Iola Mayor Bill Shirley declared Thursday the “ambulance problem will be solved before Gary (McIntosh) and I leave office.”
Shirley made the promise while speaking to the Iola Rotary Club.
McIntosh, an Allen County commissioner and longtime Rotarian, was at the noontime meeting and agreed that some way could be found to have one ambulance service again in the county.
“I’m willing to say it will happen,” Shirley said.
“I think we’ll be able to get together,” McIntosh said.
They did not say how they thought accord might be reached.
When McIntosh and Rob Francis were elected to their initial four-year terms on the county commission in 2008, they promised to negotiate a deal with the city to consolidate the two services. That hasn’t happened.
Shirley was sworn in as mayor April 18, along with Iola’s new eight-member city council, which replaced the previous three-person governing body of two commissioners and a mayor.
He was invited to tell Rotarians about changes in the city’s governance, which include a more active role for the mayor.
SHIRLEY, 73, SAID with the council form of government, the mayor has authority to make independent decisions, much the same as a city administrator does. Conversely, he doesn’t have a voting role in council outcomes unless a vote of the eight members is deadlocked.
“I’ll use my authority when I feel I have to, but I won’t mismanage it,” he said. “Just because you can do something, doesn’t mean you have to. I want to use common sense and make sure I’m not overbearing.”
To keep close tabs on daily workings of local government, Shirley said City Administrator Judy Brigham give him a brief report each day.
Shirley plans to keep occasional office hours in the previous Thrive Allen County office, 2 E. Jackson Ave. He noted the city-owned building had office furniture, which meant “me being there won’t cost anything.”
“I want to communicate with citizens as much as I can,” he added.
Shirley said Iolans wouldn’t notice many day-to-day differences with a council.
“The job of government, regardless of whether it is a commission or a council, is to provide services, such as utilities, trash pickup and good streets,” he said.
“I can select a posse,” Shirley mused, recalling an obscure provision of Kansas law having to do with city councils. “I can’t imagine ever doing so, except maybe the week before the Charlie Melvin Mad Bomber Run (in early July) to clean up the town. After we finish, we all can go down to the park and have a chili dog feed.”
THIS IS AN exciting time in Iola, Shirley said.
“We’ll soon have a new hospital and isn’t it amazing that the quarter-cent sales tax (to fund hospital construction and operation) passed by 72, (or) 73 percent. I don’t think anyone believed that would happen. I know there’s some controversy about the site, but the trustees are working hard and the hospital will be one we’ll be proud of.
“I always will remember the 2007 flood. It was so personal for so many. We got people out (of flooded homes) and found places for them to go,” he said. “As a city, FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency) funding got us a new swimming pool, a renovated Recreation Community Building — a place for seniors to exercise — and a new community building in the park.
“And the park is a great gathering place, with the new soccer fields and ball games. Anytime you go down there it’s full of people.”
Looking to the future, Shirley said a dog park might be developed, along with “more places for people to fish.”
The new mayor concluded his remarks by saying that Iola has much to offer and is populated by fine folks who are proud of their town and want to help others.
“You know, Roberta and I could have lived anywhere, but we chose Iola,” he said. “If you’ll excuse the military reference, it’s been a great tour for us.”
