Riley County commissioners gave their approval for 13 department requests to be funded by the Capital Improvement Fund.
The commission continued their 2019 first quarter CIP session from last week. The original estimate for all requests was $4.9 million out of the $5.3 million budget authority, but was reduced to $3.7 million. The total cost of the 13 requests is $990,700.
Most of the requests come from public works and are facility maintenance for county buildings and offices . Commissioner John Ford says he visited some of the offices needing repairs. The treasurer’s office windows leak when there is a bad storm and could affect the outlets their equipment is plugged into.
Ford says he is not opposed to using the funds to make these kinds of facility repairs because some of the other items have some uncertainties right now. He used the Riley County Police Department firing range as example. The estimated cost for that project is $400,000. Ford says they are no where near ready to approve financing for the range, but still want to put some money aside.
Other examples of potential large projects include flood costs, Junietta Bridge, the business park, and the EMS facility enhancement.
Budget and Finance Officer Tami Robison, who led the session, says there are some projects that are not imperative for this quarter, but are still major financial decisions they need to keep in mind. One of the requests comes from the county attorney’s office. Attorney Barry Wilkerson requested approximately $280,000 for new case management software. This is due to the state supreme court making the software change. Wilkerson says they don’t know if they need it yet, but would like the money set in the event they do. This will be discussed at a later CIP session.
A last minute request was made by Public Works Director Leon Hobson for a new truck. This was due to one of their fleet trucks being damaged from a rollover accident on Wednesday. This request was approved.
The list of the 13 approved requests includes:
- For the public works department
- Construction of an EMS substation in the northern part of the county- $140,000
- Removal of a wall at the county appraiser’s office and construction of a new one- $35,000
- Remodeling of a jury room at the county courthouse- $41,000
- Exterior repairs and cleaning to the county office building- $19,200
- Exterior facade repairs for the office building- $66,300
- Cleaning and coating of the east elevation of the office building- $24,200
- Lab station construction- $40,000
- Purchase of a new truck- $195,000
- Purchase of a new track loader- $190,000
- For the Law Enforcement Center
- Replacement of two rooftop HVAC units- $30,000
- A fire alarm system in the new vehicle garage- $20,000
- Mill and fill the south parking lot- $90,000
- For the noxious weed department
- Purchase of a new roadside mower- $100,000
