Mother Nature was a hot topic for Barton County Road and Bridge Director as his department received $46,000 from the Federal Emergency Management Agency relative to the February ice storm. Meanwhile, his staff continues to deal with the aftermath of the flooding and wind related to late May and early June storms.
This information was part of the biweekly departmental update presented during the County Commission meeting Monday morning by Operations Director Phil Hathcock. Other highlights included:
Road and Bridge
• Asphalt mixing was completed on June 3. The department mixed approximately 25,000 tons for summer work.
• As of June 19, 10,000 tons of new asphalt has been overlaid on county blacktops.
• Asphalt work, overlay and patching continue on west Barton County Road and in the Pawnee Rock area. Crews are busy hauling asphalt to the areas and utilizing motor graders, rollers and finish equipment as required.
• Roadways were marked for asphalt overlays to continue west of Great Bend before moving to west of Hoisington.
• Mowing and asphalt work progresses daily. Two tractors are mowing in the northern and northwest part of the county. Mowers are cutting 15 feet of right of way and are experiencing heavy vegetation. Plans include getting a third mower in operation.
• Emergency callout due to storm damage occurred three times during the reporting period.
• Flooding roads were reported south of Ellinwood.
• One new duty never done before, a tri-hull abandoned boat was removed from the Arkansas River bank near the Ellinwood bridge and hauled away for disposal.
• Budget work and planning for the 2018 budget.
• Bridge crews are clearing bridges of debris and repairing damaged guardrails.
• Drainage work was completed for Great Bend Township at Bissell’s Point.
County Engineer Barry McManaman
• Met with a Division of Water Resources employee to discuss tornado damage issues in the floodplains.
• Met with township officials and a homeowner to discuss ditch cleanout work
• Looked at a damaged guardrail south of Ellinwood and requested repair cost quotes from contractors.
• Opened bids for the repair of the Arkansas River bridge deck on SW 50 Avenue.
• Met with Kirkham Michael to review the 2017 bridge inspection results.
Interim Noxious Weed Director Kay Thompson
• The Noxious Weed Department operators have sprayed 2,249 acres of musk thistle to date. The department has also completed spraying for six townships. Staff continues to field musk thistle complaints, schedule spraying and sell chemicals for musk thistle and bindweed.
County Treasurer Kevin Wondra
• The Treasurer’s Office processed a total of 1,261 motor vehicle transactions between June 1 and 14. Of those, 685 were vehicle renewals and 273 were new titles. In the past two weeks staff has renewed, registered or updated 37 commercial vehicles.
• There are currently 65 properties on the tax sale. Since the sale has been filed with the court, taxes along with the abstract and court fees of $170 must be paid to redeem the property.
• The bookkeepers are current with daily work.
Juvenile Services Director Marissa Woodmansee
• Juvenile Intake and Assessment has completed 29 intakes since May 19.
• Juvenile Intensive Supervised Probation and case management currently are supervising 43 youth from the 20th Judicial District.
• Project Stay is the case management program for youth who have truancy issues and currently provides case management for 34 youth in the district.
• Teen Court is held every month and currently has eight youth participating.
• Staff is currently teaching a drug and alcohol cognitive class for three youth.
• Immediate Intervention has 24 youth currently participating in the program.
