MONDAY JANUARY 23RD MITCHELL COUNTY COMMISSIONERS MEETING

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Mitchell County Commissioners

Monday, January 26, 2015

By Terry Bailey

The Mitchell County Commissioners conducted their regular weekly business meeting Monday morning,

January 26. All three Commissioners and the County Clerk, Chris Treaster, were in attendance.

Larry Emerson, Public Works Superintendent and Casey Fraser from the Foley Tractor Company were on hand to discuss the purchase or lease of new track loader to replace the machine at the Mitchell County Landfill. The loader is used in virtually every aspect of the work done at the Landfill. The current machine is a Nine-Fifty-Three model with a one hundred ten horsepower motor. It has been in use well past the expected number of serviceable years for such a machine. It is Emerson’s evaluation that it could come to a complete and fatal halt at any time. The Commissioners and Emerson have been considering replacement options for the last few weeks.

Fraser presented the Commissioners with his best idea of a replacement loader. He believes that a new Nine-Fifty-Three model would be their best choice because that model has “done the job” for many years. A new model of the same type would have a one hundred fifty horsepower motor which is more powerful than the current one. The new machine would come with air conditioning as standard equipment as well as improved safety features.

Purchase price for a new track loader would be between two hundred fifty thousand and two hundred seventy thousand dollars. Fraser said if the loader was order today, they could expect a delivery date of late June to mid-July.

Commissioner Jim Marshall inquired about the option of a lease. Fraser said there are several different lease options available depending upon what type of arrangements the Commissioners desired. Chairperson Tom Claussen said they would look at different options to find one that best suits the needs of the County.

Stephanie Simmons, Executive Director of the Mitchell County Regional Medical Foundation and Cortney Murrow, Mitchell County Health Nurse, told the Commissioners that the Foundation had received a Chronic Disease Prevention Grant from the Kansas Department of Health and Environment.

This is important because chronic diseases such as heart disease, stroke and diabetes account for seventy-five percent of health care costs in the state and are the leading causes of death in Kansas.

The Foundation will receive $225,000 to jump start implementation of prevention strategies. In addition to Mitchell County six other counties were grant recipients. They are: Allen, Crawford, Finney Wyandotte, Johnson and Sedgwick.

The Commissioners reported that they were in receipt of an email notifying them that the Causeway guardrail program has been funded. Andrew Coit of the Central Federal Lands Highway Division is scheduling an on-site visit as early as the first week of February. The estimated cost of this project is in the neighborhood of six hundred thousand dollars. Mitchell County’s share will be twenty per cent. The post and cable guardrail system was installed with the Waconda Lake was built in the late nineteen sixties. The ability of the system to keep a car from going into the lake is very doubtful.

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

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