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    Pott. County Commission hears more budget requests; unemployment and real estate statistics

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    By on Local News, Pottawatomie County
    The Sunflower Room, location of the Pottawatomie County Public Works and KSU Extension offices in Westmoreland. (KMAN file photo)

    Budget requests

    The Pottawatomie County Commission heard a number of budget requests for fiscal year 2021 during their meeting Monday.

    These requests came during the first Pottawatomie County Commission meeting to be open in-person to the public since mass gathering restrictions put in place due to the COVID-19 pandemic made Zoom the only mode of access.

    The North Central Flint Hills Area Agency on Aging presented a budget request for $27,660. This request is about $4,324 more than their budget last year of $23,336 due to increased administrative funding and health insurance costs.

    The remainder of the budget requests heard at Monday’s meeting were for amounts identical to those granted for fiscal year 2020, which is in line with the commission’s goal of maintaining a flat budget.

    The Pottawatomie County Economic Development Corporation requested about $240,000 and the Pottawatomie County Fair Association requested about $85,000.

    Unemployment and real estate numbers

    Pottawatomie County unemployment numbers for April 2020 were impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, but were still relatively low compared to the rest of Kansas, which sits at about 12 percent, and Riley County, which sits at about 8.8 percent.
    Pottawatomie County Economic Development Corporation executive director Jack Allston:
    The real estate market has also remained relatively unphased throughout the pandemic.
    Allston says 58 single family homes in Pottawatomie County closed between March 1 and May 10 at a median price of just over $235,500. This is up from the same time period in 2019 when 61 single family homes closed at a median price of $223,000.
    Riley County numbers are slightly down from last year.
    From March 1 to May 10 of 2019, 148 single family homes closed at a median price of $185,000 while 135 single family homes closed during the same time period last year at a median price of $200,500
    Public Works Facility change order

    The Pottawatomie County Commission approved a change order for the Public Works Fleet Maintenance Facility worth about $15,000 during their meeting Monday.

    This is down from the original change order proposal worth about $28,000 and will go towards lowering the slopes around the facility.

    Changing the elevation of the building’s base is meant to make moving vehicles in and out easier on drivers.

    The commission also held a bid opening for a number of road projects that are set to take place this year.

    The projected total cost of the projects is about $206,000.

    Project bids submitted by three different companies ranged from about $249,000 to just over $263,000.

    The Public Works department at a future meeting will submit its recommendation to the commission on whether to accept one of these bids.

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