The Riley County commission addressed issues regarding the construction of Westar Energy’s new substation on Thursday.
“The issue is that it (substation) is being built and the county was never asked for a zoning permit,” commission chair Karen McCulloh said. “It’s before the planning board right now, which is where it should have been several months ago.”
McCulloh clarified that the all parties responsible are now making a concerted effort to clear up all of the issues.
“Monty Wedel (Riley County’s planning and special projects director) is now involved,” McCulloh said. “K-State is being very positive in working with us, but we need to get together with them to make sure we never have issues like this happen again.”
The substation is being on K-State property along Purcell Road. It will replace the current substation that resides just east of the intersection of Kimball and Denison.
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Scrap metal dealers throughout Kansas will be required to register with county governments before pushing their product(s).
Dealers will need to purchase a $400, 10-year registration in order to sell in Riley County. There are additional stipulations to the new laws.
“They have to make any payment for scrap metal by check,” county counselor Clancy Holeman said. “If not, they have to have the capacity to video tape the transaction.”
Additionally, dealers without a permit will be subject to a Class A misdemeanor charge.
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Riley County offices will be closed Friday, Nov. 11, to commemorate Veterans day.
Additionally, the Riley County commission will not meet next Monday, Nov. 14, due to the Kansas Association of Counties meeting that will be taking place in Topeka.
