City bans firearms in some areas

The Fort Scott City Commission voted 4-1 Tuesday to approve a law prohibiting possession of a firearm on designated city-owned or leased property unless authorized by the city.

The ordinance changes one significant fact: that a person can't walk onto city property with a firearm, regardless of whether it's concealed or visible.

The issue stems from a state law passed July 1 that allows residents to legally carry concealed weapons. The Kansas Attorney General's Office will start issuing licenses on Jan. 1 to Kansans who qualify to carry a gun.

There is a list of facilities within the state statute where concealed guns aren't allowed, many of which are also listed in the ordinance. So the issue isn't about whether to ban concealed weapons from city property, it's about prohibiting possession of any type of firearm on the property.

According to the ordinance, places where guns are prohibited include City Hall, 1 E. Third St.; Fort Scott Municipal Airport, 1869 Indian Road; the Fisher Park swimming pool, 723 Scott Ave.; the city animal shelter, 400 N. Hill St.; the Hawkins Public Safety Building, 1601 S. National Ave.; the Fort Scott Public Library, 201 S. National Ave.; the city asphalt plant, 601 Ivy St.; Memorial Auditorium, 1 E. Third St.; Buck Run Community Center, 735 Scott Ave.; the city wastewater plant, 601 N. Barbee St.; the city water treatment plant, 910 Burke St.; and the Public Works Maintenance Building, 2104 Sidney St.

Commissioners John Keating and Barbara Wood questioned the distinction of the ordinance's language where it says "prohibiting of a firearm" on city grounds or buildings. They asked how that applies in certain situations at designated city property not specified in the ordinance.

Keating gave an example of how someone who has a gun rack hanging on the back window of a truck and is driving through Gunn Park, which is not listed on the ordinance.

"I assume this could be a problem one of these days. For whatever reason, someone gets in their car and goes through (Gunn Park) and gets arrested for not carrying a gun but having a gun," Keating said.

Resident Dean Mann echoed the same point, saying that the ordinance could be a problem and told commissioners that "if you check the pick-ups of the cowboys and ranchers around here, you're going to find some type of firearm, and they'll be driving through some type of city property."

According to the state statute, a municipality must post signs at entrances of each specified building or property, warning the public that firearms are not allowed. Business owners have the option to ban concealed guns from their establishments, as well.

Keating, Wood and Commissioners Nick Graham and Dick Hedges ultimately voted for the measure, with Mayor Gary Billionis voting against it.

Since all city parks were not included in the list of city property, residents won't be in violation of the ordinance if they have guns visible inside their vehicles and drive through one of the parks or city-owned or leased properties.

Of course, police, military and designated personnel qualified to carry a gun are exempt from the ordinance.

Other business addressed at Tuesday's meeting included the following:

* The commission moved forward in the condemnation process of multiple buildings around the old grain elevator on Wall Street. The owner has agreed to work with the city in removing the structures. Commissioners gave the owner 60 days to take the buildings down. Also, there has been interest in tearing the elevator down, but there are numerous challenges before it's torn down.

* Graham issued a motion to move the 8 a.m. commission meeting to 7 p.m., making each meeting in the evening. Graham said he will be unable to attend the 8 a.m. meetings because he has accepted a new job in Pittsburg. The issue of having both meetings at night has been a recurring topic in recent years. The commission has repeatedly refused to entertain proposals of meeting changes, and Tuesday's meeting was no different. The motion died for lack of a second.

* The commission approved a proposal by the Fort Scott Police Department to purchase a $11,995 radio console from Washington Electronics. The radio most likely will go in the auxiliary dispatch room on the third floor of City Hall. Dispatchers are currently working out of that room after having moved operations there when the police and fire departments were forced out of the Hawkins Public Safety Building on Dec. 1 due to snow damage. Once dispatch moves back to the Hawkins building, the dispatch center equipment will stay in the room and give the department a backup facility at City Hall.

* The commission authorized staff to submit a pre-application for a loan program through Rural Development to build a new city hall. City Manager Richard Nienstedt said the city would designate the vacant lot on Main Street where the fire damage occurred. He admitted that it's a "pretty big leap of faith" and many things have to happen for it to occur, but I think it would at least allow us to start having a discussion with RDA." The issue involves one key aspect officials have wrestled with for years -- how to make City Hall accessible to disabled citizens and compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act. He said it would cost too much to convert City Hall to achieve ADA compliance.

* Nienstedt delivered an update in the process of tearing down the Miller and Nelson Block buildings. He said the city has recently submitted an application to the Kansas State Historical Society to remove the buildings. Staff still must submit an asbestos demolition notification form to the Kansas Department of Health and Environment. According to a finding by a construction company, asbestos is present within the structures. A certain protocol must be met for removing the rubble.