McPHERSON COUNTY, Kan. — McPherson County Commissioners Monday denied a request to allow liquor sales during a Battle of the Bands event in February at the 4-H Building. While Commissioners didn’t have an objection to the event itself, a fundraiser for All Schools Day, there was an issue with allowing liquor in a building used primarily for youth-related activities.
Commissioner Tom Kueser said a major factor behind his opposition to alcohol sales in the 4-H Building as compared to the rodeo arena, which is leased to the McPherson Saddle Club, is the building’s use for youth activities. “Having it inside our county building just has a different feel to me, especially with the youth programs we really do all the time over there,” he explained, noting the use of it by other youth programs in the community.
Chairman Keith Becker had spoken with 4-H board members who expressed similar concerns to those Kueser expressed, and Commissioner David O’Dell was in agreement with that.
Commissioners approved two budget amendments for 2025. One of those amendments involves creation of ten new funds within Community Corrections, each of which will be related to grant expenditure tracking, as requested by the Kansas Department of Corrections, which provides all funding for these programs. It also approved a change to the landfill assessment fund to reflect funds actually received so the full amount can be transferred to the McPherson County Solid Waste Utility. The Commission approved an additional expenditure of just over $51,000 for adding of shielding on the street sides of rooftop HVAC units atop the second floor of the “old bank” section of the McPherson County Building. Commissioner O’Dell also provided an update on work on County Building renovation, which is now at 80 percent complete.
Commissioners approved an additional just over $48,000 expenditure on four concrete box bridges it approved purchase of earlier. This added cost will be for addition of two end sections to each structure, which had not been figured in when the original plans were developed by former public works staff. This change brings the total cost of the structures to just over $223,000.
The Commission approved purchase of parts to repair the brake disc systems on a motor grader that had burned up after an operator who ran the unit after it has been setting for some time did not know they had been left on after the last use, repair to be done by county crews with a material price of around $7,200. Also approved were contracts with Earles Engineering, Garber Surveying and Schwab-Eaton for on-call surveying services.
In other actions the Commission approved the 2026 fire service contract with the city of McPherson for Rural Fire District 10, which is the south half of New Gottland Township and which commissioners serve as the governing board for.
The McPherson County Commission will not be meeting next week. Their next meeting will be Jan. 5, 2026.
