More road talk by Pottawatomie county Commissioners Monday, with Public Works Director Peter Clark updating the group on two major road projects.
The Excel work was delayed just a bit Monday, but should start getting put in place Tuesday, after the morning rush hour. Later in the afternoon Monday, Clark indicated Bayer Construction told him they will begin the setup on Tuesday, concentrating on the westbound lanes of US-24. They will complete the remainder of the setup on Wednesday and hope to have all of the traffic control up by Wednesday night. In addition crews should have the traffic control up on Wednesday morning that allows work to begin on the north side of US-24.
April 11th construction will begin at U-S 24 and Flush Road, with a completion date of August 15. Clark says he’s had some questions about doing the two projects at the same time–but he says they wanted to be sure the construction doesn’t go on for too long and decided to get them both out of the way at the same time.
Signs were a topic at Monday’s Pottawatomie County Commission meeting, with some help from the Kansas Department of Transportation. Clark indicates there are some specifications though since KDOT is involved. And that will involve engineering work–with the county planning to have B-G consultants to help with that. After that a contractor will put in the signs based on the design work–not just in the right places but they also will need to be sure they have enough reflectivity, even at night.
What to do about the Belvue Bridge has been a discussion for a number of years in Pottawatomie County, and once again was put on hold–although Pottawatomie County Commissioners Monday expressed a desire to again meet with Wabaunsee County Commissioners on the matter.
Clark presented a proposal involving Finney and Turnipseed Engineers, a firm that could give a second opinion on how to deal with the bridge–in addition to previous work with B-G Consultants. Clark added B-G would likely need an additional $5,000 to update their work from over the years.
Commission Chair Dee McKee indicates she was hesitant to spend the additional amount, but Commissioner Pat Weixelman said he was at odds over previous recommendations with B-G, which he says consisted of replacement without other options. Commissioner Stan Hartwich agreed with Weixelman that other options need to be explored and they they can’t sit there forever, saying they need to keep moving. County Administrator Robert Reece suggested talking with Wabaunsee County before moving ahead individually.
A local cemetary may have new owners. Commission Chair, Dee McKee says there may be potential buyers for Valleyview Cemetary along HWY-24 and commissioners recently heard a bid. McKee says the prospective purchase is a “relief.”
And local leaders are responding to continued tax-lid discussions in Topeka. McKee responded to the latest criticism of a property tax lid, with the goal of preventing city and county mill levies from rising faster than inflation or population growth.
Under a revision last week, the Senate removed an exception for economic development tools like tax abatements.
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