The City of Fort Scott’s City Hall will closed to the public until further notice. This is due to the CoronaVirus pandemic.
City staff will still be working and feel free to call City Hall at 223-0550 with any concerns you may have.
You can pay your utility bill or Municipal Court fine online at www.fscity.org and click on the Online Bill Pay button. There is also a drop box in the alley behind City Hall.
Members of the USD 234 Board of Education met on Saturday, March 21, for a special virtual meeting.
President David Stewart opened the meeting. The board discussed the learning needs of our students during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The board adjourned.
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The City of Fort Scott will be postponing the scheduled budget work session that was to be held on Monday, March 23rd, 2020 at 6:00 p.m. and the regularly scheduled City Commission meeting, which was to be held on Tuesday, March 24th, 2020 at 6:00 p.m. All other City of Fort Scott Advisory Board meetings are postponed until further notice.
This is due to the CoronaVirus pandemic and the declaration from the Governor of the State of Kansas. City officials are working diligently to provide meetings open to the public using an online platform.
Due to COVID-19, the Fort Scott Regional Tourism Center will be closed to the public until further notice. The trolley tours, which were scheduled to begin on Saturday, March 21, 2020, have also been postponed until further notice. If you would like more information please visit our website, www.visitfortscott.com.
We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause.
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In the face of the worsening Coronavirus pandemic, Hedgehog.INK! bookstore is making the difficult decision to close our doors to the public beginning, tomorrow Tuesday, March 17, until further notice. We will not be accepting books during this time. All March events at the store are being cancelled.
Please do your part to help “flatten the curve,” socially isolate, keep physical distance, wash your hands, and stay safe.
With love and gratitude, Dick and Jan Hedges
KCC issues emergency order suspending utility disconnects until April 15
Citing emergency declarations by Governor Laura Kelly, President Donald Trump and the World Health Organization, the Kansas Corporation Commission used its emergency powers to issue an order suspending utility disconnects for nonpayment until April 15. The action, taken in a special meeting this morning, will offer relief to those experiencing potential hardship from the COVID-19 virus.
The directive covers all electrical, natural gas, water and telecommunications utilities under the KCC’s jurisdiction, several of which have already voluntarily suspended disconnects. The Commission also encourages those utilities not under its jurisdiction to enact similar practices.
“COVID-19 is an unprecedented challenge, and Kansans may face unexpected or unusual financial difficulties,” Governor Laura Kelly said. “No one should have to worry about losing utility service needed to ensure public safety, which is why I am bringing every resource to bear to make sure everyone stays safe and healthy. Kansans step up in a time of need, and this is more proof.”
The Commission may elect to extend the suspension order in a subsequent order if conditions warrant.
Today’s order can be viewed on the Commission’s website: https://estar.kcc.ks.gov/estar/ViewFile.aspx/20200316105259.pdf?Id=88d5541d-695f-4b27-ae43-2ce44d20a94f.
Fort Scott Public Library will be closed Tuesday, March 17 and will remain closed for an undetermined amount of time in response to the spread of COVID-19 (coronavirus).
After reviewing information from local, state, and federal agencies, we believe that temporarily closing the library and preventing the spread of infection may be the best way to serve our community.
We encourage you to keep library materials until the library reopens. If you wish to return materials, please place them in the library’s drop box.
We will renew items as they become due so that you won’t receive overdue notices or lose access to your account. If you do receive an overdue notice, please let us know by email at either [email protected] or [email protected], and we will renew the items.
All library events through April 1st have been cancelled.
We are not accepting book donations at this time.
Library staff encourage patrons to make the most of available online resources. The Library offers free options to download, stream, and learn on your device. See our website: fortscott.mykansaslibrary.org for more information.
We look forward to seeing you soon. Thank you for your continued support of our community and our library.
Hi-speed internet is coming to Uniontown.
Craw-Kan Telephone Cooperative, Girard, received a broadband internet loan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture and has been stockpiling conduit and cable in Uniontown since late February 2020.
The new high-speed internet service will be provided to the 350 customers in Uniontown, Craig Wilbert, general manager of Craw-Kan said.
“There will be no rate change,” Wilbert said.
Craw-Kan crews will be replacing copper lines, then connect to computers, phone, and cable TV, giving access to up to 1,000 gigabits per second.
A landline may be required as a prerequisite for internet service based on geographic location, call the cooperative at 620-724-8235 to check.
The benefits of the new project: getting the fastest available internet in the county, at an affordable rate, Wilbert said.
” Great for students and also makes working from home a reality,” Wilbert said.
The internet service will only be for Craw-Kan Cooperative members.
The Uniontown project will start late spring 2020. “when the weather dries out a bit” and won’t be complete until mid to late 2021, Wilbert said.
The cooperative received a Rural Utilities Services loan which requires contractors to be certified by an engineering company that has demonstrated the ability to complete a project this large. Any contractor meeting this condition can bid on the job, Wilbert said.
To learn about Craw-Kan prices:
https://ckt.net/service/internet/
Fort Scott Fiber Optic Project
Craw-Kan has also been replacing internet copper lines in Fort Scott, in preparation for service there.
Uniontown will all be done at the same time as the Fort Scott project and will be cut over to be in service at the same time, Wilbert said.
“The Fort Scott project is about one-half done,” Wilbert said. “There is a central office on National Avenue where our equipment is.
“The west side of Ft. Scott is nearly complete,” he said.” I anticipate about 12 more months for the rest of the city to be completed. We do it in sections so services will be available in chunks of territories as they are completed.”
Why does a project like this take so long?
” Mainly it is a matter of cost,” Wilbert said. “Ft. Scott will end up being a several million dollar project and the Cooperative simply does not have the financial means to complete a city the size of Ft. Scott in one year. The second reason is the scope of the project. It is similar to replacing every water or electric line in town. We are passing every home and business within the city limits. That’s a lot of fiber to bury! Definitely worth the wait.”
The life expectancy of fiber optic lines is 40 years, Wilbert said.
Craw-Kan Expanding Business Customers
The projects are the result of declining populations in rural areas nationwide, he said. This was affecting the Craw-Kan business negatively.
“We needed to find new business,” Wilbert said. “We decided to find non-members of the coop, they are strictly customers.”
They received requests from Mound City, St.Paul, Pittsburg and Fort Scott and those projects are completed, he said.
CITY OF FORT SCOTT NEWS RELEASE
March 16, 2020
Due to COVID-19, Municipal Court, which was to be held on Thursday, March 19th, 2020, will be cancelled and rescheduled. If you are scheduled for court this Thursday, a letter will be mailed to you giving you a new court date. If you have questions, please call 620-223-0550 and ask for the Municipal Court Clerk, Diane Clay.
We apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. Please call City Hall if you have questions.
CITY OF FORT SCOTT NEWS RELEASE
March 16, 2020
The City of Fort Scott is encouraging Fort Scott water utility customers to use the following services to pay utility bills:
Visit www.fscity.org and Click on “Online Bill Pay”, then click on Water Department tab and pay online;
Call 1-833-269-5988 and press “1” to make a payment over the phone on the City’s 24/7 automated system;
If you prefer to pay with a check, there is a drop box in the alley behind City Hall at 123 S. Main Street;
If you prefer to mail your payment, you can send it to P. O. Box 151, Fort Scott, Kansas 66701;
To talk to a Water Utility Clerk about your bill, please call 620-223-8133 or 620-223-0550.
Buck Run Community Center is closed to the public March 16th through March 18th, 2020 due to precautions with the Coronavirus.
For up-to-date information about COVID-19, go to the following websites:
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: https://www.cdc.gov/
Kansas Department of Health and Environment: http://www.kdheks.gov/
