After hearing a report on lobbying services from the Watkins Public Strategies Group, the Liberal City Commission met on Tuesday night and decided to proceed with the lobbyist consulting services agreement with Watkins Public Strategies, which will be financed by the 1% sales tax’s Economic Development component.
The Air Products Helium Team’s Letter of Intent was tabled by the commissioners.
Ordinance No. 4636, Common Consumption Area in Downtown Liberal, was discussed and approved by the Commissioners. This ordinance’s main objectives are to: 1) Address the expansion of dining and drinking options in downtown Liberal2) Permit customers to switch between companies.3) Establish a legal framework that allows block parties and special events to occur with the vendors’ consent.
The guidelines will be made public by the City.
The Commission passed Resolution 2434, Intent to Levy a Property Tax Exceeding the Revenue Neutral Rate, in anticipation of the upcoming budget sessions.The City would formally notify the Seward County Clerk of its plan to surpass the Revenue Neutral Rate (RNR) through this Resolution. The ultimate mill rate will be decided at the City’s RNR Hearing on August 26; this Resolution just provides an estimate.
The ArkStar Group Airport Analysis Report was given to the Commission by Chief Communications Officer Keeley Moree.Among the noteworthy metrics were:
passenger enplanements outbound increased by 14% from May 2024.The outward load factor, or the overall proportion of seats filled in May, has climbed by 7 points over the previous year.In terms of passenger throughput, Liberal Airport placed 41st out of 79 Essential AirService (EAS) markets (second quartile) over a recent four-week period. We quickly improved, placing 53rd out of 79 markets during the previous four weeks.Liberal Airport ranked 23rd out of 33 sites for passenger throughput among all EAS airports where SkyWest operates.The airfares for 95% of the top 15 market destinations were either competitive with or less expensive than those at nearby airports.The average one-way ticket at Liberal Airport in Q4 2024 was just 3% more expensive than MCI (Kansas City), 26% less expensive than GCK (Garden City), and 9% less expensive than ICT (Wichita).From January to May, Liberal’s controllable completion factor rating was 100% (no cancellations of crew or maintenance resources).
The City’s insurance plan and the Adventure Bay Family Water Park Assessment Agreement with Waters Edge Aquatic Design, which is worth up to $11,000, were both authorized by the commissioners.
The Lorraine Street upgrades waiver was unsuccessful.
The Liberal Police Department Evidence Building’s air conditioning unit will be replaced for a maximum of $12,500, as agreed by the city commissioners. The Commission decided to replace the airport’s crosswind runway’s PAPI and REIL systems. The project will cost $425,000. KDOT will cover 90%, with the city contributing the remaining 10%, or $42,500.
The Commission authorized Earles Engineering’s contract to begin the cemetery expansion’s design phase for a maximum of $100,000. The topography survey, headstone aprons, and street layout and design will all be covered under this contract.
