State aging agency may tap county to offset state cuts

County commissioners were informed at the Thurs?day payday meeting that North Central Flint Hills Area Agency on Aging will be requesting an additional $14,000 from Marion County to replace reduced state funding.

Gayla Ratzlaff, coordinator for the Department on Aging, said the typical budget allocation for NCFHAA is about $5,000. The agency is asking other counties with which it affiliates for proportionate contributions, she added.

The money would be used by NCFHAA to provide health insurance to their employees who are employed to assist senior center operations in Marion County.

The three commissioners agreed they would not favor such a request from NCFHAA, and that they are in further need of seeing how proposed state property-tax-lid legislation on funding for counties might affect budgeting.

Office items

In payday session, County Clerk Tina Spencer reported a payday figure of $751,315 with $411,860 allocated for county payroll.

Sales tax received from the state in March for January sales was $57,128 for the regular sales tax and $49,948 for the jail sales tax.

The commissioners agreed to place an advertisement seeking volunteers from the business community to serve on a county advisory board for economic development.

Road and bridge

Interim Road and Bridge Director Jesse Hamm said there is a problem that a buried natural gas line could become unsafe with cars crossing it on a non-road area to cut time off a curve at 240th and Pawnee.

The commissioners authorized Hamm to erect a pipe-steel barricade, or any other measure he saw fit, to block the traffic.

None of the landowners across from the Williams and Klose properties in Canada are willing to pay an estimated $4,500 to $6,000 for a contractor to restore farmland slope to prevent flooding of their properties there, but they are willing for it to be done, Hamm said.

The commissioners approved county road and bridge doing the work after crops are harvested.

Commission Chairman Randy Dallke commended Hamm and the road and bridge crew for doing a good job rebuilding 140 from Aulne to Nighthawk.

The commissioners approved a road and bridge area fuel bid of $6,734.60 from Cooperative Grain & Supply of Hillsboro for 5,300 gallons of diesel over a competitive bid of $6,844.20 from Cardie Oil Inc. at Tampa.

Other business

The commissioners approved permits for Mound?ridge Telephone to bore under Meridian Road near 120th and for Hett Excavation to install a 6-inch drain tile under 270th west of Jade.

They commended Hett for voluntarily doing work to benefit the public that wasn?t required.

Mike Beneke, feedlot operator, asked the commissioners to consider using harder Ottawa rock on gravel roads, noting that he recently has paid $10.41 a ton plus $9 a ton freight on back hauls, thus reducing the price.

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