The commissioners and Acting Road and Bridge Director John Summerville all have noted the increasing difficulty of road maintenance with increasing costs of fuel and oil-based surfacing materials.
The cost of diesel fuel in the bids, which both went to Cardie Oil of Tampa over competitive bids from Cooperative Grain & Supply of Hillsboro, stayed close to $3.50 a gallon.
The price of diesel one year ago then ran close to $2.50 a gallon.
In an effort to economize, Summerville received permission from the commissioners to put minimum-maintenance warning signs on four miles of road.
During the storm last week, the four miles on 180th between Old Mill and Kanza had water running down them, Summer?ville reported.
?I think the creek wants them more than we do,? he said.
The commissioners attitude of doing what they can for county while keeping taxes in check carried through into discussions with Rollin Schmidt, director of the noxious weed, household hazardous waste and transfer station.
Commissioner Dan Holub said, ?We need to be keeping more things in-house. We need to try to be the ones calling the shots. We need to stop exporting dollars, and try to keep money at home.?
Holub and Commission Chairman Bob Hein both said that a requirement for members of the public to pay $40 a ton for disposal of commercial and demolition waste is slowing new construction. They said their constituents need to get rid of both demolished structures and waste from new construction.
Schmidt said the cost can only increase. He said he has been thinking about the problem, and decided that the best solution may be to open up the old landfill southwest of Marion for commercial and demolition waste only.
He said he is certain the Kansas Department of Health and Environment would approve such a move, and may even welcome the addition of the dry material.
Holub said he wouldn?t want to repeat it often, but added, ?Rollin, you are a genius.?
He suggested that Schmidt check oout the old quarry land at the county south shops south of Marion for a possible C&D site too.
The Cardie transport fuel bid was for 400 gallons of diesel in Tank 3 at $3.731 a gallon for $14,924, 1,500 gallons of diesel in Tank 1 at $3.475 a gallon for $5,212.50, and 2,500 gallons of unleaded gasoline at $3.17 a gallon for $7,925.
The CG&S bid for the same quantities was $3.77 for $15,080, $3.515 for $5,272.50, and $3.217 for $8,042.50.
The area fuel bid from Cardie was for 800 gallons of diesel in Tank 1 at $3.5015 a gallon for $2,801.20, 2,150 gallons of diesel in Tank 2 at $3.5015 a gallon for $7,528.23, 1,800 gallons of diesel in Tank 3 at $3.5215 a gallon for $6,338.70, and 1,800 gallons of diesel in Tank 4 at $3.5215 a gallon for $6,338.70.
The CG&S bid for the same quantities and totals, respectivel,y was $3.5630 for $2,850.40, $2,150 for $3,5630, $3.5530 for $6,395.40, and $3.5580 for $6,404.40.
Gayla Ratzlaff, coordinator for the department for the elderly, said a new Veterans Admin?istration will begin coming to Marion County May 6 with a regular sechedule. The intent is to provide consultations for senior citizens.
Under new Internal Revenue Service regulations that require tax-exempt organizations with incomes less than $25,000 to file reports,
Ratzlaff said her department is trying to determine which senior centers will have to report. She said Burns and Lehigh may not have to.
