GIRARD, Kan. — In a meeting consisting of primarily executive sessions, the Girard City Council and the Girard Police Department discussed school pickup line issues that have caused a stir around town. 

After numerous complaints regarding traffic congestion and flow, last week, the Girard Police Department addressed the issues of cars backing up onto the square at Summit/Hwy. 7, asking parents and guardians to use Osage Street to turn onto W. Prairie St. during pickup at Robert V. Haderlein (R.V.H.) Elementary. 

“Jesse (Snider) and Abbey (Brooksher, municipal court clerk) put something out on Facebook, and it actually went a lot better,” said Girard City Administrator Johanna O’Brien. “I think they are all lining up on Osage. But we were having a pretty bad issue with everybody lining up in the highway and it was stopping traffic and we have a lot of traffic on that road and a lot of semi-truck traffic. I know Jesse was going out there most days and basically walking up and down and telling everyone to move.” 

“I’ve done it in the past, just asking people to move,” added Snider. “... So far, this week, we haven’t had any issues.” 

Councilman Lucas Stansbury asked Snider whether contact has been made with the Girard School District regarding a permanent pickup plan. However, no contact has been made yet. 

“We could probably even send out that little map thing that Abby (Brooksher) made and send it to the school to give out during enrollment,” said O’Brien. 

The Girard Police Department added in its initial post that those picking up kids from R.V.H. must remember not to block driveways, intersections, and take up the entire roadway while waiting.

The last day of school for the district is May 20. Classes resume for the fall on August 13.

In other business, during council comments, Stansbury provided several updates and advocated for residents to use the facilities as the temperature continues to increase. 

“With the weather getting nicer and the facilities opening back up, remember the facilities that we have in and around town,” he said. “If you ever have questions, I do know that we are redoing the website soon so hopefully we’ll have a lot of information on there. There’s other facilities too that are available that are indoor because we do have the (Girard) Activity Center now that we have the weight room. I think it’s almost been two years now. 

“I think the skate park has a couple things that over time we’ve had to fix. We are missing one of those backboards still, but that is something we will be talking about in the near future. Just make sure that our facilities look good but also remind citizens to help us clean them up, keep them in good shape ... It’s never fun to have to put money into something that is an act of vandalism like that because a lot of our citizens do use those facilities and they are nice to have.” 

When it comes to the city staff, the council approved the resignation of Jim Leonard and Todd Miller. The council also approved a 75-cent raise for Eric Bailey for the successful completion of a six-month evaluation and approved Girard Police Chief Jesse Snider as well as officer Joshua Brumback for the Retention Bonus Program for Certified Officers (RBP-CO). 

The next Girard City Council meeting is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. Monday, June 1, at the Girard City Hall on the southeast side of the building, located at 120 N. Ozark St. Council meetings may also be viewed on YouTube by searching for “City of Girard, Kansas.” For more information, contact Girard City Hall at 620-724-8918.

This reporting is made possible, in part, by the Support Local Journalism Project Fund. Learn more at: southeastkansas.org/Localnews.