County commission meets for end-of-year business
Despite assurances, Marion County Commissioner Leroy Wetta isn't convinced that Marion County wouldn't be held liable sometime in the future for dumping waste in a landfill.
County commissioners met Monday with two representatives from Waste Management of Kansas concerning a tipping fee proposal.
Ken Madsen, market area sales manager, and William D. Upman, environmental engineer, told commissioners Waste Management's contract with the county contains an idemnity clause which means Waste Management assumes all liability if there would ever be any type of EPA problem.
"We take all liability of the facility," Upman said. "You wouldn't be a primary responsibility bearer."
He noted the company carried between $2 and $5 million in liability insurance. Upman said the company's contract is in accordance with Kansas law and that Waste Management couldn't operate without a permit, which is contingent on having that insurance policy.
Wetta asked for assurances that the private company, Waste Management, would still be in existence 30-plus years from now. He asked whether or not the company was placing money in other accounts like trust or escrow that would be untouchable in future years to fund any corrective measures.
Wetta indicated his concerns were based on experiences like what has happened with Enron this past year.
The representatives said they would seek answers to Wetta's questions regarding liability and other issues and meet with commissioners again. That meeting was set for Jan. 27.
Wetta said he had instructed David Brazil, transfer station manager, to talk to other landfill operators before making a long-term decision regarding dumping.
Communications consultant
Commissioners approved the hiring of a consultant to help all county emergency agencies communicate. They made the decision after hearing a presentation from the countywide Communications Advisory Board.
"We've been trying to coordinate our efforts so we can all talk together in times of crisis," said Sheriff Lee Becker. "But none of us are radio experts."
Noting the need for a radio expert, Becker said the board wished to hire a consultant to help in determining what the county needed.
The commission approved a $9,600 expenditure for a consultant to write specifications and determine what type of radio communications would best suit the various county entities.
In other matters:
— Chief Judge Michael Powers of the Eighth Judicial District conducted a swearing-in ceremony for Bob Hein, first district county commissioner. He was re-elected in November.
— Commissioner Howard Collett was named chairman, and Commissioner Leroy Wetta was named vice-chairman.
— The Marion County Record was named the official county newspaper for legal publications.
— All Marion County financial institutions were named as official county depositories.
— Commissioners signed a special warranty deed exempting the transfer station and the real estate from property tax assessments.
— Approved moving $28,334 from the special building fund into a courthouse renovation fund to pay for courthouse renovations. County Clerk Carol Maggard said putting the money into the fund would allow her to work budget credits properly when dealing with the grant funding.
— Heard from David Brazil, planning and zoning director, that zoning applications were down by one for the year 2002, as compared to 2001, with 113 and 112 respectively.
Also for the year, applications received included 11 rezoning, 14 variance, four conditional use, 39 primary structure and 44 for accessory structures.
— In the sanitation department, nine real estate inspections were conducted in 2002, 52 wastewater applications were received, 12 water supply applications, and 10 water screenings were handled for a total of 83.
— The commission approved the purchase of county insurance from EMC with a premium cost of $120,434. That total is up 15 percent from last year.
Richard Nickel from The Insurance Center said the transfer station is insured for $203,000 on an actual cost value basis, which also includes a little on the contents.
There's no substantial change in the policy from previous years, Nickel said.
— Heard from JoAnn Knak, county emergency medical services director, that December was a busy month, but so far, January has been slow. During December, Hillsboro responded to 23 ambulance calls, while Marion had 36, Peabody had 24, and Tampa had 5.
— Approved a contract with Marion National Bank for the direct deposit of employee paychecks. Larry Loomis, bank representative, said it would cost $40 to set up the procedure, plus a $10 charge to retain the data. Then the cost would be $15 each month thereafter.
— Approved the purchase of a used 2001 Crown Victoria from the Kansas Highway Patrol vehicle fleet for use by the sheriff's department at a cost of $12,635. With additional equipment, the price is $20,465. Sheriff Becker said with the current budget concerns, he would rather purchase a used vehicle so money would be left over for various projects, rather than purchasing a new vehicle — which his department had budgeted for.
— Voted to purchase a 120 road grader for the road and bridge equipment from Foley Caterpiller and trade in two other vehicles.
