The City of Liberal Commissioners met Tuesday evening and after receiving a donation of a wheelchair from Southwest Miracles for CityBus, read a Proclamation declaring March Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month in the City of Liberal.

Commissioners heard the 2026 Report from Code Enforcement and took no action on an update to the Fireworks Ordinance to clarify and simplify the process.

The Commission approved a Letter of Intent from the Air Products Helium Team assuring their interest and commitment to the property at the airport that they previously had been working with the City to acquire. Also approved was the proposal from Municipal H2O to update the City’s Emergency Response Plan and Risk and Resilience Assessment in an amount not to exceed $15,500 to be funded from the Other Professional Services line item within Water Utility Administration.

The quote from HECO in the amount of $13,000 was approved by the Commission to replace the HVAC unit at the Municipal Court Building and Commissioners gave approval for the Mayor and City Manager to negotiate and enter into contract terms, pending legal counsel review, with Professional Engineering Consultants for the completion of Railroad Crossing Elimination Project Planning tasks in an amount not to exceed $410,000.00.

Change Order No. 2 for the Doll Housing Addition was approved in the amount of $38,705.14 and a Memorandum of Understanding was approved with GVW Ruddell Management, LLC in order to begin planning for future industrial properties and opportunities in Liberal.

Commissioners gave approval to purchase 2026 IT equipment in an amount not to exceed $214,000, with approved authority within the Information Technology Department’s General Fund Budget, and approved the appointment of Steve Merz, Nick Schwindt, and Edgar Ortuno, each for a three-year term to the Planning and Zoning Board.

City Commissioners gave a consensus to move forward with the transition of the Seward County Development Corporation employees from Seward County to the City of Liberal. This would hopefully move the Corporation to the City by May 2026. The County’s annual commitment would be $200,000.