What once might have been a high bid left Marion County commissioners smiling in relief Tuesday, July 31, at a payday meeting, when the winning bid for surfacing 10 miles of Sunflower Road by Schilling Construction of Manhattan came in at $793,583 instead of an engineer’s estimate at $1.02 million.
In the past two years, when promised state aid for the project faltered at negotiations at a half-million dollars, the commissioners at times seemed to hope the total bill might fall close to that bracket of a project. But oil prices for the 2-inch overlay have spiraled upward since then.
Members of the Goessel Goal-Getters 4-H Club greet onlookers as they ride their float through the Marion County Fair parade on Wednesday. The theme for the 77th annual fair was “America’s Pastimes: Baseball and the Fair.” Several of the 4-H floats picked up on the baseball theme.
County cities want more for the contributions they make to the county’s road and bridge budget under an outdated 1973 agreement, mayors and representatives told the Marion County Commission Monday.
Commission Chairman Randy Dallke and Commissioner Dan Holub said they would start by looking at state designations for farm-to-city Fishing Access Site (FAS) routes into the cities.
Marion City Council member Bill Holdeman made a motion Monday night as the meeting seemed to be drawing to a close that City Attorney Dan Baldwin be asked to write a resolution for consideration that would require all appointed city employees to report directly to the mayor.
The council had closed a 30-minute executive session for personnel with Police Chief Josh Whitwell, and then followed with department head reports before Holdeman made the motion.
County Wide News 
