KVSV

MONDAY JUNE 6TH MITCHELL COUNTY COMMISSIONERS MEETING

 

Mitchell County Commissioners

Monday, June 6, 1968

By Terry Bailey

 

The Mitchell County Commissioners met and conferred at the Courthouse Monday morning to carry out the business of the County. All Commissioners were present as well as the County Clerk.

The first guests of the day were Robbin Cole, Executive Director of Pawnee Mental Health, and Kathy Webster, Mitchell County representative on the Board of Directors.

Cole discussed the events that have occurred over the past few months that challenge the organization to be able to offer mental health services to all those in need of such care. More restrictive reimbursement schedules by insurance companies, a narrowing of covered services by third party organizations, and managed care cutbacks restrict the number of dollars available to operate. Recently Governor Brownback’s Medicaid cut of 4% was a major funding loss.

Last year Pawnee offered services to 7,612 unduplicated persons in their ten county area. Of that number 219 were from Mitchell County. Cole spoke of admission criteria for the Osawatomie State Hospital. Because of poor reviews and overcrowding, the institution has seen a reduction in bed count from 206 to 136. This has resulted in a wait of ten days to two weeks or more for someone direly in need of inpatient mental health care. Patients on the waiting list are kept in hospitals or jails under 24 hour surveillance and are often sedated while they wait.

With all that said, Cole asked the Commissioners to maintain the same level of funding for the next year as they currently provide to Pawnee. She asked them to look to the future and think about what kind of mental health care they desired for residents of Mitchell County and how would they view funding that type of care.

Fred Severance addressed the Commissioners on behalf of the Soil Conservation Board. He informed the governing body that each year they have a financial pinch in January because they do not get their first funds until February 15th. He requested that they move that date to January 15th to alleviate the squeeze. County Clerk Chris Treaster said that could not be done because the County does not get their funds until late January. There simply would be no money to distribute until February.

Nathan Gentry appeared on behalf of the Kansas Nebraska Amateur Radio Club. They are planning a 24 hour field day on June 25th to demonstrate the capabilities of the many ways amateur radio operators can help in times of disaster. They are able to communicate with voice, Morse code, and digital capabilities.

The organization will set up operation at the Bohemian Hall south of Simpson. They will have their Emergency Communication Trailer set up to demonstrate the many ways they have to set up a communication network. Gentry said their services would be highly valuable in times when cell towers and land line operations take a major hit. They can go off grid with batteries and a generator and operate continuously for at least 48 hours. He said the organization has members that allow communication as far west as Kanorado, Kansas and east to Topeka. They can reach members on the Kansas-Oklahoma border and north to Chester, Nebraska.

Gentry invited any and all interested person to make the trip to Bohemian Hall to observe and ask questions. They will begin operations at 10:00 am on the 25th and continue until 10:00 am on the 26th.

The Commissioners signed a Proclamation designating the week of June 20th through the 26th as Amateur Radio Week in Mitchell County.

Public Works Superintendent Larry Emerson told the Commissioners about a culvert washout about a mile north of Tipton on the blacktop. The recent rains overload the ability of the culvert to pass water from one side of the road to the other resulting in a washout with the water making its own path. The road is closed and his crews will start the repair on Tuesday morning. Depending on the extent of damage the road will be closed three or four days.

Emerson said water flowing over the county gravel roads has been common in Mitchell County lately. This will cause some damage that will take a while to fix. Because of the widespread flooding it will take some time to get all the roads back in order.

Emerson also reported that a motor grader, a high loader and a dump truck have all recently experience significant mechanical problems. All pieces of equipment are no longer under warranty.

Hayes Township has requested that Mitchell County take over the maintenance of their roads. Currently the County has assumed the maintenance of three other township roads.

Brian Streit, Courthouse Maintenance Supervisor, talked with the Commissioners about landscape plans for the north side of the Courthouse. After some discussion it was decided to pursue funding for the work through the Dane Hansen Foundation or the Solomon Valley Community Foundation. It appears that the landscape project would meet the requirements of one or both of those funding sources.

Rien (Wren) Hacker and Abby Hunter of the Domestic Violence Association of Central Kansas organization of Salina asked the Commissioners to sign a Proclamation declaring June as Elder Abuse Awareness Month. This is a problem larger than anyone knows because most elder abuse goes unreported.

Three Neighborhood Revitalization Grants were considered and approved. One was a 24’ x 20’ x 9’ garage addition for Blake and Linda Miller in the amount of $17,750. The second was for a residential remodeling and garage addition for David Denuzza in the amount of $98,500. The third was a $32,000 garage addition to the house of Andrew Shipley.

Having completed all the items on the agenda, the meeting was adjourned.

 

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