Quarry work, new loader approved

Saturday, March 7, 2015

Decisions made Friday by the Bourbon County Commissioners will benefit the county's rock quarries.

Public Works Director Jim Harris presented the commissioners with an estimate to remove overburden at the Beth Quarry, which will give the county enough area for two blasts.

Thomas Construction of Fort Scott submitted a quote for $37,500 to remove the top layers of dirt in a 200-by-500 foot area at the quarry. Harris said he believes, based on history, the project will qualify for reimbursement from the Federal Fund Exchange program.

The quote also includes using the dirt to create new berms on the north and south ends of the quarry. One existing berm, which was constructed by Wallace Malone, the previous quarry owner, will be removed.

"We don't have the equipment to do it," Harris said. "We have no choice."

He said it will take about two weeks for Thomas to do the work.

"That's a lot of dirt," Harris said.

He said Thomas measured the area and the county did some test drills at the site.

Considering the work will allow for two additional blasts, commissioners agreed the cost was reasonable.

The commissioners also voted to replace the four-wheel loader for rock quarry work. Although the county has received three bids for loaders, Harris said Travis Clinesmith, territory sales manager for Murphy Tractor, had a new JD 844K-2 delivered from the John Deere factory in Iowa. The machine has two hours on it and is equipped with features not included in Clinesmith's original bid.

Clinesmith, who attended the meeting, said the additional features will not change his bid of a $357,338 trade-in difference.

Harris also provided commissioners proposals from Murphy Tractor of Park City, Berry Tractor of Wichita and Foley Implement of Chanute. Berry Tractor offered a $353,376 trade-in difference for a 2015 Komatsu WA500-7, and Foley Equipment offered a $394,837 trade in difference for a 2015 Catepillar 980M.

The loaders listed in the proposals from Berry and Foley have four-tier emission engines. Clinesmith said the John Deere loader he delivered Thursday is a three-tier emissions engine. Due to federal regulations, the three-tier engines will not be available for many more months, Clinesmith said.

Clinesmith also discussed the option of financing the loader through John Deere. The company offers 3.5-percent financing for nine months, with no payments due until 2016. After that, the annual payment would be $47,953.53.

"Obviously you're going to look for a local bank for financing," Clinesmith said. "A lot of times banks will match that, because they want your business, or they can do better"

The loader will replace the aging piece of equipment currently being used. Harris said in 2014, the county spent $19,000 in maintenance for the older loader last year.

"It's 15 years old, it's got 37-some-thousand hours on it," Second District Commissioner Harold Coleman said.

"It's tired," Harris said.

Before voting on whether to purchase the loader, Commission Chair Barbara Albright called Terry Sercer, of Diehl, Banwart and Bolton CPAs, who assists the county with its budget, to learn the county's current debt ratio.

"He said it doesn't relate to this," Albright said.

Harris and the commissioners reviewed the list of current lease agreements and loans for equipment. Lease agreements for two motor graders will be finalized this year, Harris said. He said those payments are $49,500.

"So right there's our payments," Harris said.

When Albright asked if his department still needs to purchase a truck, Harris said they need a pickup. Albright said the county will need to purchase four vehicles during 2015.

She said she would write letters to local banks.

"I don't want to borrow any money, but when I look at the option of what could happen to us if we don't, I don't think we have any choice," Coleman said.

"We're being proactive," Albright said.

Oharah said the option is, if the current loader breaks down during the next year, the county would have to spend $150,000 to $200,000 in repairs -- and borrow money to pay for the repairs.

Other business

* Albright said during a budget meeting held with department heads Thursday, two of the departments "were so appreciative for the opportunity to use the county fuel."

She said "substantial savings" were seen in those departments -- about 50 percent. Albright suggested other departments take advantage of the opportunity.

Harris said if more departments start using fuel, or if the service is expanded to 24-hours, the county might consider installing a card service.

Oharah agreed there should be a card service, but Albright said even obtaining fuel from the county during the day only would still result in a savings.

Harris said the fuel is currently being pulled from a 1,000-gallon tank, but a new 2,000-gallon tank could be moved in from the asphalt plant.

* Bourbon County Treasurer Rhonda Dunn asked commissioners to approve a resolution to void $425.59 in outstanding refund checks. Dunn said some of the checks that have not been cashed are for vehicle tag refunds and one was for a property tax refund.

* Because Friday's meeting was brief, the commissioners did not hold a formal discussion on the proposed bond issue to fund a new jail. However, Albright said language on a state legislative bill allowing the county to increase sales tax to fund a jail project could be changed Tuesday.

After the county submitted the language for the statute amendment, the county settled on the amount of sales tax increase it would request from voters. The language on the state statute calls for a .5 percent increase, but the ballot submitted to the state calls for a .4 sales tax increase, which is the correct amount. Albright said the state statute and ballot language must match.

The county has not made a decision on the location of the proposed jail. County Clerk Kendell Mason said the county has received one proposal for land acquisition. According to the county's legal request for proposals, the commissioners will open bids "by the end of March."

* The commissioners voted to waive $5,557.73 for 30 loads of construction and debris material the city of Fort Scott hauled to the county landfill. Albright said the Kansas Department of Health and Environment recently required the city to clean up an area near Sixth Street. She recommended waiving the fees as a courtesy to a government entity.

"We have done that quite a bit for the City of Fort Scott to be good neighbors," Harris said.

* The county also is working with the City of Fort Scott on a plan to provide a new road at the industrial park to accommodate the Adam LaRoche Baseball Complex. The city and Kansas Department of Transportation have been working together to make entrance improvements at the industrial park. Currently, the county maintains the roads at the park, where some property has been annexed by the city. The area where the proposed road and baseball complex is located has not been annexed, according to information from the Bourbon County Appraiser's Office.

First District Commissioner Lynne Oharah said he spoke with City Manager Dave Martin.

"He said they're not ready for us to act on this thing at the present," Oharah said. "The suggestion is let him go through (County Attorney Justin Meeks). That's going to be a memorandum of understanding. They're not ready for this to be out there and any action taken on it yet."