Iola City Council members will seek public input before proceeding with any proposals on either making some members at large or changing their length of terms.
The governing body size has been discussed, off and on, for the past several months, because of turnover on the Council.
Three of the eight members Chase Martin, Daniel Mathew and Kim Peterson were appointed to their positions, while four members Ron Ballard, Nancy Ford, Eugene Myrick and Mark Peters ran without opposition, as was Mayor Jon Wells. Only Councilman Aaron Franklin was chosen by voters in a contested election.
Ford said the four-year terms could be a turn-off to prospective candidates and that perhaps two-year stints would draw a larger field.
As for Council size, Ford said eight members bring a great dynamic, as well as good representation.
She, Martin and Wells also touched on the idea of either doing away with the citys four voting wards altogether or having at large seats comprise half of the Council seats.
Iola consists of four voting wards, with two members representing each ward.
Iolas not a size where you need to worry about wards, Martin said.
Ninety percent of the people I talk to are not in my ward, Peters added.
Wells agreed, noting in his time as a councilman and mayor, virtually all of the discussions taken up by the Council have dealt with the city as a whole, and not a specific part of town.
Other items to be considered is whether Council members should be paid a nominal rate for their service.
The topics will be brought in front of the community for feedback before the Council decides whether to proceed.
THE COUNCIL will take another look at the citys annual $20,000 share to Thrive Allen County for economic development services.
The topic was discussed briefly when Council members were planning the 2019 budget.
The issue popped up again when members voted on their regular appropriations for the month, which included a $5,000 payment for the first quarter of 2019.
When pressed on the topic by Ballard and Myrick, City Administrator Sid Fleming noted other issues, including water rates and the citys master planning process pushed the citys economic development strategies onto the back burner.
