The truth is, Holub said, that county governance of salvage yards results from state guidelines. He explained that the state issues permits to salvage yards to operate, but requires the yards to get conditional-use permits from the counties in which the yards operate.
Holub said the county doesn?t have a problem with salvage yards if they are well-kept, without pest problems, keep to their own boundaries and screen the property.
The conditional-use permits first are approved by the County Planning and Zoning Commission, and then by the County Commission.
As a case in point, Planning and Zoning Director Bobbi Strait brought a permit to the Monday meeting, and the commissioners approved it 3-0. The conditional-use permit was issued to Richard Bridgewater to operate his salvage yard for antique Fords and Ford parts at 756 100th Road.
Strait said everything at the Bridgewater yard was very ?itemized, organized and well-kept.?
Strait said the permit allows Bridgewater only to stay at the current level of salvage cars he has, and it does not continue if a new owner buys the yard from Bridgewater.
Last week the commission turned down a conditional-use permit for Daniel King to continue operating his yard between Peabody and Goessel after he failed to meet stipulations in a six-month extension period.
The commissioners met by teleconference with Tony Rangel, architect for Law Kingdon of Wichita, to discuss final contract and pricing to remodel the Marion County Jail to state fire marshall specifications.
They increased the contractual bid for the project to Dustin Hett from $20,700 to $21,700 to help cover workmen?s compensation insurance and permits they required Hett to get.
Rangel said he continues to prepare plans for a new Marion County Correction Center. His next step is to discuss more things with Sheriff Lee Becker, he said.
County Clerk Carol Maggard brought up current planning for outdoor lighting of the north courthouse steps and the west steps and side of the courthouse.
Commission Chairman Randy Dallke asked that those plans be tabled to give the commissioners time to discuss what might be a ?classier? lighting system, with perhaps two lamps on each post floodlighting the courthouse with decor to match its historical status.
Maggard said first reports from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment show the new monitoring well at the old Marion County Landfill southwest of Marion working appropriately. The commissioners said KDHE requirements for different documentation on landfill wells will be forwarded to Jack Chappelle, consulting engineer on the project from Overland Park.
Maggard said the treasurer?s office reported the cash position of the county at the end of September at $7,797,514.60 with $2,359,628.79 in the county general fund and $1,043,446.70 in the road and bridge fund.
Expenses for September from the motor vehicle fund totaled $675.52.
Meredith Butler, 8th Judicial District Community Corrections officer from Junction City, introduced Jo Olsen of Lincolnville as the liaison officer for Marion County.
Olsen said she will be working with both juvenile and adult offenders with the goal of not sending them on to prison unless necessary.
Olsen will work with officers when children go into juvenile intake. She said she is concerned about a growing problem with juvenile truancy that often stems from depression and problems at home.
Emergency Medical Services Director Steve Smith said former director Joann Knak has a beginning EMT class of six candidates in Hillsboro.
Smith said ideally there should be one instructor to every six EMT students, but from the standpoint of county needs, he wishes there had been 14 students.
Smith said the county continues to seek more such volunteer emergency workers to keep an adequate force.
Smith recorded 77 ambulance runs for September, 17 from Peabody, 10 from Florence, four from Marion backup, 20 from Marion, 21 from Hillsboro and five from Tampa.
The runs included 12 transfers, eight cardiac, 24 medical emergency, seven standby, 10 falls, 13 no transport, and three 10-22.
Three first response runs, he said, included one from Burns and two from Lincolnville.
Rollin Schmidt, noxious weed, household hazardous waste and transfer station director, reported his observations of a recycling operation in Wichita. The company handles everything from steel and aluminum to cardboard and rubber, he said.
Schmidt has predicted the county will move more and more toward recycling as a way to reduce waste disposal costs.
Schmidt reported mobile unit collection of household hazardous wastes totaling 2,017 pounds from Peabody, Florence and Goessel and 3,356.75 pounds from Hillsboro.
The substances collected included used oil, aerosols, oil base paint, fuel blends, flammable solids, poisons, dioxin, corrosives, acids and bases, lead acid batteries, ni-cad batteries, dry-cell batteries, lithium batteries, antifreeze and aerosol.
The commissioners awarded a road and bridge transport bid of $20,624 to Cooperative Grain of Hillsboro over a competitive bid of $20,637 from Cardie Oil of Tampa.
Road Superintendent John Suffield told commissioners he has decided he doesn?t want to take rails off a bridge between 180th and 190th so farmers can more easily maneuver combines, but would rather farmers remove headers to get the combines across.
Road and Bridge Director Martin Rhodes said the state approved his request to use concrete with rebar from the City of Hillsboro to help stop erosion by the South Cottonwood at a bridge west of Marion. But the state also lowered the possibility of the concrete doing any good by disallowing its use if it contacts the water, he said.
Rhodes said he would also be required to cut off any exposed rebar.
Rhodes said if the weather permits, the contractor on Sunflower Road still is expected to begin resurfacing work Oct. 24.
