Joan Strickler, observer
Riley County Commission, November 28, 2011
Commissioners McCulloh (chair) and Lewis were present, and Johnson was on vacation.
Assistant Public Works Director Rod Meredith reported staff would be reviewing proposed plans to update the design of the playground at CiCo Park that afternoon. Once plans are finalized and approved, they will be looking to the city and private donors to help fund the improvements. A brochure of parks and recreation opportunities in Riley County is being developed, and plaques are being made for the Rocky Ford area improvements.
Tim Hegarty gave the Riley County Police Department update. He said not many problems were reported over Thanksgiving break, at least not yet. Vehicle burglaries continue to be a problem. An estimated 70% or more of those incidents involve unlocked cars. He was asked about the armed robberies occurring and said that is fairly common at this time of the year. Police do have some leads and are investigating.
County Treasurer Eileen King said her office has been very busy due to the number of military personnel returning to the area. She said the “go live” date to switch county treasurer’s offices to the new Kansas Division of Motor Vehicles system has been postponed until sometime in 2012.
County Counselor Clancy Holeman said the Kansas Association of Counties has asked county commissioners to provide input regarding the proposed changes to state statutes related to the Food Safety Lodging Program. Of particular concern to Commissioners was a proposed elimination of annual inspections of restaurants and a specification that inspections instead be made only on an at-risk basis. County Health Department Director Chuck Murphy said he felt there should be increased requirements for water inspections. He said some restaurants use their own wells. Also, he was concerned about any elimination of the current provision that allows inspections to be conducted by local authorities with 80% of the funds collected returned to the local authority by the State.
Holeman then reported on efforts being made to deal with the flooding on Wildcat Creek. He had strong reservations about pursuing the formation of a water district for the area. The district would most likely include Riley and Leonardville, and he doubted that people in those areas would be willing to pay for flooding problems in the affected area of Manhattan. County Clerk Rich Vargo said he is familiar with many problems that counties are experiencing in dealing with water districts.
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