ALLEN COUNTY, Kan. — Allen County Road and Bridge Supervisor Jeremy Hopkins presented County Commissioners Tuesday quotes for a mill and overlay project on 1400 Street, the old US 169,north of Iola. Of the two bids submitted,the lowest quote from Bettis Asphalt and Construction of Topeka came in at just over $847,000, just over a half million dollars less than the proposal from APAC-Kansas. Bettis currently has an asphalt plant set up near Garnett, where they are doing two major road projects.
The project would involve milling off a half inch of the pothole-rutted road, followed with a 1 ½ inch asphalt overlay. One question yet to be resolved is how the county would fund this work, with PILOT funds a possible source. Commissioners discussed the possibility of splitting the 6.2 mile project into two parts, and funding it over two years, and Hopkins will be looking into this.
Communication tower matters, old and new, were brought by Sheriff Anthony Maness, who discussed issues related to the current tower site, which is also used by other county departments, and the former location near La Harpe on which it’s still paying 400 dollars a month rent for.
The new tower was a project spearheaded by former Sheriff Bryan Murphy, and Maness is not sure if maintenance and repairs are solely his responsibility or spread across all users. At the new site, there is a need to repair or replace the grounding system which has been hit by lightning on a number of occasions, and a re-tension or replacement of some guy wires.
Another issue involves a generator at the site, which has only been used once since it was installed in 2022 and they are currently locked out of the controls for. Supposedly the passwords for it are on a computer whose files were wiped before Maness took office in January. Also being discussed is the potential of maintenance contracts for both the new tower and generator.
Allen County Commissioners Tuesday approved a $5,600 expenditure for new spill buckets and adapters for the three fuel tanks at Allen County Airport. These are where fuel is put into the tank, and current adapters are no longer compatible with the dispensers that fuel providers use. Those also be raised a bit higher.
There was also an executive session involving representatives from the contractor on the recent cell construction at the Allen County Landfill, and the engineer on the project along with Public Works Director Garner, commissioners and legal counsel.
In his report, Road and Bridge Supervisor Jeremy Hopkins provided updates on work in progress and planned, and informed Commissioners the mower max it recently ordered should arrive in mid-July.
Manager Colleen Reidel and representatives of the Allen County Conservation district presented their 2026 budget request, seeking the same $45,000 it has been allocated in recent years.
Commissioners voted to replace the county’s two representatives on the Board of Directors of the Southeast Kansas Mental Health Center. On motion of Commissioner David Lee, Richard Zahn was appointed to fill one of those positions, with a second position to be filled at a later date.