The City of Ellsworth is taking steps to make it easier for residents to not only report a concern, but to see that concern resolved in a timely manner.

At Monday’s meeting of the Ellsworth City Council, City Administrator Dustin Stambaugh said residents can now go to the city’s website, click on report a concern and a form will pop up to be completed by the person reporting the concern. Patrons will have the ability to pinpoint the concern on a map and upload pictures regarding the concern. All information on the concern will be sent directly to the specific department head overseeing that area, as well as to Stambaugh. A time stamp will be initiated on the concern to make sure it is resolved in a timely manner.

In other business:

• Approval was given to explore the possibility of the developing a recreation commission with the Ellsworth-Kanopolis-Geneseo USD 327 and other stakeholders.

Mayor Dan Finnegan said the rec commission would allow recreation to be pushed out into the county. He noted it would require a special election with approval by the voters.

Stambaugh said the taxing district would be USD 327’s coverage area.

He noted the city is currently covering the majority of costs for the recreation program used by everyone in the district.

“What the recreation district would do is the taxing entity would shift from the city to the school district,” he said. “While it would be costly to set up, it would, in the end, reduce expenditures in the long haul because the taxing entity would be more equitable.”

• No action will be taken by the city regarding a request by Cashco for assistance in resolving a long-standing Kansas Department of Health and Environment violation. It was noted Cashco requested the city provide a letter to KDHE stating Ellsworth had a water system stripper and that the city was not dismantling it any time soon.

Cashco also asked if the city would be willing to enact an ordinance requiring well owners to test their water wells regularly. The purpose of this request was to demonstrate to KDHE that their testing numbers were approaching acceptable levels, which would allow them to close out their file and resolve the violation while at the same time ensuring it wouldn’t happen again.

During a meeting with KDHE officials, Finnegan said it was clarified the City of Ellsworth is not required to take any action in this regard. The responsibility for resolving the KDHE violation lies solely with Cashco, and they must work directly with KDHE to complete the necessary steps to close out the complaint. Further, it was stated that their solutions wouldn’t have had any impact on KDHE’s decision regarding their violation.

In light of the clarification from KDHE, the City of Ellsworth decided administratively that no further action was required on their part. To formally close their involvement in the matter, City Attorney Melissa Miller is working on drafting a letter that will be sent to Cashco notifying them of the city’s decision.

Finnegan said to be clear, Cashco has been diligent in their testing and compliance with all KDHE guidelines with the violation for over 30 years.

“The water is fine,” Finnegan said. “Nothing has changed.”

• Approval was given to enact a pilot program in collaboration with Kate Schneider of Nanny Scaping Company, to provide goatscaping services to Ellsworth for a period of 60 days.

Stambaugh will report back to the council after the 60-day mark with the results of the pilot program.

It was noted that goatscaping is an environmentally sustainable method of vegetation control that harnesses the natural foraging behavior of goats.

These animals are incredibly efficient browsers, capable of consuming a wide range of plants, shrubs and even invasive species that are often challenging to manage using traditional methods.

“By introducing goatscaping services in our city, we can address vegetation overgrowth in a cost-effective and ecofriendly manner,” Stambaugh said.

• Approval was given to a request by Olivia Stevenson of Raised Rustic to block a portion on East First Street and Douglas Avenue from the corner to the alley on Saturday, Aug. 5, for vendor booths for an outdoor market from 6 a.m.-5 p.m. The next meeting of the Ellsworth City Council will be at 5:30 p.m.

Monday, Aug. 14, at city hall.