Former DRC Superintendent Frank Seitz will work as a consultant for the Valley Center Recreation Commission Board. According to The Ark Valley News, the board approved a contract with Seitz at its Dec. 10 meeting. Hired in 1980, Seitz was the first superintendent for the Derby Recreation Commission and served until his retirement in 2017. Chris Drum, current DRC superintendent, started working in the role in November of the same year. Seitz’s hiring comes two months after the board fired longtime recreation director Steve Geddes, claiming he had fractured relationships with other Valley Center governmental agencies. (Read more: DerbyInformer.com - news,news/)

In a move that advanced its acquisition of the building, the Derby Recreation Commission approved a donation agreement for the Hubbard Arts Center. The agreement, approved at the DRC board’s December meeting, provides formal structure for the deed of the property located at 309 N. Woodlawn. The agreement was established by the DRC, the city, and the Derby Historical Society. It is not a final lease agreement. As part of the deal, the historical society will donate the Hubbard Arts Center to the DRC, which will pay for building insurance and utilities for both the museum and the arts center. The [...]

The City Council approved the sale of a small portion of park land to a private party. Mark Fritze and his wife, Kourtney Fritze, asked to buy 3,600 square feet of city-owned land at the very east side of the Woodland Valley Park, which is adjacent to their residential lot at 1231 N. Wild Turkey. The sale price is $1,800, or 50 cents a square foot. “While the city does not generally favor selling its park lands, because this particular piece of the park is an odd shape, selling this small area would be of little to no consequence to the [...]

Derby’s new deputy city manager, Kiel Mangus, is getting reacquainted with the city. Mangus grew up in Mulvane, so he’s familiar with the area, but after being away for a number of years, especially with all the rapid, recent development, it’s a different place. “It’s a good, growing community, but you leave and it changes,” said Mangus, whose first name is pronounced “Kyle.” Mangus started in the job – which is a new position – Nov. 19 and since then, he’s been touring Derby, meeting citizens, council members and department heads. The meetings include top school officials, along with DRC leadership. [...]

The Derby Fire Department’s rescue tools will be updated. The City Council approved a request by Fire Chief Brad Smith to replace its hydraulic rescue tools. The 2018 budget includes replacement of a set of 20-year-old rescue tools used to extricate people trapped during vehicle rescues. Smith said firefighters were given the opportunity to do hands-on testing of several brands of battery-powered rescue tools to assess power, versatility, balance and durability. A request for bids was posted and five were received. They ranged from $32,460 to $40,865; however, the lowest bid didn’t meet specifications. Therefore, the city’s Bid Board approved the [...]

A new operating agreement between the Derby Recreation Commission and the city of Derby for Rock River Rapids was approved by the City Council at its Nov. 27 meeting. The contract was due to expire on Dec. 31 and the new agreement is for two years. The DRC manages the water park, which is at 1900 E. James, and the city owns it. The new agreement includes annual 2.5 percent increases in the management fee for a total of $107,919 in 2019 and $110,616 in 2020. Given cost increases in salaries and health insurance, the amount is reasonable, said Zahra Ehtisham, [...]

Sheriff Jeff Cope and Emergency Manager Jarrod Fell praised the work of local first responders in the midst of Sunday’s blizzard — which resulted in a complete shutdown of a portion of Interstate 35 — during a meeting of the Lyon County Commission Thursday morning at the courthouse. More than 50 wrecks were reported by the Lyon County Sheriff’s Office between 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. Sunday, with calls coming in one after the other for the duration of that time. Only four injury events were reported. Emporia Police Adminstrative Sergeant Lisa Sage told The Emporia Gazette in an email that [...]