum Creek subdivision infrastructure construction.
She said that bonding costs may be higher than expected, and first on the agenda was to approve the resolution to start the bonding process, and then amend prior ordinances to authorize higher bonding because of projected bonding costs.
“The bond sale will be on October 15, council approval on October 16 and bond sales will close on November 12,” said Richard.
Richard said that waiting for the Atrium project to lump it in with the sale of the bonds is not comparable because the legal council said that the Atrium bonds will likely be taxable obligation bonds and the bonds for the Plum Creek project are tax exempt so they will need to be separate.
In other business, Mayor Greg Fast made two proclamations. The first proclamation recognized Hispanic Heritage Month from September 15 to October 14 with the theme “Pioneers of Change: Shaping the future together.” Human Relations Officer J.K. Vann accepted the proclamation and said that in order to thrive as a community, it needs to take into consideration the contributions to our community from the Hispanic and Latino communities that make Hutchinson what it is.
Cindy Flores of the Southwest Bricktown neighborhood invited the community to come out and dance, celebrate and eat at the Southwest Bricktown Fiesta on September 21 from 5:00 pm to 11:00 pm.
Esmeralda Tovar-Mora with Hutch in Harmony spoke about the national history of Hispanic Heritage Month and the ways people in Hutchinson can celebrate all month long by supporting local Hispanic-owned businesses.
“May we continue to work together to bring more people to the table and feel welcome in Reno County,” Tovar-Mora said.
Next, Fast proclaimed September as National Recovery Month to recognize that recovery from addiction is a process of change that a healthier, prosperous life is possible, and that the Reno Recovery Collaborative is a local resource for recovery and resilience-based services.
He said in the proclamation, “By building a durable network of community partners, they are poised to offer families the means to build resilience to offset the effects of adverse childhood experience and reducing the public cost of substance abuse disorders.”
Thomas Simmons from the Reno County Health Department and Chair of Reno Recovery Collaborative spoke about the Collaborative and the focus on education and prevention, treatment and healthcare, and recovery and recovery supports.
Other items covered in the meeting were:
- Public Comments: Annette Roberson stressed the importance of houses in her neighborhood having readable addresses for emergency services and offered to help. The Council said there is a code requiring 4-inch numbers on the house. Jim Strawn with Strawn Construction asked if the City for direction with the land they have already purchased and to let him know what’s coming his way in the future.
- An ordinance approval for a special event in a designated entertainment district for the Hutch Rod Run. Jim Gruver, Rod Run Coordinator, said the Rod Run is in its 17th year.
- Approval of Loan agreement for the water line improvement projects
- Approval of engineering services for JEO Construction rehab of Woodie Seat bridge over railroad and Avenue C
The evening meeting had a higher attendance than their previous morning scheduled meetings, and council member Steven Garza said he hoped more people would run for council because of the evening hours.
The council meets on the first and third Tuesday of every month at 5:30 pm in the Council Chambers at City Hall, located at 125 East Avenue B.
Judy Miller / September 7, 2024
Does any of this raise my taxes? Our taxes keep going up and up every year. I’m single elderly one social security check and I can’t pay my taxes no more. This city has text me out of one home on 19th Street so I had to move down here on 3rd Street it’s ridiculous.
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