BLAND — The Bland Board of Aldermen on Dec. 8 briefly discussed an upcoming use tax before adjourning to closed session.

Voters will see an internet use tax proposal on the April ballot, which would allow the city to collect its share of sales tax on online purchases delivered to Bland.

“We’ve already missed out on over $40,000 this year,” Bland Mayor Merrilee Spurgeon said, noting residents are already paying the tax on their purchases. “It’s there already, we might as well get our finger in that pie… we just don’t have our name in the pot.”

The tax would not increase the rate citizens currently pay on online orders, but would direct the city’s share back to Bland instead of leaving it with the state.

In other business, the board approved Ordinance 212B, formally establishing new operating hours for Bland City Park. Under the measure, parks will now close from dark until 4 a.m., with “dark” defined as the time when natural light is no longer sufficient for visibility, generally matching sunset as determined by the National Weather Service. City officials said the change is intended to improve safety, reduce after-hours loitering and give police clearer authority to address late-night activity in the parks.

The ordinance allows exceptions only for approved events, such as ballgames, pavilion rentals or holiday activities. It also grants the police chief or public works director the ability to temporarily close a park for maintenance, hazardous conditions or emergencies. Officials noted they do not expect heavy enforcement, saying the goal is simply to “clear the park” after dark and set consistent, easy-to-understand rules for everyone.

The Park Board reported that work to install the new ballfield scoreboard had been delayed by another community event at the park and several volunteers out sick.

“We rescheduled it for the Dec.15… as long as the ground is not wet,” Alderman Joe Ridener said.

Board members also confirmed this year’s fireworks display is paid in full and will be larger to mark Bland’s 250th anniversary.

Bland Police Chief Charles Holtz gave his public safety report for November; the police department handled 112 calls for service, including 68 traffic stops and six arrests.

Holtz said he appreciated a local business for donating equipment.

“They donated us an AR-15 for a patrol rifle,” he said.

The department is planning a ribbon cutting this Thursday at 10 a.m. for its new facility, followed by a 10:30 a.m. tour and demonstration for students from Small Wonders Montessori.

He also reported strong support for the annual Shop with a Hero program, which partners with the Owensville Police Department.

“All the money that we collected throughout the year goes towards that, and that helps out kids in the area,” he said. “Just for Bland we have over $1,000… a lot more than we had last year.”

“They usually give each kid about $200,” the chief said. “We walk around and we buy stuff… that’s awesome.”

Public Works Director Rodney Turner reported delays on the West Kansas City Street project approved last month, citing weather and equipment problems.

“That road that was approved last month to redo, unfortunately, we haven’t made it yet,” he said. “We’ve had a bunch of equipment failure this month.”

Turner plans to winterize the park and does not expect to reopen its facilities until April.

Christmas lights are scheduled to go up once a rented lift is back in service. A manger scene with a large star, donated by a resident, has already been placed at the park entrance.

Public works has also been locating buried manholes.

“We found most of them, but two,” Turner said. “Those are going to need cut out, and then risers placed to bring them up because they’re so far under the asphalt that we’ll have a foot pothole there if we let it.”

For the month of November, the court received $3,023.13 in fines. Required distributions totaled $27.28 to POST, $194.45 to the Crime Victims’ Compensation Fund and $190.91 to the Court Automation Fund, leaving the city with a profit of $2,610.49 in fines.

There are currently 30 new citations for arraignment, 11 show-cause hearings for failure to appear, nine continued cases, one trial and two bond hearings. Thirteen warrants are active for failure to appear. The next court date is 6 p.m. on Feb. 23 at the John L. Baxter City Administration Building.

The city also received $2,096.51 in November from its share of the county sales tax.

“That’s really good,” Alderman Shari Morgan said. “So far this year… we got $21,292. That’s pretty good. We like that.”

November’s profit and loss statement showed $22,628.76 in income and $30,408.60 in expenses, a net ordinary income loss of $7,779.84.

Spurgeon addressed rumors that the city was not paying its bills on time and noted mail delays are contributing to late charges.

“Sometimes we get them and I don’t want to pay late fees, so we’re going to go ahead and pay them… if it’s our normal bill,” she said. “With the delayed mail, I think that’s what’s caused a lot.”

The board discussed possibly setting a specific monthly “pay day for bills” and letting vendors know that invoices received after that date would be paid the following month. Officials also reported progress on switching phone service to a new provider, Enzo, and cutting ties with Brightspeed. The board discussed a damaged utility pole on Oak Street between Colorado Avenue and St. Louis Street that has been reported multiple times to Brightspeed as a public safety issue, but has yet to be replaced.

City staff reported problems with a newly purchased laptop that was supposed to include Windows 11 but does not, and which has resisted efforts to back up city files.

“For whatever reason, this laptop did not come with Windows 11 like we thought,” Bland City Clerk Tesa Koch said.

Koch said the machine also goes blurry and QuickBooks data cannot be backed up properly. The board unanimously approved up to $160 to purchase a terabyte external hard drive.

“I’m going to make a motion that we approve the funds… for a terabyte external hard storage device,” Morgan said. “If it’s a terabyte, that’s a lot of storage.”