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Commissioners Praise LEC Open House Success

The Mitchell County Commissioners had nothing but praise for the success of the Open House held at the new Law Enforcement Center (LEC), Sunday afternoon. It was estimated that over 500 people toured the new facility, which is located on the North Campus. Many people from outside the county came to see the facilities.

Newly elected Commission Chairman, Tom Claussen, expressed their appreciation for the fine job Mitchell County Sheriff, Doug Daugherty and his staff did in showing the public through the facility. Claussen also thanked Dee Daugherty and her sister Marsha Fleming for their part in helping with the event. Chairman Claussen said the new building would furnish a safe, sanitary, environment for detainees as well as for the employees who work there.

Commissioner Virgil Palen asked if it has been determined when they will start placing detainees in the facility. Commissioner Mike Cooper talked to Sheriff Daugherty who told him there are still some issues that will have to be worked out before they can start the placement of prisoners in the building.

Cooper said they are having issues with enough hot water being provided by the two large hot water heaters that were purchased for this task. They put out enough hot water for the laundry but not for the showers. Tim Watts will talk to Sheriff Daugherty today about a system he has designed to take care of this problem. Watts thinks they will need to replace the old water pump that was used by the State facility before the renovation of the building took place.

Since everything in the building is electrical and there is no natural gas available they may have to design a whole new electrical system. The present system is too large for the two hot water heaters to handle, Cooper said.

40 employees have been hired to work in the center, Cooper said. He also reported Sheriff Daugherty has secured meals for the facility in the $6.50 price range and this will be a help for Mitchell County Hospital as well as the LEC. When asked if any prisoners will be housed in the old jail facility, he said, it will be used to maintain prisoners who will be going directly into court proceedings held in the courthouse.

The Commissioner's will be hosting a Multi-County Meeting for Commissioners from Smith, Jewell, and Osborne Counties at 11 a.m., Monday, January 23, at Plum Creek Restaurant. Sherry Koster, District Sanitarian, will be present to speak to the group. Following the meeting the Commissioners have scheduled a tour of the new LEC facilities at the request of some of the Commissioners who will be attending, Chairman Claussen said.

Larry Emerson, Pubic Works, told commissioners 13- 4x4 wooden posts were broken off recently between 250 road, five-miles north of Hunter to the end of the Tipton gravel road where the Center Schoolhouse was formerly located. Commissioner Palen and County Clerk, Chris Treaster, estimated this distance to be about a 12 to 15 mile stretch of road. Emerson said some of the posts were hit so hard they were broken in three places and this is not the first time this has happened.

Emerson's biggest concern is that if someone has an accident due to the stop signs and yield signs being down the county could be held accountable. While his department tries to check this every few weeks on a regular basis, they appreciate people who see the damaged area calling in to let them know about it. The sooner the signposts are put back up the less chance for accidents.

Emerson said his crews are still working on gravel roads. They have pushed out about 3,000 more yards of gravel in the Nash Pit over by Hunter and have used about 5,000 yards so far. They use about 500 yards of gravel a mile. His department is still running on a nine-hour schedule and hopes to continue this until they finish pushing out gravel as they have plenty of work to do.

County Clerk Treaster, announced K-Camp Insurance is sponsoring a Defensive Driving Course on the afternoon of February 9, and 10 for all county employees who want to take the course. A number of departments have signed up their employees. She said taking this course can help cut the cost of the employees insurance. Treaster also said June 1, is the filing deadline for anyone wanting to be registered to file for a position on the Commission. One person has filed for office so far.

Murray McGee, Community Development Director reported the Beloit Planning Commission has approved the final zoning and plat information on the North Campus facility and their recommendation is going to the Beloit City Council for approval.

McGee said the last of the Crown homes has been framed up and two houses are expected to be ready for someone to move into in February. Three lots have been sold in the SVED Business Park this past year. One building is currently under construction and at least two more are expected to start next spring. He discussed other projects that are in the works at the present time. The building "Susie's Cupboard" was in is now available. The Walkers have already had several contacts from people interested in the building.

Eric and Todd Dunstan, of Dunstan Trucking, visited with commissioners this morning. They said they have had no problems with the new trash pick up system they took over recently except a few people have gotten confused on the day their pickup was scheduled. They have hired Mark Brummer and since he knows the route this has made the transition easier for them.

Dunstan asked if they could bid on trash pick up on the dumpsters the county has at the courthouse, EMS stations and other locations the County has in Beloit, Glen Elder, Tipton, and Cawker City. Chairman Claussen said, Jamie Hiserote has this service at the present time and he likes the idea of spreading the counties business around.

Dunstan said when they took over this job he and Hiserote talked and agreed not to try to take the others business. He said their business has been cut in half all over Tipton and Cawker City. After discussion, commissioners agreed to have the two companies place sealed bids for this service to be in to the commissioners by 9 a.m. at the January 23, meeting.

Dunstan asked about providing a commercial pick up service on grass clippings with a charge going directly to those who choose to use this service. He said too many people are dumping the clippings in with their trash and they aren't allowed to pick it up that way. Dunstan also questioned what the town of Hunter uses for a trash pick up service. The commissioners did not have the answer to that question.

Chairman Claussen read a thank you from the Court Appointed Special Advocate Assn. better known as CASA. They thanked the county for the $5,000 they provided to help them in their work with abused or neglected children in the county.

Sandra Hone, Mitchell County Health Department, had a 15-minute executive session with commissioners on non-elected personnel. No decisions were made.

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Beloit, KS 67420, USA