During the City Commission meeting that took place on Tuesday, commissioners approved a resolution to renew a sales tax, as voters approved last fall.
Last election day, Nov. 4, 2025, voters in Parsons voted to renew the current half-cent city retailer’s sales tax. This will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2027, and will continue for a period of 10 years.
During public comment, City Commissioners heard from C.C. Burchell, with Safe Haven Outreach Ministry, who operated a warming shelter during the extreme cold weather a few weeks ago.
“I put together a proposal for a pilot program. We identified the need; we figured out that it’s not just homeless people or the underserved population that needed it” Burchell said, noting that there were also citizens whose heat had gone out during that time who needed a warm shelter. “We had a lot of community support. The Red Cross was able to donate. We would like to work in collaboration on a longer-term solution.”
Burchell passed along copies of her proposal to the commissioners. She noted that during the cold snap, six people were helped by the warming shelter.
“We have identified that there is a need, and we have identified how we can take care of that need. We just need a better place, a better facility to be able to do that,” Burchell said.
Mayor Kevin Cruse said he he had been thinking of warming centers prior to the cold weather, but that it had dropped off his radar. He extended gratitude for Safe Haven for their efforts.
Burchell noted that the current shelter was a temporary creation, in a repurposed garage, and that temperatures were between 40-50 degrees and there was not a readily accessible bathroom available.
“It wasn’t really ideal,” Burchell said.
Further discussion on how the City may assist in facilitating a warming shelter is expected in a future meeting.
In other business, commissioners acknowledged a grant received to replace street signage. The High Risk Urban Roads grant was awarded by the Kansas Department of Transportation. The program is designed to increase safety at stop-controlled intersections on local roads.
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The following intersections will soon have upgraded street signage due to the grant: 35th and Main; 32nd and North Boulevard; 32nd and Gabriel; 32nd and Crawford; 32nd and Appleton; 32nd and Southern; 25th and Southern; 21st and Coming; 21st and Appleton; 21st and Southern; 20th and Gabriel; 20th and Crawford; 13th and Appleton; 13th and Southern; and 10th and Southern.
Preparations for the 8th annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade on March 14 were approved. Street closures will be in place from noon to 4 p.m. on that day. The parade route will begin at Stevens and Central, moving south to Main, and head east on Main to 17th, and head south on 17th to Broadway. The parade will then move west on Broadway, to Katy Drive. The parade is set to begin at 1 p.m, with a common consumption area in place during the event.
The Parsons City Commission meets regularly on the first and third Monday of the month, at 6 p.m., at the Parsons Municipal Building in the City Commission Room.
