On Tuesday, February 24th, 2026 the Liberal City Commission addressed the following items:

The meeting opened with a special award presentation from Southwest Miracles with the donation of a wheelchair to the Liberal CityBus program to help drivers best assist passengers with mobility disabilities.

Mayor Parsons presented a proclamation declaring March as Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month.

Consent Agenda items (code enforcement report) were approved by the Commission.

Commissioners approved a Letter of Intent provided by Air Products Helium Team for the purchase of 3.77 acres of land in the Airport Industrial Park. Further review and approval from the Federal Aviation Administration will be required for the land sale to proceed.

The Commission approved a proposal for Municipal H20 consultants to update the Water Department’s Emergency Response Plan and Risk and Resilience Assessments, as required by the Environmental Protection Agency.

Commissioners voted to approve the replacement of an HVAC unit at the Liberal Municipal Court building. Commissioner Lara abstained from the vote.

The Commission voted to authorize for the Mayor and city manager to negotiate and enter into contract terms with Professional Engineering Consultants (PEC) for the completion of Liberal’s Railroad Crossing Elimination project planning tasks in an amount not to exceed $410,000. Tasks include technical assessments, community engagement, alternatives analysis, and a project planning package to be presented to the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) for approval. Funding for the agreement will come from the capital improvements portion of the One-Cent Sales Tax with matching reimbursements from the FRA federal grant and State of Kansas Build Kansas grant funds.

Commissioners voted to approve a change order for the Doll Housing Addition project for creation of an additional detention pond to facilitate proper drainage for the neighborhood. Commissioner Warren abstained from the vote.

The Commission voted to approve a nonbinding Memorandum of Understanding with GVW Ruddell Management, LLC to explore a Definitive Agreement for the conveyance of city-owned property to be used to develop industrial properties for lease in East Liberal.

Commissioners approved the budgeted purchase of replacement I.T. servers and storage devices.

The Commission voted to approve the recommendation of the Liberal Metropolitan Planning Commission and Board of Zoning Appeals to appoint Steve Merz, Nick Schwindt, and Edgar Ortuno to a three-year term on the Planning and Zoning Board.

The Commission gave approval for staff to shorten the sewer rate assessment period from three months to two months. This ends the assessment period in mid-February to prevent customers from paying a higher annual sewer rate due to increased water used to protect from recent county wildfires and watering lawns due to warmer temperatures.

The Commission gave consensus for staff to work on an updated agreement between the City of Liberal and Seward County to bring employees from the Seward County Development Corporation from employment under Seward County to employment under the City of Liberal. Each entity’s appropriation amount would remain at the same support level and accounting for the joint operation would be transitioned to the City’s responsibility. An interlocal governmental agreement will be drafted containing the details of the proposed changes for each entity’s final approval.

The next regularly scheduled Liberal City Commission meeting will take place March 10th, 2026 at 5:30 p.m.