ORIGINALLY WRITTEN JERRY ENGLER
Engineer Michael Olson told the Marion County Commission Monday that he hopes to have an agreement within 10 days for a hard-surface overlay on Sunflower Road to handle detouring traffic during U.S. Highway 77 reconstruction.
The agreement with the Kansas Department of Transportation would be part of a package of benefits that would also have KDOT giving 25,000 tons of millings to the county from the top 4 inches of the old highway, Olson said.
Olson, an acting county engineer with the firm of Kirkham Michael & Associates of Ellsworth, said he is most concerned about the welfare of Nighthawk Road coming up from U.S. Highway 50 during the reconstrction because it has a weaker base that could more easily be damaged by heavy truck traffic.
The commissioners said they hope they have protected Nighthawk with weight limits on through traffic. Neither Sunflower nor Nighthawk is considered the main detour route, but planners are looking at all options drivers might choose.
Olson said KDOT probably will also want to include the portion of Sunflower within the City of Marion for resurfacing, which will necessitate cooperation from Marion.
Bridge replacement
Olson also reviewed a process commissioners will need to follow in selecting a major county bridge to be replaced. Federal funds will cover 80 percent of the costs and the county would cover the other 20 percent. Engineering fees would be paid by the county.
The last such bridge was the Cottonwood Rive bridge at Florence, he said.
Milton Lowmaster of the Topeka engineering firm of Cooke, Flatt & Strobel reminded new commissioners that his firm has been handling mandatory bridge inspections every two years.
Payday payouts
The commissioners were meeting in a payday session. County Clerk Carol Maggard reported total payouts for the month of $757,616. She said the figure was inflated beyond the norm by annual insurance payments that totalled $42,000 in property and liability, and $87,000 workman’s compensation.
Maggard said the insurance effect would be multiplied in department payouts for each department’s vehicles and property.
Maggard reported county sales tax for November-collected by the state in December and disbursed in January-at $40,152.
New county lake rules
The commissioners approved new rules and regulations for Marion County Lake selected by Park Manager Dale Snelling for rewriting by County Attorney Susan Robson to align with new Kansas Wildlife and Parks management effective Tuesday.
The rules eliminate local fees so fishermen who buy Kansas fishing licenses aren’t discouraged from fishing by double payment.
New trash trailer
Commissioners directed Transfer Station Manager David Brazil to seek bids on a new trailer for hauling solid waste.
Brazil recommended continued in-house reconditioning of an old trailer for hauling occasional loads of white goods. He said white goods are especially damaging to trailers with the metal catching on parts, but it also saves labor for a truck driver to be able to throw a switch for unloading when a semi-truck load of white goods goes to Wichita.
Brazil said trash in general is highly corrosive to the trailers. The main municipal solid waste trailer also travels 38,000 to 39,000 miles a year, making about 127 hauls to the Perry landfill near Topeka.
Sunday beer sales
In regard to last week’s request from Canada Bait & Tackle to be allowed Sunday sales of 3.2 percent beer, Commissioner Randy Dallke said he would request County Attorney Susan Robson for an opinion on the legality of such sales in Kansas.
The commissioners decided to postpone a hearing for public input on a decision they had scheduled for Feb. 7.
Mileage-rate increase
Herzet last week asked commissioners to consider increasing mileage paid for county use of personal vehicles. Commissioner Dan Holub said he preferred following state scales on mileage, and, upon his motion, the commissioners approved an increase from 33 cents to the new state figure, 37 cents a mile.
Economic development
Stan Thiessen of Hillsboro, who has acted in various economic development programs but was speaking to commissioners as a public citizen interested in grassroots economic development, asked commissioners to consider community development foundations as “real meat and potatoes” means to aid development.
Thiessen said such foundations can grow from tax-credit programs that take into account things from agri-tourism to health facilities development.
He encouraged commissioners to look at such programs in McPherson and Rice counties as well as locally in the Hillsboro Community Foundation. Success using this type of effort with grant money that becomes available has been “phenomenal” in Chase County, he said.
Thiessen urged commissioners to study such programs, and increase Marion County participation in state programs “to get off dead center.”
He said a grass-roots program involving several counties is coming together as the result of visits from consultant Remelle Farrar of Canadian, Texas.
Other business
Noreen Weems, director of the department for the elderly, said $4,536 has been encumbered for 168 brown chairs with four senior center nutriiton sites to receive 36 chairs each, and the Florence Senior Centr to receive 24 chairs. The chairs will be spurchased from Navrat’s Office Products, Emporia.
County Appraiser Dianna Carter-Franz, Communications and Emergency Management Director Michelle Abbott-Becker and Herzet asked commissioners to approve a trial period for trying a new employee program granting flexible hours for certain work at the discretion of department heads.
For instance, Carter-Franz said her employees calling homeowners after hours might benefit from a four-day work week with extended hours.
Abbott-Becker said her department is open 24 hours a day anyway, so flexible time might help employees.
Herzet said at times a 10-hour day, four-times-a-week schedule might increase efficiency for road and bridge employees by cutting the number of startup and shut-down times with equipment.
Carter-Franz said such schedules could raise morale without interfering with keeping offices open during regular business hours.
Maggard said not all county offices would be interested, especially when they employ smaller numbers of people.
Commission Chairman Bob Hein said he thought such a program could be worth a try to increase efficiency.
He agreed with views that department heads have to juggle help anyway to maintain vacation schedules.
After some discussion, the commissioners approved a one-year trial of such flexible time.
