Polk County News
Polk County Itemizer-Observer • June 15, 2016 3A
FC library funds
miscalculated
By Jolene Guzman
The Itemizer-Observer
JOLENE GUZMAN/ Itemizer-Observer
Tom Kunke Art Studio & Gallery, at 357 Main St. in Dallas, will close June 25. The work of Kunke and artist Therese
Misner is on display until then. Owners Tom and Conni Kunke said running the studio didn’t mix with retired life.
LAST EXHIBIT
Tom Kunke Art Studio & Gallery showing paintings for the last time June 25
By Jolene Guzman
The Itemizer-Observer
DALLAS — Tom Kunke
wants to refocus on his cre-
ative side.
After retiring from his
first career as a college pro-
fessor, Kunke did just that
when he started painting.
At first he wouldn’t show
anyone his work, but with
the help of his wife, Conni,
he brought his talent to
light.
He eventually began
showing his work at local
exhibits.
In late 2013, Tom and
Conni took the next step,
opening an art studio and
gallery on Main Street in
Dallas.
Tom Kunke Art Studio &
Gallery has done well by
many measures.
K u n k e’s d i s t i n c t i v e
style — he doesn’t use a
brush, but a pallette knife
to apply paint to the canvas
— has proven popular.
“We do feel like it was re-
ally successful,” Conni said.
“Tom has sold over 70
paintings since we’ve been
here.”
The studio also offered a
place for local artists to
show their work and con-
nect with others, Tom said.
The couple briefly of-
fered a selection of gift
items, trying to make up for
the void left when Plain &
Fancy closed.
That idea didn’t catch on
as much as they would have
liked, but offering a place
for art in Dallas resonated.
“We met a lot of interest-
ing people who came
through,” Tom said.
That is why he’s feeling
conflicted about the next
step in his artistic journey:
closing the studio.
June 25 will be the last
day the studio will be show-
ing art.
The couple is semi-re-
tired and keeping regular
hours at the studio three
days a week doesn’t match
with the traveling they
would like to do.
When they opened the
gallery, Tom envisioned it
being a “working studio,”
where people could stop by
and see him paint, see his
finished work and other
artist’s pieces.
That system worked, but
Kunke wasn’t still wasn’t
able to keep typical “gallery
hours” on weeknights and
weekends.
“I think running a gallery
and painting are very differ-
ent things,” Tom said. “We
really appreciate what it
takes to make a gallery go.”
They recently decided
that part of owning the stu-
dio was something they had
to let go.
Happy
Father’s Day!
Tom will be able to paint
at home and show his work
at other venues.
This summer, his paint-
ings will be display at
Samuel Robert Winery in
Amity in July and August.
Bush Barn Art Center in
Salem is showing his work
on an ongoing basis start-
ing in July.
“Bush Barn is where he
started, and they are so ex-
cited to have his work back
at the gallery,” Conni said.
“With our retired or semi-
retired lifestyle, he can paint
and give his work to them.”
Tom said he’s closing the
studio with mixed emotions
and appreciates the sup-
port the community has
given his artistic venture.
“It was a great experience
and we learned a lot,” he
said.
For more information:
http://www.tomkunkeart.c
om/.
FALLS CITY — The Wagn-
er Community Library has
more money at its disposal
than originally thought.
In the past two years, the
city inadvertently trans-
ferred too much money to
the city’s general fund from
the Wagner Trust than was
needed by about $22,400.
Mayor Terry Ungricht dis-
covered the issue while put-
ting together the city’s 2016-
17 budget and suggested
converting the trust into its
own fund in the budget to
avoid any further confusion.
Ungricht said former city
administrator Amber Math-
iesen set up the budget for
the first year of operations
based on an estimate of
what it would cost to run the
library. The next year interim
city manager Jon Hanken
used that figure as a guide-
line, unaware that the esti-
mate was more than was
need for operations.
“They over budgeted and
part of that was transferred,”
he said. “Amber had budget-
ed, like, $60,000 operations
and we ended up spending a
little over $30,000. That
($60,000) was transferred.”
The city will cover the first
$22,442 of expenses in the
upcoming fiscal year to
compensate for the unneed-
ed amounts transferred. Re-
maining trust funds will be
funneled into its own budget
with a starting balance of
$111,670, so long as expens-
es don’t exceed $22,442.
Ungricht assured the
council the city could afford
to pay back the money.
“We have the funds there
to do this,” he said. “It’s no
problem.”
The city and Falls City
School Board still are plan-
ning on meeting to discuss
the future of the library, Un-
gricht said. He said he will
offer options for meeting
dates at the school board’s
meeting on Tuesday.
Librarian Cynthia Hovind
has resigned as of June 1 and
the district is in the process
of filling the position with
interviews on June 27.
MONEY: Fire vehicle
to save city money
Continued from Page 1A
Engineering on a “water
reclaiming” project, which
will redistribute treated
wastewater for irrigation at
city parks, is to begin during
the 2016-17 fiscal year. The
city budgeted $200,000, to
be paid for with systems de-
velopment charges.
In addition to bringing on
temporary staff, the fire de-
partment will add a new
squad vehicle to its fleet at a
cost of $150,000.
Hertel said it requires
fewer firefighters to operate
and is less expensive to take
to calls, helping to solve two
problems: long response
times due to lack of volun-
teers and tight budgets.
“It is a quick-response
type unit for our limited
staffing,” Hertel said. “We are
running into more and more
situations where we have
limited staffing, and this ve-
hicle is a multi-use vehicle
that allows us to easily ma-
neuver and handle a lot of
those small-type calls.”
He said it costs between
$15 and $18 per mile to re-
spond to call on a fire en-
gine, while the squad vehicle
is estimated to cost $5 per
mile.
For a more on this story,
go www.polkio.com.
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