The Pottawatomie County Commissioners have finally received a preferred route for the new transmission line from Westar Energy. During their weekly meeting on Monday, Feb. 23, the commission read a letter from the company about the project, which will replace the current line from the Jeffrey Energy Center. The issue had been a topic of public concern for property owners in the area due to the possibility of a new route crossing into private land.
“I’m happy to say the map that they gave us mirrors the route they’re taking now,” said Commission Chairman Pat Weixelman.
In the letter, Westar Energy Vice President of Transmission Kelly Harrison said the company received a lot of local feedback, and that public comments were taken into consideration when selecting the route.
“I consider that very good news, and I think there will be a lot of happy people that will agree with me,” Weixelman said. “The route pretty much stays right where it’s at, so we might have gotten a little something accomplished.”
Westar will enter the next stage of the project in the coming days when they submit the proposition to the Kansas Corporation Commission. Following this submission, the KCC will have 120 days to determine the final route for the transmission line. Westar thanked those who provided input during the evaluation, and encouraged property owners to participate in the KCC process during the next phase of the project.
The commission made a motion to draft a letter to the Kansas State Legislation opposing a proposition to cut county highway maintenance funding as a means of balancing the state budget. Weixelman said he doesn’t feel it’s appropriate for the state to force local governments to bear the burden of Kansas’ deficit by revoking part of the stipend, which comes from state highway taxes.
“It’s just not fair that the state’s targeting the counties in trying to balance a budget that we have no control over,” he said. “It kind of makes things tough on us.”
Also during the meeting, the commissioners took action on several items, including signing the federal guidelines for billing clients at the county health department based on income.
“If they’re low-income, they don’t have to pay as much, and it might even be a donation-type deal,” said Weixelman.
The commission also opened bids on the Nelson’s Ridge Unit 3 Sewer Water Street and Elbo Creek Estates Unit 4 Sewer Water Street subdivisions during new business. Five bids were received for each, and the lowest bidder was Larson Construction, Inc. Weixelman said the Public Works Department will review all of the bids and report back with a recommendation on how to proceed in the coming weeks.
