GEARY – Cory Hicks, who was voted onto the Geary City Council during municipal elections earlier this month, officially took his oath of office before his first council meeting this past Monday, April 18.
The Geary council usually meets on a Thursday early in the month, but postponed its meeting until Monday in order to have a quorum present. The full council was in attendance – Tabbitha Kiener, Cozetta Johnson, Mary Hays and Hicks – along with Mayor Bobby Allen.
Hicks’ first meeting featured a handful of reports and personnel decisions as the city prepares for summertime. The council decided on two managers for the city pool this year, and also approved the purchase of a new pump for the pool.
But the council elected not to buy a new diving board at this time, as public works director Jeff Choate said it would cost about $6,000.
Other personnel decisions included a new hire for the Geary Police Department. Robert Cancemi was hired on full-time while the council also accepted the resignation of Sara Saunders, who had started just last month before pursuing a different opportunity.
As the Geary Utilities Authority, the council also hired Cody Sorrels as a full time utility worker and accepted the resignations of Christian Evans and Harley Lynch.
Geary’s accountant Linda Bourn told the council that sales tax receipts were extremely high in February, to the tune of nearly $70,000, but came down considerably in March to around $41,000. She attributed the February totals to the Christmas season, explaining that the numbers are behind by a couple of months.
Bourn also said that Geary’s oil and gas revenue continues to be higher than projected in the budget.
Geary Police Chief Cecil Harrall said his department had trouble with its backup generator during a recent power outage, causing the station to go dark and unable to even receive calls. The council approved a new generator purchase for $12,810.
Finally, the board discussed what to do about residents who have their gas turned off during the summer. Many do so in order to save money, not needing the gas connection to cook or warm their houses with; however, Allen explained that the city is losing considerable money by not charging those residents for gas all summer.
The council decided to establish a $35 baseline gas fee for all residents, even when it is off.
The council will meet again on Thursday, May 5 at 6 p.m. at City Hall.