Commission asks for board review
Marion County Commissioners want to hear from the communications advisory board before hiring a consultant on the radio system, they said Monday.
Sheriff Lee Becker, who also is chairman of the advisory board, said he will call a meeting within two weeks.
The consultant would review the current communications system and recommend a way to improve radio transmissions among emergency responders.
Commissioners stopped short of saying they would hire the consultant. Estimated cost is $50,000 to $60,000.
Cost to revamp the system will be between $300,000 and $600,000, Becker said, and the advisory board has no budget or authority to commit funds.
Complaints about the communication issue have come to a head in recent weeks, but Becker said communication problems go back at least 14 years. There is poor radio reception throughout northern Marion County, in Burns, Goessel, Florence, and Hillsboro. Even sheriff's deputies have poor communication when using their hand-held radios, he said.
"The problem is, where do you start?" Becker said. "We all have needs."
Emergency responders in Marion County own radios of varying strengths and frequency. The result is a wide mix of systems that don't always work well with other systems or with the existing repeaters. Some can't communicate with dispatch and few can talk directly to emergency responders on another frequency.
Becker said an expert radio consultant, not aligned with any vendor, could come up with a proposal that could solve the problem. However, he may recommend replacing a great deal of equipment in current use. This may not sit well with agencies that saved funds for years to update their communication systems.
"If we're going to fund this consultant, we'd better make sure we have a half-million dollars behind it," said Commissioner Leroy Wetta. "If we're not committed to going forward, we don't need to start at all."
"We want to make sure the problem's solved," Commissioner Howard Collett said.
"We have to have the money," Chairman Bob Hein said.
The consultant had provided a booklet describing his services. Becker said about 15 copies were needed, and wanted to know which department would make the copies, since the advisory board had no budget.
Clerk Carol Maggard volunteered to make the copies.
Tax sale
The tax sale is planned for 10 a.m. Thursday, County Attorney Susan Robson said. The county started with 173 tracts but that has been reduced to about 40, she said. The others paid back taxes plus penalties and interest to remove them from the sale.
Robson said adjacent property owners have been notified of the sale to increase the likelihood that people with an interest in Marion County will buy the property.
"We're hoping we'll sell to local people, not speculators," she said.
In a related matter, certain mineral rights will be removed from the tax sale pending a review of proper ownership. Robson and attorney Audi Strotkamp, who represents Larry Blosser, said there are questions about the mineral rights because an abstract doesn't show them as severed from the property.
However, clerk and treasurer records going back decades show them as separated, and taxes have been paid on the mineral rights until three years ago, Robson said.
EMS reports
There were 83 calls for ambulances in August, reported JoAnn Knak, emergency medical services director.
Of those, 38 were answered by Hillsboro-based crews; Peabody-based, 24; Marion-based, 14; and Tampa-based, seven. First responders answered 18 calls, including eight by Goessel-based crews; Lincolnville-based, five; Durham-based, four; and Burns-based, one.
Ambulance crews treated 15 people at the fairgrounds and transported two others for medical treatment, Knak said. Several incidents involved the demolition derby.
"The heat was not the issue," she said. "We had burns, chest pains, hands in the way of sledge hammers."
About 15 people have expressed interest in the EMT class starting Oct. 1. More are welcome since the class list isn't finalized until the first session, Knak said.
In other reports:
Commissioners appointed a board of directors for County Fire District No. 7, as recommended by the City of Tampa and Blaine and Clark townships. Members are Tom Duggan, Tom Leihy, Jim Novak, Chris Srajer, Gerald Rziha, Richard Meisinger, and Ed Vinduska.
Many positive comments have been received regarding the fireworks show Sept. 1 at the county lake, reported Dale Snelling, lake superintendent. "We had a lot more cars this year," he said. "It was bumper-to-bumper from the lake to K-256 afterward."
Rex Savage of KC Development met briefly with commissioners to recommend they notify all cooperatives to follow safe handling procedures for potentially hazardous waste. A trash truck arrived Thursday with its load on fire.
The cause was tracked to pesticide pellets dumped into the trash at the co-op in Tampa, Savage said. The pellets reacted to moisture in the trash and the heat generated ignited the pile. The fire was extinguished before the truck suffered significant damage. The co-op had to come collect the trash load and disposed of it following guidelines from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment, Savage said.
Purchase of two vehicles was approved. Low bid for a pickup for the road and bridge department was $14,505 from Wright's, Hillsboro. Low bid for a heavy-duty pickup for the noxious weed department was $17,680 from Hillsboro Ford.
