Commission told Fuel surcharges nibbling away at Lyon County Budget
By Brandy Nance
Thursday, October 16, 2008
Fuel surcharges are on a sharp increase in Lyon County, commissioners learned during Wednesday’s Lyon County Commission study session.
Jim Brull, assistant county engineer, brought commissioners a comparison expenses report for 2007 and 2008. Among the highest increases were fuel surcharge, which was $66,444.11. Diesel went up $192,755.72 and gasoline went up $36,148.02. The county also saw a $281,857.68 increase in rock used on the county’s unpaved road. Hot and cold mix used on paved roads increased $259,030.29.
Brull also talked about the costs to pave the Lyon County Extension Office’s parking lot. A topographical survey was performed at $4,057.15 and the paving cost was $44,349.95. The county also paid 50 percent of a $25,636.27 paving project at the Lyon County Fairgrounds. The fair board will pay the other half of that amount.
In other business, Richard Old, Lyon County undersheriff, spoke to commissioners regarding two Lyon County Senior Patrol members’ service to the community. One of the responsibilities of the senior patrol members is to check on home bound individuals. Last week, patrol members Joyce Madore and Ida Schierling were making routine checks and arrived at the home of a 100-year-old man. His regular caregiver was ill so the family asked senior patrol members to check on him.
“When they arrived on the morning of the 9th, these volunteers found that something just wasn’t right,” Old said. “So, pursuant to their established protocols they initiated an attempt to determine what was wrong.”
The Emporia Police Department was called to enter the home, where they found the man had fallen sometime during the night and could not get up and call for help. He was transported to the hospital because he was weak and disoriented.
“The service by these volunteers is often thankless and overlooked by the community as a whole,” Old said. “But the family of the gentleman is exceedingly grateful and very pleased with the performance of our volunteers in this instance. Thanks to their prompt discovery and recognition of this problem, the gentleman was treated and then released from the hospital following Monday; and placed in an assisted living environment where he can get the assistance and therapy he needs.”
In other business:
• Lougene Marsh, executive director of the Flint Hills Community Health Center/Lyon County Health Department, talked to commissioners regarding the revised agreement with the East Central Kansas Public Health Coalition, which is an 8-county area Lyon County’s health center belongs to. The revised agreement reflects changes that were necessary to meet the goals of voluntary accreditation. The area together applied for a grant through the National Association of County and City Officials and received it. Each center will receive $11,000 to assess the centers and evaluate their readiness for accreditation.
• Discussed assistant county engineer Jim Brull attending the AutoCAD 2009 fundamentals five-day course offered by Imaginit Technologies in Schaumburg, Ill., from Dec. 15-19.