New supervisor suggests changes for pothole repairs
Staff reporter
Newly-hired Marion County Public Works Director Martin Rhodes offered suggestions to Marion County Commission Monday regarding pothole repairs.
He said in the week of being on the job, he has observed the county's method of pothole repairing and determined it is not efficient and wants to streamline the operation. He said he had noticed a patch that was made 30 days earlier already is peeling off.
Rhodes suggested the county purchase a five-foot-wide, vibrating roller packer instead of the county's current method of having a county dump truck drive over the filled hole.
He also told the commission that county crews do not properly clean out potholes. Rhodes said he and road foreman John Summerville used Summerville's gas-powered leaf blower on potholes to clean them out which sped up the process and Rhodes wants the county to purchase a leaf blower for that purpose.
Rhodes also is seeking bids for a trailer to be pulled by the dump truck used for road patching. A loader and other equipment could be towed on the trailer which would save time and effort.
In other department business:
— Cardie Oil Company of Tampa was the only bidder of motor oil. The commission approved a total bid of $8,413 for 10, 55-gallon drums and 30, 30-gallon drums of a generic oil that the county currently uses.
Cardie also provided a second bid of $9,571 for the same amount of oil that was a Conoco brand.
— Rhodes reported crews are chip sealing a road near Lost Springs.
— Summerville reported the trees that were damaged by a county crew and equipment that belonged to Joe Nowak at Pilsen actually was planted in a right-of-way. Nowak's garage also was built in the same right- of-way but has been grandfathered-in.
The 25-foot strip of land does not belong to Nowak and no one is for certain who the property owner is.
— Rhodes asked the status of a right-of-way for a bridge project near Florence. Commission chairman Randy Dallke was to contact Kansas Department of Transportation regarding additional funding but Dallke was not at Monday's commission meeting to answer questions.
Commissioner Dan Holub said if negotiations are not successful, the county will look into eminent domain, stating the project will continue.
— Summerville advised the commission that a damage estimate will be forthright from Tabor Mennonite Church on Chisholm Trail Road. A motor grader operator damaged about six small red cedar trees.
— A county crew will dig four holes for Centre High School as part of a land judging contest.
— Rhodes told the commission that he and Summerville will visit with McPherson road and bridge personnel this week regarding operations.
— Holub requested and received a 20-minute executive session with Rhodes to discuss personnel. The meeting reconvened with no decisions.
