Commissioners tour building

By ADAM STEWART

Staff writer

Marion County commissioners said they were impressed with what Marion County Special Education Cooperative has done with the former Golden Living Center in Marion after touring the building Monday.

At a previous meeting, cooperative chairwoman Deb Geis informed commissioners that the east wing of the building is available to house the health department.

The cooperative made the north wing into classrooms and the west wing into offices. Commissioners said what the cooperative had done showed the potential the east wing had.

They said they would keep all options open. Another option was presented during the meeting when Glen Thiessen of Fast Realty in Hillsboro said the former Tax Plus building on Main Street in Marion is for sale for $49,000.

In other business:

• Sales tax receipts for May sales were $52,332. That was a $2,061 increase from the same time period in 2009. Through seven months, Marion County has received $362,169 of sales tax, an increase of $16,529.
• The commission will ask an attorney hired by the county and five other counties to challenge a property tax exemption for the Keystone oil pipeline through the Kansas Department of Commerce.
• County Clerk Carol Maggard met with commissioners in closed session for 10 minutes to discuss personnel. The commission met in closed session for another 15 minutes with Maggard and County Treasurer Jeannine Bateman. No action was taken on return to open session.
• Dennis Wilson was hired as temporary summer help for the Road and Bridge Department for $9 an hour.
• Commissioners ruled that because side streets at Marion County Park and Lake were not county roads, property owners must meet only side yard setback requirements from the streets for new construction, not road setback requirements. Side yard setback requirements are 8 feet, and road setback requirements are 20 feet.
• Planning and Zoning Director Tonya Richards met with commissioners in closed session for five minutes to discuss personnel. No action was taken on return to open session.

The next regular commission meeting will be Monday.