In order to certify the results of local the city and school board general elections from April 7, the Pottawatomie County Commissioners held a general canvass during their meeting on Monday, April 13. Commission Chairman Pat Weixelman said the board made sure to include all valid votes and delete any questionable ballots to make the outcomes official.
“These were for people who didn’t have IDs, had moved within the county, or didn’t fill out the registration form quite right,” said Weixelman.
Following the canvass, the commissioners heard a request from Public Works Director Leu Lowrey regarding action to discard some road maintenance machinery.
“We approved the county ordering and disposal of two graders by sealed bids,” Weixelman said. “The paperwork will start probably in a week or two to start advertising these bids.”
Weixelman added that the board also discussed instructions for the Public Works Department regarding improvements to Harvest Road in East Manhattan.
“We directed Leu to get with Benesch Engineers on the future paving of Harvest Road and gave him direction on how to proceed with the design,” he said.
Register of Deeds Betty Abitz gave a Records Management Report for the month of March, which showed increased numbers across the board for the county. According to Abitz, there were 82 sales recorded out of a total of 125 deeds, which was up by 39 since last year. The report also showed mortgages in the county were up 22 from the year before, with a total of 105 recorded. Weixelman said he feels these rising totals are indicative of the continued growth Pottawatomie County is experiencing.
Other business items on the agenda included taking bids on temporary notes to finance more than $2 million in construction costs for three different developments in the county. The commissioners approved a bid from Bennington State Bank with an interest rate of 0.69 percent.
The commission also heard from Carl Inman with the Kansas Workers Risk Cooperative for Counties regarding updates on the county’s worker’s compensation. Weixelman said the update showed a mod rating of 0.87, which is a relatively good rate for the county.
