County opens courthouse repair bids
Marion County Commissioners were happy Monday to learn that seven contractors had submitted bids on a repointing and repair project on the exterior of the courthouse.
Dan Hall, architect with BG Consultants, conducted the bid opening at 10 a.m. Several contractors were present.
Hall told commissioners he would examine the two or three apparent low bids, do some research, check references, and make a recommendation during their next meeting on Tuesday. County offices will be closed Monday for President's Day.
Hall provided an estimated breakdown of the cost to complete the project noting $88,700 is available to fund the project.
Submitting the low bid was M.S. Restoration, North Kansas City, Mo., with a bid of $50,856 with a completion date of 90 days.
The next lowest bidder was Mid- Continental Restoration Co., Fort Scott, with a bid of $59,892 and a completion time of 60 days.
The third lowest was from S&W Waterproofing of Kansas City, Mo., with a bid of $64,964, and a completition date of 60 days.
The fourth lowest was Atkins Weatherproofing, Inc., Springfield, Mo., with a bid of $75,144 and a completion time of 85 days.
The remaining bids were more than the amount available to fund the project.
In other matters:
— Commissioners met in executive session with County Attorney Susan Robson, Road and Bridge Superintendent Gerald Kelsey, and David Brazil, planning/zoning, transfer station manager for attorney-client privilege. No action was taken after returning to regular session.
— Commissioners approved adding a sentence to the duties of the county's planning/zoning commission which allowed for both a chairman and vice-chairman.
— Commissioners heard from Brazil that a House Bill would be introduced instituting a county codes court which would handle various zoning issues. Commissioners indicated it might be something they would be interested in at a future time; however, with budget constraints they would not be interested in it at this time.
— The commission approved a contract with Hamm's Quarries for solid waste dumping.
— JoAnn Knak, county emergency medical services director, reported Ramona had several EMTs interested in becoming first responders. She indicated an ambulance would be moved from Durham to Ramona to be used as a first responder unit. The former Peabody ambulance would then be taken to Durham. Knak said first responder refers to the vehicle, not the person responding. She noted the individuals responding were certified the same as others on the EMS staff.
During the month of January, Hillsboro had 18 emergency calls, Marion had 20, Peabody had 19, and Tampa had six.
In addition on Sunday, the Peabody unit responded to five calls that day alone.
— Commissioners met with Knak for a 15 minute executive session regarding personnel. No action was taken.
— Bruce Wells with Flint Hills RC&D (Resource Conservation and Development) and Peggy Blackman, who serves as Marion County representative and president of the State Association of Kansas RC&D Councils. They explained what RC&Ds were and how they planned to function.
— Kelsey said he planned to seek bids on purchasing the cold mix used in road construction from another source.
— Commissioners met for another 15 minute executive session to discuss non-elected personnel. No action was taken.
— Commissioners appointed Carolyn Koehn to serve on the Mental Health Advisory Board, replacing Lynn Berns.
