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NEWS Updated 7/21/08 City celebrates Main Street program success The efforts of Holton residents, organizations and businesses were celebrated on Thursday evening in a community event that recognized Holton’s acceptance in the Kansas Main Street program. Approximately 375 community members attended the celebration, which was held on the northeast corner of the Jackson County Courthouse lawn. The evening event started with the presentation of Holton’s Main Street award at 5 p.m. Sarah Larison of Holton spoke first, congratulating community members on their hard work to get Holton accepted as a “Main Street” town. Larison works for the Kansas Department of Commerce, which sponsors the Main Street program. “This is a worthwhile investment for our community and businesses,” Larison said. Mary Helmer, assistant state coordinator for Kansas Main Street, spoke of the many resources Holton has to offer by being selected into the program. “Holton is blessed with wonderful architecture and such wonderful people to work with,” Helmer said. “This program is dedicated to what you want your downtown to be.” Helmer said she has visited Holton several times throughout the city’s application progress and will be its coordinator while Holton is in the program. “You’re going to see me a lot,” she said. “This is a well-known system that works, and I want to formally welcome you to the Main Street family.” Roger Hower, president of Holton Downtown Vision, took the opportunity during the presentation to thank various individuals for their part in making Holton’s Main Street a success. Next, Brad Hodges, director of corporate services of FHLBank of Topeka, presented a check to Ken Glennon of Holton National Bank for $25,000 for the 2008 Joint Opportunities for Building Success (JOBS) grant. This program is an economic development initiative that assists members in promoting employment growth in their communities, it was reported. This grant will be used to help fund Holton’s Main Street program. After the check presentation, Holton Mayor Janet Zwonitzer shared her enthusiasm for Holton’s successful application. “It’s been exciting to see residents, organizations and local government work together for this common goal,” Zwonitzer said. Ground Source provides alternative heating, cooling Recently, at the southeast corner of Sixth Street and New York Avenue, a crew from Associated Drilling of Olsburg worked a drilling rig near a new house that was being built there. A member of the crew said four holes were being drilled near the house, with a planned depth of 185 feet per hole noted. The drilling crew wasn’t looking for oil, but drilling for the installation of a heating and cooling system that would save the owners of the new house a significant amount of money in light of the skyrocketing costs of oil, natural gas and other forms of energy. The holes were part of a geothermal heating and cooling system being installed by Ground Source Inc. of Holton, and that system is expected to give the home’s owners, John and Melissa Chiles, a significant savings in climate control costs over the life of the home. “We’re doing it mostly because of the monthly bills,” John Chiles Jr. said. “We're hoping it will make up enough on the bills for us to save enough, month to month.” Ground Source owners Tim and Julie Dugan have been in the business of installing geothermal heating and cooling systems for 16 years. The former Bill’s Electric, which Julie Dugan said changed its name to Ground Source “to reflect what we do,” has become the largest geothermal system installation company in northeast Kansas in that time period. “It’s about 90 percent of what we do,” Julie said, noting the company has installed more than 400 residential and business systems in the area, mainly within a 100-mile radius of Holton. Geothermal heating and cooling system sales, installation and maintenance is the biggest part of what the Dugans offer with their business, and the company also handles radiant floor heating and swimming pool heating systems. But whether the system involves keeping the floor warm or heating the bathwater, its key feature is trading conventional fossil-fuel sources of energy for natural sources of heating and cooling that come from the earth. For structures such as the Chiles’ new home that require vertical drilling, the holes tend to average about 185 feet in depth, and the number of holes drilled depend on the heat load of the home, Dugan said. Smaller homes require two such holes for their loops, while the Chiles home requires four. County attorney takes pay cut during medical leave Jackson County Attorney Kristie Hildebrand has decided to take a decrease in pay during her medical absence effective immediately, it was reported. On Monday, July 14, Hildebrand authorized the reduction of her annual salary of $54,600 by $45,000, allocating those funds to Kenneth R. Smith of Hoyt as an annual salary as assistant county attorney. On June 19, Smith began volunteering as an assistant to the deputy county attorney, Gary Foiles, during Hildebrand’s absence. Smith, a Democrat, also is running for the county attorney position and will face Republican Shawna R. Miller of Holton in the election set for Nov. 4. Since the end of May, Hildebrand has been ill and under doctor’s orders not to return to work, according to deputy county attorney Foiles. Foiles, who was originally the assistant attorney, was appointed deputy county attorney when Hildebrand left, it was reported. His salary was not increased when he was appointed. The change allows him to authorize certain actions in Hildebrand’s absence, he said. On July 2, Hildebrand’s physician at the University of Kansas Medical Center filled out a Family Medical Leave Act form certifying that she is suffering from a chronic condition and is unable to work. The condition may last as little as three months but may be longer, Foiles said. She has been out of the office since May 26. Hildebrand continues to confer with Foiles on matters of office policy and the annual budget even though she is unable to be in the office, Foiles said. Hildebrand did not file for election as Jackson County attorney in the fall election. She was appointed to the position on Aug. 29, 2006, when Mike Ireland left the position to assume the Second District Court Judge position. 7/16/08 USD 336 board calls special meeting on bond issue The Holton Board of Education, prompted by lengthy discussion from both board members and patrons present, decided to hold a special meeting Monday night for the purpose of determining whether or not to place a bond issue on the November ballot. The special meeting will be held at 7 p.m. on July 21 at the high school library to help accommodate the expected size of the crowd. Those wishing to speak at the meeting may sign up on site at Monday’s meeting. The need for another meeting and further patron input on the issue was about the only clear consensus on the issue to be found at Monday night’s board meeting. “Hindsight is 20-20, but the 2003 bond issue was probably the biggest bargain we could have had,” board president Brent Nelson said, taking note of the fact that construction costs have almost doubled in the five years since. “We haven’t alleviated our needs in that time, and I don’t think we can afford to sit around and wait another five years.” That 2003 bond issue was soundly rejected by voters. Final vote totals saw roughly four out of every five voters rejecting the issue. “We’ve done a lot of research since the failure of the last bond issue,” noted board member Keith Eubanks. “The state will pay 46 percent of the costs associated with constructing a new facility. We don’t have that option if we address the issue through capital outlay. This is a wise and responsible way to construct a new facility.” Survey results from district patrons showed 502 cards returned favoring one of the three options listed. Of that total 310, slightly more than 60 percent, voiced favor for a $17.9 million proposal for a new pre-kindergarten through sixth grade facility. On the other side of the equation, 301 respondents stated they were unable to support any of the three listed options. A smaller pool of 40 respondents indicated they were undecided or lacked sufficient information to make a judgment on the matter. “I don’t think the numbers show a clear trend,” said board member Russ McKinney. Heights board starts bid process for expansion work Bids for construction of the high school and middle school addition at Jackson Heights will go out on July 21, with the successful bidder to be determined on Aug. 14, the USD 335 Board of Education noted on Monday. The board voted unanimously during its regular monthly meeting that evening to have Hollis and Miller Architects of Overland Park handle the bidding process for the $3 million addition to the high school, which project architect Megan Masterson told board members may likely stay within - or below - that cost estimate. A timetable presented by Masterson also noted that a special board meeting would be necessary during the week of Aug. 18 for final bid approval. Plans for the addition to the high school building include eight classrooms and two science labs, including a new science classroom and a new art classroom, in addition to renovation of the high school commons area and renovation of the upper basement area. The improvements are expected to be completed and the addition ready for occupancy by January 2010, according to documents presented by Masterson. Superintendent Paul Becker also updated board members on progress with the related Custom Energy upgrade work at the high school and middle school, noting that some Custom Energy projects will require “double crews” to get necessary work done in time for the beginning of the 2008-09 school year. Becker also noted that “rumors that we’re not going to be ready on day one” of the school year, in terms of the Custom Energy project, are “not accurate.” In other business on Monday, the board agreed to solicit fuel bids for the 2008-09 school year. Becker noted that the district may be looking at an increase of $18,000 in fuel costs for the coming year due to rising fuel prices and suggested that some school field trips may have to be cut back as a result. Royal Valley proposes single-mill increase for budget At 43.997 mills, the Royal Valley school board is proposing an increase of one mill for the district’s 2008-2009 proposed budget. During the board’s meeting on Monday, Superintendent John Rundle spent part of the evening highlighting some of the changes in this year’s proposed budget. The district’s 2007-2008 general operating budget was $7,169,328, up from the previous year’s $6,654,622. This year’s estimated operating budget is $7,525,904. The board is proposing a general local option budget of 21.847 mills, which is up from last year’s 18.992 mills, for a total mill levy of 43.997. “Essentially we are building $5 million worth of facilities for one additional mill,” Rundle said. For the additional mill, the district has a new elementary school addition, a new air conditioning system in the middle school, a new addition to the high school gymnasium, as well as renovations to the elementary school, Rundle said. “The district still has funds to allocate to a final project in the next few months,” Rundle said. During the 2007-2008 and the 2006-2007 school years, the total mill levy was 42.94. In the 1995-1996, 1996-1997, 2000-2001 and 2002-2003 school years, the mill was more than 45. The total local taxes levied for the coming year are proposed at $1,056,611. For the 2006-2007 budget, the total local taxes levied was $1,003,609. The district’s assessed valuation has been set at $25,550,442, which has increased from last year’s $24,856,477, it was reported. The total proposed budget authority was set at $14,659,089, up from last year’s $13,329,407. Royal Valley has no outstanding indebtedness but will be paying off $6.26 million in lease purchase principal, which is down from last year’s $6.82 million. The board approved a motion to publish the proposed budget and set a public hearing date for the budget at 8 p.m. on Aug. 11 at the district office in Mayetta.