OSWEGO — Labette County commissioners on Sept. 8 agreed to allow Public Works crews to pave a portion of Saline Road to Gate 7 on the south side of the Great Plains Industrial Park.
The crews will also remove the old gatehouse and patch the road inside the industrial park to the Day & Zimmermann Inc. facility. This work will allow another entry into the park for when DZI brings online another manufacturing line at Great Plains, commissioners heard. No trucks will be allowed on Saline Road.
County crews will also remove brush, trim trees and install new signs on the route. The work to pave Saline Road to Gate 7 will cost an estimated $40,000, which will come from the county’s Scott Road fund, where oversized load permit fees were placed for companies hauling wind turbine parts into Great Plains on Scott Road, the main park entrance.
The commission also agreed to purchase a used Caterpillar compactor used for asphalt paving from a Wichita company for $63,000. The county’s 42-year-old compactor has had engines replaced and now had a transmission fail.
The county is also looking into using a work crew from the El Dorado State Prison, Oswego unit, to help county crews with work, including brush clearing. Public Works is checking into the possibility of this arrangement.
Commissioners also agreed to pay $30,000 toward the design of safety improvements on 24000 Road west of Parsons.
In other matters, commissioners: — Approved an appraisal parcel search agreement with Frontier Farm Credit for $225.
— Agreed to close the county courthouse in Oswego all day on Indigenous Peoples’ Day, Oct. 13. The day is a holiday for state and federal workers but not for the county, which generally closes the courthouse that day but employees come in and get caught up on work and also go through annual health assessments and training.
— Agreed to close the courthouse from noon to 1 p.m. on Dec. 8 for the annual holiday dinner.
— Agreed to purchase a new set of tires for a 2019 Chevrolet Impala used by county employees at a cost of $567.92 from Vail’s Automotive.
— Heard from Charlie Morse, the county’s floodplain administrator, that federal funding is not in place now to move forward with an updated floodplain map, which has been in the works for several years. Congress must approve the continuing resolution or a budget by Sept. 30 or the map, which is in the final appeals process stage, will go indefinitely on hold.
