Kevin K. Allen resigned his position as Fort Scott City Commissioner on April 17, at the Fort Scott City Commission meeting.
Allen stated the reason he is resigning: he is in the process of moving into his home at 507 Brown Street on the city’s east side, which is just outside the city limits.
Kevin Allen has served on the commission for two years and as mayor for five months, he said.
The current commissioners are Josh Jones, Tim Van Hoecke, Shane Walker and Matthew Wells.
He gave his opinion on the commission’s accomplishments in the last two years:
The city meetings are now recorded on YouTube for transparency and accountability to the citizens.
There are no time limits now when a citizen wants to speak to the commission at the meeting.
The streets department is now 10 employees, up from four, and has a budget of $1 million, up from $200,000.
The county and city governments are sharing services, which saves the taxpayers money.
Sunday liquor sales were approved, to gain tax revenue.
Several stop signs were removed, that were not needed.
Unused properties in Fort Scott and Lake Fort Scott were sold, and money put towards amenities at the lake.
A Land Bank was created.
A local city attorney was hired, replacing a Kansas City area one, saving the city $150,000 a year.
The city government now buys local services and insurance.
The commission has “focused more on infrastructure” and is “fixing up parks.”
“It’s been a great pleasure to serve as commissioner,” Allen said. “It’s time for me to mount up and ride.”
The commissioners expressed appreciation for Allen’s service.
In an interview on April 18 with Josh Jones, who is the president of the commission, said he assumes the commission will interview the candidates for the vacant position and if there are an abundance of letters of interest, they will narrow it down, then interview.
The following is a press release from the City of Fort Scott:
“Persons interested in applying to fill the position vacated by Commissioner Kevin Allen are asked to submit a letter of interest to: City Clerk, Diane Clay at 123 S. Main, Fort Scott, Kansas 66701 or by email at [email protected]. Letters of interest must be received by the City Clerk by 12:00 p.m. on Tuesday, May 31st, 2022. Only individuals who reside in the City limits of Fort Scott are eligible to apply. Once the appointment has been made, it will become effective at the next scheduled City Commission meeting and the term will expire in December of 2023.
Any additional information or questions may be obtained by contacting Diane Clay, City Clerk at 620-223-0550.”
A later phone call from Fort Scott City Attorney Bob Farmer stated the state law that requires residency within the city limits can be found in the Kansas Government Handbook, page 27, regarding qualifications.