Monday April 27 Mitchell County Commissioners Meeeting

Mitchell County Commissioners

Monday, April 27, 2015

By Terry Bailey

The Mitchell County Commissioners conducted their regular business meeting on Monday, April 27^th. All Commissioners were present as was the County Clerk.

Doug McKinney, Executive Director of the North Central Kansas Regional Planning Commission, addressed the Commissioners regarding a Handicapped Accessible Grant program which his office is administering. According to McKinney, “The grant will provide funds to work on houses to make them accessible so people can stay in their homes longer.”

The total amount of the grant is $300,000. From this amount, inspection and administration fees will be subtracted leaving approximately $260,000 to $280,000 for construction costs. The money will be dispersed over the four county area of Saline, Dickinson, Ottawa and Mitchell Counties. Each household served must meet low-to-moderate income guidelines and must be an owner occupied household. Eligible adaptations consist of bathroom modification, ramps, driveways and sidewalks, doorways, utility rooms, and flooring. McKinney said that the maximum award per household is $12,500. He estimates that between fourteen and fifteen houses can be upgraded with the current funds available.

A public hearing will be conducted on May 11 at 9:30 a.m. Interested citizens are invited to attend and ask questions. The deadline for applications will be late May or early June. He hopes that work can begin on the homes by September or October. The grants are awarded on a first come-first serve basis. People with questions should attend the open hearing or contact the North Central Kansas Regional Planning Commission.

Larry Emerson, Public Works Superintendent, updated the Commissioners on the status of his department. Emerson told the Commissioners that he had not heard from the contact person with the Federal government about the status of the Causeway Project. The Commissioners encouraged him to be the one to initiate contact. It was their belief that sometimes Federal workers need a nudge every now and then to speed things along.

Emerson then reported that a bridge on the north end of the lake that crosses Granite Creek is in need of repair. If it is not repaired, the road will need closed because it is no longer safe to carry traffic. He had John Cashatt examine the bridge and Cashatt advised pulling the old badly deteriorated concrete deck off the bridge and replacing it. It could be rated for eight tons which would carry normal traffic but not harvest machinery. The Commissioners directed him to proceed with the suggested repair plan.

According to Emerson the Technical College heavy equipment students are making good progress with the work on the Construction Demolition pit at the Landfill. They did run into an eight inch ledge of limestone the required them to use dozers which slowed them down for a while.

Emerson said that when his crews were spraying weeds on the causeway they observed numerous guardrail posts that were rotting along the ground line. He plans to replace them with wooden posts. Round ones similar to the original ones cost $52 each and square ones cost $35 each.

Emerson asked for a fifteen minute executive session to discuss non-elected personnel. No action was taken.

The Commissioners appointed Sam Eilert as the Plum Creek Township Trustee.

A Neighborhood Revitalization grant application was approved for Tom and Renee Naasz for a building in the amount of $24, 759.23

Wanda Backstrom and Dawn Schneider representing the 12^th Judicial District Community Corrections and the Juvenile Justice Authority were on hand to request the Commissioners sign off of the Department of Corrections Block Grant money. This year’s amount is $174,135 which is an increase of about $2,000 over last year’s amount. Chairperson Tom Claussen signed off on the document commenting, “It is a lot cheaper to help people locally than locking them up in prison.”

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

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