The timing could have been better, Jon Wells conceded.
Talk of a potential change in the size of the Iola City Council was cut short when Monday’s Council meeting was aborted before it began.
That’s because only four of the eight members were in attendance. (A quorum of at least five members is needed to start the meeting.)
That left Council members free to talk about the planned agenda — including a discussion of whether to pare the Council to a five- or seven-member governing body — but unable to vote on any of the matters.
Still, Wells isn’t convinced a smaller governing body would suit Iola any better than the current eight members, plus mayor.
“I like the bigger council,” said Wells, who is in line to become Iola’s next mayor.
He explained:
With a smaller governing body, Wells said, “the easier it is for something like this (canceled meetings) to happen.”
Monday marked the second time since the eight-member council was formed in 2011 that a meeting was called off because not enough members showed up. (The other was in March 2016.)
Wells noted other issues, such as a lack of competitive races to fill the seats, are prevalent regardless of the Council’s size.
“Even three-man commissions see that,” Wells said. “It doesn’t matter. Council, college, school boards. Out of all those, you’ll see maybe one or two contested elections.”
Two other Council members in attendance, Sandy Zornes and Don Becker, echoed Wells’ sentiments.
“The people who have spoken to me like what we have now,” Becker said. “I don’t see any reason to change.”
Zornes, meanwhile, said a larger governing body brings more voices to the table when deciding city matters. “This gives us a better chance to have a fair vote,” she said.
Zornes, Becker and Wells were joined by Michael Middleton for the discussion. Nancy Ford, Beverly Franklin, Aaron Franklin and Bob Shaughnessy were absent.
Wells said illness and work commitments prompted the others’ absences.
The upcoming election in November will see a combined three candidates for the four Council vacancies. Ford is the only incumbent to file for re-election. Becker, Beverly Franklin and Sandy Zornes opted not to run again. Eugene Myrick is the only candidate running for Becker’s seat; Ron Ballard is the only one seeking to replace Franklin.
Zornes said after the meeting she is encouraging any and all who live in Iola’s Ward 4 to mount a write-in campaign to replace her on the Council, since there are no candidates who filed in time.
“I’d really like to see at least two people do write-in campaigns,” Zornes said. “That would still give voters a choice.”
Wells, meanwhile, is the only candidate to file for the mayor’s seat. Mayor Joel Wicoff is not running for re-election. Presumably, if Wells becomes mayor, he must nominate his replacement on the Council, which is subject to a majority vote from the rest of the Council.
THE REST of Monday’s gathering included a report from Meta Titel of Jared, Gilmore and Phillips, which audited the city’s 2016 budget. The budget came back clean, Titel said, with no discrepancies in controls or dollar figures evident.
The Council members also read over bids for a new lawn tractor and accessories, a 1-ton pickup used by Street and Alley, a new patrol vehicle for the Iola Police Department and the purchase of a used forklift to replace the city’s 42-year-old unit.
Those bids will be voted on at the Council’s next meeting.
IOLA MIDDLE School eighth-grader Coling Long, who serves on the Kansas State Resist Committee, spoke about an upcoming student-led training session in Iola to help youngsters learn ways to better resist tobacco usage.
Long has requested the use of the New Community Building Sept. 30 for the training session, which will draw students from 18 counties in southeast Kansas.
Council approval is necessary to waive the rental fee, which is what Long and Elizabeth Hopkins of the Allen County Multi-Agency Team requested.
Since there was no meeting, members could not vote on the matter. Nevertheless, they told Long approval is imminent, and will be ratified at their Sept. 25 meeting.
