County transfer station extends holiday hours
Staff reporter
Marion County Commission met Monday in regular session and conducted the following business:
— David Brazil, county zoning, sanitarian, and transfer station manager, and the commission discussed hours of operation for the transfer station during the holidays. The station was closed Thanksgiving Day and the following Friday but reopened Saturday morning.
"The transfer station should be treated as a commercial business," said Leroy Wetta, commissioner.
Howard Collett, commission chairman, agreed.
"I think it should be open the same days as the haulers work."
The transfer station had been following the holiday schedule of the other county offices, except being open on Saturday mornings.
Brazil wasn't sure if his employees would be willing to work the day after a holiday when the rest of the county does not work.
Brazil acknowledged that some of the Monday holidays that the county observes and the cities do not observe, have been a concern.
"(In the future) Maybe it should be a condition of employment," suggested Wetta.
The decision was made that the transfer station will be open Dec. 26 and 27.
— Diana Bell, county appraiser, requested and received permission to expend funds to move server to the courthouse domain.
"The appraiser's office has to have its own server," explained Bell. "But we don't need a separate domain."
Bell continued that whenever an update is made, it takes twice as long since the computer programmer has to do everything twice.
The approximate cost from Great Plains Computers and Networking, is $1,200 for 18 hours of work.
— Area fuel bids were opened with two companies bidding on four areas.
The Commission approved the low bid of $2,952.23 from Cardie Oil Company for 2,950 gallons of number one diesel for two areas and the low bid of $3,632.40 from Cooperative Grain and Supply for 3,600 gallons of diesel for two other areas.
— Gerald Kelsey, road and bridge superintendent, Jim Herzet, road foreman, and Tom Holub, shop foreman, requested and received permission to purchase a used welder for $550.
The portable wire welder is "six to seven years old and is better and faster than a MIG (gas metal arc welding) welder," said Herzet. A new welder would cost between $3,300 to $3,500.
— Two Marion County employees are applying for the Leadership Marion County class.
Darryl Thiesen, Emergency Medical Services director, requested permission to apply for the Leadership Marion County class.
He asked the commission to also consider allowing a second person from his office to apply. Concerns were expressed about two members from the same office applying and attending the class at the same time.
The commission suggested that Thiesen apply this year and the second person apply the following year.
The second person the commission approved was Jo Ottensmeier, deputy Register of Deeds. The cost for the class is $150 per applicant.
— County Clerk Carol Maggard reported that APAC had been contacted regarding the repair of the courthouse parking lot. APAC will repair the parking lot this week with sealing completed in the spring.
— Carolyn Koehn, city clerk of Burns, was appointed to the board of director of the South Central Kansas Economic Development District (SCKEDD). Koehn replaces Susan Cooper, former City of Marion economic development director.
— Commission adjourned to a 10-minute executive session to discuss a personnel issue. After reconvening to open session, the commission accepted the resignation of Virginia Downing from the board of directors of the Area Agency on Aging. Health problems and inability to attend meetings were the reasons sited on her resignation.
— Payroll in the amount of $597,984.25 was approved.
— The annual allocation of $55,000 for Prairie View was approved.
— A cereal malt beverage license was approved for Canada Bait and Tackle Shop.
The commission will meet at 9 a.m. Dec. 8 in the commission room at the courthouse.
