By Scott Edger
Little Apple Post
Tuesday night, the Manhattan City Commission held a special meeting to formally reorganize itself and swear in newly elected and re-elected members.
City Administrators and commissioners recognized outgoing commissioner Aaron Estabrook, who served for the last two years.
Estabrook said the naming of Martin Luther King Jr. Drive as one of the highlights of his two years on the commission. “That was very important to me,” he said, “and then of course the issues that we've begun to address with housing. I think it's transformative what we're able to do now compared to two years ago and I look forward to all the success in the future.”
Hatesohl noted that while broader issues can reveal philosophical differences between individual commissioners, when it comes to “all those important things that people expect the city government to do” the Commission is virtually always unanimous. "Everybody wants the best things for the city of Manhattan,” he said.
Newly re-elected Commissioner Usha Reddi agreed. “We tend to agree,” she said. “We do have good civil discourse and it's good to have that kind of discourse when we make our decisions.”
New Commissioner John Matta, in his second stint on the Commission, is looking forward to seeing upcoming projects and said he hopes to present himself in a way that people can predict how he will vote. “I think we've got some fantastic projects coming up,” he said. “I'm happy to be back again and I plan on using that same philosophy.”
Commissioners voted to name Linda Morse as Manhattan mayor. Mark Hatesohl was chosen as mayor pro tem.
Mayor Morse is encouraged with recent census numbers reflecting growth in Manhattan. “We had been pretty stagnant financially and population-wise.”
Morse foreshadowed Commission discussions about possible annexation of the Green Valley area in Pottawatomie County and further economic development initiatives being pursued, as well as the recently approved strategic plan. “We need to kind of tear it apart and make it ours,” she said. “Piece by piece we will implement that for the betterment of the city and the betterment of our city staff.”
Commissioner Wynn Butler reflected on his time as mayor, his second round at the position, saying he enjoyed the ceremonial elements and “spending a lot of time shaking the tree to get people to come out and serve on boards,” he said.
The property tax increase was Butler’s one disappointment, but he is optimistic as the city has collected approximately $900,000 higher sales tax receipts than last year.
Butler’s final proclamation as mayor is a declaration of January 15th-17th as Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Community Celebration and Days of Service in Manhattan.