Commission reviews draft for road repairs
Marion County Commission reviewed a preliminary draft Monday from Kansas Department of Transportation regarding reimbursement for road repairs due to construction of U.S.-77.
Acting county road and bridge superintendent Jim Herzet brought the information to the commission and reported the county's engineer for the project, Mike Olson of Kirkham Michael Consulting, will review the document.
Preliminary indications were KDOT would resurface Sunflower Road from U.S.-50 to Main Street in Marion. No other information was divulged.
In other road business:
— Herzet informed the commission there may be a need to purchase two new dump trucks. He said one truck had more than 600,000 miles on it. Because of a recent accident with a county dump truck, the county may consider replacing the truck instead of repairing it.
Commissioner Randy Dallke asked Herzet to provide a list of all trucks and mileage. FEMA funds could be used for the purchase since part of the funds were for the use of county trucks.
— The county may consider selling county land where the former hot mix plant was located.
— Discussion was heard regarding safety issues with the county's mowers. A recent incident resulted in a county mower propelling a piece of a metal fence post 150 feet into the side of pickup truck parked in a driveway. The incident occurred Friday on Nighthawk Road.
Dallke asked Herzet to check all mowing equipment to assure all safety equipment is properly installed.
Commissioner Dan Holub asked if sufficient space between houses and motorists is considered by the mower operator.
County clerk Carol Maggard suggested Herzet check with the county's insurance carrier regarding mower safety information.
— Jerry Kline of Martin Marietta Quarries, provided information to the commission regarding types of rock.
Recent discussions of "hard" rock concerned Kline and he wanted to inform the commission of the variety available.
— Herzet requested and received a 10-minute executive session to discuss personnel. Maggard remained during the session.
When the meeting reconvened, the commission approved employee Gary Williams carrying over one week of vacation time. The oversight was caused by an accounting error.
