Monday November 23rd Mitchell County Commissioners meeting

Mitchell County Commissioners

Monday, November 22, 2015

By Terry Bailey

The Mitchell County Commissioners took time to meet and confer about the business of the County on Monday morning, November 23^nd. All three Commissioners were present for the meeting. Kathy File, Deputy County Clerk, sat in for the absent Chris Treaster.

With the holiday season fast approaching, time was given to discussion of what days the Courthouse would not be open and the days it would operate on a shortened schedule. On November 24^th, the Courthouse will close at twelve noon. December 31^st is one of the County Clerk’s busiest days of the year. There are many jobs that cannot be done until the 31^st so there is no way to work ahead. Kathy File said they will be in the office until 5 p.m. and probably much longer that day.

Then came the yearly “What shall we do about Martin Luther King’s Birthday observance” discussion. Should we close that day? Should we stay open and work? Commissioner Mike Cooper may have summed up idea of a paid vacation day for not just for this holiday, but for any time when employees get a day off with pay to observe the birthday of a national figure or a specific event. “People are given a day off to celebrate a person or honor an occasion, but for many of them, it is just another day off to go to the lake or to go shopping or whatever. We cannot mandate what people do with the day off. We give them the day and it is up to them how to spend that free time. And…it is not just a Mitchell County problem or a Kansas problem. It is pretty much a national problem. But…it is a national holiday and Martin Luther King certainly was the leader of a great cause. I am in favor of having the Courthouse closed to observe this national holiday.” The Commissioners voted unanimously to observe the Martin Luther King birthday holiday.

Heather Hartman updated the Commissioner on recent activities of the Solomon Valley Economic Development office. The Isle of Light will once again be open for the Christmas season. The Chamber of Commerce will have their official opening on December 5^th. The Home Tour for the Relay for Life is coming soon. The Dollar General Store in Cawker City is open and doing good business.

Larry Emerson, Public Works Superintendent, reported on bridge inspections in Mitchell County. Last year Schwab Eaton inspected 20 bridges and charged $120 per bridge. This year seven of the bridges inspected last year have been moved to a two year inspection status instead of a yearly inspection. This year 13 bridges were inspected at a rate of $150 per bridge for a total of $2,080.

Emerson announced that the K Road Bridge is open to traffic. His crews invested a total of 41 working days on the project. Next Monday his crews will start working a shorter 8 hour day as they rationally do at this time of the year. The road crews are continually working on the gravel roads that have been negatively affected by the dry weather. There are a number of roads in the County that need significant work.

About a dozen people attended the meeting to discuss the Extra-Territorial Jurisdiction for Zoning Purposes effort that the City of Beloit has sought to bring the life for many months.

Becky Crumbaker, an outspoken opponent of the three mile zoning authorization by the City said, “Speaking for many people who live in the area affected by this situation, we would like to request the County to move forward with zoning this land that lies outside the city limits. We appreciate all the hard work done by the City of Beloit, but we believe County land should be zoned by the governing body of the County. Because the County has jurisdiction we would like for it to move forward.”

Commissioner Chairperson Tom Claussen said, “We are not opposed to taking action but we want to make sure we do it in a responsible and safe manner. “

Considerable time was spent on determining the correct procedure that would need to be followed and in what order. One of the first steps would be to form a County-wide Planning Commission of between 5-9 members. If anyone is interested in serving on such a Commission, application forms to express their interest are available at the County Clerk’s office. The deadline for filing an application is December 18^th. As the meeting came to a conclusion it was evident that the County Commissioners were making plans to Zone the area that lies within three miles of the City of Beloit.

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Beloit, KS 67420, USA