The Parsons City Commission on Monday agreed to purchase the former site of McDonald’s, 320 Main, for $20,000.
The vote came on the commission’s consent docket, where many actions, some of them routine, take place in one vote.
Construction began in late 2005 on McDonald’s current location at 301 N. 16th St. The former location has deteriorated in the decades since then.
Jim Zaleski, the city’s economic development director, said the plan is to work toward razing the building on the lot. The $20,000 will be paid to the Kenneth J. Hutchins Trust.
The Parsons Fire Department also will conduct fire training on the site before the building is razed, he told commissioners.
Zaleski said he’s not looking at the transaction as buying a dilapidated building but as buying a restaurant pad. He said razing the building will help the owners of the Hastings Inn, 400 Main, formerly the Canterbury Inn.
“It will make the town look a lot better with that out of there,” Commissioner Tom Shaw said.
In other matters, commissioners: — Agreed to donate $20,000 to a fund at the Parsons Area Community Foundation for now toward a project that could lead to the construction of a fitness pad on the former tennis court in Glenwood Park. The city will add another $20,000 later. Blue Cross and Blue Shield is working on funding avenues for the construction. The pad would be similar to the fitness pad at Forest Park. If the fitness pad funding doesn’t work out, the money collected in the fund could be used for Glenwood Park improvements.
— Agreed to pay Hucke Hauling $82,800 for work performed on the Lake Parsons dam rehabilitation. The work is pretty much complete on the $203,901 project.
— Agreed to provide non-binding support to an initiative called “Make My Move,” which attempts to bring e-commuters to rural areas where housing is more affordable. The Southeast Kansas Regional Planning Commission is handling the potential project for several SEK counties. The city will commit $12,500 toward the initiative. Commissioner Leland Crooks noted that the city still needs more housing to give these families a place to stay.
— Agreed to sign a memorandum of understanding with Parsons USD 503 for providing two school resource officers in the district. The district provides $10,000 for an SRO and a grant provides $41,667 a year for three years for the second SRO. The city covers the remaining costs of the program but will provide full funding for the position in year four. Cpl. Shyanne Dunn is the lead SRO and Officer Mark Raney will be the second SRO and continue his community policing programs and duties. The goal is to move toward 50-50 funding for the SROs between the city and the school district.
— Approved a phased construction schedule for the veterans memorial that will be placed on the north side of the Parsons Munici-
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pal Building lawn. The goal is to start construction to improve the chances of gaining additional donations for the memorial.
— Approved a resolution declaring 11 properties as unsafe and dangerous and setting a hearing for 6 p.m. Sept. 15 when the owners of these properties can appear and show cause as to why the properties shouldn’t be condemned, ordered repaired or demolished. The structures are at 3111 Washington, 2519 Crawford, 2524 Gabriel, 2920 Frisco, 2122 Crawford, 3014 Frisco, 2314 Main, 2120 Crawford, 2131 Crawford, 2125 Crawford and 305 N. 22nd.
— Heard from Taylor Moreland during the public comment section about the need for repairs or expansions of the basketball courts at Glenwood Park and Watson Memorial Park.
