Fort Scott City Manager Brad Matkin was asked what the city’s accomplishments were this year and also what is on the horizon for 2024 and he sent his reply.
He also announced a new administrative position has been filled by Payton Coyan.
Payton Coyan started as the Fort Scott Human Resource Director on December 27.
She has four years of experience in driving strategic human resource operational initiatives, with a focus on talent acquisition, employee retention, succession planning, organizational development, legal compliance, and grievance management. She also has skills in recruitment, interviewing, resume screening, negotiating, conflict resolution, streamlining operations, and heightening employee productivity by mastering HR situations for integrating human resource functions with overall goals, according to a press release.
She has experience managing employee benefits, employee hiring and onboarding, performance management, and HR records.
Coyan is a graduate of Ottawa University.
“Outside of work, I enjoy spending time with family and friends,” she said in the press release. ” I come from an amazing family and am fortunate to have… every one of them in my life. I am a lifelong resident of Bourbon County and love our community full-heartedly. In my free time, I enjoy…camping, (going) on a nature walk, walking downtown, or reading a book.”
Matkin stated he is sure there is more coming for the city in 2024 but this list of goals will get things going, and “I am sure I missed some things on what we did in 2023.”
2023 Accomplishments:
- Establishing the “My Fort Scott” App
- Completion of Cooper Street
- Completion of the “Old Faithful” sewer project near Nelson Park, between Elm and Pine on North Grant Street.
- Improved wages for city staff, crews, and public safety members
- Gunn Park Campground area improvements
- Lake Fort Scott stem repair
- The 2022 Cape Seal program completed
- 2023 Cape Seal program prepped and ready for 2024
- Increased advertisements and promotion of area events by the Fort ScottTourism Department
- Approvement of 2nd Phase of City Connecting Link Improvement grant for the Wall Street project. This is a federal and state-funded program that will start in 2025.
- Pothole and crack sealing program
- Established “street repair” crew
- Memorial Hall improvements (thanks to volunteers for helping this happen)
- Additional Lake Fort Scott docks
- Buck Run Community Center improvements
- Wastewater Treatment Plant lagoon improvements and elimination of the “smell”
- Assignment of Baker Tilley, a consulting and public accounting firm, as City Finance Director, with their representative being Ben Hart.
- Flawless 2022 City audit
- Establishing a budget that did not increase taxes and freed up city monies for investments
- Community Development Block Grant sewer repair throughout the city
- Fort Scott Airport runway and taxi-way improvements thanks to an FAA grant
- Stormwater project from 15th to 17th and Eddy streets
- Purchased street line paint machine, city crews painting streets instead of outsourcing
- Several street and water line repairs
- Bringing back the Community Development position
- UTV for the fire department (thanks to Timken Foundation grant)
- Additional quick-action weapons for the Fort Scott Police Department
- New Christmas “swags” for downtown
- Woodland Hills Golf Course cart path improvements and repairs
- Workman Compensation insurance graded the city with a Gold Star which will equate to a 5% reduction in premium
What’s Up in 2024:
- Tourism Department to branch out to the Kansas City area to promote Fort Scott
- 2024 Street program that will improve streets one block at a time
- Horton Street project
- Additional aeration systems to the wastewater plant
- Woodland Hills Golf Course maintenance barn and simulator barn justified; built either in the 4th quarter of ’24 or 1st quarter of ’25.
- Gunn Park shelter house renovation and shower house built
- Gunn Park sewer project
- 2” water line replacement program
- Caboose in Fisher Park painted and moved to an uptown location at Scott Avenue and Wall Street
- Two additional police cars were purchased
- Memorial Hall bathroom renovations (grant pending)
- Memorial Hall tables and stage lights improvements
- Phase 1 on the Farmers Market Pavilion completed, and Phase 2 started
- Buck Run Creek area sewer repair
- Improved housing initiatives
- Goals and expectations for our Economic Development Department, which is Bourbon County Regional Economic Development Inc.
- Contractor licensing completed and implemented
- Event Tourism Grant policy completed and implemented
- City of Fort Scott webpage improvements and updated
- Lake Fort Scott camping area – phase 1
- Lake Fort Scott secondary valve installed
- Additional water sources researched
- Buck Run Walking Trail phase 1 started (grant search and cleanup)
- Additional downtown parking (plus paving what we currently have)
- 25th Street rebuilt
- School speed signs installed on Margrave and National