Members of the Ellsworth City Council took another step Monday night in the development of a sports complex field on the west side of Kansas Highway 156, north of the city cemetery.

Council members voted to authorize Mayor Mark Kennedy to sign an agreement with Kirkham Michael of Ellsworth for a topographic survey and grading plan design. Cost, according to the proposal, is $9,400.

The firm’s Jon Halbgewachs said company representatives have been working with Ellsworth recreation director Ronnie Tenbrink and in February 2019 produced a conceptual layout, which will serve as the basis for the grading plan.

When done, the plan will allow a dirt contractor to grade the site.

“We’ve just got to do it; council member Stephen Magette said.

In another recreation-related matter, the Kansas Department of Transportation notified the city it has been awarded a maximum of $449,600 in federal money for a neighborhood multi-user path from the west side of Kansas Highway 14 at the Good Samaritan Village to across the creek behind the Ellsworth Recreation Center.

Kennedy said the grant is 80/20, which means the city will be responsible for 20 percent of the cost.

Kirkham Michael’s Halbgewachs offered to prepare a project request, which formally requests the money be given to the city. Deadline for the paperwork is March 31.

He said there is no formal design for the project, other than a conceptual drawing.

Kennedy asked whether submitting the formal request to KDOT committed the city and Halbgewachs assured him there were still off ramps if Ellsworth officials decide the project is too expensive.

In other action:

The council tabled a decision on the downtown streetscape project. The city asked for bids to repair the wiring and only one company, Harrison Electric of Bushton, responded. However, Randy Choitz of Choitz Electric attended Monday night’s meeting and said the project is almost impossible to bid because “it’s going to be hard to know which sections you’re replacing.”

The streetscape project, which was done about a decade ago, has 12 circuits of different capacities. Choitz said the original wiring isn’t big enough and to replace it will be expensive.

“I really don’t know how you would put together a bid for that if you change the wire sizes,” Choitz said.

An informal Facebook survey of the design residents want on the city water tower at the swimming pool resulted in 399 votes — 70 percent of which want the city’s name across the top and 30 percent of which supported a change order to a more expensive American flag. Council members took no action, thus eliminating the change order and staying with the city’s name written across the tower in black letters.

At the request of Tami McGreevy, executive director of the Ellsworth Chamber of Commerce, council members amended the city’s ordinance on bed tax money. McGreevy will not vote; however, she will be responsible for getting the five-member committee together. The committee will then make a budget recommendation to council members for the final word.

The purpose of the tax is to support organizations and projects that bring tourists to Ellsworth.

The following allocations were made in 2019: $2,600 to the Area Arts Council; $5,000 to the Ellsworth Chamber of Commerce; $3,500 to the Cowtown Committee; $3,900 to the Drovers Hall of Fame; $1,250 to Family Connections; and $1,750 to the Ellsworth County Historical Society.

Allocations have not been made for 2020.

Council members went into a one-hour executive session with municipal consultant Don Osenbaugh to discuss the selection of a city administrator. No action was taken when officials returned to open session.