ORIGINALLY WRITTEN BRENDA CONYERS
Al Reiss, of Reiss and Goodness Engineers, took time at Monday’s Marion County Commission meeting to voice his displeasure about the way county officials expressed their concern about possible problems with the waterline project between Hillsboro and Peabody.
Commissioners were not happy with reports heard last week that the pipeline, in some areas, was laid too close to the shoulder of the road. Questions also were raised about the placement of fire hydrants in the middle of the right-of-way and not at the far edge, as had been agreed.
Stating he had not come to the meeting to argue the issues, Reiss felt commissioners should have phoned him instead of releasing information to the press.
Chairman Leroy Wetta said the commission was bound by the state’s open meeting laws which allow the press to report on their deliberations.
Reiss said he had the “best contractor in the state” and had received no complaints. Even though they were unable to complete the project due to poor weather, his firm had “done nothing wrong.”
When Commission Bob Hein asked if an inspector had been on site for the project, Reiss said the inspector had been there every day, though he covered several miles.
Mike Olson, the county’s consulting engineer, reminded Reiss the county had originally requested the line be laid on the road one mile west of Nighthawk to avoid other utility lines, including a fiberoptic line, that is buried along Nighthawk.
“We had very specific concerns,” Olson said. “We knew the lines were there and we had a real concern over the number of lines involved.”
Reiss said one of the hydrants was placed more in the middle of the right-of-way because of the fiberoptic line.
Later, one of Reiss’s team members stated he had been told by a farmer where the property line was, which was his guideline for placing the hydrant.
Reiss said part of the problem was the fiberoptic line. When a question came up regarding placement, no one from the county was available for consultation.
Olson pointed out the fiberoptic and other utility lines had been a concern from the start.
Reiss said his company would do whatever the county wanted, but they would have to wait for better weather.
After Reiss’s group left the meeting, commissioners decided in consultation with Olson and County Attorney Susan Robson to research and write a more suitable contract to cover some of the issues brought up at the Monday meeting.
In other business, Dale Snelling, Marion County Lake superintendent, brought an evaluation before the commission which classified the dam as a high-risk dam.
With new criteria established in recent years, the dam is now only meeting 40 percent compliance. In past years, it was rated much higher.
Snelling said an independent engineer would be required to evaluate affects to the area if the dam would break or leak.
Commissioners told Snelling to get bids and do more research on the situation and report his findings to the commission.
Commissioners voted to purchase patch material from Brown and Brown to be used on roadwork during the coming year. Cost for the patching material is $155,700 for 9,000 tons of material.
They also voted to purchase 10,000 tons of millings at $5.75 per ton delivered to the county.
David Brazil, sanitarian, reported that 15,986 tires were gathered during the recent amnesty program.
“I would call this a very successful event,” Brazil said.
Sheriff Lee Becker asked the commissioners about replacing patrol cars which are due for replacement with four-wheel drive pick-ups with extended cabs.
“I want to stay within the budget, so I am looking for something used,” Becker said.
He said this past weekend elevated the need for more four-wheel drive vehicles because one of the dispatchers slid into a ditch.
“There have been times we really need such vehicles to get key people in the right places,” he said.
Commissioners were not opposed to Becker’s proposed purchase if it is done within budget.
Eileen Sieger, Marion, sent a letter to the commissioners and Susan Robson, as a concerned citizen regarding the issue of disposal fee assessments.
Sieger, who served for a number of years on the Central Kansas Regional Solid Waste Authority Planning Committee, reminded commissioners that cities were asked to extend the time of their contracts with the transfer station because no resolutions had been adopted regarding the fees.
“I believe this needs to be addressed again while there is still ample time to do it properly before June 30, 2001. If there is no action again by your board, those fees would still need to be paid.
“If no plan for payment is made, would this payment have to the taken from the county’s general fund? This would not be acceptable to the taxpayers in this county.”
Sieger’s letter urged the commission to reexamine the issue of county-wide recycling.
“There is an approved grant from KDHE on hold pending the initiation of such a program,” she wrote. “I would be sorry to see those funds withdrawn from use in our county.”
Commissioners asked Robson to review the letter and come back to the commission with her opinion.
