Group pushes for four-lane expansion of U.S.-50 years ago
Staff reporter
Marion County Commission Chairman Randy Dallke reported Monday to the commission that efforts were being made to make U.S.-50 a four-lane highway.
Dallke said he attended a Kansas Department of Transportation symposium where a five-to-10-year plan was discussed.
Harvey County and Newton officials were instigating the effort to have the road expanded from Hutchinson to Emporia. Dallke said the county should join the group which also could include Reno and Chase counties.
More meetings are being planned. The plan would be implemented in 2009.
In other business:
— County sanitarian and zoning administrator Bobbi Strait that she had checked a salvage site that someone had filed a complaint about but without any nuisance codes in the county zoning regulations, the infractions would have to be turned over to the state.
She reported that she had talked with county planning commission vice chairman David Mueller and he understood this type of complaint to be a compliance issue that would require a conditional use permit.
"There are a whole bunch of these in the county," Strait said, "but only nine are state-licensed salvage yards."
Dallke said these nuisance properties become health issues.
"People are taking stuff from the cities to the rural areas," he said.
Holub agreed and said he had noticed old refrigerators and automobiles that have not been properly disposed by removing freon and antifreeze.
The commission instructed Strait to research options that could be made to the county's regulations regarding junk issues.
Holub added that maybe the county could provide assistance to those people with nuisance issues by providing equipment to help clean up properties.
— Research continues but thus far Rollin Schmidt had determined a back-hoe would be needed to operate a construction and demolition site.
The interim transfer station manager suggested the north side of the transfer station be used as the site with a concrete push wall installed to retain the materials.
More information will be presented at a future meeting.
— Holub reported that Strait and county public health administrator Diedre Serene took a look at the former SRS building on Main Street in Marion as a possible location for the health and sanitation departments. It was determined that the facility would not provide more space for the departments.
Instead it was suggested an elevator be installed for access to the second floor of the current health building with other improvements to that area.
With the improvements, meetings could be held on the second floor and the value of the building would increase.
County clerk Carol Maggard suggested an engineer look at the building to determine the soundness of the structure.
— The commission will conduct interviews for emergency medical services director on Jan. 31 and Feb. 1.
