Monday May 11 Mitchell County Commissioners Meeting

Mitchell County Commissioners

Monday, May 11, 2015

By Terry Bailey

Two of the Mitchell County Commissioners and the County Clerk were present for the regular meeting Monday morning, May 11. Present were Tom Claussen and Jim Marshall and Chris Treaster. Mike Cooper was absent, attending to personal business out of town.

Public Works Superintendent Larry Emerson and Schwab-Eaton Engineer John Cashatt reported at 8:45 a.m. to take place in a conference call with Jeff Jerome, the federal government project engineer for the Cawker City Causeway project. The Commissioners initiated the conference call because questions about the details of the project appear to have different answers depending upon who was asking the question and who was answering the question. It appeared prudent to get all interested parties together so the details could be satisfactorily resolved.

The impetus for the Causeway project was the deteriorating cable guard rail used to keep cars from going off the road and into the lake. This guard rail was constructed in the late 1960s when the lake was built.

The project is a shared cost affair with the Federal government footing 80 percent of the cost and Mitchell County being responsible for 20 percent. The original estimate for the project was for a total cost of $620,000. This would have the Federal government paying $496,000 and Mitchell County paying $124,000 on the 80/20 share.

Recently when the final numbers were calculated to include all the modifications and such, the cost had ballooned to $909,000. With this new number, the Federal government’s share grew to $727,200 and Mitchell County’s obligation rose to $181,800. Chairman Tom Claussen commented, “We can handle the increase because the guardrail system must be replaced or the road will be dangerous to travel. We just want to make sure we can cap the cost of the project at $909,000.”

In the original project plans, provisions were made for adding a number of new parking places along the Causeway road to allow access to the area for fishermen, bird watchers, hikers and others wanting to access the lake. After deliberating on this proposal for a number of weeks, the Commissioners have determined that they may already have adequate parking. They believe it would be a better use of their money to allow for more guardrail to be built thus increasing the safety of the road.

Mr. Jerome, when asked if it would be possible to divert money from parking spaces to additional feet or yards of guardrail responded that he thought that might be possible but he would have to clear it with the design team.

The Commissioners asked if the new guardrail system would once again be a wooden post and cable system or if steel posts and galvanized metal would be necessary. They had been told earlier that a system similar to the present one with the addition of a third cable might be possible. Reusing the current cable would help with the cost of the project. Once again Mr. Jerome indicated he would have to consult with the design team for the correct answer.

Larry Emerson asked if the county crews did some of the work could that be considered payment in kind as part of the County’s 20% match. Mr. Jerome said it would not work that way.

At the conclusion of the call Mr. Jerome told the commissioners he would consult the design team with their questions and let them know what answers he got from the team. Before any work begins, the Commissioners will have a written contract with all the details of the project so they know exactly where they stand.

Kathy Webster, representing Pawnee Mental Health, addressed the Commissioners about signing a proclamation designating May as Mental Health Awareness Month. The Commissioners voted to declare May as Mental Health Awareness Month in Mitchell County and gladly signed the Proclamation.

Carol Torkelson for the North Central Kansas Regional Planning Commission made an appearance to conduct a Public Hearing for the purpose of having the Commissioners sign documents to apply for a Public Accessibility Grant. This $300,000 Community Development Block Grant is a special project from the Department of Commerce. The purpose of the grant is to provide funds so that homes can be modified to make them accessible so that people can stay in their homes longer. Funds may be used for ramps, modification of bathrooms, to widen doorways, make laundry facilities accessible and other projects of this nature. The four county area of Dickinson, Ottawa, Saline and Mitchell County will have approximately $75,000 per county with a per home maximum of $12,500. Mitchell County will be the lead county because that is where the North Central Regional Planning Commission is located. Torkelson estimated that a total of 17 projects can be funded in the four county area with an average of four per county.

At 9:30 a.m. the Open Public Hearing was declared to be in session. After the appropriate period of time the meeting was declared closed. No persons appeared to speak for or against the project. The Commissioners voted to Resolution 2015-5 giving their approval to legally apply for the handicapped accessibility access grant.

Kelly Hawk, Emergency Medical Services director, submitted his monthly report to the Commissioners. The EMS made 59 runs in the past month with Friday being the busiest day and the time period of 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. being the most active period. Hawk said they are 20 responses ahead of where they were at the same time last year.

The meeting was capped with a general discussion between the Commissioners and the County Clerk regarding meal per diem paid by the County. Commissioner Claussen said he believed the rate paid has been the same for many, many years and may not reflect the cost of meals when County employees are out of town on County business. Chris Treaster and Heather Hartman will do some checking and report back with what other city and county governments pay for daily meal expense.

Having successfully dealt with all the items on the agenda, the Commissioners adjourned the meeting.

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Beloit, KS 67420, USA