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MITCHELL COUNTY COMMISSIONERS â€“ Monday, July 2, 2023

By Terry Bailey

Marty Hernandez, Public Works Superintendent, stopped by the County Commissioners meeting Monday morning on one of his regular visits. This allowed the Commissioners an opportunity to tell him something he already was aware of. On matters or the County's roads and bridges, nobody gets ahead of Hernandez.
The Commissioners relayed messages they had received about the recent hard rains washing gravel off the county roads. Hernandez knew the locations of the washouts and how bad they were and already had a schedule worked out to repair the damage. Everyone acknowledged that this work takes time and not everyone will have their roads repaired as fast as everyone wants.
Hernandez told the Commissioners that the trailer used to haul trash to out-of-county locations has virtually worn out and needs replacing soon. The trailer was put into service seven years ago and was extensively used to haul Mitchell County Landfill refuse to the Rolling Meadows landfill in Topeka until about a year and a half ago when the Saline County Landfill began accepting refuse from Mitchell County.
Hernandez said he and Dale Lewis have looked at new trailers at Wilken Trailers south of Stockton. Wilken's made the trailer currently in use by the County. A new 48' x 102" trailer has a price tag of $112,750. The current trailer was purchased for $75,000 seven years ago. Hernandez said that if they put a down payment on the new trailer by September 1st, they can receive a new one by December 1st.
The Commissioners authorized Hernandez to make the down payment and arrange for a December delivery.
Hernandez also reported the sealant coat has been applied to the shop floor in the new county shop building. After the application, no moisture has worked its way through the sealer coat.
Janelle Kirchner, administrator of the Mitchell County Hospital Health Systems, stopped by to make good on a promise she made at her last visit. She said, "I promised to keep you up to date on the process of improvements made at our facility."
She then told them about adding more recognition levels for employees at the hospital. In addition to the Daisy recognition program, they have added the Sunflower and Aspen Awards to recognize achievements of the Clinical and Non-Clinical teams.
Kircher said they are working with Stephanie Simmons to reimplement the Sports Injury testing system. This program identifies baseline functioning of high school athletes and is used for comparison should head injuries occur.
Kirchner reminded the Commissioners that they were celebrating the 40th Anniversary of the Solomon Valley Hospice.
Cortney Murrow, Mitchell County Health Nurse, presented certificates of service for the Commissioners signature. There is a cash bonus of $5 per year. Those receiving recognition and years of service were:
Garret Mathews - 5 years
Bryan Ellis - 10 years
Angela Engelbert - 10 years
Melinda Latham - 10 years
Don Wilcoxson - 10 years
Mark Eck - 15 years
The Commissioners approved a Cereal Malt Beverage license for the Pizza Hut for on-premises consumption.
Commission Chairperson Jim Marshall announced a notice of Public Hearing on July 10th to consider an application for a Community Block Grant funds.
The FEMA Flood Plain Map must be ruled on by October 5, 2023. David Dohe has that matter well in hand.
Having addressed all the items on the printed agenda, the meeting was adjourned.

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Beloit, KS 67420, USA