Arch bridge near Marion briefly considered

By ADAM STEWART

Staff writer

Two bridges were added to Marion County’s five-year bridge replacement plan Tuesday.

One is a bridge on Indigo Road north of 130th Road with a 9-ton weight limit. The other is a bridge on 170th Road west of Bluestem Road with a 3-ton weight limit.

Marion County Commissioners also considered replacing an arch bridge on Sunflower Road just north of Marion. Consideration was short-lived, because commissioners said they expect public sentiment in favor of the bridge

County Clerk Carol Maggard said she would be first in line to protest replacing the arch bridge if that came to pass.

The 17-foot wide bridge has a 10-ton weight limit and is generally too narrow for farm equipment. Limiting the bridge to car and pickup traffic could extend the bridge’s lifespan.

In other business:

• The county received state floodplain crossing permits for the Keystone Pipeline as part of the requirements for the construction project.
• Commissioners revised a limit on the age of manufactured homes permitted in the county. At the recommendation of Marion County Planning Commission, the earliest allowable date was changed from 2001 to 1994.
• Planning Commission recommended rezoning about a half acre at 1469 260th Road from agricultural to commercial use for an auto repair business, at the request of Carl Schmidt. Commissioners approved the change.
• Ambulance personnel on-call pay will increase from $1.50 to $1.75 per hour.
• Middle Creek Watershed is seeking grant money for flood control structures south of Lincolnville. Commissioners provided a letter of support for the $1.7 million project.
• Commissioners met in closed session for 20 minutes to discuss personnel. No action was taken on return to open session.
• Appraiser’s office employee Ryan Janzen received a raise from $1,596 to $1,646 per month for working in his position six months. Brian Friese received a raise from $1,979 to $2,029 per month for working in his position for six months after changing jobs within the department.
• Commissioners had a special meeting Thursday. They met in closed session for 45 minutes to interview Jim Herzet for the road and bridge superintendent position. No action was taken on return to open session. Current superintendent John Summerville has said he would prefer to be a department foreman.

The next commission meeting will be Monday.