County Commission Chairman Dan Holub and Road and Bridge Director Jim Herzet told the Marion City Council Monday that the Kansas Department of Transportation did reimburse the county $450,000 for rebuilding roads used as detours during the highway upgrade.

But he added that the county should have been asking for $200,000 more instead of settling for $50,000 less than the $500,000 it sought. He said rising fuel costs and costs of road materials such as asphalt have rendered the money inadequate.

Most of that money was to go for new hard surfacing on Sunflower Road, which becomes Third Street upon entering Marion. Holub acknowledged that the county promised Marion it would also upgrade Third when it came time to do Sunflower, but he added it must find the money to do so now within its own budgetary process.

"We'll have to see how this works. There's no way to do it this year."

Herzet said $20,000 of the $450,000 already has been spent just trying to provide access to homes on gravel roads shut off by highway reconstruction.

Holub said KDOT has promised to take another look at the county's roads.

City Councilor Jerry Kline pointed out that the longer Third remains unrepaired from detour traffic, the more it will take to upgrade it.

Councilor Gene Winkler said if Sunflower is to be rfepaired, instead of the county starting from its south end at Highway 50, it would make sense to him for it to start at the north end, at Main Street in Marion.

Holub said, "We may have to do just the really bad places."

Councilor Stacey Collett asked if the county couldn't blade patch Third to get by until major construction can be done.

Herzet said he could take a look at doing that, but cautioned that his crew is committed for construction and repair in many parts of the county this summer.

Holub responded to questions from Mayor Martin Tice that he may be able to get back to the city with some answers following KDOT inspection and budgetary hearings by next month.

City Administrator David Mayfield asked Holub if the county would also be willing to negotiate payments to Marion for street maintenance on Third and Cedar streets into the city as county link roads.

Mayfield said the city receives $302 annually from the county for maintaining those streets while Marion residents pay tax assessments of $165,000 annually into county road and bridge funds.

Mayfield asked, "Are you familiar with the state statutes, Dan?" in pointing out to Holub that by law the county is responsible for link roads. He added that Eisenhower is becoming vital as a county link road, and that the county needs to do something on its part of it.

Kline said that other cities in the county have had road construction done by the county while Marion has been left out.

"Hillsboro had their deals on South Ash and on Industrial Road," he said.

Herzet said the county has been able to help other cities at times at little extra cost because of the presence and credit owed of highway construction companies, for instance in the recent cases of Peabody and Lincolnville.

Holub said the county is trying to maintain a policy of helping other governmental units when it has the ability to do so.

Tice asked Kline to volunteer for a committee to negotiate with the county because of is road experience as manager at Martin Marietta Quarry, and he agreed to do so.

Councilor Bill Holderman questioned practices of having councilors sign invoices for Public Works Director Harvey Sanders to make department purchases saying he would like advance purchase orders.

Winkler said Sanders is acting within his budget, and that work would be slowed if he wasn't allowed to purchase parts as needed.

Sanders said some of the larger bills were for electrical transformers that had to be replaced quickly or electrical users would be left for prolonged periods without power.

Holderman said it looked to him as though electrical utility income had become a "slush fund" for the city to get whatever it wanted, and questioned withdrawls from the electrical fund at meetings.

Mayfield said the utility is a major money maker for the city, and is used to pay bills such as fire truck payments and street improvements.

Holderman questioned why Sanders' electrical crew is taking so long to complete the 12-5 line around the city. He suggested the city look at hiring a private company to do it.

Sanders said it takes a long time because his crew continually is called away for maintenance.

Mayfield said $15,000 is budgeted annually to allow the city crew to work at the 12-5 line slowly instead of paying an estimated $200,000 or more to have a private company do it.

Sanders acknowledged that by the time the 12-5 line is complete, it will have begun to be obsolete.

Economic Director Jami Williams said she has been working with a person to open an office on Main Street.

She said Butler Community College, under its lease with the city, has agreed to allow to access to the city to land north of its building for development of a community day center or other project.

She said she has talked to two persons interested in a lot in the business park, and she has been talking to an Iowa company interested in expanding into Kansas.