County may save $25,000 by refinancing road bonds years ago
Staff writer
County Treasurer Jeannine Bateman may have come up with a way to save Marion County $25,000.
Charlie Young, a bond adviser from a Wichita firm, will speak to county commissioners during their 9 a.m. meeting Monday at the courthouse, on the possibility of refinancing county road-improvement bonds.
The refinancing would allow for early payout as well, Bateman said.
Commissioners agreed to post a chart created by the Kansas Department of Transportation showing a proposed roundabout alternative that may be constructed at the U.S. 50/U.S. 77 intersection at Florence.
The chart, about 4 1/2 by 3 feet, will be on display in the main hall of the courthouse on the first floor.
County Clerk Carol Maggard said county employees have voted, and chosen Dec. 24 and 27, 2004, as the days they want to have "off" from work, in addition to Christmas Day and the day after.
This year's Christmas dinner party for county employees will be at 6:30 p.m. Dec. 8 at the Burns Community Center, Maggard said.
Commissioners, after a brief meeting with David Brazil, director of planning and zoning for the county, signed a contract with Bucher, Willis & Ratliff, Salina.
The engineering and consulting firm will write new zoning regulations for Marion County that conform to and fit with the county's new comprehensive plan.
Commissioners adopted, 3-0, a plan to allow county employees to authorize payroll deductions, if they wish, for United Way of Marion County.
Jessie Nikkel, county chairman of the umbrella organization for charities, said this is the first year for UW of Marion County. In previous years Marion County's drive was affiliated with Harvey County's, and still is, to a lesser extent.
Nikkel said she or someone else from the UW board would make a presentation to county employees if commissioners or employees wished.
The action is permissive, not coercive, i.e. no one has to contribute, but is free to do so if they wish.
Dale Snelling, county park and lake director, said fishing is great — but the catching is not so good. "A subliminal message," or semantics, he said. Muddy waters are the problem.
Dan Crumrine, of Marion County Improvement District No. 2, at the county lake, proposed to donate a generator belonging to the district. He would like to give it to the county's emergency preparedness department, or any department that could make good use of it.
It is a 50-amp, 50-kilowatt generator, and will "take care of" 110-volt or 220-volt, or three-phase needs, he said. It was used only once, for a few days, in the 15 years the district has had it, Crumrine said.
Crumrine said he felt the district might as well share, with the county and the state both so "hard up."
He said he can continue to store the gasoline-powered machine for the county. The county would pay for insurance and maintenance (oil changes and the like).
Crumrine will visit with Michele Abbott-Becker, county director of emergency communications, about the proposed gift.
Commissioners accepted a bid from Krause Construction, Hillsboro, of $36,750 to build a bridge in Summit Township, in the southeast part of the county, near Grace Ranch.
Gerald Kelsey, road and bridge superintendent, said his men will be able to start some dirt work next week on a road that Carl Stovall has complained about, near his property.
Stovall was present at Monday's meeting. He said that on advice from an attorney, he was withdrawing his offer to pay $500 to help with costs of moving a lagoon that is in the middle of Ulysses Road, a closed (vacated) road.
County commissioners will take a look at the lagoon Monday. Stovall says it interferes with his use of the road and access to his property.
The road is on the west side of Antelope, Kelsey said.
