In other business Monday morning, the Barton County Commission:
• Approved the re-issue of the 2013 county audit. Vickie Dreiling of Adams, Brown, Beran and Ball explained the Economic Development Revolving Loan Fund was selected for an individual audit in order to meet federal funding requirements.
The final results did not change and the audit was still “clean,” Dreiling said. The re-issue had nothing to do with the problems causing the 2013 audit to be delayed.
• Approved the purchase of a replacement truck for the Solid Waste Department from Dove Chevrolet for $26,992.90. This was for a a 2015 Chevrolet 3500HD regular cab pickup. Solid Waste Manager Phil Hathcock said the department solicited bids from the automotive dealerships in Barton County with the specifications included a one ton regular cab pickup with four wheel drive, 4.10 rear axle ratio, towing package, A/C and AM/FM radio.
An emailed comment from a woman in Connecticut has sparked improvements to the Barton County and Wetlands and Wildlife National Scenic Byway websites, county commissioners learned Monday morning.
In the message, the woman noted she loved the sites and the photography, but wondered what types of birds and other animals were featured in the images, County Administrator Richard Boeckman said. So an effort was started to make the identifications.
County Cartographer Bj Wooding and Environmental Manager Judy Goreham reviewed the addition of labels to wildlife photos taken by Dr. Dan Witt who has provided photos for the byway site. Witt spent two hours with them to name the critters.
“We have a lot of photos,” Wooding said. These will be rotated to keep the site fresh.
Related to the photos, the commission took time to present Witt with a plaque thanking him for his submissions. “We are very fortunate” to have him as a resource, Chairman Kenny Schremmer said.
Witt said he did this to help get the byway message out to the world and to help educate children in the area through use of the photographs. “My part is just sharing our bounty.”
Witt has a dream of a mural depicting the history of Barton County from the beginning through the present. He said there are others who share this vision and that he hopes to see this come to pass.
In addition, the county uses photos from other sources, such as the Great Bend Tribune and other photographers. Some of these are shots from the various communities along the byway which, when possible, will also have labels, Wooding said.
