Dear editor,
As we get into year 2019, here are a few of my random thought concerning life in Iola and Allen County:
In my opinion, the number one problem in Iola is affordable housing. The old, worn out houses get condemned and torn down, opening up more vacant lots. They bring in very little taxes. It will take some thinking out of the box to come to some solutions. Can Habitat for Humanity build a few houses? Can the trade school choose some of the structurally sound houses and bring them up to code?
Some years ago, Allen County prisoners were kept busy doing some maintenance such as raking leaves and cutting grass. Has the ever-present danger of lawsuits or other reasons ruled this out? I would think it would be preferable to sitting in a jail cell watching TV and waiting for the next meal.
A lot of citizens display the American flag to show their patriotism, which is fine. However, if they are displayed outside after dark, they must be adequately illuminated.
The animal control officer needs to patrol frequently in winter when it is below freezing to identify dogs that dont have a proper dog house and drinking water that is not frozen. As I write this, I hear two neighborhood dogs barking. Maybe they are just lonely.
The citizens of Iola need to make sure they have a house number displayed in a standard spot and in a contrasting color on the front of their house. Addresses are hard to find if there is no number or one cant be found.
In the summer, streets get repaved, raising the elevation a few inches. However, the manhole covers are not raised. This causes a manmade pothole a few inches deep. Cant the city come up to a solution to this annoyance?
Who is responsible for picking up dead animals in Iolas streets? Its mostly dead squirrels, sometimes opossums. Last I looked, there was a dead skunk on State Street.
The county seems to have no problems getting candidates to run for county commissioner positions. Could it be that they are well paid for their services? Maybe the city should return to the subject of paying city council members, maybe so much per attended meeting.
Lastly, the county has an impressive amount of money in their account and more will come when the wind farm starts paying $250,000 per year for 10 years and then starts paying property taxes. This is on top of Enbridge pipeline money. This money should be prioritized and used for public good such as rebuilding county roads and bridges. Talk to other counties that have large infrastructure projects and see what they are doing.
An interested citizen,
Paul L. Zirjacks,
Iola, Kan.
