OttawaHerald.com -- Community News. Community Connections.

	Franklin County, Kansas, USA

2009-07-03

2009-07-01

2009-06-30

Agriculture

Lifestyles

Higher costs jeopardize 13-mile CHIP road project

By CLEON RICKEL, Herald Senior Writer

Will the 13-Mile County Highway Improvement Project be 13 miles?

Not likely, Jim Haag, county public works director, said.

Because of increased costs of materials and the need for a heavier pavement on some segments, the project will have to be scaled back, he said.

How many miles get paved depends on the outcome of contractors’ bids, he said.

Bids will be opened in June, he said.

Haag and commissioners discussed the project Monday and Wednesday.

Montana Road, which is Davis Avenue in Ottawa and one of the most heavily traveled unpaved county roads, will be the centerpiece of the project.

In the original project, Montana would be paved from Sand Creek Road to Stafford Road. Shawnee Road from Montana Road to Ohio Road would be paved, and Marshall Road to Oregon Road to Rock Creek Road would be paved.

In addition, a one-mile stretch of Missouri Road next to the new U.S. 59 expressway would be upgraded to a full-maintenance county road. The state will pay most of the costs for upgrading Missouri Road.

On a related matter, the commissioners also agreed Wednesday to solicit bids for “chip and seal” work this summer.

Chip and seal — which consists of heavy asphalt oil poured over gravel to create a light-duty pavement — would be applied to the top of nearly 82 miles of county roads that already have a chip-and-seal surface, Haag said.

Because of flooding last year, the county’s regular program of reapplying chip and seal was delayed.

This year, the coating will be applied to roads on the schedule for last year and this year, he said.

In other matters, the commissioners:

• Heard from Lisa Johnson, interim county administrator, that she intends to have an architect’s report concerning the county jail to the commissioners in two or three months.

Treanor and Associates, which is doing the study, has started and will have a list of options for the juvenile detention facility relatively quickly, she said.

• Agreed to send solicitations for auditors for the county.

Agler & Gaeddert, Ottawa, has been the county’s auditor for three years.

• Approved a contract to provide Franklin County Sheriff’s school resource officers to the Wellsville, Central Heights and West Franklin school districts.

They also approved a contract in which the sheriff’s department provides instructors for Ottawa USD 290’s criminal justice class.

• Solicited bids from financial institutions to finance a loan-purchase agreement for $85,000 for a Caterpillar road grader.

• Rezoned a 49-acre tract on the northeast corner of Ellis and Arkansas roads, near Williamsburg, owned by Linda Davis from an A-1 ag zone to A-2 transitional agricultural category.

The rezoning will allow the tract to be divided as part of an estate settlement, Johnson said.

• Applied for a federal grant that will continue funding for a multi-county Parenting With Love and Limits program administered by the 4th Judicial District Community Corrections.

• Released a lien on property that had been the subject of a county cleanup near Centropolis two years ago.

• Accepted the low bid of $8,000 from Cates Surveying, Ottawa, for a boundary and topographic survey of the county’s construction and demolition landfill at the transfer station.

The state is requiring the survey and will require the county to update it every year, Rick Sawin, solid waste director, said. The annual updates will cost much less, he added.

• Agreed to let Roy Edwards remove large limestone blocks from the ditch on John Brown Road at Middle Creek.

• Welcomed Dee Shaffer, the new administrative director of the Bea Martin Peck Animal Shelter.

• Made a fix in the county pay and personnel plan. A recent change failed to note that most changes in the plan begin immediately but that pay changes will take effect next Jan. 1, Johnson said.

E-mail this story to a friend | Print this article |
Enjoy the convenience of home delivery of The Ottawa Herald.

To post a new comment click here

Report an Offensive Comment

At www.ottawaherald.com, we are pleased to offer readers an opportunity to comment on articles. Readers are encouraged to engage in a lively, robust and civil debate -- as if comments were being submitted as verified letters for publication in print. Comments should not use names or otherwise identify private individuals or businesses. Avoid profanity and unfounded personal attacks. All comments will be subject to review before posting, but we cannot promise that readers will not find offensive or inaccurate comments. You will observe a delay between your writing a comment and its appearance on the site. Responsibility for posted statements lie with those who submit the comments, not The Ottawa Herald or www.ottawaherald.com. If you find a comment you believe to be objectionable, please report a comment by e-mail. We will review it for possible removal. Please be reminded that, in accordance with our Terms of Use and federal law, we are under no obligation to remove any third party comments posted on the Web site.

To post a new comment click here

0 comment(s)