Monday Sept 28 Mitchell County Commissioners Meeting

Mitchell County Commissioners

Monday, September 28, 2015

By Terry Bailey

The Mitchell County Commissioners conducted their weekly meeting on Monday morning, September 28. All Commissioners were present as well as the County Clerk.

The Commissioners were working with a short, but important agenda.

After the meeting was called to order, the Commissioners and the County Clerk discussed the implications of the new emphasis of the Fair Labor and Standards Act. There must be verification and documentation for all hourly employees earning less than $50,000 per year should a records review be necessary. This can be done by the traditional time clock and punch card system, a PC documentation system, or a card swipe and reader system. While the time clock and punch card system would be the cheapest it will not interface with the modern computer systems used for payroll. It was decided that this topic requires some research to arrive at the best possible solution.

Carol Torkelson from the North Central Kansas Regional Planning Commission announced to the Commissioners that a grant from the USDA had been received to enhance the handicapped rehabilitation grant previously awarded. Torkelson said there were hopes the current grant would be for $35,000 but the additional grant money was for the amount of $25,000. The primary grant was for $350,000 to be spread over a four county area. This would allow for 17 handicapped renovation projects. The new money should help that money go farther.

Larry Emerson, Public Works superintendent, reported that the road crews are attempting to do Chip and Seal, but are having ongoing breakdown problems with the chip spreader. The spreader is 45 years old and has a great deal of wear and tear on it.

The dry weather has created problems on many of the gravel roads. When the gravel is pushed to the outside to of the road by day to day traffic, sharp rocks in the roadbed become exposed which causes tire damage. This is the normal course of events in the summer with gravel roads and no rain. A good rain would go a long way toward solving the problem.

Emerson said the crews will start mowing the roadsides this week if everything goes okay.

Tammy Kimminau and Jay Rowh, representing Solomon Valley Transportation, addressed the Commissioners and gave their report of services. Solomon Valley Transportation has filled a vacancy for a much-needed service in North Central Kansas. It has consistently grown by providing transportation services for the citizens of Mitchell, Jewell, and Osborne Counties. In the last three months, SVT has provided over 900 rides in two of those months and 870 rides in the other.

“This is a public transportation service,” said Rowh. “It is not just for Senior Citizens or low income people. It is for people who need a ride to the doctor, the drug store, the grocery store or any other destination to which they need to travel to and from. Word is slowly spreading.”

Kimminau is from Mankato and has just recently taken over the duty of SVT coordinator, a job previously held by Stephanie Simmons. She said, “This is a valuable service for folks who live in North Central Kansas. We believe nobody should be penalized just because they live in in Jewell or Mitchell Counties.” Kimminau said that SVT has six vans and one bus with 14 part time drivers. She pointed out that while the jobs are part time, this puts some money in the hands of people who will spend the money locally. The vehicles are serviced by local businesses, tires are bought locally, and gasoline is purchased locally.

The Commissioners applauded their efforts to make it possible for people to remain in our area and still have access to required services that are miles away.

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