County to survey damamge to parking lot
On Monday, the Marion County Commission will meet with representatives of Mid-Continent Restoration, Fort Scott, to survey the damage to the parking lot east of the courthouse.
During the restoration and cleaning work on the courthouse this spring and summer, some damage was done to the lot by a huge crane that made impressions in the lot.
A patching company representative also will be here for Monday's meeting.
Howard Collett, county commission chairman, said the damage occurred because "they didn't have pads under the crane's big, heavy feet."
County Clerk Carol Maggard said Kevin Fruechting's term on the Eighth Judicial District Nominating Committee is about to end, but he has said he is willing to be re-appointed to serve another term.
Maggard said the county saved $3,500 on the lease-purchase agreement with SBC for the telephone upgrade at the courthouse, with costs not running as high as anticipated.
Commissioners approved the new Marion County Comprehensive Plan. David Brazil, director of planning and zoning, said Bucher Willis and Ratliff, Salina, engineers, will now be asked to develop regulations that implement and that dovetail with the comprehensive plan.
The fine-tuning of the regulations is expected to require several months, Brazil said.
He said he had contacted one company qualified to do hazardous material removal from enclosed spaces, and will meet with the firm's representative today or Thursday.
He is trying to find a company that will remove hazardous medical waste from a cistern discovered a few weeks ago between the sheriff's offices and the courthouse.
"We're looking for a second company (to get a possible bid from), but they're hard to find," Brazil said.
Commissioner Leroy Wetta suggested breaking the project "into two jobs." He said Marion County employees could probably do the disposal work after the gathering and handling are done by the specializing company, which also would close the hole.
Bill Smithhart, noxious weed and hazardous household waste director for the county, said he had met with a Clean Harbors representative.
The company will provide a one-cubic-yard container for storage of 100 one-gallon paint cans, or 1,200 pounds, for $690. This includes coming back here, picking up the container, and disposing of it, Smithhart said.
The company also could pick up and take away a load of pesticides at the same time, for an added $750.
The average fee paid by the county for such pick-ups over the last four years has been $8,466 a year, he said.
Bulking out of flammable liquids is very labor-intensive, Smithhart said. It requires two men in full protective gear — Tyrek suits and respirator masks.
This work puts a strain on the men's health, he said. Heat builds up inside the suits, and it's hard to work in them for any extended period of time when it's hot.
The worker has to pull air in through filter cartridges. The work and the difficult breathing put more strain on him, the harder he exerts himself. So, having Clean Harbors provide this service would be good, Smithhart suggested.
Clean Harbors has a Wichita office, he said.
The company that has been providing 55-gallon drums free of charge will no longer do so, he said. The county will have to buy those it uses (fills) in bulking. "We'll try to re-use the drums for oil recovery and latex processing," he said.
Smithhart also said he wants to try something instead of 2, 4-D on treatment of roadside weeds next spring.
Road and bridge superintendent Gerald Kelsey said reconstruction of the Aulne road is going well.
Commissioners accepted a bid from Cardie Oil, Inc., Tampa, the sole bid received, for providing transport fuel for the road and bridge department.
The contract is for $9,362.95 total, including 3,500 gallons of diesel fuel for tank 3 at $1.0924 per gallon, 1,500 gallons of diesel for tank 1 at 83.54 cents per gallon, and 3,500 gallons of unleaded gasoline at $1.2247 a gallon.
