Update-Second Half of Meeting
Riley County GIS Intern, Ethan Britt will be graduating this weekend from Kansas State University. Before he leaves, he presented a very special project, he has been working on, to the county commission.
Britt created a new Historic Sites of Riley County map, which features 80 different locations. Each site is numbered on the light brown map. Each number then coincides to brief paragraphs describing the history of the site.
County Historical Museum Director, Cheryl Collins said they have been waiting on someone to update the old map for years.
The commission expressed their gratitude by presenting Britt with a Riley County 150th Anniversary Coin.
First Half of Meeting
Some of the benefit districts around Riley County have connection fees in order for a new house to join onto the sewer and water lines. Lakeside Heights had no such connection fees, until discussion was brought up during Thursday’s county commission meeting.
Public Works Director, Leon Hobson started by stating this connection fee would be in addition to the University Parks connection fee. He said he had received calls from concerned residents who thought they would be charged with both fees. It was estimated that the cost of the main line was somewhere around $26,000. The Budget and Planning Committee recommended a fee of $5,000, which after discussion, the commission came to a consensus that was a good amount.
Operational and monthly sewer fees also needed to be decided on. The commission decided to set the operational at $15 and the monthly sewer fee at $10.
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Police Director, Brad Schoen commented on the large amount of drug arrests that were reported on last week. Around 91 individuals were arrested, most of which went to the Geary County Jail.
Once Geary ran out of room in their facility, the remainder of the individuals were brought to Riley County’s jail. Schoen said he believed around 30 people ended up in Riley.
Schoen spoke about the recent calls he’s received with the concern of the higher crimes taking place in the county. He compared the situation to the changes on the main roads around Manhattan, saying the growth we will experience will cause more changes, and it’s better to be prepared ahead of time.
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The commission approved a few items, including the public hearing resolution for the county road vacation for the new Union Pacific right-of-way, and the extension of Emergency Management Director, Pat Collins’s LEPC membership.
The commission also heard updates from various department heads and staff members, including- IT/GIS Director- Robert Nall, County Extension Agent-Kristen Garcia, and Register of Deeds- Debbie Regester.
