Road & Bridge Clean-up Ongoing After Recent Storms
Eureka City Fire Chief Luke Westerman and Firefighter Jason Brandt attended the Monday, April 29 meeting of the Greenwood County Commissioners to present a bid for the potential purchase of a new Rescue Truck.
Greenwood County historically entered into an agreement through which they receive provision of rescue services from the City of Eureka. The rescue truck currently in operation is a 2005. Though it was noted as having low mileage, Westerman explained that the rescue truck has been operating with a high weight for a light-duty truck. As purchase of a new unit was considered, they were looking for a truck with a larger chassis. The 2005 truck currently in operation was purchased through the agreement between the two entities, with the county and city each paying half of the purchase price.
Commissioners were presented information on a truck from Unruh Fire, located in Sedgwick. Westerman explained that after having went through the lengthy process of seeking bids, the price quote from Unruh had come in significantly lower than other companies. He noted that this could be attributed to the company conducting manufacturing in-house. He also noted that they were more locally based than other companies and could be contacted if any issues/repairs were needed. If approved, Westerman noted he was hopeful that the truck would be delivered in 2026.
Annual calls for the rescue truck were also reviewed during discussion, with a majority of these taking place in county jurisdiction. Westerman noted that the rescue truck also responds to rural fire pages where a structure is threatened and are paged to medical calls to assist with CPR. Westerman proposed that the purchase be made as follows: the county paying 2/3 and the city paying 1/3. He noted that the current truck was financed for 5-years, and recommended that the new one have a 7-year finance period. If this were approved, the county would see an annual payment of $30,832, beginning in 2026. The City of Eureka would hold the note. As the item was discussed, it was noted that the county has to provide rescue services. Westerman noted that if the City of Eureka did not provide this service for the county, they would not need a rescue truck. “The purchase agreement provides the city with the truck needed to satisfy this requirement for the county,” stated Westerman. He expressed interest in continued provision of this service. EMS/ Ambulance Director Brian Mongeau noted the advantages to the City of Eureka providing the service, adding that some of the firefighters are currently going through the EMR class because they have interest in that. After commissioner Mac Obourn noted he would be more comfortable with 50/50, Commissioner Roy Ballard shared his thoughts, echoing the need to purchase a new truck. Given the provision of firefighters, maintenance and training, Ballard stated he felt the county probably should contribute more than 50%. Commissioners approved the new rescue truck, with the county paying 2/3 and the city paying 1/3. This is an International HV507 SFA with a 14-foot box for equipment. Plans were shared for future listing and sale of the truck currently being utilized.
Road and Bridge Supervisor Allen Greenwood appeared via phone conference to pose a question as his department continued working to clear debris from bridges. Greenwood referenced submission for Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) reimbursement, asking to clarify if a barrel trailer should be leased to haul off debris removed by staff or if this should be contracted out to a local company with a truck and trailer. Emergency Management Director Levi Vinson noted that this had not been declared a FEMA event yet. He explained that the Kansas Governor had declared a state of emergency to afford for expedited response in the event a Kansas community were hit. Vinson noted that he felt it was a high probability this would be a FEMA event.
As it was discussed, stacking debris along-side the roadways/bridges was noted as something previously done. Greenwood voiced opposition to this noting that additional weather was expected for this week and debris needed to be removed to avoid it being scattered/ washed back into the bridges. Leiser Construction LLC was noted as available for the job. Commissioners reached a consensus to have Leiser perform the service.
Vinson presented a Disaster Declaration to commissioners for approval. Vinson noted that, with the recent storm systems and work that Road and Bridge has in front of them, Greenwood County had reached the level of damages for a Disaster Declaration to be put in place for support to be received. If this does turn into a FEMA event, Vinson noted that this had to be in place. Disaster Declaration, Resolution EM24-01, was approved.
Vinson discussed wireless emergency alerts with commissioners. After sharing that he had previously written an article for the newspaper regarding the subject, Vinson shared that these are sent out by the National Weather Service. He noted that, though these are great, the system is not without flaws. He noted that there had been a tornado warning for the south part of the county last Friday, and there were a few people at Marshall Elementary School who received an alert, so kids were sheltered. Vinson shared that this had caused confusion, as storm sirens had not been sounded. When a tornado warning is issued, the National Weather Service automatically sends a signal to every cellphone service tower within that given area and phones operating from towers within this zone will receive an alert. Vinson explained that the issue is, cellphones constantly bounce between service towers. If a cellphone is not operating off of a tower within the warning zone, the alert will not be received. Vinson noted that in addition to people not receiving an alert because their phone is operating from a tower outside of the area, sometimes the opposite occurs; people who are not located within the given area receiving the alert because their phone is operating off a tower that is. Vinson noted that the government is trying to get cellphone companies to fix this issue. He noted that the bottom line is: technology is great, but doesn’t always work. He again recommended that individuals have at least three means of notification (i.e. National Weather Service alerts, Greenwood County Alerts, Weather Radio etc.).
Kassidy Lazar was present representing the Road and Bridge Department. Department employee Douglas Bishop was requested for pay increase from $16.25 to $16.75. Commissioners approved this reques≠t. In regards to the pending signage replacement project for Rural Secondary Roads (RS Roads), Lazar shared that this had been awarded to a contractor. Though she noted there would be no cost to the county, Lazar shared that it still had to be approved. The award contract for the sign replacement project was approved. Commissioner Ballard noted an item for Lazar to have Greenwood look at, located on V Road near the intersection of 99 and 54 Highways. Ballard shared concern in regards to how low the wood top bridge sits and noted the issue of water making the site impassable.
Vinson provided commissioners with a follow-up on last week’s courthouse training. A meeting was held with the head of each department in the morning pertaining to the continuity of operations plan. Vinson shared that this had been informational and created a good foundation for the future. He shared that the afternoon emergency training with courthouse staff had also went well.
An executive session for the duration of 15-minutes was held with Noxious Weed Director Jennifer West. No action was taken following the session.
A 5-minute executive session for legal was requested by Legal Counsel Paul Dean. No decisions were made following the session.
A 10-minute executive session was called by commissioners for discussion of personnel, application review. Following the session, no action was taken.
Minutes of the April 22 meeting were approved as corrected.
Payables in the amount of $283,888.44 were approved.
Payroll in the amount of $158,732.63, which includes fire pay, were approved.
A 10-minute executive session was held for legal discussion with Vinson remaining. Following the session, no action was taken.
The next meeting of the Greenwood County Commissioners will be held on Monday, May 6 at 9 a.m.
