The Pottawatomie County Commission rendered a major decision regarding the construction of the new jail / courthouse.
“Given the information they received during the interview process and also having the construction manager on a little later than originally anticipated, the commission went ahead and decided to go with the bid process,” county administrator Robert Reece said.
Originally J.E. Dunn Construction out of Kansas City had been selected as the construction manager at risk for the project. Reece said the commission will inform the company that its services will no longer be required. J.E. Dunn Construction will be permitted to bid on the project later this year.
Elsewhere Monday, two bridge projects were approved by the Pottawatomie County commission. Public works director Leu Lowrey said that the projects would be funded through a state program that allocates 80% of the cost to the state of Kansas and the remaining 20% to Pottawatomie County. The bridges are located just outside of Westmoreland and on Green Valley Rd.
Noxious weed director Tim Eisenbarth announced that sericea lespedeza has become a growing problem throughout the county. Pottawatomie County has the highest concentration of the noxious weed in the state of Kansas, with anywhere between 11,000 and 65,000 acres of land being infested (according to 2009 figures). For more information on prevention visit www.ksda.org
Zoning permit numbers are on the rise again. Zoning administrator Gregg Webster reported that the county issued 20 total permits in the month of September for a total valuation of $2.92 million. That was a near four-fold increase when compared to the 2010 total ($737,275).
