Pottawatomie County has agreed to pay a portion of the cost to install a new signalized crosswalk at the intersection of Green Valley Road and Nature Ave.
The solar powered signal is aimed at improving safety for students in the area who walk to the new Oliver Brown Elementary School. County Administrator Chad Kinsley explains the breakdown of costs.
“So the signal is $15,000 to put in at Green Valley and Nature. It would help with kids going across and citizens throughout the rest of the day. The school (district) is going to contribute half and we would have to contribute the other half,” he said.
Kinsley told commissioners Monday that the Blue Township board turned down the county’s ask to kick in a portion of the funding for the project, criticizing the commission in an email saying: “We are VERY DISAPPOINTED our Commissioners are willing to spend $100,000 for bonuses to reward county employees for simply showing up to do their job. If the Commissioners can afford these Bonuses, they can afford the School Crossing cost.”
“I relayed a message back to them that those are two different pots of money and we can’t use one for the other,” he said.
In an email to KMAN, Kinsley said the bonuses were paid out using American Rescue Plan Act funds from the federal government and could not be utilized for the signal, thus making the Township Board’s complaint irrelevant. The intersection is located in the heart of a well-traveled area within Blue Township.
The Blue Township Board currently consists of three elected members. They include Daniel Dekat, Richard Goehring and Donald (Fred) Rothwell.
The commission is planning to also consider a separate crossing signal near Flint Hills Christian School once their expansion project is completed.
A list of all township board representatives in Pottawatomie County is listed below.
Township Boards_202103041050322983 (1)