ALLEN COUNTY, Kan. — Allen County Commissioners learned more at Tuesday’s meeting on the services offered by Enterprise Fleet, which is being looked at to provide vehicle procurement and maintenance services. Kenneth Olson from Enterprise said they essentially leverage all the tools, resources, people and everything else from their extensive fleet business, best know being their vehicle rental business, to help entities with small to medium sized fleets save money and operate more effectively and efficiently.
Enterprise Fleet, which also works through the Sourcewell purchasing group, serves a number of area entities, including Bourbon and Linn counties and Chanute USD 413. Services provided can be flexible, for instance while Linn County uses it just for vehicle procurement and disposal, Bourbon County and USD 413 use their services for maintenance, fuel, and other items.
Olson explained this can also vary within individual departments, an example cited is the Sheriff’s Office may have different needs than the Road and Bridge Department. A major part of this is it would allow use of newer vehicles and replacement on a more frequent basis. He added they frequently work with local vendors on such things as maintenance, and can arrange vehicle delivery through local dealers, similar to what Sourcewell does on major equipment purchases.
Commissioners have asked for a formal proposal on services, with department heads to provide information on what their needs would be, which is expected to be back to them sometime in February.
Commissioner David Lee passed along thanks to Emergency Management Director Jason Trego for assistance he provided Bourbon County during a recent incident near Fort Scott. Bourbon County currently doesn’t have an emergency management person, and one of their commissioners contacted Lee asking for help, which they really appreciated. Trego said it was just a matter of helping a neighbor in need.
Trego also gave the Commission an update on the transition from CodeRED to Genasys for their emergency alerting system, which is proceeding well. While not a lot of work was done over the holidays the transition process is moving forward as they learn more about the new services Genasys provides.
The changeover could not have come at a better time in light of what happened to CodeRED in October. Trego said about the time they began the transition, CodeRED suffered a major cyber attack that disabled their systems, to the point they had to go to a totally new back-end system. While weather alerts are still going out, many counties are not able to utilize CodeRED at all including Allen County and others in the area.
Trego was also given permission to travel with other emergency managers in the area to Norman, Oklahoma for a tour of the National Weather Service Storm Prediction Center.
Commissioners approved purchase of a new loader for the Landfill. Public Works Director Mitch Garner said the loader is being purchased through the Soucewell purchasing group at a cost of $319,804, reflecting a discount of around $100,000. This will replace an existing loader that is near the end of its life and which they are having some issues on. This loader will be retained as a backup. Delivery of the new loader is expected to take around 20 weeks.
The Commission and Garner also discussed purchase of a skid steer for the airport, which had been discussed for some time and in the county’s current three-year equipment plan. A quote has been obtained via Sourcewell, and action on this purchase is expected next week, Commissioners also approved just over $21,000 purchase of cover material for the landfill through RSC, which had the lowest of two bids received.
Road and Bridge Supervisor Jeremy Hopkins provided an update on current projects, including completion of clean-up work in Mildred, He also reported they have taken delivery of a new tractor which will be used for mowing when that season arrives.
Sheriff Anthony Maness expressed thanks for all who have supported him during his first year in office, including the Commissioners, other county officials and the public. Commissioner Jerry Daniels thanked Maness in return, in particular for the improved communication with them.
In other business, Commissioners approved the annual waiver of GAAP requirements in preparation of the county’s financial statements along with signing a regulatory letter for their auditor, and correcting some appointments made at prior meetings where County Clerk Shannon Patterson had inadvertently given names of prior advisory board members, along with a reappointment to the Public Building Commission and an appointment to the Moran Senior Center Board.
