Lori Lalouette, a Hills?boro attorney, was sworn in as the 1st District commissioner for Marion County by 8th District Court Judge Michael Powers prior to the board?s Monday meeting.
The swearing occurred at a public reception in the hallway outside of the meeting room at the courthouse.
Lalouette was elected to succeed Roger Fleming of Hillsboro, who chose not to run again after one four-year term.
Lalouette, who is married to Road and Bridge Director Randy Crawford, said she would use ?Lalouette? as her surname on the commission, although she sometimes uses the name, ?Lalouette-Crawford.?
The commission meeting opened with Commissioner Dan Holub elected to succeed Fleming as chairperson and Commissioner Randy Dallke elected as vice-chairperson.
The chair position revolves, with each commissioner serving a year as chairperson before the office is passed to the next commissioner in sequence.
Holub and Dallke humorously told Lalouette she was getting a kinder beginning than Fleming got in his first term because it also was his immediate turn to be chair.
The commissioners voted to name the Marion County Record as the county?s legal newspaper for publication of notices because of its status as a paid subscription newspaper.
Dallke said some notices also must be published in the Hillsboro Free Press because it has by far the largest circulation in the county.
Road issues
Crawford and the commissioners agreed that they need to develop a policy on private rock purchases for public road use.
The issue arose at last week?s meeting, when the commissioners approved paying half the cost for a patron?s application of Ottawa gravel to his road.
Crawford said that if a resident wanted to put 10 inches of gravel in the middle of his road, and a motorist accustomed to the county?s applications of 1 inch of gravel hit it throwing his car off, the county could be liable for damages.
One complaint has already been received, he noted, of new gravel being graded to the sides. But he said county road graders will gradually spread the rock evenly back as part of regular maintenance.
The county?s customary gravel applications total 800 tons per mile, 200 to 250 tons per quarter mile, at a cost of $10 a ton, Crawford said.
Bruce Boettcher of BG Consultants reviewed the county?s plans to rebuild Nighthawk Road with 4-inch asphalt north of Peabody at 130th into gentle curves rather than right-angle curves.
The project is ready, Boettcher said, pending Kansas Department of Transportation approval and funding.
Other matters
Jack Chappelle of Engin?eering Solutions & Designs, said the old Marion County landfill southwest of the city is in its 10th year of closure on a 30-year monitoring plan. Water and methane monitoring continue to test satisfactorily.
The commissioners approved annual renewal of Chapelle?s contract for $3,260.
Emergency Medical Services Director Brandy McCarty said she continues to try to develop policy on scheduling and availability of EMTs.
Sheriff Rob Craft said he has no problem with the current program of EMT ambulance response to accidents, providing a responder is immediately available in the event of the listed responder not being available.
So far, McCarty said, emergency personnel have been able to immediately find volunteer EMTs for ambulance calls.
Transfer Station and Recycling Director Rollin Schmidt said the county collected 4,889 tons of municipal solid waste, 623.24 tons of commercial and demolition waste, 26.15 tons of white goods, 4.5 tons of tires, and 227.65 tons of recyclable materials for 2014.
Schmidt was able to get $1,150 for a used trailer on the state?s Purple Wave program.
