Date: July 30th, 2018
At 4 p.m. the Bourbon County Commissioners may be attending a public hearing at Fort Scott City Hall regarding proposed improvements at the Fort Scott Municipal Airport.
Category Archives: Government
City Design Review Board Meets August 2
The Design Review Board will meet on Thursday, August 2, 2018, at 4:00 p.m. at the City Hall Commission Meeting room at 123 S. Main Street, Fort Scott, Kansas. This meeting will be held to discuss a Certificate of Appropriateness for improvements to the building at 9 N. Main and any other matters that may come before the Board. This meeting is open to the public.
New Gas Line For Uniontown
The Uniontown City Council has been active in recent years to improve the town’s infrastructure.
A project to widen and deepen the town’s ditches to keep water going where it should, a water line replacement project and this year a natural gas line replacement project has been initiated by the council. Uniontown’s population is 272.
The city of Uniontown was awarded $201,000 in 2017 with Community Development Block Grant funds to replace a natural gas transmission line, according to kansascommerce.gov/CivicAlerts.
The city will contribute $201,000 in matching funds for this project.
The Uniontown project started June 12.
“We are trying to get it done by September 1,” NPL(Northern Pipe Line) Foreman Pat Wier, said. “So far, we are up to date, but we have a lot of work to be done.”
The two-man crew is replacing PVC pipe with PE pipe. The crew is comprised of Wier and Edmundo Rodriguez, Lenexa.
“PE is a federal requirement,” Wier said. “PVC is not recognized anymore. We are laying new pipe in portions of the city where the PVC is.”
The crew worked late into the night on Thursday to get resident Bill Griffith hooked back on to gas after a day spent laying pipe on the town’s southeast side.
“Once started, we couldn’t quit,” Wier said. “There are a few late nights.”
The usual hours for the crew is 7 a.m to 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, Wier said.
Next for the crew is replacing 3,700 feet of two-inch steel pipe south of town.
“That is exposed,” Wier said. “We’ll be replacing and putting pipe underground for safety.”
Recently, a brush mower in this area ran over the steel riser and “caused a pretty good (gas)leak,” Wier said. “That’s why we are doing all this.”
During the FortScott.Biz interview a Kansas Corporation Commission Inspector, Jon Bolinder, turned up at the work site.
Bolinder is with the Office of Pipeline Safety for the KCC, he said.
Bolinder said all projects submit a construction notice to KCC. He was on his way to the Coffeyville area and made a stop in Uniontown to view the project.
“We come out and make sure they are following code when installing,” Bolinder said. He also said it helps him “in my head, when I am doing the paperwork on the project.”
The Small Cities Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) Program allows the Kansas Department of Commerce to distribute federal funds to Kansas cities and counties looking to improve their community.
To receive CDBG funds, a project must meet at least one of the following federally mandated criteria, according to the website:
- The project benefits low- and moderate-income individuals.
- The project removes or prevents slum or blight condition.
- The project eliminates an urgent need created by a disaster when local funds are unavailable.
Meet and Greet For Katrina Lewison, Candidate For Lt. Governor, on July 27
Katrina Lewison, Democratic candidate for Lt. Governor and running mate of Joshua Svaty, will be available for a “Meet & Greet” on Friday, July 27, from 10:00 am until 11:15 am, at Common Ground, 116 S Main Street.
A West Point graduate and decorated veteran, Lewison led a Blackhawk helicopter platoon in the 101st Airborne during Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Following her successful military career, Lewison moved back to her home state of Kansas. Originally from Hutchison, she now lives in Manhattan with her husband Tyler and their three daughters.
Lewison is the Director of Consulting & Training at CivicPlus, a company that helps cities utilize software to better engage citizen populations and streamlines processes.
She has graduate degrees in Public Policy and Organizational Psychology & Leadership. She’s a member of the USD-383 Board of Education. Lewison is active in her church community and volunteers on various committees.
For more information about the event, contact Shirley Palmer, Bourbon County Coordinator for the Svaty-Lewison campaign, at 620-223-4105.
The Bourbon County Commission Agenda July 24
Agenda
Bourbon County Commission Room
2nd Floor, County Courthouse
210 S. National Avenue
Fort Scott, KS 66701
Tuesdays starting at 9:00
Date: July 24th, 2018
1st District-Lynne Oharah Minutes: Approved: _______________
2nd District-Jeff Fischer Corrected: _______________
3rd District-Nick Ruhl Adjourned at: _______________
County Clerk-Kendell Mason
9:00-9:45-Jim Harris
10:00-Shane Walker-Bids
11:00-12:00-Justin Meeks
NRP Update
Walking Trail Update
City of Fort Scott-Public Hearing for Airport-Monday, July 30th at 4:30 pm
Executive Session-Privileged in the Attorney-Client Relationship
Justifications for Executive Session:
Personnel matters of individual non-elected personnel
Consultation with an attorney for the body or agency which would be deemed privileged in the attorney-client relationship
Matters relating to employer-employee negotiations whether or not in consultation with the representative(s) of the body or agency
Confidential data relating to financial affairs or trade secrets of corporations, partnerships, trusts and individual proprietorships
Preliminary discussions relating to the acquisition of real property
Matters relating to the security of a public body or agency, public building or facility or the information system of a public body or agency, if the discussion of such matters at an open meeting would jeopardize the security of such public body, agency, building, facility or information system
City Tree/Brush Dump Site Open All Week
The City’s tree and brush dump site will be open from 8:00 a.m. till 5:00 p.m. Monday, July 23rd through Friday, July 27th, 2018 from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Saturday hours will return to normal hours which are 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. and normal hours will resume the following week. Residents are encouraged to take their tree damage from the recent storm to the brush dump.
City Design Review Board To Discuss 9 N. Main
The Design Review Board will meet on Thursday, July 26th, 2018 at 4:00 p.m. at the City Hall Commission Meeting room at 123 S. Main Street, Fort Scott, Kansas. This meeting will be held to discuss a Certificate of Appropriateness for improvements to the building at 9 N. Main and any other matters that may come before the Board. This meeting is open to the public.
The Process of Cleaning Water
The Marmaton River is the source of drinking water for almost all of Bourbon County, except for the most extreme western portion, which has a private reservoir.
Scott Flater is the superintendent of the City of Fort Scott Water Production Department, who is tasked with providing clean, safe water from the Marmaton River to all of Fort Scott and Consolidated Rural Water District # 2 residents.
“We make water for the city,” Flater said. “But our number one customer is Rural Water #2.”
Over two million gallons of water a day is processed and sent out to the city and the county, he said.
“Everything comes through this building,” Flater said. “We have a river intake on 5th and Short Streets.”
The rural water district then sells and distributes the water from Fort Scott to the small towns in Bourbon County.
The city’s water production employees are in the middle of a cleanout process. It’s called burn out/flushing, and it’s an annual event.
“The water is safe during the rest of the year or during this burnout (cleaning out), it’s safe,” Flater said. “We are sending it out to our family and our community. It’s the highest quality.”
The cleaning out of the system is a maintenance practice for the distribution system, Flater said.
They started July 16, and if all goes as planned the water cleaning process should be completed by the end of next week, Flater said.
“The burnout won’t reach outside of Fort Scott until today (July 20),” Flater said.
Flater commended a small town in Bourbon County for being far-thinking in their water supply.
Flater said Uniontown, in the western part of the county, has been “pro-active to rebuild their water infrastructure” in the last few years. “They’ve done a great job.”
City’s Organizational Meeting of Land Bank July 25
There will be a meeting of the Fort Scott Land Bank held on Wednesday, July 25th, 2018 at 5:00 p.m. in the City Commission meeting room at 123 S. Main Street.
This meeting will be held to organize the Land Bank Board and any other items deemed necessary for the formation of this board.
There will be a majority of the City Commissioners present, but no City Commission business will be conducted.
City’s Tree Dump Site Open Following Recent Storm
The City’s tree and brush dump site will be open from 8:00 a.m. till 5:00 p.m. Friday, July 20th through Sunday, July 22nd, 2018 from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Residents are encouraged to take their tree damage from the recent storm to the brush dump.
If you have questions, call City Hall at 223-0550.
Sen. Hilderbrand Applauds Gov. Colyer’s Expansion Plans for Hwy. 69
KANSAS SENATOR RICHARD HILDERBRAND ISSUES
STATEMENT ON HIGHWAY 69 EXPANSION
GALENA- Senator Richard Hilderbrand (R-Galena) today issued the following statement on Governor Jeff Colyer’s announcement to expand Highway 69:
“I applaud Governor Colyer’s announcement today on the critically needed four-lane expansion of Highway 69.
For too long the citizens of Southeast Kansas have been forgotten, and that is why this expansion has been a priority of mine.
Not only will this project increase safety, it will have a long-term economic impact on our region. I am extremely grateful for the hard work put in by the Highway 69 Association and everyone involved to make this happen.
While this is a good step in the right direction, our work is not finished. I will work hard in Topeka to continue infrastructure investments in Southeast Kansas to encourage growth and allow us to remain competitive throughout the state and entire nation.”
Bourbon County Commission Meeting July 18 At New Jail
Agenda
Bourbon County Commission
Fort Scott, KS 66701
9:00 a.m.
Date: July 18th, 2018
1st District-Lynne Oharah Minutes: Approved: _______________
2nd District-Jeff Fischer Corrected: _______________
3rd District-Nick Ruhl Adjourned at: _______________
County Clerk-Kendell Mason
10:00-Commissioners attend meeting at the new jail.
Justifications for Executive Session:
Personnel matters of individual non-elected personnel
Consultation with an attorney for the body or agency which would be deemed privileged in the attorney-client relationship
Matters relating to employer-employee negotiations whether or not in consultation with the representative(s) of the body or agency
Confidential data relating to financial affairs or trade secrets of corporations, partnerships, trusts and individual proprietorships
Preliminary discussions relating to the acquisition of real property
Matters relating to the security of a public body or agency, public building or facility or the information system of a public body or agency, if the discussion of such matters at an open meeting would jeopardize the security of such public body, agency, building, facility or information system