Sheriff will notify volunteers by mail

By ADAM STEWART

Staff writer

A committee to develop a proposal for a new law enforcement center drew 30 volunteers, Marion County Sheriff Rob Craft said Monday.

Marion County Commissioners chose 12 members and three alternates to join Craft, Communications and Emergency Management Director Michele Abbott, and Undersheriff Dave Huntley.

Commission Chairman Dan Holub said he wanted to thank all volunteers for their interest.

“Nothing against anybody we didn’t pick,” Holub said. “We just had twice as many as we needed.”

Craft said he wanted to inform volunteers of the selections by mail before the names appear in the newspaper.

Four committee members and one alternate are from Marion; Hillsboro, three members and one alternate; Florence, two; Peabody, one; and Goessel, one.

Two committee members and one alternate are women; the remainder of those selected are men.

In other business:

• Installation of a generator at Marion County Courthouse will cost an estimated $85,000, said Dan Hall of BG Consultants, the engineer for the project. Invitations for bids will be sent today (Wednesday).
• County sales tax receipts were up in March from 2008. The taxes, collected in January, were $53,471. The total was $47,418 in 2008. Through March, sales tax is up $8,059 from 2008.
• Property valuation notices will be sent out today (Wednesday).
• More federal stimulus money may be available to Marion County from the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Kansas will receive about $4.6 million from the department.
• Commission met in closed session for 20 minutes with Marion County Clerk Carol Maggard to discuss personnel. No action was taken on return to open session.
• Commissioners will attend a meeting about wind farms April 17 in Salina.
• Office Plus of Newton won a bid for 100 cases of 5,000 sheets of copy paper with a bid of $3,039. Baker Brothers of Hillsboro bid $3,105; Dick’s Business Machines of Emporia, $3,075; Navrat’s of Emporia, $3,503.
• Cardie Oil of Tampa won a bid for areawide fuel with a bid of $9,635 for 6,550 gallons of diesel divided between four tanks. Cooperative Grain and Supply of Hillsboro bid $10,225.
• The next commission meeting is 9 a.m. Monday at the courthouse.