The Sabetha City Commission met at 6 p.m. Monday, Feb. 13, at Sabetha City Hall. Present for the meeting were Mayor Cody Bletscher, Commissioners Norm Schmitt, Nick Aberle, Maridel Wittmer and Julie Burenheide, City Administrator Doug Allen, City Clerk Steve Compo, and Police Chief Robert Wahwasuck. Also present were Jason Enneking, and Sabetha High School students Mya Grimes, Leah Lukert, Bayley Wasinger and Alexa Kaufman, who were present for AP Government class.

Police Report

Wahwasuck presented his written report to the commissioners.

Dogs

There have been six dog calls since Jan. 7.

One was for a dog at large, where city personnel or an officer responded. However, no dog could be located in the area where it was reported.

Two calls were for dogs at large, where city personnel or an officer responded. The dogs were impounded.

One call was for a noise complaint, where an officer responded to the area reported and searched for a loud dog and could not find the source.

One call was for a noise complaint, where an officer responded to the area, and located the source. The owner of the dog was given a warning.

One call was for animal neglect, where an officer responded and investigated, the report was unfounded and the dog was being cared for.

Codes

1322 Roosevelt St.: Unfit structure, maintenance and repair. Ready for abatement. Some work has begun on the house, part of the problem has been torn down and abated by the owner. Will continue to monitor.

523 N. 14th St.: Unfit structure, ready for abatement. Owners have contracted a company to make the repairs. Checked again and it is on the contractor’s schedule, they will be placing a tin roof on the structure.

820 Florida St.: Health and welfare, blight premise. Ready for abatement. Owner and tenant have both been notified of the blight and some work has begun again. The city will begin a resolution process to follow up in case the work is not completed to a satisfactory condition.

401 Ohio St.: Trash, blight premise. Owners were spoken with and the household trash was abated. Will continue to monitor as the owners begin to clear the clutter.

Department

Wahwasuck also reported the following:

• We continue with the morning crossing guard duties, as well as performing daily walk-throughs at the schools.

• We were asked again to attend a school board meeting simply as a civil standby, which we will often do in an effort to maintain civility.

• One officer attended training in Kansas City. While another officer was on bereavement and gone for a while. The officer’s stepped up and worked long weeks and long hours to fill in for them in their time of need.

• We have been getting some interest in the open officer position, but no quality local application like I’d truly hoped for. We have had some that found the living requirement an issue and not at a place in life in which they could relocate at this time. Due to our extended search, we have had several interested individuals from decent distances that would have to move, but are willing to hear what the city is offering.

Also at the meeting:

The commissioners approved the minutes from the Monday, Jan. 23, meeting.

The commissioners approved a $1.339 million project bid for the Keim and Kellenberger lift stations. Allen said the project will probably start within 60 to 90 days. Allen also said the company in charge of the project — J&K Contracting, L.C. — anticipates the project to take 10 to 11 months.

The commissioners also approved extending the $5,000 housing demolition assistance program for until the end of 2023.

The commissioners, Mayor Bletscher and Allen went into a 10-minute executive session for contract negotiations. No binding action was taken following the executive session.

The next regular meeting will be held at 6 p.m. Monday, Feb. 27, at Sabetha City Hall.