Commission to bill $8,250 for gravel

Bourbon County Commissioners met Wednesday this week because of no meeting on President's Day Monday and announced that they have sent a revised bill to Chain Electric for $8,250 for gravel they said was taken from windrows by the Heartland Electric subcontractor last September.

Commissioners had initially asked for $16,500 for the gravel, but arrived at the new number after talking to officials from both Chain and Heartland.

"We took it under advisement and have decided to accept their proposal," Warren said. "They have been very good to work with."

Emergency Manager Terri Coop said everything is in place, such as generators and trucks, for the winter storm that is expected to continue until Thursday night. She urged people to stay off the roads and stay warm.

"It's going to be deceptively icy," Coop said. "Everything has been deployed and we are now we are just waiting to see what Mother Nature has got for us."

Warren planned to make the determination at 6 a.m. Thursday as to whether or not the Bourbon County Courthouse would remain open should bad weather hit the area. He said county workers and residents may listen to 103.9 FM KMDO, or KOAM-TV channel 7 for that announcement early Thursday.

"Right now, we are in a holding pattern," Coop said Wednesday morning.

Commissioner Barbara Albright informed commissioners she will be leaving the commission meeting early on Monday to attend a Project 17 Leadership Initiative Meeting from Feb. 25 to Feb. 28 in Wichita. Albright was selected with about 50 other Kansans for the program, which aims to improve the economy and quality of life in 17 eastern Kansas counties.

Last March, the Kansas Leadership Center awarded $1 million to Project 17 for leadership training, part of which will be used for the four days of training in Wichita.

Commissioners are considering letting bids for a 2.19-acre triangular parcel of land from Noble Road to Osage Road on 225th St., which Warren said the county really has no use for.

"That's ground we will never use," Warren said. "I feel it's something we should take bids on."

Sheriff Ron Gray also notified commissioners he would like to be put on an upcoming agenda to discuss the vehicle situation in his department and whether or not some of them might be upgraded or replaced.

Commissioners suspended the meeting a little early to tour Elm Creek Lake to assess what improvements they might do to save some of the structures at the lake and also visited Blake Quarry to see how the final stages of reclaimation are going.

In other business:

*Commissioners, County Attorney Terri Johnson, Sheriff Ron Gray, County Sanitarian Tom McNeil and County Clerk Kendell Mason met in executive session under attorney client privilege with possible litigation for 20 minutes. No action was taken.

* Linda Wunderly sent a thank you card to commissioners for recent gravel work on roads north of Mapleton and complimented the work done by Road and Bridge.